Brown doesn't think it's right he's looking left

BOURBONNAIS -- In a training camp short on controversy and complaining, defensive end Alex Brown is a lonely voice.

Brown was told in the spring that he was the third-best defensive end on the team, which he's having trouble accepting.

Being No. 3 behind starters Mark Anderson and Adewale Ogunleye isn't really that much of a slap in the face, because in the Bears' rotation all three will play a great deal.

But Brown has started 64 games in a row on the right side, and he doesn't believe he deserved a demotion.

While coaches insist that there is open competition at every position, Brown believes that Anderson is entrenched on the right side in the minds of Bears coaches.

As a fifth-round rookie last season, Anderson accumulated a startling 12 sacks playing only about half the snaps.

Brown, who had a career-best 7 sacks last year and 6 in each of the previous two seasons, contends that his only way to crack the starting lineup is by beating out Ogunleye on the left side.

Ogunleye, a seven-year veteran, had 6ˆ¨ sacks in 2006 and 10 in 2005. In 2003 as a Miami Dolphin, he led the AFC with 15 sacks.

"What's up in the air is the left side, I guess," Brown said. "Not a lot of things are written in stone. But I believe a lot of people have written in stone the right end position."

Brown is much less familiar with the left side than the right, which makes his struggle to get back into the starting lineup more difficult.

"For me to say I could come over in a week and master it, that's crazy," he said. "It's still a learning process. I'll get it soon enough, hopefully."

Brown doesn't deny Anderson's talent.

"Mark is an unbelievable athlete," Brown said. "Mark is going to be good. I think he is good. He's extremely fast off the ball. He's a strong kid. He just needs time. It's going to take some time for him to learn certain stuff that nobody can tell you -- you just have to go through it.

"Being in a game for 12 plays in a row, nobody can tell you about that. You've just got to go through it, and you've got to understand that, 'We've got to get off the field, (even though) it's the 10th play, (and) I'm tired.'

"He'll be fine, though. He's a heck of a football player, and he's going to be one of the top people in this league pretty soon, if he's not already."

Even though when Brown talks to the media it sounds a lot like complaining, Bears coach Lovie Smith insists the six-year veteran is not a malcontent. And outwardly, Brown still appears happy, smiling frequently, even when he's bemoaning his fate.

"You see that smile on Alex's face today?" Smith said. "To say that he's emotionally scarred, I wouldn't say that. He's competing for a job, but Alex will be fine. He's a big part of what we're going to do around here."

During spring practices, it didn't seem as though Brown felt that way. He made noise about renegotiating the five-year, $15 million contract extension he signed late in 2004 that runs through the 2009 season.

When the Bears didn't bite, Brown hinted that a trade might be the best thing for him. That was about the same time coaches told him he no longer was a starter.

But losing Brown's veteran presence and ability to play the run wouldn't be the best option for a defense and a team counting on returning to the Super Bowl.

So, unless another team makes the Bears an offer they can't resist, Brown better get comfortable with the status quo.

"We say we've got three starting defensive ends," Smith said. "The two who play the best will start. But all three will play.

"(Alex) would like to be lining up on the first team, and that's not the case right now, but he's a part of what we're doing. I would have a problem if Alex was causing trouble.

"It's not like he's being a disgruntled employee. Alex is doing everything we're asking him to do. I see the same smile every time I come to him."

At least for now.