Bears' defen$e on the spot

Why is so much being expected from a Bears defense that was an embarrassment through the just-completed preseason?

It's all about the Benjamins. The front office has committed nearly $300 million to just eight starters on a unit that was No. 28 last season in total yards allowed.

That $300 million isn't a typo. Do the math.

Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher got a one-year extension July 22 that included $18 million in new money tacked on to the nine-year $56.65 million deal he signed before the 2003 season.

Defensive tackle Tommie Harris got a four-year $40 million extension a month earlier with $18 million guaranteed.

On March 1, linebacker Lance Briggs got a six-year, $36 million deal just two weeks after defensive end Alex Brown signed a two-year extension for $15.5 million in new money.

Last off-season the Bears locked up starting cornerbacks Charles Tillman (seven years, $41.5 million, $18 million guaranteed) and Nate Vasher (five years, $28 million, $9.5 million guaranteed) with lucrative extensions.

A year earlier strong-side linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer got a five-year extension for $13 million. Defensive end Adewale Ogunleye has two years left on the six-year $33.4 million he received after the Bears obtained him in a trade with the Miami Dolphins just before the start of the 2004 season.

That adds up to almost 300 million reasons why the defense should be expected to carry the 2008 Bears, not just in Sunday night's nationally televised opener at Indianapolis but for the entire season and for several years beyond.

The Bears have wedded themselves to a group that underachieved last season and in the preseason. Tillman and Briggs are signed through 2013. Urlacher, Harris and Vasher are under contract through 2012. Hillenmeyer and Brown have deals that run through 2011.

Coach Lovie Smith was clearly disappointed with a first-team defense that permitted scoring drives on seven of the last nine possessions of the preseason.

"Believe me, if we could put our finger on it we would have done something about it before now," Smith said after the starters allowed a touchdown and a field goal on the only two possessions it played Thursday night at Cleveland. "We've got a little bit more time to get it right."

The Colts, even with a rusty Peyton Manning at quarterback, are more of a challenge than anything the Bears faced in the preseason, when they mostly faced basic offenses that weren't game planning.

But the Bears also were playing vanilla defense, although that doesn't explain the missed tackles and inability to get off blocks.

"I'm not concerned, but I know something needs to happen," Tillman said. "We (were) running our basic calls. That will change when we play Indianapolis."

But will it be enough to slow down an offense that was the NFL's highest scoring last season, No. 2 in passing yards and No. 3 in total yards?

"Now it's for real, and we're going to find out," defensive coordinator Bob Babich said. "We believe we are a dominant defense, and we're going to find out Sunday."

The defensive line impressed no one in the preseason, but Pro Bowl tackle Harris sat out two games to keep his legs fresh and nose tackle Dusty Dvoracek played in only one game for about 10 snaps to prevent any setbacks with his calf injury.

Both are expected to be on the field Sunday for the first regular-season game at Lucas Oil Field.

"We're going up against the Indianapolis Colts, Peyton Manning and that great offense," Ogunleye said. "We really have to turn the intensity up."

If it turns out that this group, most of whom are locked up for several years, can't play up to their salaries, the Bears are going to regret it soon - and for a long time.

• The Bears on Sunday signed five players to their practice squad, all of whom were cut a day earlier.

They include two of this year's five seventh-round draft picks, defensive end Ervin Baldwin from Michigan State and linebacker Joey LaRocque from Oregon State, plus guard Tyler Reed, a sixth-round pick in 2006 from Penn State who also was on the practice squad the previous two seasons.

Offensive tackle Cody Balogh, an undrafted rookie from Montana, and tight end Fontel Mines of Virginia, a practice-squad member in 2007, also were signed.

The Bears can sign three more players to the practice squad. There were reports Sunday night that wide receiver Brandon Rideau, who led the Bears with 127 preseason receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, also would be signed to the practice squad, but the team could not confirm that.