The Chicago Bears’ defense is refusing to point a finger at the team’s struggling offense.

A Bears’ offense that scored four touchdowns in four weeks had five turnovers last week against Seattle, but Bears defenders say they could have turned the game around if they had taken the ball away from the Seahawks. And creating turnovers will be even more important against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field on Christmas Day.

Linebacker Brian Urlacher doesn’t believe the defense is fading at season’s end, and can do more to make plays.

The Bears also are dealing with injuries. Safety Chris Conte is out for the season and facing Rodgers without a starting safety won’t be easy.

The Bears have had chances to win every game during this playoff-crushing four-game losing streak. Chicago points that out at every opportunity.

THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Chicago Bears linebackers Lance Briggs (55) and Brian Urlacher (54) go through drills before the NFC Championship game against the Green Bay Packers Sunday, Jan. 23, 2011, in Chicago.

Brian Urlacher wasn’t in much of a mood to talk Sunday. He said a simple “No” to three straight questions after the 38-14 loss to Seattle on Sunday before I asked him how frustrating this four-game losing streak was.

“I don’t know what happened to us,” Urlacher replied. “We’ve been in all these football games, with chances to win all of them. This one got ugly late, but it’s not like we’re getting destroyed out there. We had a chance to win most every football game we’re in. We’ve just got to find a way to win these games. That’s what’s disappointing. We had a chance to do that and just aren’t doing that.”

Indeed, the Bears led 14-7 at the half. But after gaining only 84 yards the entire first half, Seattle outscored Chicago 31-0 in the second half. Some of that was due to Caleb Hanie interceptions, but the Seahawks also moved the ball so much better in the second half. The game changed even before Hanie started throwing interceptions to every Seahawk in sight. Seattle tied the game with a touchdown drive on the first possession of the second half. From then on out, the game was Seattle’s.

What happened?

It’s simple: Seattle changed its game plan and Chicago didn’t.

“They saw we were in more man to man, so they came out running more boots than they did the first half and throwing the ball more,” said cornerback Tim Jennings, who was burned on a long touchdown pass. “They came out with a whole different game plan.”

Seattle is not exactly the most imaginative team in the NFL, but even the Seahawks adjust better than the Bears. Nor is this only a Lovie Smith problem. From Dave Wannstedt to Dick Jauron to Lovie Smith, the Bears have been behind the curve for 20 years in halftime adjustments or surprising game plans. The one exception is special teams, where the Bears have been as good and innovative as anyone, but it would be nice if just once we could read about the Bears catching another team off guard, rather than the other way around.

Oh, wait. It did happen once. Chicago completely surprised Philadelphia by rolling its cornerbacks up at the line of scrimmage and playing aggressive pass defense. That worked great for three weeks in a row and helped the Bears get to 7-3, when for a brief moment they looked like they might be the second-best team in the NFC behind Green Bay.

It’s way past time to pull another surprise. Chicago has so many problems without Jay Cutler. Caleb Hanie (or perhaps Josh McCown) at quarterback. J’Marcus Webb and Lance Louis at offensive tackle. Roy Williams and Dane Sanzenbacher at receiver. Jerry Angelo at GM. With problems everywhere they look, the Bears can’t afford to be out-coached, too.

The 2011 NFL seasons for the Denver Broncos and the Chicago Bears couldn’t be more different at this point. The Broncos, behind second-year quarterback Tim Tebow and a much improved defense, have gotten better with every game since Tebow took over in Week 7 against the Miami Dolphins. They’re making a surprising playoff run at this late stage of the season.

The Chicago Bears, on the other hand, are seeing their playoff hopes fall apart in recent weeks after losing Jay Cutler to season-ending surgery to repair a fractured thumb. If things weren’t bad enough for the Bears with the loss of their quarterback, the loss of star running back Matt Forte to a sprained MCL has further crippled the offense. After going 7-3 to start the season, the Bears have lost their last two games in a most pitiful fashion and don’t look like they can win another game with the crew they have on the field now.

