LAKE FOREST, Ill. — Here are 10 things you need to know as the Bears started preparation for the Green Bay Packers Wednesday at Halas Hall:

1. Lance Briggs knows the end of his 12-year career with the Bears is near. The veteran linebacker is in the last year of his contract and has missed 10 of the Bears’ last 17 games going back to last season.

“I understand this is probably my last year as a Chicago Bear, and this could be the last time I play the Packers,” Briggs said Wednesday. “But for me, I just, I really do enjoy my teammates, and it’s been unfortunate to watch from the sidelines because I want to see them find success and any Bear making a play is always a good thing.”

Briggs admitted it has been a struggle to stay engaged while he’s hurt, saying: “Shoot, I don’t know what to do with myself sometimes. Sometimes I sit in meetings while coaches are talking and sometimes the words kind of just phase out and I’m staring at the screen. The only thing I can tell is the time, and I’ll look up at the screen and be like, ‘Dang, still got 55 minutes left.’ It’s just been different man, just different.”

Briggs is back healthy and expected to play Sunday in Green Bay, giving him eight games to earn one last contract, even if it is not from the Bears. But the linebacker is also pondering retirement. Remember, this season started with Briggs missing a Labor Day practice to open up his new restaurant in California.

So will this be his last year in football?

“I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know. I don’t know,” he said.

2. The Jordan Mills left guard experiment might be over already. After just one practice at left guard, Mills was back at right tackle Wednesday with Michael Ola at left guard.

So are the Bears just trying to mess with the Packers or did they see all they needed to see from Mills at guard in just one practice?

“We just want to be ready, and we have Brian (de la Puente) working in at guard as well,” Bears head coach Marc Trestman said. “Jordan’s going to work at tackle for the most part but he’ll be also at guard, and when Mike is at guard, and we’ll move Mike around, but we’re getting settled in here. I think that we’ll be a little more deliberate as we work into tomorrow.”

3. Jared Allen doesn’t think he has actually lost a half-step. Before the bye week, Allen said he needed to find “a half-step,” but he clarified that comment Wednesday, saying he hasn’t lost any speed.

“I think I could still run 4.6, so let’s get that out there,” Allen said. “No, for me, it’s going back and watching film. The difference between a sack and a pressure and a quarterback hit is about a half-step, a half-second, you know, whether he pumps that ball or not.”

Allen pointed out that he played heavier when he was younger.

“I used to play at 285 (pounds). I was fatter and slower back then and I was 23. If I can’t be faster than that guy, then I’ve got something to worry about.”

4. Marquess Wilson practiced Wednesday for the first time since August. The wide receiver has been on short-term injured-reserve since breaking his clavicle in training camp. The Bears now have 21 days to put Wilson on the 53-man roster or put him on season-ending IR. That 21-day window ends right before the Thanksgiving Game in Detroit, so you can expect to see Wilson return within the next four games. It is doubtful Wilson plays Sunday against the Packers as he still needs to improve his conditioning and work his way back into the offense.

5. The Bears will try to slow down Aaron Rodgers’ release Sunday. In the Week 4 loss to the Packers, the Bears’ defensive line only got one good hit on Rodgers and it was in large part due to how quickly he was getting rid of the ball.

“We’re going to have to do some things in coverage to make it a bit harder for the receivers,” Bears defensive coordinator Mel Tucker said Wednesday.

Usually that entails tighter coverage at the line of scrimmage, which would help against speedy receivers like Jordy Nelson and Randall Cobb, but the Bears’ secondary also needs to start making more plays on the ball.

“We have to challenge the throws, win the contested-throwing battles,” Tucker said.

6. The Packers could be without both starting offensive guards. Left guard Josh Sitton (toe) and right guard T.J. Lang (ankle) both missed practice Wednesday with injuries suffered two weeks ago against the Saints.

Green Bay’s offensive line was able to slow down the Bears’ pass rush in Week 4 despite struggling the first three weeks of the season, so maybe a weakened interior line will help the Bears Sunday.

7. Briggs didn’t shy away from the real reason the Bears won at Lambeau Field last season.

When asked why the Bears’ defense had success in that game, Briggs simply said: “Shea took out Aaron Rodgers.”

There’s pretty much no other way to break it down. Shea McClellin sacked Rodgers on the first series of the game and the Packers’ quarterback suffered a broken collarbone. Seneca Wallace played from there, which allowed Josh McCown — filling in for the injured Jay Cutler — to lead the Bears to a victory despite being 10-point underdogs.

8. Speaking of McClellin, 4.5 of his 7.5 career sacks have come against the Packers, with three of them coming at Lambeau Field last season. He missed the Bears’ previous meeting with the Packers this year with a broken hand.

9. Rodgers is now 11-2 against the Bears in his career, not counting last year’s loss when he only played the first series of the game. Jay Cutler, meanwhile, is 1-10 against the Packers.

10. The formula to beat the Packers applies to the rest of the season as well. The Bears’ offense has to keep possession of the ball longer so the other team doesn’t have it. That means longer, sustained drives that end with points, not turnovers. Meanwhile, the defense needs to start coming up with takeaways, the easiest way to get the ball back to the offense.

Takeaways have been hard to come by for the Bears over the last calendar year, a trend that has to turn around if this season is going to be turned around. The Bears are on pace for just 24 takeaways this season, which would be their lowest total since they had 20 in 2003 — the year before Lovie Smith took over as head coach.

Adam Hoge covers the Bears for 87.7 The Game and TheGameChicago.com. Follow him on Twitter at @AdamHoge.