PRO FOOTBALL

LAKE FOREST | You can always tell a happy Bears locker room. Players aren't hiding.

They smile and laugh. They say "Excuse me" and not "Get the (bleep) out of my way!" when you're blocking their cubicle.

None of that changed Wednesday at Halas Hall, except smiles were fewer and laughter more sporadic.

The Bears are 4-6 heading into Sunday's game with Denver. They have their backs to the wall like a coat of paint, and appear more stunned than upset their postseason hopes are slowly evaporating.

"You've got to know that your back's against the wall but you can't press too much because you make a lot of mistakes that way," said defensive end Adewale Ogunleye, who has seven of the team's 33 sacks. "We have to play with a sense of urgency but still try to find a balance of playing loose and not too tense.

"There is a ray of hope. Anything can happen."

After weeks of carrying a tepid offense, the Bears' 22nd-ranked defense is now being called out for its faulty play in recent weeks -- forcing only 17 turnovers in 10 games while its cornerbacks are still without an interception.

Rookie tight end Greg Olsen said he can't worry about any added pressure put on the offense.

"We realize we have to just worry about ourselves and take care of our side of the ball," Olsen said. "They're an excellent defense and we're confident they'll take care of business in what they have to do."

Excellent? Not so much. The defense has never been ranked higher than sixth and was as low as 27th. It has given up 16 scoring drives of five plays or less and 14 rushes of 15 or more yards.

"It's a low blow every time we see film of us not making plays, not getting turnovers, not scoring on defense. Those are things we've been able to do," Ogunleye said.

The Bears are allowing 349 yards a game and an average of 5.5 yards per play. Some critics blame the system and new defensive coordinator Bob Babich. The players blame themselves.

"We've given up points in games but a lot of times we've balanced it out by causing a turnover or scoring ourselves," Ogunleye said. "This year, it's been a roller-coaster season. We've been up and down, up and down, and we haven't been able to stay up long enough."

The Bears' longest winning streak this season? One game.

"We deserve to be booed by our fans. We're supposed to win. That's our job," defensive end Alex Brown said. "But we can't give up so many big plays. Everybody's frustrated about it. We gotta fix it. We have no room for error. We have to win out.

"It's not over. It's not over. Not yet."

Brown bit his lip and slowly shook his head.

"But ... m-m-m. It's pretty close."