Bulger, Avery among concerns for Bears' defense

Considering how veteran quarterbacks Brian Griese, Gus Frerotte and Kerry Collins have carved up the Bears' defense for a combined 994 yards, it has to be concerned with the St. Louis Rams' 31-year-old, eight-year veteran Marc Bulger, despite his mediocre 72.7 passer rating.

"I was there with Marc Bulger, so I know what type of player he is," said Bears defensive coordinator Bob Babich, who was the Rams' linebackers coach in 2003. "They put up over 400 yards last week, they have a very skilled rookie wide receiver (Donnie Avery), and Torry Holt, obviously. They're still an offense that can perform."

Avery started slowly but has come on strong in recent weeks and leads the Rams with 495 receiving yards.

"He's really come on to be kind of the go-to guy for them," Babich said. "They do a lot of different things to get him the ball, put him in the backfield, hand it off to him, run a toss to him. He's a deep-ball threat, a guy who has legitimate speed, track speed, so he is a concern."

Return policy: Danieal Manning may replace slumping Devin Hester on at least some of Sunday's kickoff returns, and Bears coach Lovie Smith has recently been in the strange position of having to provide encouragement to Hester, whose first two seasons as a returner were the best in NFL history.

"You continue to talk about the good things he's done," Smith said. "He's done things that no one else has done in the history of the game. You let players know that experience tells you (that) you go through spells like this where things just don't work for whatever reason. But you keep fighting and eventually you get that back."

Hester's kickoff-return average of 21.8 yards is actually one-tenth of a yard higher than last season, when opponents frequently kicked high and short to reduce his running room and limit his return yardage. But even on punt returns, where Hester previously was especially productive (7 of his 11 return touchdowns), he has disappointed. His 6.3-yard average is less than half his career average of 14.1.

"You go through some tough times," Smith said. "But tough times normally don't last, and that's how we see it. Devin Hester's a good football player. He's one week away from doing some of the things he's used to doing."

It's expected: Defensive coordinator Bob Babich is resigned to accepting the widespread criticism that has come his way lately. But he's not spending a lot of time fretting about it.

"It's part of the job," Babich said. "I've said many times as the leader of this unit I am ultimately responsible for what goes on. My focus right now is just doing everything we can to beat the Rams."

Babich's players have also accepted blame for the slumping group.

"I think we all feel that way," Babich said. "We feel we're a unit. It's just like on the defensive side of the ball when things aren't going right. It's not the D-line, the linebackers, or the secondary; it's everybody together. We all work together."

Injury update: Wide receiver Marty Booker (knee), linebacker Darrell McClover (hamstring) and offensive tackle Fred Miller (shoulder) all were held out of Friday's practice and will not play Sunday.

Defensive tackle Marcus Harrison (knee) and linebackers Nick Roach (ankle) both practiced and are probable vs. the Rams, as is wide receiver Brandon Lloyd (calf), who was added to Friday's injury report and was limited at practice. Linebacker Jamar Williams (neck) practiced and was removed from the injury report.