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.

Second-quarter observations with the Chicago Bears leading the San Diego Chargers 17-10 at halftime:

*How is it that the Bears have yet to sack Philip Rivers against a makeshift offensive line? The Bears’ pass rush has been very underwhelming.

*Julius Peppers was about a half a second away from a sack for a safety, however.

*Close but no cigar has been the story of the Bears’ pass rush for the past month.

*Just having Peppers lined up across from an offensive lineman can cause him to jump before the snap, as Chargers right tackle Jerome Clary did.

*Don’t blame the Chargers for forgetting about Kellen Davis in the end zone. His touchdown catch was his second reception in the last four games.

*The Bears offensive line depth is a major issue with two players on injured reserve. Lovie Smith could not have been comforted to see Chris Spencer limp off the field. He returned quickly, however.

*Devin Hester might have broken that 39-yard punt return if he had been a little more ill or injured.

*Jay Cutler is very, very effective on rollouts. This isn’t anything I haven’t said many times before, but the Bears need to call more of them.

*The Cutler-Earl Bennett connection is working at a high level. Look for the Bears to keep dialing up that number.

*Nice throw-away from Cutler when he was under pressure from Corey Liuget and Travis LaBoy deep in San Diego territory.

*Tommie Harris is playing like he’s trying to prove something — probably that the Bears shouldn’t have let him go.

*You’ve got to appreciate Tyler Clutts, stepping in to long snap for injured Patrick Mannelly.

*Charles Tillman covered Calvin Johnson better than he’s covering Vincent Jackson. Tillman has been big in run support, though.

*The Chargers are controlling the clock very effectively. If that trend continues, this game is going to go down to the wire.

*The Bears obviously believe the Chargers have some vulnerabilities to the deep pass. Look for a few more long ones in the second half.

dpompei@tribune.com

Twitter@danpompei

Read More: Julius Peppers (DE – CHI), Lance Briggs (LB – CHI), Devin Hester (WR – CHI), Matt Toeaina (DT – CHI), Matt Forte (RB – CHI), D.J. Moore (CB – CHI), Gabe Carimi (OT – CHI), Anthony Walters (S – CHI), San Diego Chargers, Chicago Bears

The Chicago Bears injury report is out for their Week 11 matchup against the San Diego Chargers (4-5). The Bears (6-3) should have the services of All-Pro kick returner Devin Hester, who returned his12th punt for a touchdown last Sunday against the Detroit Lions.

Hester has been struggling with an ankle injury since the team’s game against the Philadelphia Eagles in Week 10 and has been limited in practice throughout the week, but is listed as probable for Sunday.

The Bears star running back, Matt Forte, was also listed as probable after being limited in only Wednesday’s practice, and he should be able to play.

The defense should have defensive tackle Matt Toeaina back in the line rotation as Toeaina has practiced all week and was removed from the injury report this Friday. The Samoan starting lineman has been struggling with a knee injury this season, limiting him to six games this year.

Julius Peppers and Lance Briggs both made appearances on the injury report again this week, but since both have not missed any games despite their injuries in past weeks, it seems likely they will play again this week too.

Here is the full Bears Week 11 injury report, via their official website:

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.

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.

Read More: Julius Peppers (DE – CHI), Devin Hester (WR – CHI), Matt Toeaina (DT – CHI), Kellen Davis (TE – CHI), Major Wright (S – CHI), Gabe Carimi (OT – CHI), Kyle Adams (TE – CHI), Chicago Bears, Detroit Lions

The Chicago Bears are gearing up for their game against the Detroit Lions this weekend, but their player with the most gears — kick-returning wide receiver Devin Hester — was once again on Thursday’s practice report. Hester could be key against the Lions considering both their kicker and punter are dealing with injury issues.

The Bears didn’t practice on Wednesday, but Hester was given the designation of Did Not Practice on Wednesday’s mandatory injury report regardless. On Thursday, though, he actually didn’t practice — and it caught the Chicago Tribune a bit off guard.

