Smith not happy with Bears’ pressure up front

Since sacking Matt Ryan five times in the season opener, the Bears have just 3 sacks in their last three games.

Coach Lovie Smith sees a need for better starts and better finishes.

“We talk about starting fast and finishing strong, so it’s both,” he said. “It is about the first step, (the) get-off. We read on the run. We’re not a reading defense (where we) sit and wait for the offense. It’s, ‘Get up the field and react from there.’ We’ve done an OK job with that. But both areas, get-off and then finish, we need to do a better job.”

The Lions have done an excellent job of protecting quarterback Matthew Stafford, ranking fifth in fewest sacks allowed, and Stafford helps by getting rid of the ball in a hurry. Smith hopes the Bears can use their quickness up front to rush Stafford.

“Most defensive linemen are always excited about playing on turf,” he said. “They feel like you can get off a little bit quicker. Hopefully that will be the case Monday night.”

Good track record:

If Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford appears a bit jittery Monday night, it’s understandable.

The Bears have knocked him out of games in back-to-back seasons. Last year it was Julius Peppers, and a year earlier Adewale Ogunleye sent Stafford to the sideline.

“In order for us to have success it does start up front, especially this week,” coach Lovie Smith said. “We know about their skill guys, but we need to make (Stafford) get rid of the ball a little bit quicker. If you can hold on to the ball, you have a lot of options. We can’t turn it into a 7-on-7 type game. So we need to make the quarterback get rid of the ball.”

Turning it around:

It was just three seasons ago that the Lions went 0-16 in 2008 under head coach Rod Marinelli, who is now the Bears’ defensive coordinator.

The next season, the Lions were 2-14, and last season they started 2-10. Since then, they’ve won eight straight.

The fans have returned and the Lions are on Monday Night Football for the first time in 10 years.

“It should be incredible,” Marinelli said. “It’s a heck of a football team. They’ve done a great job from top to bottom putting together really an outstanding football team; they’re playing extremely hard. Great energy, a great staff. Going into that environment, it’s going to be something fun, it’s going to be special.”

Enough already:Maybe the Bears are getting tired of talking about the Lions#146; Ndamukong Suh, who led all defensive tackles with 10 sacks last season and was the defensive rookie of the year.#147;I think he is a great player,#148; Bears offensive line coach Mike Tice said. #147;I hope we can block him at least once.#148;Politically correct:Defensive end Julius Peppers vs. Lions offensive left tackle Jeff Backus looks like a mismatch for the Bears, but Peppers isn#146;t providing any bulletin board material. #147;I don#146;t know,#148; he said. #147;I haven#146;t ... I don#146;t know how to answer that. It really doesn#146;t matter. Whoever is rushing we have to rush well.#148;ŸFollow Bob#146;s Bears reports via Twitter @Bob LeGere and check out our Bear Essentials blog at dailyherald.com.