Smith says his players remain committed to his defense

Coach Lovie Smith says the Bears' maligned defense will not change the way it does business, even though it's beginning to sound like some players are questioning the wisdom of a scheme that has contributed to a No. 30 ranking in passing yards allowed.

"No players are questioning our scheme, and we're not going to change up the scheme," Smith said. "They're a football player; that's what we're going to play. They know that.

"They all have confidence in the scheme. You're disappointed when you don't play well, but none of our players are questioning our scheme."

Smith said the players need to perform better. The combination of soft coverage and feeble pass rush has dropped the Bears' defense to 17th in total yards allowed per game and tied for 15th in points allowed, even though they're No. 4 in run defense, allowing just 74.9 yards per game.

"I've heard a lot about switching up schemes and different things like that," Smith said. "Our scheme is good. We have to execute better, it's as simple as that. We've had success with this defense, and we're not going to change up.

"But we tweak our defense each week, and it's not like we play the same call each play. We do it all, but you still have to execute."

The Bears remained near the bottom of the league in passing yards allowed after getting picked apart by Kerry Collins, Tennessee's 35-year-old journeyman quarterback. In the last four games, the Bears have 5 sacks; the Miami Dolphins' Joey Porter has 51/2.

Bears defensive linemen insist quarterbacks are getting rid of the ball so quickly they don't have time to get to them.

"They were getting rid of the ball fast," said defensive end Alex Brown, who leads the team with just 3 sacks, none in the last four games and only 1 in the last seven games. "But everybody does that. "They take three steps and throw the ball."

Defensive tackle Tommie Harris, who has just 2 sacks, is even more adamant than Brown about opposing quarterbacks getting rid of the ball after short, three-step drops, or immediately from the shotgun.

"How long was he in the pocket?" Harris said of Collins after Sunday's loss. "How long did he hold the ball? It has nothing to do with pressure. We're not Superman. If he drops back and he's patting the ball like that, then you talk to us about pressure."

Harris is about half right. Collins threw 14 passes from shotgun formation, but hardly any were launched immediately. He had 9 three-step drops, and 16 passes were thrown after a five- or seven-step drops.

Collins' TD pass to tight end Bo Scaife was his third option on that play, and he had at least a couple of other completions that went to his third read.

"They're not three-step dropping every time," Smith said. "They are throwing it quick sometimes, but this (was) a typical game. You have some three-step drops, you have some play-action, and you'll have some regular drop-back passes.

"Sometimes the defensive line will have time to get there, sometimes they won't. But it's not just the defensive line, it's not just the linebackers, and it's not just the secondary. It's a combination of all."

But the Bears' coach doesn't plan any radical changes.

"You go through spells like this sometimes where teams can pass the ball a little bit more on you," he said. "You go through spells where teams will be able to run the football a little bit more than you'd like.

"But you just stay the course and things will be OK."

When it comes to pass defense, the Bears have a long way to go before they get to "OK."

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