There are two possible ways that this game can go on Sunday. One possibility is that the Broncos finally expand their offensive scheme and open things up like they did against Minnesota in an attempt to score a few touchdowns in the first half. The Broncos are actually a team perfectly suited to protecting leads late in game rather than having to come from behind. With a strong defense and a rapidly improving running game, the Broncos are the kind of team that should be protecting leads in the fourth quarter and not scrambling to try and put points on the board at that point. Against the offensively hapless Bears, a solid two-touchdown lead should be all they need to win the game.

The other possibility is that the Bears find a way to win this game. The Bears currently have the eighth-ranked rushing defense in the NFL, allowing just 99.8 yards per game. They also have lots of team speed on defense which should prevent Tim Tebow from getting out on the edge and gaining valuable yards. If the Bears can hold the Broncos running attack to minimal yards and find a way to get a lead, the Broncos might unleash Tebow to pass a little earlier in the game than they normally have.

That could easily benefit the Bears as they are capable of grabbing several turnovers in a relatively short period of time in any particular game. The defense has been largely responsible for why Chicago has a +7 turnover differential (3rd in the NFL) despite the six interceptions that Hanie himself has thrown in the past two games. If Tebow underestimates the speed of players such as Brian Urlacher and Lance Briggs in the short field, then the Bears could potentially give Tebow his first multiple-turnover game as a starter in 2011.

Ultimately, I think that the Bears defense is quite capable of controlling the Broncos offense. Unfortunately, the Broncos defense is equally (or more) likely to be able to control the Bears offense. This game could come down to a couple big plays on defense. The team that wins the turnover battle will most likely come out on top in this game.

Julie is a lifelong Chicago Bears fan living in Denver. The Broncos are her second favorite team, and she has admittedly begun to believe that Tim Tebow could be the Broncos starter in 2012. That story at least distracts her from the mess that the Bears’ season has turned into.

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LAKE FOREST, Ill. – No Jay Cutler. No Matt Cassel, either.

Star power at quarterback may be lacking when the Chicago Bears play host to the Kansas City Chiefs today. Intrigue won’t be hard to find, though.

Cutler is out indefinitely with a broken right thumb. A right hand injury ended Cassel’s season early. And that means both teams have big questions at quarterback.

Caleb Hanie is trying to keep the Bears (7-4) in contention with Cutler sidelined.

The Chiefs (4-7) have another issue at quarterback.

Coach Todd Haley said Tyler Palko’s the man – for now – even though Kyle Orton is in the fold. But how long will that last before Orton starts taking snaps against his former team?

“Tyler is our starter,” Haley said. “We got to get Kyle ready to play. He might have to play, and he might not. That’s the situation, right now, as we speak.”

Palko said, “I’m the starter, from what Todd has told me. And let everything else play out as it may.”

For Chicago, there’s no question who will be lining up at quarterback.

Hanie is the man, and he probably will be with Cutler out as long as he doesn’t have some sort of meltdown.

“We’ve just got to be really careful what kind of situations we put him in,” Cutler said. “(Offensive coordinator Mike Martz has) got to be careful with that. We don’t really know what Caleb’s comfortable with; Caleb doesn’t know what he’s comfortable with. He hasn’t run a lot of these plays, hasn’t run a lot of this stuff in the offense in game situations, in high-pressure situations. We’ve just got to take care of him.”

The Bears believe they have enough to get by with stars like Julius Peppers, Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Devin Hester. Matt Forte still is enjoying a career year with 985 yards even if he hasn’t run for more than 64 in the past three games.

Of course, Cutler’s injury is a big blow.

He hopes to return this season but isn’t making any guarantees.

In a loss to Oakland last week, Hanie threw three interceptions in the first half and botched a spike, resulting in an intentional grounding penalty that wiped the final seconds off the clock, as Chicago’s five-game win streak came to an end. He also threw for 254 yards and two TDs.

“Looking back, there were a lot of great things that came out of the game, so I feel a lot more confident now watching the film, seeing that it wasn’t as bad as it might have felt after the game,” Hanie said.

Martz said he simplified things early, which might have contributed to the problems.

“You limit him, and on certain coverages it’s hard to get guys open,” Martz said. “So you’ve got to give him the full scope of things because he can see things and react to it, and make those throws. You’ve just got to get him going with it. When he did that, he played well. So that was very encouraging.”

