Bears' Lamarr Houston makes impact in first game back

INDIANAPOLIS – At this point, end-turned-outside linebacker Lamarr Houston isn’t worried about his surgically repaired knee.

It’s full steam ahead “to just keep stacking days,” said Houston, who played for the first time Saturday against the Colts since tearing his anterior cruciate ligament in Week 8 of last season.

“It feels good to get some live hits,” he said. “I felt good. I felt very confident.”

Houston played with the second-team defense against the Colts, getting 21 snaps. He hit quarterback Matt Hasselbeck hard in the third quarter after easily batting away right tackle Denzelle Good. Houston was penalized for being offside on his rush, but it wasn’t an egregious play.

“Yeah, I tried to gas it up a little more,” Houston said. “I tried to rev it up and go 100 percent.”

Houston, who is in the second year of a five-year, $35 million contract, said he feels at ease rushing from a two-point stance and considered his first game action productive.

“I was happy with the amount of reps I got,” Houston said. “It’s a good amount for me to gauge and to see how I’m doing.”

Mariani stands out

The Bears’ offense benefited from a strong performance by returner Marc Mariani in the first quarter.

Mariani set up his blocks well on a 29-yard punt return down to the Bears’ 49-yard line and later displayed speed on a 22-yarder to the Bears’ 37.

Robbie Gould capped the ensuing possessions with field goals.

“With all the moving pieces [on special teams], the thing you’ve got to look at is the scheme overall,” Mariani said.” The execution, I thought we did really well. Overall as a return unit, it was a really good night.”

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