Blame the players and their effort for Bears' mediocrity

The Bears could be 6-0, but instead they're 3-3.

It's not because of bad breaks, injuries or squib kicks gone awry.

They are a .500 team and deserve no better because they have earned their mediocrity through inconsistent effort, commitment and production.

Maybe the Bears would be undefeated if everyone, especially on defense, showed up every week and contributed 100 percent effort.

Maybe then the Bears wouldn't be 27th in passing yards allowed and sacks, despite the fact that they consider their well-compensated defensive line to be a team strength.

The loss Sunday was another example of an unacceptable performance against an inferior team.

And make no mistake about it, the Falcons are not a quality football team, regardless of their 4-2 record, which has been achieved at the expense of bottom-feeders like the Lions and Chiefs and underachievers like the Bears.

For the second time this season, the Bears failed to get a single sack.

"We're not going to get a sack every game, I guess," defensive end Alex Brown said. "We want to, but we're not going to, and that's room for improvement."

Brown leads the team with 3 sacks. Adewale Ogunleye, supposedly the team's best pass rusher, has 1, which puts him on pace just 4 this season.

And, while Brown has supplied pass-rush pressure, he has just 14 tackles this season, far behind last year's pace, when he had 58. In the four previous years, Brown finished with at least 71 tackles every season.

Defensive tackle Tommie Harris, who had 7 sacks in the first eight games last season, has none so far. In fact, he had more sacks at this point last year (4) than he has tackles this year (3).

Harris has already sat out one game with a mysterious knee injury, was suspended for another game because of chronic tardiness, and then returned last week to get his usual 1 tackle.

Harris, and his mental and physical maladies, real or imagined, may be the poster child for this year's erratic, unproductive performances.

The secondary has been without cornerback Nate Vasher for the last two weeks, even though he practiced all week leading up to the Falcons game.

Maybe if Vasher and his five-year, $28 million contract were on the field in the final 11 seconds Sunday, the Falcons wouldn't have completed a desperation, 26-yard pass to set up the winning field goal.

But maybe they would have anyway, since Vasher has just 1 interception and 1 pass breakup this season. By comparison, consider that Charles Tillman, the other corner, has 2 picks, 8 pass breakups and 2 forced fumbles, and he played with a painful shoulder injury last week.

Or maybe if Harris had gotten to rookie quarterback Matt Ryan just before he launched the miracle throw, instead of just after, the Bears would at least be 4-2 and all alone in first place in the pedestrian NFC North, rather than tied with the Vikings and Packers.

Sunday's showdown against the Vikings at Soldier Field could go a long way toward determining the division champion.

Hopefully that's enough for all the Bears to show up and give an honest effort for 60 minutes.

rlegere@dailyherald.com