LAKE FOREST — The Chicago Bears look to bounce back from their first loss in a month and a half when they face the Kansas City Chiefs at Soldier Field on Sunday.

And to do that, there’s a good chance they will need to stop one of their old teammates: quarterback Kyle Orton. Orton was released by Denver late last month, and though the Bears put in a waiver claim for him, it was Kansas City that was awarded the eight-year veteran.

That has led to a lot of talk this week about which quarterback the Chiefs would play against the Bears.

“We don’t know who we’re going to face,” Chicago defensive tackle Matt Toeaina said. “But if it’s (Orton), we’ll be ready.”

According to Chiefs head coach Todd Haley: “As I said, Tyler (Palko) is our starter. We’ve got to get Kyle ready to play. He might have to play, and he might not.”

But Bears all-pro linebacker Brian Urlacher expects to see Orton in the game Sunday.

“Kyle is a good quarterback, and he knows where to go with the football,” Urlacher said. “He knows our defense, that’s for sure, and it will be fun to play against him again.”

If it is Orton, who the Chiefs are paying $2.6 million for the remainder of the season, the Bears have plenty of familiarity. Orton played for the Bears in 2005, 2007 and 2008, throwing for 30 touchdowns and 27 interceptions in 30 games.

Haley hinted he may be worried the Bears know too much about Orton.

“They have a pretty good feel for Kyle, and his strengths and weaknesses,” Haley said. “But I don’t think there is a great strategic advantage, either way.”

Orton, who has 79 touchdown passes and 55 interceptions in his career, was the starter for the Broncos for 2 1/2 seasons before losing his job to Tim Tebow earlier this year. Now he’s trying to take away a job from someone else — Palko.

So who will be working against the Bears on Sunday? They say they’re ready for anything.

“One’s lefty (Palko), one’s righty. That’s it,” linebacker Lance Briggs said. “As far as we’re concerned, we have to go out and play good Bears defense no matter what.”

Bears reporter Jay Taft can be reached at 815-987-1384 or jtaft@rrstar.com.

The Bears hope he will return this year. So does Cutler, but he wasn’t making any guarantees.

“I’ve got to be smart about it,” he said. “Obviously, I’d want to play next week if they’d allow me. I don’t think that’s going to be in the cards. It could be I’m done for the season. I just have to be smart about it and realize that there is a long-term picture here. At the same point, I want to be out there and my teammates want me to be out there.”

Cutler was injured trying to help tackle Antoine Cason on an interception return in the fourth quarter of a 31-20 victory over the Chargers, Cutler had three screws and two pins surgically inserted into his throwing hand three days later in Vail, Colo.

He said the thumb is “structurally sound” and the screws will stay in. He said the pins come out after three to 10 weeks.

Cutler also said he did not suffer any ligament damage, but did hyperextend and dislocate it. He has started rehabilitation and is trying to get the swelling to go down, but he expects to lose some flexibility in his thumb.

He’s not sure when he’ll be able to start throwing, let alone play.

“We’ll have to take it week by week, take some X-rays and CT scans the next couple weeks and see if the bone’s healing like it should be,” Cutler said. “I don’t want to put a real number on it because I just don’t know.”

With Cutler sidelined, the Bears turned to Caleb Hanie last week and the results were mixed.

Making his first start, Hanie threw three interceptions in the first half and flubbed a spike in the closing seconds of a 25-20 loss at Oakland, resulting in a game-ending intentional grounding call. He also did some things reasonably well, throwing for 254 yards and two touchdowns while running for 50 yards on five attempts, but Chicago (7-4) saw a five-game win streak end.

With stars Julius Peppers and Brian Urlacher anchoring the defense and Devin Hester leading one of the top special-teams units, the Bears believe they have enough to get by. It would help if they had their starting quarterback, though.

A lot.

Cutler actually finished that game against San Diego and wound up with 286 yards passing. He also threw for two touchdowns and ran for another, but the only play anyone was talking about afterward was this one.

With an 11-point lead against San Diego and the ball on the Chargers 30, Cutler was trying to hit Johnny Knox, but the receiver slipped. Cason picked off the ball at the 20 and returned it 64 yards before being pushed out of bounds by Matt Forte at the Bears 16.