Devin Hester said he expected to be OK when he pulled a slipper on his left foot Monday night in the locker room in Philadelphia, but the Chicago Bears wide receiver didn’t practice Thursday at Halas Hall.

Hester suffered a sprained left ankle in the fourth quarter of the victory over the Eagles. He had an Ace bandage wrap on it after the game, not a walking boot that is often used for more serious injuries.

Defensive end Julius Pepppers and offensive tackle Gabe Carimi also missed practice for the second straight day while defensive tackle Matt Toeaina didn’t practice after he was given the designation as a full participant in Wednesday’s (non)practice.

The full injury report from Thursday is included below.

LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP)—Jay Cutler(notes) could get used to this.

The Chicago Bears’ often-sacked quarterback dropped back to pass 32 times
without being sacked in Monday night’s win at Philadelphia. It was the first
time Cutler had gone without being sacked in 30 games, and just the second time
since he became a Bear in 2009.

Cutler and the team think this kind of pass protection is just what’s needed
to upgrade the offense.

“It’s nice,” Cutler said. “I was thinking about halfway through the game,
I was like, `Let’s not jinx this yet,’ I didn’t want to say anything but it was
looking pretty good.”

Cutler said his offensive line is getting better and are playing more
relaxed. He also credited offensive coordinator Mike Martz with calling plays
“and helping them out,” praise that hasn’t always been there between
quarterback and coach.

The Bears have won three straight games and their offense is now to 10th in
scoring (25 points a game) heading into Sunday’s rematch against the Detroit
Lions at Soldier Field. The biggest difference has been the performance of that
line, giving Cutler a whole new perspective on life in Chicago.

“It’s so much more fun, just going out there and playing with those guys
and being able to execute the offense and have some fun and be creative,” he
said. “That’s what it’s all about.”

The line came together out of necessity late in the second half of the
Bears’ loss to Detroit earlier this season. They benched right tackle Frank
Omiyale(notes), who had been starting for injured starter Gabe Carimi(notes). Then right guard
Lance Louis(notes) went to right tackle and backup center Chris Spencer(notes) moved in at
right guard.

In the three games since, the line has given up just three sacks and Cutler
has dropped back to throw 98 times.

The other big move came before the season when the team decided to put
veteran guard Roberto Garza(notes) at center to replace Olin Kreutz(notes). No one knew how
effective Garza would be, but he’s done well enough that the team gave him a
two-year contract extension this week.

“You just have to go with what you feel and what you know,” coach Lovie
Smith said. “And what we knew about Roberto is that he’s a steady player, he’s
been around here, he’s smart, he had played a little bit of the position before.
So you just went with those things.

“Everything that we knew about the situation and about Roberto said that he
would be able to handle it and he was our best option, and that’s what we look
for each week, you look at the team and see what is your best option.”

Martz’s switch to shorter, five-step pass drops and an emphasis on running
back Matt Forte(notes) in the running and passing game have helped open up the offense
even more. As a result, the Bears have risen to 17th in total yards—they
haven’t finished higher than that since they were 15th when they reached the
Super Bowl after the 2006 season.

Getting third-down receiving threat Earl Bennett(notes) back has helped Cutler,
too. His 95 receiving yards Monday included a touchdown pass. He hadn’t played
since Week 2 due to a chest injury.

“It comes down to chemistry and just working together at practice,”
Bennett said.

Bennett and Cutler had played together at Vanderbilt one season, and Bennett
quickly developed as Cutler’s favorite target in a pinch after the two were
reunited in 2009. It’s a rapport Cutler admits isn’t there yet with other
receivers.

“It takes time,” he said. “I’ve been with Earl for a long time, thrown a
lot of balls to him. I’m getting there with a lot of those guys: Johnny (Knox)
and Devin (Hester) and even Roy (Williams) and those guys. We’re getting there.
It doesn’t happen overnight.”

Bennett called the better blocking and better understanding of the offense’s
capabilities the biggest factors in the Bears scoring 93 points during their
streak, their biggest three-game output since 2008.

“We’ve grown to know what type of offense we are,” he said.

