Martz refutes reports he's leaving

Mike Martz took exception to a report last week by ESPN's Adam Schefter that the Bears' offensive coordinator would not be back next season.

“Somebody told me that, and I'm bothered by that,” said Martz, whose two-year contract expires after this season.

“Obviously, I plan on being back here and want to be here, and I'm just going to assume it's all going to work out. That's the only thing I can tell you.”

Coach Lovie Smith refuted the same story last week.

“If there is a change that would be made, I'll be making it,” Smith said. “I definitely haven't discussed that with anyone. I'm sure there are a lot of things out there that people make up.

“That has to be made up, because nothing like that came from me. It should definitely stop right there.”

At about the same time, Martz was rumored to be a person of interest for the head-coaching jobs at Arizona State and UCLA.

“It's just like college jobs and those things,” Martz said. “We're focused on this job and what we're doing. I'm very happy here.

“This is a terrific place and a terrific opportunity for me, and I'm enjoying it. So, those things we'll just kind of disregard if you will.”

Martz said he has discussed his situation with Smith.

“I wanted to find about it,” he said. “I'm embarrassed by it. It's not good. And it's not how I think and live my life. I'm just disappointed.”

Marquee matchup:Maybe the best one-on-one matchup Sunday will be Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher against Broncos quarterback Tim Tebow, who is averaging 13 carries per game.When the Broncos go with an empty backfield, the 6-foot-4, 258-pound Urlacher is generally able to freelance, which means he'll be focusing on the 6-foot-3, 235-pound Tebow.#8220;It'd be hard to just say, #8216;just Urlacher,' it's our whole defense,#8221; Bears coach Lovie Smith said.#8220;But there will be some times when, if they go empty, a lot of times Brian is a free guy who's kind of roaming the middle of the field, and you could see that matchup a few times.#8221;Smith says that matchup favors the Bears.#8220;Tebow is a big guy at quarterback, but he's not Brian Urlacher,#8221; the Bears' coach said. #8220;We want to get Brian in one-on-one matchups with just about anybody as often as we possibly can.#8221;Ground and pound:Only the Texans have run the ball more than the Broncos this season, and no team has more rushing yards than Denver.But Bears coach Lovie Smith says his defense will not be worn down by any ground attack. #8220;That's not going to happen,#8221; Smith said. #8220;They do a great job running the football. Their stats say that, but we are set up to stop the run. Every game we go into, that's our No. 1 goal to stop the run, so our guys are looking forward to this challenge.#8221;The Bears' defense in No. 8 in rushing yards allowed, permitting an average of 99.8 yards per game. It's been especially stingy as of late, allowing an average of just 74.3 yards per game on the ground.Turnover shortage:Holding the Chiefs to just 245 total yards and allowing only 10 points last week wasn't good enough for the Bears' defense #8212; at least not when the offense is without Jay Cutler and Matt Forte.#8220;We don't feel like we did enough to win because we didn't win the game,#8221; cornerback Corey Graham said. #8220;On defense, we feel like we have to get the ball out. We weren't able to do that. We pride ourselves on stopping the run and creating turnovers.#8220;We didn't create turnovers, so nine times out of 10 when you don't do that, you're not going to win the game. We've got to do better. We've got to find a way to make it happen, and we weren't able to do that.#8221;The Bears have 17 takeaways in the previous six games, but just 2 in the last two games. Injury report:Nose tackle Anthony Adams (back), cornerback Charles Tillman (quad) and linebacker Brian Urlacher (quad) were limited at Wednesday's practice. Matt Forte (knee) and Major Wright (shoulder) did not practice.#376;Follow Bob's Bears reports via Twitter @BobLeGere and check out our Bear Essentials blog at dailyherald.com.