Cutler helped prevent a touchdown on the return, but paid a heavy price. He raced over and got knocked to the ground by linebacker Donald Butler as he pushed Cason with his right hand, which smacked the turf as he fell. Major Wright intercepted Philip Rivers’ throw in the end zone three plays later, and the Bears ran 71/2 minutes off the clock on the next possession, with Cutler completing two passes on the drive, to Matt Spaeth and Forte.

Cutler did not realize at first that he was injured.

“I was (ticked) at Johnny about the pick so coming off the field I didn’t really notice,” said Cutler, who thought Butler grabbed his facemask. “I was more worried about talking to him in a calm manner. After I settled down and went back on the field, I knew there was something definitely wrong and it was kind of serious. I didn’t really imagine I’d have to have surgery.”

He said it was “really uncomfortable” but kept playing. He informed trainers something was wrong during a timeout on the Bears’ long possession but told them, “We’ll just have to deal with it after the game.”

And beyond.

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

LAKE FOREST — Even without Jay Cutler, the Bears believe they are good enough to get by.

With perennial Pro Bowl picks such as Brian Urlacher, Julius Peppers and Lance Briggs, not to mention Devin Hester and Matt Forte, it might be premature to write off Chicago.

“Our football team is not based on one player,” coach Lovie Smith said.

Losing Cutler to a broken thumb on his right throwing hand is a big blow for a team contending in the NFC, but the Bears (7-3) believe they have enough to make a postseason run. With a favorable schedule, a 3-3 finish is not out of reach. That would get them to 10 wins and put them in good position to make the playoffs.

Smith said the injury Cutler suffered against San Diego on Sunday was not season-ending, but with the unproven Caleb Hanie filling in, they’ll have to pick up the slack in other areas.

With a sturdy defense, a record-setting return specialist (Hester) and a running back having a career year (Forte), the Bears might not be in such bad shape.

There are tough games at Oakland this week and Green Bay on Dec. 25, but there are also less daunting home matchups against Kansas City and Seattle and trips to Denver and Minnesota.

The Packers (10-0) are the only team in that group with a better record than the Bears. The Raiders (6-4) are above .500, but the rest are at or below that mark.

“I wish it wasn’t the issue, but I think you look at the way we’re set up, in my mind, we’re still a defensive team and (on) special teams, we can score at any time, which is a good thing,” Urlacher said. “We run the ball this year better than we have in years past, I think, so that helps our whole situation when you can do that and turn to a guy like Matt and your offensive line and say, ‘Hey, we need to run the football. Run the football’.”

They’ll need to get more from their defense and more from Forte than they did last week in a 31-20 win over San Diego.

Caleb Hanie, left, with Jay Cutler at training camp this year, is a former CSU quarterback awaiting his first NFL start with the Bears. Cutler has a broken thumb, so Hanie will be a starter Sunday against the Raiders.
(Jonathan Daniel, Getty Images
)

LAKE FOREST, Ill. — The Bears are confident quarterback Jay Cutler will return this season from a broken thumb on his right (throwing) hand, so there was a glimmer of hope to go with the big chill that just blew through Chicago.

Even so, this is a major blow for the red-hot Bears.

Cutler needs surgery and will be out “for an extended time,” coach Lovie Smith said Monday. He would not say when the operation will take place, just “hopefully fairly quick,” and provided few details about the specific nature of the injury.

Smith did make one thing clear, though.

“Is it a season-ending injury? No,” he said. “From what I’ve been told right now, we can expect him back at the end of the regular season.”

The regular-season finale is Jan. 1 at Minnesota.

With Cutler out, the Bears will turn to backup and former Colorado State standout Caleb Hanie against Oakland this weekend. They also will look to bring in a veteran quarterback.

Hanie has thrown just 14 regular-season passes in four years. He made some plays in the NFC championship game against Green Bay last season after Cutler was injured and Todd Collins struggled, helping keep the Bears in it, but Chicago ultimately lost to the Packers.

Cutler was injured trying to help tackle Antoine Cason on an interception return in the fourth quarter of Sunday’s 31-20 victory over the San Diego Chargers, and Smith was unaware of the extent of the injury until after the game.