Notes: The Bears did not practice Wednesday. WR Devin Hester(notes) (ankle) was
nonetheless listed as being unable to practice,, as was DE Julius Peppers(notes)
(knee). … the Bears placed TE Kyle Adams(notes) (hamstring) on injured reserve,
elevated TE Andre Smith to the 53-man roster from the practice squad and agreed
to terms with TE Draylon Ross on a practice squad contract.

CHICAGO — Finally, the Chicago Bears came away with some takeaways.

All they had to do was hop across the Atlantic to get them.

They picked off Josh Freeman four times, with D.J. Moore’s late interception preserving a 24-18 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in London on Sunday.

The Bears head into their bye week at 4-3 for the second straight season.

One difference: They have some momentum this time.

They’ve won two straight and gained two games on second-place Detroit in the NFC North.

That’s a big change from last season, when they stumbled into their bye with three losses in four games before going on a season-saving run that ultimately led to the conference championship game.

“Things are on the way up,” coach Lovie Smith said. “Feel real good about it. We’re a good football team.”

They’re a team that’s also counting on a star-studded defense with Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and Julius Peppers leading the way to make life miserable for opponents.

Instead, they’ve had issues in the secondary and been burned at times by big plays while forcing fewer turnovers than they would like.

Since Smith took over in 2004, no team has more takeaways than Chicago (247), but the Bears simply weren’t getting many until Sunday.

That’s something they had been harping on, and the four interceptions against the Buccaneers matched their total through the first six games.
Even if it’s taking advantage of mistakes, the Bears will take it.

Moore’s interception was just a fitting finisher.

With Peppers closing in on him, Freeman attempted to pass to Preston Parker over the middle. Instead, the ball went right to Moore underneath at the Chicago 25, sealing the win for the Bears.

“He’s a good quarterback but sometimes when you’re really good you force throws in you think you can make,” Moore said. “Sometimes it works and sometimes it (doesn’t). He tried to get greedy.”

Urlacher intercepted Freeman at the Chicago 9 in the fourth quarter, and Briggs’ interception in the third came on a deep ball intended for Kellen Winslow down the middle. Rookie Chris Conte ripped the ball from Mike Williams by the goal line in the first quarter for his first interception.

The Bears thrived on takeaways under Smith and they finally got a few, whether they forced them or took advantage of mistakes.

“You can pretty much look at that turnover ratio each week and that will tell you who won the game,” Smith said. “But for us, defensively, we haven’t been getting enough takeaways. Our offense has secured the ball fairly well. Those interceptions have hurt us, but defensively we’re good at taking the ball away.”

They just hadn’t shown it this season.

Urlacher and Moore each have three interceptions. But mostly for the defense, balls have tipped off the fingers of the defense or been knocked out of their hands when they had a chance.

Clearly, it was grating on them, so they should feel a little better after Sunday’s game. Now, three tough tests are lurking for the defense after the bye.

The Bears visit Michael Vick and the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 7 and then get Matthew Stafford and Philip Rivers when Detroit and San Diego visit. If they keep the turnovers coming, they just might come away with a few more wins.

“We can’t relax,” Urlacher said. “We know that. We have to keep the peddle down. We have to get some takeaways and stop them, play a little better than that.”

A few general observations from the Chicago Bears’ 39-10 win over the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday night…

Chicago Bears

After last week’s disaster in Detroit, the Bears seriously altered their protection concepts for this game. On their first drive, in which they went 68 yards in three plays, the Bears set up in 2-TE sets on the first two plays, and TE/FB in the third. On each play, the extra blockers either stayed on line to protect, or chipped and ran short routes. This was very atypical for offensive coordinator Mike Martz, who’s been famous for years for leaving his quarterbacks out to try with multi-receiver sets and limited protection concepts. Because Jay Cutler(notes) had more time, he could go with longer drops and progress through his reads.

