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Jennings excited about facing Manning

Bears cornerback Tim Jennings is eager to watch future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning make his Denver Broncos debut in Thursday night’s preseason opener at Soldier Field.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what he brings back to the game,” said Jennings, who spent his first four NFL seasons as one of Manning’s teammates with the Indianapolis Colts from 2006-09.

“When I first got in the league I thought I wasn’t that good when I was there. He just makes you feel that way. He had a lot of guys around him: Reggie Wayne, Marvin Harrison, Brandon Stokley.

“I came in there and it just kind of made me feel smaller than what I was, but I just had to realize I was going against a lot of [future] Hall of Famers and Pro Bowlers.”

Jennings has been excelling in training camp while working with the No. 1 defense. Although starters don’t typically play too much in the first preseason game, the seventh-year pro is hoping to get some quality reps against Manning, the only four-time MVP in NFL history.

“Hopefully he’ll play a good amount with the starters and our ones in there because we want to get this thing rolling,” Jennings said. “It’s a good test to go against Peyton Manning and a high-powered offense just to see where we’re at as a defense.”