Cutler stayed in and finished with 286 yards passing. He threw for two touchdowns and ran for another TD while leading the Bears (7-3) to their fifth straight win, but his injury is a hit for a team that made a big leap into contention in the NFC.

“It’s devastating,” linebacker Brian Urlacher said. “It’s horrible, and I felt worse for him than I did for us. It stinks for us because he’s having such a great year. He’s our leader. He’s the guy we turn to for pretty much everything.”

The Bears travel to play the Broncos on Dec. 11.

CHICAGO — Though one of them came gift-wrapped from Matthew Stafford, the Bears were still clearly very proud of their six takeaways that came during their big 37-13 win over Detroit on Sunday.

And after doing a lot of talking about why the turnovers weren’t coming up to that point, the Bears were more than happy to talk about their takeaway-filled win.

“This was what we were waiting for. We knew they were going to come; and they did today because we made them happen,” said safety Major Wright, who had one of the biggest of the day, returning a third-quarter interception 24 yards for a score to stretch the lead to three touchdowns. “We had it in our minds that we were going to make a difference out there. We hadn’t really done it all year, so we knew we needed to do our part.”

The Bears had forced 13 turnovers in their first eight games headed into Sunday’s key NFC North match-up. The Lions came into the game with the best turnover ratio (+13) in the league after coughing up just five giveaways all year. They had six against the Bears.

They believed it was all on them.

“Obviously,” said Lions QB Matthew Stafford, after throwing four interceptions Sunday, “I didn’t play my best football today.”

But the Bears insist they were the reason the Lions were so generous at Soldier Field.

“Every guy out there was hungry,” cornerback Tim Jennings said. “We had a bead on the ball, and the quarterback, all day.”

Right off the bat, a Julius Peppers clothesline tackle separated Calvin Johnson from the ball less than three minutes into the game. That one set the tone, and the Bears’ offense pounded it into the end zone three plays later.

Next up it was Jennings’ turn. After getting beat on a third-down reception by Nate Burleson, Jennings backtracked his way behind Burleson, poked the ball free, and pounced on the fumble. The Bears turned that one into a 10-0 lead.

After they took a 20-6 lead into halftime, two quick interceptions returned for TDs broke the game wide open. Wright had the first, which Stafford insisted was wind-aided. Corner Charles Tillman jumped a route and took his interception in for a score on the Lions’ next possession.
“A lot of the time, they come in bunches,” Bears head coach Lovie Smith said. “They came in bunches tonight.”

Two late-game picks — one by Jennings and another from Corey Graham — helped ice the game. And after Sunday, the Bears are now 41-8 since 2004 when they win the turnover battle. Against the Lions, they owned it, finishing with a 6-1 edge.

“We preach and we practice taking the ball away a lot. It’s good for it to finally show up,” Smith said. “It was just a total effort by the defense.”

The Bears are now tied for second in the league with 20 takeaways, and have moved up to 14th in the ever-important, scoring-defense category, allowing 20.8 points per game. It’s still not where they want to be, but they’re moving in the right direction.

“I don’t think you’re going to lose too many games playing like that on defense,” linebacker Brian Urlacher said. “That’s as dominant as I’ve been around since I’ve been here. We got takeaways when we needed to, and we scored on them.

“We took care of business, and got back on a roll.”

Bears reporter Jay Taft can be reached at 815-987-1384 or jtaft@rrstar.com.

For all of its great play in the first half of the season, one of the hot topics surrounding the Detroit Lions defense was about the big run plays it gave up.

Detroit’s defense did a good job of shutting down opposing running backs, but seemed to slip up a couple of times a game, and opponents capitalized.

Well, the Chicago Bears can relate to the big-play curse.

In the teams’ first meeting, the Lions scored on an 88-yard run by Jahvid Best and a 73-yard reception by Calvin Johnson.

”It was ugly,” linebacker Brian Urlacher said in the Chicago Sun-Times. ”They had three plays for over 200 yards. So that can’t happen. If we’re gonna give that up again, we’re not gonna play well. So we’ve gotta eliminate those, and just do what we’ve been doing: run to the football, make plays, and have fun.”

The other half of the Bears’ dynamic linebacking duo, Lance Briggs, called the game a wake-up call. Limiting the big plays been a big part of their three-game winning streak heading into Sunday’s game against the Lions, who will be without the services of Best.

