By JEFF DICKERSON

LAKE FOREST, Ill. -- All of the Bears' problems on defense come back to one word: inconsistency.

"There was a time in that game (versus Baltimore) where they ran a play, Power O, and we ran a defense and [Ray Rice] ran for twenty yards," Bears defensive end Alex Brown said. "They came back with the same play, we ran the same exact defense, and they gained no yards. That summed it up right there. We've been so inconsistent this year, and that's the problem.

"It's a few guys not doing their job, each and every time. That's the frustrating part."

It's also frustrating for Brown that fellow end Adewale Ogunleye will not return due to a small fracture in his lower leg. To make matters worse, Ogunleye is an unrestricted free agent, and the Bears don't appear to have a legitimate replacement on the roster.

Is Brown holding out hope Ogunleye somehow returns?

"Yeah. Oh yeah," Brown said. "He's been here for awhile, and I think he's one of the top defensive ends in the league. That's not up to me though."

Although Ogunleye never matched his 2003 output in Miami (15 sacks), he did record 41.5 sacks in a Bears' uniform. Can the Bears get that same type of production from Mark Anderson, Gaines Adams, Jarron Gilbert or Henry Melton?