'Moose' proving critics wrong

Wide receiver Muhsin Muhammad says rumors of his demise have been greatly exaggerated.

True, he caught just 4 passes for 36 yards in the first three weeks of the season, but he took exception Friday afternoon to the insinuation that his career was "pretty much over."

"Wow," Muhammad said. "Well, I guess the people who thought that they were right (about that) aren't right."

Muhammad is coming off his best game of the season, a 5-catch, 79-yard effort that included his third TD catch in the past four weeks and a 44-yard reception, his longest in three years with the Bears.

His contributions have helped diversify and accelerate an offense that struggled earlier in the season.

"You need big plays," said coach Lovie Smith, "and normally Moose is somewhere around the big plays."

According to Muhammad, he didn't have as many opportunities the first three weeks when Rex Grossman was at quarterback.

"Early on this year, only getting the ball thrown at me two or three times during the game, (you) catch one ball, one's thrown over your head, how many plays can you make with that?" Muhammad said.

"I just have to stay patient. I've said over and over again that it usually goes around and comes back around again."

It's a start: The Bears allowed fewer points against Philadelphia (16) than in any of their previous four games, and their yield of 334 total yards was a major improvement over the 444 and 434 they had permitted the previous two weeks. But the defense still ranks No. 25 in yards allowed after finishing No. 5 last year.

"We played better, our tackling was a little bit better, but I don't think anybody's satisfied," strong-side linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer said. "You look at their numbers, and I know that we won the game, and that's the most important thing.

"But it seems like it was on a rare occasion last year when people would get over 300 yards on us and, if we're going to be satisfied when a team gets 315, 350, whatever it is, then I think we're setting the bar too low.

"I'm not ready to be satisfied yet, and I don't think you'll find a lot of guys who are because we're far from playing our best football."

The Bears held each of their first 10 regular-season opponents to fewer than 300 total yards last year but allowed more than 325 in each of the last six games.

Revenge factor: The embarrassment of allowing the Detroit Lions to score 34 fourth-quarter points four weeks ago has been an effective motivator for the defense this week, even though it was responsible for "only" 3 of the 5 touchdowns.

"After having a fourth quarter like we had against them last time, the group is really kind of locked in," coach Lovie Smith said.

"Brian Urlacher has been as focused as I've seen him in a long time, just showing great leadership. He played one of his best games so far (last) week. We know our defensive line was able to get some pressure last time (6 sacks), but we'll need that same type of pressure on them this week."

Getting healthier: Backup safety Brandon McGowan was the only player who didn't practice Friday, and he is doubtful for Sunday.

Cornerback Nate Vasher (groin, questionable), defensive tackle Darwin Walker (knee, questionable) and defensive end Alex Brown (back, probable) all were limited in practice. Brown and Walker are expected to play but not Vasher.