Chicago’s defense has allowed 33 percent fewer yards per play in the last three games than the first five. The Bears limited Philadelphia’s league-leading offense to 330 yards, despite the Eagles’ 449-yard per game average in their win on Monday Night Football last week.

LAKE FOREST — The Chicago Bears seem to be a little extra motivated for this weekend’s game. It’s no wonder after they were embarrassed by their NFC North division rivals in Detroit the last time the two teams met.

“It was a tough loss up there early in the season. They beat us pretty good,” Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher said. “But we’re playing a little better right now.”

Not only was it the last time Chicago lost, but the Oct. 10 road game included a franchise-record nine false-start penalties, 14 total penalties and the Lions outscored the Bears 17-3 in the second half. Since that debacle, the Bears have really straightened up.

“Not just that game, that whole first quarter was a wake-up call,” added linebacker Lance Briggs. “The last three games have been … well … we’re making progress.”

The Lions lost two straight following the win over Chicago, but they whipped the Broncos 45-10 last weekend as they appeared to get back on track. That doesn’t matter to the Bears, who feel they are back on track as well.

“We’re ready for them this time,” defensive back D.J. Moore said.

The numbers agree. Chicago surrendered 181 rushing yards to Detroit, but have given up 202 total in three games since. The Bears’ offense had one touchdown and was 4-for-13 on third-down conversions against the Lions, but has averaged 30 points and has gone 15-for-38 on third downs since.

The defense insists its gap presence has been better, thus opponent’s big plays have stopped. On offense, the biggest improvement has been on the line.

“I think that we’re playing better as a unit right now, better than we played in Detroit,” offensive line coach Mike Tice said. “That just comes with the guys playing together.”

The Bears expect to start the same offensive line for the fourth game in a row Sunday, and they hope to avenge their ugly loss to the Lions with their fourth win in a row.

“We respect them, and they got after us pretty good up there in Detroit,” tight end Matt Spaeth said. “And now we have to try and do the same to them right here.”

This doesn’t surprise the Lions.

“They’re just playing really good football. They played good against us except for a couple big plays and that was the difference in the game,” Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford said. “But it’s still the same old Bears defense. These guys are playing at a very high level, stopping the run, getting after the passer.

“They’re playing at a high level right now; but so are we.”

Note: Rookie tackle Gabe Carimi underwent arthroscopic surgery Friday to further repair his injured knee. There is no timetable on his return, though he has been ruled out for Sunday; return man and wide receiver Devin Hester is questionable.

Bears reporter Jay Taft can be reached at 815-987-1384 or jtaft@rrstar.com.

To date, Smith has benched safety Chris Harris before cutting him, benched safety Brandon Meriweather before promoting rookie Chris Conte and second-year player Major Wright, and publicly challenged starting defensive tackle Henry Melton to play better. He also made veteran defensive tackle Anthony Adams inactive for Monday’s win at Philadelphia.

“He has high expectations for Henry Melton, he has high expectations for all of us,” linebacker Lance Briggs said.

Whatever Smith’s intent, the defense has gotten stouter during a four-game winning streak headed into Sunday’s home game against Detroit.

“It’s happened the last couple of years,” linebacker Brian Urlacher said about Smith — often characterized as laid-back — making lineup changes or challenging players. “I think, if you don’t play well enough, you’re probably not going to play. That’s just the way it is.”

Smith has had to be more aggressive this season in making changes to a defense that gave up 16 plays of 25 yards or longer the first five weeks. In the last three games since an Oct. 10 loss at Detroit, the Bears have given up just three plays of 25 yards or more.

Smith said Thursday he wasn’t unhappy with Melton, but suspected the third-year player was capable of much more after starting the year with three sacks in three games. Melton hasn’t had a sack since the third game, but did make two tackles and disrupted several plays in the backfield against the Eagles.

“I’ve been praising him so much in the offseason and, of course, early on,” Smith said. “So there are big things that I, that we, expect from Henry. Henry played better this past week but still he’s a guy with a lot of talent and he’s capable of really having one of those great games where you’re talking about him as an elite star.”

Smith said Adams could find his way back to the playing field again, but it will depend on practice this week.