The 48-yard touchdown to Devin Hester(notes) on that first drive was a great example — out of I-formation, Cutler had time to run a five-step drop, look to his left, look off the coverage, take two more steps back, and zing the ball to Hester for the score. He threw a perfect ball to Hester over double deep coverage, which is the Jay Cutler you get if you allow him enough time to throw the damned ball. The Bears also set up their tight ends very well to block inline for Matt Forte(notes); they ran lead and sweep blocks very well. In fact, the first time I saw the Bears try to run something with Forte that didn’t involve at least one extra blocker came with nine minutes left in the first quarter. Forte tried to go to his right, cut back, and got a few yards more than he might have … because Cutler executed a perfect cut block on Jared Allen(notes).

Anyone else want to question his toughness? I didn’t think so.

On their second drive, the Bears went with fewer blockers, and Cutler had to respond with shorter screens and a misfire out of shotgun. Through the game, it became readily apparent that with even one extra blocker, Chicago’s offense is a very different story than it is when Martz’s protection concepts hang everybody up. The right kind of balance could propel the Bears to a playoff berth down the road, but they’d better hurry up — the Packers look unbeatable, and the Lions aren’t going away just because they lost one close game.

Later in the game, Martz called plays that had tight ends inline, but had them release more immediately. Ostensibly, this would still drive pass rush away by occupying an extra defender, but the Bears’ offensive line isn’t stout enough to handle a line like Minnesota’s (or anyone else’s) without consistent help at this point.

Two more offensive notes: Much-maligned left guard Chris Williams did a nice job with pull and log blocks, and Matt Forte got to show off the fact that his patience makes him an excellent draw and delay runner when he’s given the chance. This was a watershed game for the Bears’ protection; I just hope they see it as such.

Minnesota Vikings

Adrian Peterson ran for just 39 yards on 12 carries for two reasons — first, his own offensive line didn’t play very well. Second, the Bears’ linebackers did an outstanding job of filling gaps and creating run fits. They did a lot of what looked like run-blitzing, where the idea is to get extra defenders to the ballcarrier behind the line of scrimmage. It worked as a strategy, nbecause the Vikings’ receivers are clearly not on the same page with Donovan McNabb(notes) for whatever reason. Early in the game, both Visanthe Shiancoe(notes) and Bernard Berrian(notes) dropped easy catches in zone pockets.

The Vikings’ passing offense seems to have no sense of itself, or at least that’s the impression I got from this game. They’re setting McNabb up for the traditional short-drop West Coast offense routes, but they don’t have strong yards after catch receivers — the receivers they do have don’t get separation on a consistent basis and don’t seem to be able to break contact for extra yardage (this year, rookie tight end Kyle Rudolph(notes) appears to be the exception to that rule). Running Joe Webb(notes) in for an occasional hoped-for splash play, or seeing if Percy Harvin(notes) can gain a few yards on the ground out of a full house backfield when Adrian Peterson can’t get any traction … well, those are questionable strategies. The Vikings went three-and-out six times, and two-and-out once, when McNabb was tackled for a safety.

The Vikings no longer have the offensive line to account for longer plays like draws, delays, sweeps (a favorite play with Harvin) and more complex route concepts downfield. McNabb was under siege on longer-developing plays, and he frequently had to check down as an adjustment. And asking him to roll out as he did five years ago … well, Julius Peppers(notes) showed us how effective that is these days when he caught up to McNabb on a rollout right with five minutes left in the third quarter and easily too him down. On the next play, McNabb was sacked by two Bears, and that was his day. Chicago put on a tackling clinic, but they had a lot of help.

In limited activity, backup quarterback Christian Ponder(notes) showed good pocket mobility and a sense for pressure. He moves more quickly than McNabb in and around the pocket (sometimes to the point of freneticism), and he is able to drop passes into tight windows downfield with some reasonable consistency. You have to wonder if it’s time to make the switch, and see how much Ponder can develop this season. The Vikings are looking way up at three teams in their division, and that’s the way it’s going to stay. Yes, Ponder misfired more than he should have, but he’s going to do that whenever he finally gets under center on a regular basis. Might as well get the growing pains out of the way now.

