Bears' pass rushers understand they will dictate outcome against Steelers

The toughest question the Bears face Sunday against the Pittsburgh Steelers and maybe for the remainder of the season is this: How do you compensate for the loss of six-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker Brian Urlacher?

More pressure and more production from the defensive line is the obvious answer, at least to the Bears' defensive linemen.

"When you lose a guy like Brian, it's kind of unbelievable because you use him as a crutch," said right defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, who had 2 sacks last week. "He's the kind of guy that you know is always going to be there for you, and be there for the team. He has a calming effect.

"When things go wrong, he's the guy that brings everybody together."

But Urlacher won't be there anymore to make the big play or restore order when there is chaos. Ogunleye has the solution.

"The D-line just has to make sure that things don't go haywire," the nine-year veteran said. "We've got to play our game, make life easy for (Urlacher's replacement) Hunter (Hillenmeyer), and the rest of the linebackers and the DBs. This week it's definitely going to be on the D-line."

With eight-year veteran Alex Brown at the other end, seven-year man Anthony Adams at nose tackle and six-year veteran and three-time Pro Bowler Tommie Harris at the three-technique tackle, the Bears have a unit capable of stepping up to the challenge.

It won't be easy against the Steelers' 6-foot-5, 241-pound quarterback Ben Roethlisberger, who already has won two Super Bowls at 27.

"There's more pressure on the line," Bears coach Lovie Smith said. "We lost a Hall of Fame-type player in Brian Urlacher, but there's pressure on our defensive line just by the opponent we're playing.

"We can't allow the quarterback to pump the ball, to hold the ball. We have to make him get it out when he's supposed to. It's hard guarding guys forever. That in itself is a big enough challenge for us."

Backup defensive end Mark Anderson amped up the pass rush last week by moving inside to tackle in passing situations, and he knows the best chance for the defense to overcome Urlacher's loss is by getting more production from the line.

"If you ask me, that's what we need this week and for the rest of the season," said Anderson, who has shown flashes of his rookie season, when he had 12 sacks in 2006.

"We have to apply the pressure. We have to be the ones to take control of the game and help out the secondary and free the linebackers up so they can go make plays. From here on out it's going to be really important that we get pressure on the quarterback and stop the run, too."

Roethlisberger does a better job than almost any quarterback when it comes to buying time in the pocket and giving receivers extra time to work their way free. Many of his biggest plays come when he's allowed to pump fake or hold the ball until just before the rush arrives.

If he can keep the Bears' pass rush at bay for an extra second or two it creates a dangerous situation in the secondary.

"If he pumps a couple times, you can't put that on the secondary to cover for six to seven seconds," Brown said. "That's when the guys come open and he hits them."

The Bears' secondary will be healthier than it was at Green Bay, with free safety Danieal Manning and cornerback Zack Bowman expected to start after playing complementary roles against the Packers.

But the quicker the rush gets to Roethlisberger, the less time the defensive backs have to guard Steelers wide receivers Hines Ward and Santonio Holmes and tight end Heath Miller. Those three combined for 25 catches and 298 yards last week.

"We definitely have to get pressure," Smith said. "In order for a quarterback to hold the ball and go to his second and third receivers, you don't have pressure. (Roethlisberger) does like to make plays right up until (the last second). He does it as well as anybody. It will be a big challenge for our guys."