“He’s from Detroit, he always seems to play well against them,” Smith said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Adams, a nine-year veteran and fixture in the middle of the Bears’ line, was benched in favor of rookie Stephen Paea and veteran Matt Toeaina.

“After I watched the film from last year, now it’s kind of not the same,” Adams said of his own play. “I don’t have any excuses about my play, but I’ve got to get better. He’s (Smith) got a lot of tough decisions he’s got to make every week and he made one last week but I’ll bounce back.”

Adams could return, anyway, due to injury. Toeaina, who starts at nose tackle, missed Thursday’s practice due to knee soreness.

Regardless of who plays, the Bears expect to field a defense that should play better than the last game against Detroit. The Lions had a 73-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson, an 88-yard TD run by Jahvid Best and a 43-yard run by Best.

In the last two games, the Bears have forced six turnovers. They’ve improved from 28th against the run to 11th in a period of five weeks.

“That whole first quarter (of the season) was a wakeup call,” Briggs said. “A lot of tough teams, a lot of tough losses, a lot of things that happened that we didn’t like. The last three it’s been, that we’re making progress.”

Copyright 2011 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Chicago Bears coach Lovie Smith has said he does not try to motivate players by threatening or making lineup changes.

His defense, however, is performing better after some tinkering and rare public statements from the quiet Smith.

To date, Smith has benched safety Chris Harris before cutting him, benched safety Brandon Meriweather before promoting rookie Chris Conte and second-year player Major Wright, and publicly challenged starting defensive tackle Henry Melton to play better. He also made veteran defensive tackle Anthony Adams inactive for Monday’s win at Philadelphia.

“He has high expectations for Henry Melton, he has high expectations for all of us,” linebacker Lance Briggs said.

Whatever Smith’s intent, the defense has gotten stouter during a four-game winning streak headed into Sunday’s home game against Detroit.

“It’s happened the last couple of years,” linebacker Brian Urlacher said about Smith, often characterized as laid-back, making lineup changes or challenging players. “I think, if you don’t play well enough, you’re probably not going to play. That’s just the way it is.”

Smith has had to be more aggressive this season in making changes to a defense that gave up 16 plays of 25 yards or longer the first five weeks. In the last three games since an Oct. 10 loss at Detroit, the Bears have given up just three plays of 25 yards or more.

Smith said Thursday he wasn’t unhappy with Melton, but suspected the third-year player was capable of much more after starting the year with three sacks in three games. Melton hasn’t had a sack since the third game, but did make two tackles and disrupted several plays in the backfield against the Eagles.

“I’ve been praising him so much in the offseason and, of course, early on,” Smith said. “So there are big things that I — that we — expect from Henry. Henry played better this past week but still he’s a guy with a lot of talent and he’s capable of really having one of those great games where you’re talking about him as an elite star.”

Smith said Adams could find his way back to the playing field again, but it will depend on practice this week.

“He’s from Detroit, he always seems to play well against them,” Smith said. “We’ll see how it goes.”

Adams, a nine-year veteran and fixture in the middle of the Bears’ line, was benched in favor of rookie Stephen Paea and veteran Matt Toeaina.

“After I watched the film from last year, now it’s kind of not the same,” Adams said of his own play. “I don’t have any excuses about my play, but I’ve got to get better. He’s (Smith) got a lot of tough decisions he’s got to make every week and he made one last week but I’ll bounce back.”

Adams could return, anyway, due to injury. Toeaina, who starts at nose tackle, missed Thursday’s practice due to knee soreness.

Regardless of who plays, the Bears expect to field a defense that should play better than the last game against Detroit. The Lions had a 73-yard touchdown pass to Calvin Johnson, an 88-yard TD run by Jahvid Best and a 43-yard run by Best.

In the last two games, the Bears have forced six turnovers. They’ve improved from 28th against the run to 11th in a period of five weeks.

“That whole first quarter (of the season) was a wakeup call,” Briggs said. “A lot of tough teams, a lot of tough losses, a lot of things that happened that we didn’t like. The last three it’s been, that we’re making progress.”

Notes: Wide receiver Devin Hester (ankle sprain) and defensive end Julius Peppers (knee) missed a second straight practice with injuries.