Bears’ Josh Sitton tries to downplay 1st rivalry game vs ex-team

Josh Sitton is saying the right, bland things — that Sunday’s rivalry game against his former employer is no big deal — but it’s hard to imagine that being completely true.

Still, he’s consistent.

When he signed with the Bears shortly after the Packers made the three-time Pro Bowler the league’s most surprising cut at the end of the preseason, Sitton swore that it was a business decision. The left guard wanted to play in Week 1, and the Bears pounced first. It had “nothing to do with sticking it to the Packers,” he swore.

He maintained the same Wednesday, preparing for his first crack at the Packers. A right ankle sprain forced him to watch the Week 7 Lambeau Field matchup in a walking boot.

“It’s just another game,” he maintained Wednesday. “I don’t think too much about that. I’m not really that type of person in general. I don’t get too emotional or get too high or low about anything. So it’s just the next game for us, a division opponent.”

But it’s more. Drafted by the Packers in 2008, he doesn’t need much of a scouting report this week.

“I’ve been practicing against those guys for a long time,” he said. “But you watch film and you know what guys do anyway. It’s not an advantage or disadvantage or anything.”

Health will help him. Last week, Pro Football Focus ranked him the 21^st-best offensive lineman in the league and called him the best pass-blocking guard alive. That’s despite him only playing 10 games — and finishing seven — because of the sprain suffered on the second-to-last snap against the Jaguars. He reinjured it against the Giants and returned to his starting job Sunday in Detroit.

“Any time you’re not out there, it’s frustrating,” he said. “You feel like you’re letting your team down.”

Rookie center Cody Whitehair, one of the team’s most pleasant surprises, has benefited from his presence.

“He’s seen it all, he really has,” Whitehair said. “He’s been in the league nine years. He brings that to the table and helps us with communication.

“He’s pretty even-keel, just like the rest of us.”

He’s trying to act even more laid-back — at least publicly — this week.

“It’s good to have a guy in your building that’s been around a winning culture,” offensive coordinator Dowell Loggains said. ”And knows what it’s supposed to look like.”