Related: Devin Hester, , Percy Harvin, Matt Forte, Jay Cutler, Jared Allen, Bernard Berrian, Visanthe Shiancoe, Julius Peppers, Donovan McNabb, Christian Ponder, Chicago Bears, Minnesota Vikings, What The Tape Saw

Those numbers are drawing some double-takes both around the NFL and in Chicago, where the Bears assumed their defense would pick up where it left off after last season’s NFC North title. Even general manager Jerry Angelo admitted he was “depressed” last Sunday after the Carolina Panthers ran up 543 yards in a 34-29 Bears victory.

Obviously the Bears won’t win many games when an opponent piles up that many yards. Sunday probably would have been a loss were it not for a pair of Devin Hester kick returns and cornerback D.J. Moore’s interception return for a score.

But I don’t find myself in a panic quite yet about the Bears defense. Angelo told the team’s website that he isn’t “as depressed” upon further review, and I agree that there are several important contextual aspects to at least consider.

First, as discussed in the video below, the Bears offense has put the defense in a pretty tough spot. The Bears have run the second-fewest number of plays (228) in the NFL and have the fourth-lowest average time of possession per game (26 minutes, 32 seconds).

Those figures alone don’t necessarily explain away the Bears’ defensive performance, but they do illustrate the disproportionate bind its been put in.

Second, it’s only fair to point out that the Bears have faced three of the top five offenses in the league this season, based on total yards. The Panthers, New Orleans Saints and Green Bay Packers have been gashing everyone this season. Again, that doesn’t excuse the Bears but it does put their performance in a different light.

Angelo said he feels “strongly that we’re going to rebound” and added: “That’s a lot of yards, and we’re not used to seeing that around here. We have a high standard and we expect to play to that standard each and every week, regardless of the opponent.”

Monday night at Ford Field would be a nice place to start. I don’t like the Bears’ chances of keeping pace in a shootout with the Lions offense, and I bet you don’t either. I’m pretty sure the Bears will lose if the Lions reach their season average of 33 points.

The Bears will need to capitalize on the Lions’ vulnerability to the outside pass rush. And they’ll also need to remember what it took to turn Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford into a checkdown machine in the teams’ 2010 matchup at Soldier Field. In just under a half of play, Stafford completed 11 of 15 passes for just 83 yards before defensive end Julius Peppers knocked him out of the game with a blind-side sack.

The Bears have a blueprint and most of the same players from that game. If they can’t rise above the context Monday, they’ll find themselves in a three-game hole in the NFC North.

Chicago’s thirty-somethings answered the critics in a big way Sunday by forcing three Atlanta turnovers during a surprisingly easy 30-12 victory.

“Defensively, it’s about taking the ball away,” coach Lovie Smith said Monday. “We start at talking about that.”

Forcing turnovers has long been the goal of the Bears defense and they’ve caused more than any NFL team (235) since Smith became coach in 2004.

Having six players 30 or older in the starting lineup against the Falcons only seemed to help and team speed didn’t seem to be lacking, either. The defense became the first since Pittsburgh in the 2010 season opener to hold Atlanta without a touchdown.

“Sometimes it just comes down to that, that speed part,” Smith said.

The oldest Bears defender, 33-year-old linebacker Brian Urlacher, stretched out for an interception and returned a fumble 11 yards for a touchdown. Cornerback Charles Tillman, who is 30, stripped the ball from Atlanta running back Michael Turner in the first half, and 31-year-old Julius Peppers had two sacks and forced the fumble Urlacher returned.

Urlacher marveled at Tillman, who has never been to a Pro Bowl but has forced more fumbles (25) than any cornerback since he came into the league in 2003.

“It’s ingrained in all of our minds, but he’s just very good at it,” Urlacher said about Tillman. “We all think about it, we try and rip it out, we try and punch it and he just does this (taps it) and he gets it out. I don’t know how he does it but he gets it done. The guy is one of the all-time greats at doing that, at corner, any position I think.”

Smith suggested turnovers like those caused by Tillman are contagious.

“When you play us you know our guys are going to try to strip the ball — he does it,” Smith said. “Once you see one guy doing it, guys catch onto it.”

Urlacher made 10 tackles Sunday in addition to his big plays.

