(My Sportsbook) - The Chicago Bears were denied their third victory of the season last Monday night after falling to the St. Louis Rams, 21-16. In the team's eighth loss in a row, QB Chris Chandler completed 20-of-33 passing attempts for 157 yards, but the veteran signal-caller was sacked seven times.

The reason for the Bears' poor pass protection was that they played without starting center Olin Kreutz (appendectomy) and during the first half of the game they lost starting left tackle Marc Colombo to a dislocated kneecap.

"We had a tough time protecting Chris," said Bears coach Dick Jauron. "That was a big factor in the game. They did a nice job of pressuring him with their front and they brought some blitzes-not out of the ordinary things for them- but they executed them well."

The Bears' offensive line is filled with injuries and it showed last week against the Rams, as it allowed seven sacks. The primary reason for the poor pass protection was that Kreutz wasn't able to play. This week, he is listed as questionable, and his return could mean much better protection for Chandler.

Kreutz is the anchor of the unit, but he will have new players around him this week. Colombo's injury will end his season, so the Bears will move left guard Mike Gandy to tackle and then insert Kevin Dogins at left guard. That means Bernard Robertson, who took over for Colombo after the injury, will most likely remain a bench player.

"I thought [Robertson] played as well as he could have in that situation, having not been on the field in a long time in a game like that," Jauron said. "It was a tough game for whoever was out there. We didn't play as well as we wanted to play and they were playing pretty well. Bernard was in a tough situation. I thought he fought for us. He did a nice job in our wedge on kickoff returns. I thought he fought there, so we'll see where the thing goes."

PROBLEMS GO BEYOND THE LINE

The offensive line, which has given up 27 sacks thus far, is just one of many problems for the Bears. They are currently averaging just 280.4 yards per game (29th in NFL), and their rush offense has been terrible. The Bears only run for 84.3 yards per game, and Anthony Thomas, who was last year's offensive rookie of the year, averages just 3.3 yards per carry.

The biggest problem for Thomas has been the Bears' inability to pass. Teams are bringing at least one safety up because the Bears have not been able to throw the ball with any consistency this year, thus allowing their opponents the luxury of playing the run first. The Bears are passing for only 196.1 yards per game.

When Chandler does look to throw, his favorite target has been WR Marty Booker. Booker, who leads the team with 58 catches, has twice as many receptions than the team's second-leading receiver, Dez White. Booker has made the most of his catches, going for 827 yards and five touchdowns.

MOTOR CITY GRINDERS

The Bears, who will host the Lions on Sunday at Memorial Stadium, must stop the Lions' running game. Earlier this year, Detroit's James Stewart rushed for a career-high 172 yards and two touchdowns. The Bears have made some defensive adjustments since the last meeting, and they are hoping their improvement will be apparent.

"We've got some things that we've got to clean up and atone for," said defensive coordinator Greg Blache. "The great thing about our business is that on Sunday we've got another opportunity.

"I know there was a lot of stuff in the media about this last game we played [against Detroit] about the untimely passing of Brian Urlacher's greatness. I think it was greatly exaggerated. You always need a scapegoat or whipping boy around here. There were no more people blocking Brian in that game than any other game. A lot of the yardage wasn't all over Brian."

A week ago, the Bears again showed improvement in their run defense, limiting the St. Louis Rams to just 61 yards on the ground.

"We've just got to continue playing like we've been playing the last 2-3 ballgames," said linebacker Rosevelt Colvin, who not only helps out with the run, but also leads the team with 8.5 sacks. "After we played the Lions, I think we stepped up and tried to stop the run pretty good. [This week], we're going to continue to try to do some of the things we've been doing the past three or four ballgames and just make some more plays so we can win the game in the end."

On the season, the Bears have allowed an average of 116.2 rushing yards per game, and have been much more consistent in the past couple of weeks. One of the changes the team made to bolster its run support was switching Bryan Robinson from defensive end to defensive tackle.

COMING UP: The Bears will visit the Green Bay Packers in Week 13.