Rushing woes worry Smith

After showing no improvement in the running game in Sunday's season opener following a preseason that was just as unimpressive, Bears coach Lovie Smith admits he's concerned.

"We talk a lot about our running game," Smith said. "We have to be able to run the football. (Against San Diego) we weren't able to do that. They stopped us on a third-and-short, a fourth-and-short (on back-to-back plays in the fourth quarter), and those should be our signature downs where we get some work done."

Cedric Benson averaged 2.3 yards per carry in the preseason and dipped below that (2.2 on 19 carries) against the Chargers. He also lost a fumble against a San Diego defense that was No. 7 in rushing yards allowed last season.

"I'm disappointed in our running game," Smith said. "Cedric is a part of that. The offensive line is a part of that. The entire offense is a part of that. I'm disappointed in it. But we'll continue to run the football, and eventually we'll get some plays from it."

The Bears, who ran for 80 yards on 26 attempts, outrushed the Chargers (77 yards on 36 carries). MVP LaDainian Tomlinson had only 25 yards on 17 carries.

"San Diego would say that they're disappointed in their running game, and they would say that they're disappointed probably in L.T., if we're disappointed in Cedric," Smith said. "Sometimes when you have two good defenses playing like that, those are the results."

Thanks for nothing: Bears coach Lovie Smith was evasive when asked if he thought the hit in the back from Chargers fullback Lorenzo Neal - a shot that may have caused Mike Brown's knee injury -- was out of line.

"It's a physical football game," Smith said. "A lot of things happen during the course of a game, and injuries occur."

Asked if the hit should have drawn a flag, Smith said: "There probably should have been penalties on a lot of plays that happened -- on them and on us. The officials did a good job. You can't get everything."

Teams are allowed to send clips to the league on questionable calls, but Smith wouldn't commit on that, either.

"There are a lot of plays that we send each week to the league," he said. "Every play that we feel like is missed we send to the league."

He was asked if Neal's play met that criteria.

"Every play that we feel should be officiated a certain way, we send to the league," Smith said.

Style points: Coach Lovie Smith refuted the notion that backup Adrian Peterson's running style fits better with the Bears' offensive line than Cedric Benson's.

"Who's our starter?" Smith asked. "I'd say that (Benson's) running style fits a little bit better. We like both players."