“That’s just Urlacher being Urlacher,” Peppers said.

The defense has been making big plays for years, but on Sunday a big difference was the offense scoring 23 of the 30 points by using its own big plays.

“We complement each other,” Tillman said. “The offense makes a play, the defense makes a big play, special teams makes a big play. We feed off that energy.”

If there had been a real question about the defense, it was at tackle after Tommie Harris was allowed to leave in free agency. Henry Melton put on 30 pounds and moved inside from end to the spot in Smith’s cover-2 scheme. Melton, a former running back at Texas who now weighs about 290 pounds, had two sacks Sunday.

“We’ve been talking a lot about Henry Melton, and what we thought he would bring to that group,” Smith said. “Julius Pepper, he’s a hard guy to deal with for any offense. That sets everything up, being able to get that pressure where we can play a little more.”

The Falcons tried a no-huddle offense early in the game to tire out the Bears’ pass rushers. Chicago rotated seven players on the line to compensate.

“When a team goes no-huddle, it really stresses the defensive line,” Smith said. “But they kept standing up and they were strong at the end of the game.”

The defense will get another test Sunday in New Orleans against a Saints team that scored 34 points in a loss to the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field last week.

“We can get better,” Urlacher said. “We make mistakes. That (improvement) will come with seeing plays and doing things that we need to be doing.”

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

The Bears had one Pro Bowler in six years before they drafted Brian Urlacher. That explains much of Chicago’s lack of success in the 1990s. And one of the most encouraging signs of the Bears’ 30-12 season-opening blowout of Atlanta was their stars played like stars.

Urlacher had 10 tackles, an incredible interception and a fumble return for a touchdown. Julius Peppers had two sacks. Charles Tillman forced a fumble. Jay Cutler passed for 300 yards. Matt Forte had 158 total yards. Devin Hester turned a short screen pass into a 53-yard gain.

The Bears might have the weakest offensive line of any other Super Bowl contender, but they also have as much star power as they’ve had in 20 years. That’s why they’ve got a chance to go a long way.

Cutler too mistake-prone

Jay Cutler gives Chicago’s offense more big-play capability than it’s had in 25 years. He also makes it easier to convert third downs. Cutler began Sunday’s 30-12 win over Atlanta by throwing 23 yards on third-and-6 and 23 yards again on third-and-10.

Now, if he’d only stop making big mistakes. Kroy Biermann’s 50-yard interception return for a touchdown with the Bears up 30-6 could be written off as a fluke because John Abraham tipped the pass at the line. But Cutler threw two passes earlier that could have/should have been picked off. He also fumbled once.

“We had way too many missed opportunities for turnovers,” Atlanta coach Mike Smith said.

If Cutler throws the ball up for grabs even in his best games, what will happen in his worst?
 

Romo comes up short in clutch

Tony Romo is Exhibit A why the Bears should worry about Cutler’s mistakes. I used to think Romo was underrated, but the Dallas QB has never lived up to his great stats. He threw for 342 yards with a 101.9 passer rating Sunday, but was 5 of 12 with two turnovers in the fourth quarter as the Jets rallied from 14 points down to win. Romo has the fourth-highest passer rating in NFL history (95.6) but one playoff win.

Rex improves for Redskins

Rex Grossman is better as a Redskin than he ever was as a Bear. His only 300-yard game in Chicago came in overtime, but he has topped 300 yards in three of four starts for the Redskins. But Rex still can’t convert third downs. Even with a 110 passer rating Sunday, on third-and-5 or more, Rex completed one of his first seven passes and was sacked twice for minus-30 yards and a fumble.

Newton lives up to draft status

Cam Newton was shockingly good, throwing for 422 yards. He’s a great athlete with a strong arm and quick feet, but just like Michael Vick in college, he wasn’t all that accurate of a passer.

Vick’s feet made him good in the NFL long before he became a good passer. Newton’s feet aren’t that good, but maybe his arm is.

Matt Trowbridge’s NFL Quick Shots appear Tuesdays. He can be reached at 815-987-1383 or mtrowbridge@rrstar.com.