Ogunleye not worried about increasing his sack total

In four of his previous six seasons, Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye had at least 9 sacks, but this doesn't look like one of those seasons.

Heading into today's game, Ogunleye has just 41/2 sacks, exactly half of last year's total. With three consecutive cold-weather games, there might not be a lot of opportunities to rush the passer.

Ogunleye, however, would gladly trade a lofty sack total for a trip to the playoffs, which is still possible, although the Bears trail the Vikings by a game and are at a disadvantage in tiebreakers, which makes it more like two games.

"It's a little cold here in Chicago. Teams are going to start running the ball a little more," said Ogunleye, who is questionable with a sprained shoulder but is expected to start against the Jaguars. "It's not going to be a pass-happy last couple of weeks. So, the key for me right now is winning."

For most of his career, Ogunleye's impressive sack seasons have not resulted in postseason play. When he had 91/2 and 15 sacks back-to-back in 2002 and '03 in Miami, the Dolphins didn't make the playoffs. In 2006, Ogunleye had just 61/2 sacks, but the Bears went to the Super Bowl.

"I'd rather have that than have high (sack) numbers like last year," he said. "I had 9, and we didn't go to the playoffs. I'm trying to get that balance where I have high sack numbers and we win. So, if getting more sacks these last few games is a good correlation to wins, I need to do that."

Ogunleye's 41/2 sacks are just one-half behind team leaders Tommie Harris and Alex Brown in what has been a disappointing pass-rushing season for the Bears. But the eight-year veteran also has 10 quarterback hurries, tied for the team lead with Brown.

Ogunleye and his linemates have an opportunity today to control the line of scrimmage against a Jacksonville offensive line that has played all season without its top two guards and has struggled mightily. The Bears need to start today stacking wins, which they haven't been able to do since the Super Bowl season. Ogunleye isn't sure exactly why the Bears haven't won more than two games in succession in nearly two years, but he knows what he can do to change things.

"The key for me is, in these types of games, I need to step up and play better than I've been playing all season," he said. "That's what I try to focus on.

"We can't worry about what's going on in Minnesota. If we don't win these games, we don't even have a chance."