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LAKE FOREST Jordan Howard Color Rush Jersey , Ill. (AP)Chicago Bears defensive coordinator Vic Fangio thinks the end this season can look different, even if the circumstances seem very familiar. The Bears’ defense has fought through an injury epidemic during a second straight difficult season, and Fangio believes they can avoid the collapse they failed to sidestep during last year’s 3-13 season. ”We’ve played with good effort, toughness, intensity all year and we want to continue that,” Fangio said. ”We’ve talked about it.” The Bears (4-9) are at Detroit (7-6) on Saturday with a defense healthier than it’s been in several weeks, but still drastically depleted. Ranked 11th on defense, the Bears are still missing five starters, although getting back inside linebacker Danny Trevathan from a calf problem two weeks ago greatly aided in consecutive strong efforts. ”The last couple weeks, it definitely makes us better,” Fangio said. ”Danny is a guy that’s been there before. I think he understands how the game needs to be played. ”That rally for the guy next to you (attitude), I think, is pretty big, and he ignites that.” Chicago’s defense comes into a rematch with Detroit after one of its strongest outings this season in a 33-7 victory at Cincinnati. The previous week, the Bears didn’t allow a touchdown in a 15-14 loss to San Francisco. When Trevathan and pass rusher Leonard Floyd played this season, the Bears were able to beat Carolina 17-3. But Floyd is done for the year with a knee injury Eddie Jackson Jersey , joining pass rusher Willie Young, linebacker Jerrell Freeman, end Mitch Unrein and safety Quintin Demps on injured reserve. In addition, starting nose tackle Eddie Goldman missed last week with a hip injury, but could return against Detroit. Injured linebacker Pernell McPhee could also return from a shoulder injury, and safety Adrian Amos may play after sitting with a pulled hamstring. So optimism is running higher. ”This (past) weekend I just felt we had great energy, a great game plan,” defensive end Akiem Hicks said. ”Everything just came together like we’ve wanted it to. We’ve always been one play away, two plays away. Just, you know, it starts to wear on you after a while. ”So I think we’ve got that off of our backs. We know what we can do. We know we can be dominant. We know we can really shut a team down.” At one point, the injury epidemic even hit backups and the Bears had to sign linebacker Lamarr Houston and former safety Chris Prosinski, who’d been cut at the end of preseason. Both had to start after two days of practice and Houston has had two sacks in his two games. ”It’s been good to be here in a system I already know, with coaches I already know, be around players who are there and help me come along and refresh my memory of things we already have,” Houston said. ”So it’s been good transition for me.” The defense played a solid game against Detroit on Nov. 19 https://www.thebears...Robinson-Jersey , but a lost fumble by Mitchell Trubisky went for a TD return in a 27-24 defeat. ”It was another one of those situations where we played really well the entire game, but one or two plays killed us at the end,” Hicks said. ”The turnover for a touchdown, that was a little bit of a momentum swing. ”After that, they felt like they were back in the game and they were able to compete throughout the game for that reason.” With uncertainty over the future of this coaching staff, it can’t hurt to avoid a defensive collapse like last year’s. ”It’s hard to even remember the end of last season, but I remember the last game in Minnesota we didn’t play particularly well, in my opinion, not just on defense, but as a football team,” coach John Fox said. ”That’s really kind of my recollection, the (entire) last quarter a year ago.” Defensive players would like to get back into the league’s top 10, a better ranking than last year. ”I think we ended up about 15th last year, which was OK for what we ended up the season with,” Fox said, referring to the injuries. ”I just think we’re probably a little bit better right now Chase Daniel Color Rush Jersey , and we’ll get a good test against a good Detroit team still fighting for a playoff spot at their place.” — LAKE FOREST, Ill. (AP) — Whether they were loading up around Mitchell Trubisky or swinging a last-minute blockbuster trade for Khalil Mack, the offseason was all about the quarterback for the Chicago Bears.Develop their own — and harass their opponent’s.Now, it’s time to see how it all comes together. But the Bears sure look like they are poised for bigger things after four straight last-place finishes in the NFC North.They spent much of the offseason surrounding Trubisky with the weapons they believe he needs to succeed, hiring the offensive-minded Matt Nagy to replace the fired John Fox after a 5-11 season and adding play-makers such as former Jacksonville Pro Bowl receiver Allen Robinson.The biggest addition? That would be Mack, acquired from Oakland on Saturday.A two-time All-Pro and three-time Pro Bowl selection, he has 40 1/2 sacks in four seasons. Mack gives an already solid defense an elite edge rusher, though he’s not the only important addition.The Bears added a potential cornerstone player when they drafted inside linebacker Roquan Smith at No. 8 overall.Clearly, general manager Ryan Pace is thinking big.The Bears have made the playoffs once since the 2006 team’s run to the Super Bowl. They have five straight seasons without a winning record. And they have a fan base that’s antsy yet energized.Here are some things to know as the Bears get ready to open the season at Green Bay on Sept. 9:NEW MONSTER: Mack is the best pass rusher acquired by the Bears since Julius Peppers left Carolina to sign with them in 2010.His arrival could turn a defense that ranked 10th overall into an elite unit. And it gives coordinator Vic Fangio — who re-signed after getting passed over for the head coaching job — a major weapon. More pressure on the quarterback could lead to more interceptions for the Monsters of the Midway after they had one of the lowest totals in the NFL last season with eight.That was a big sticking point for a defense that ranked seventh against the pass, ninth in scoring and 11th against the run. The Bears also tied for seventh in sacks.NEXT STEP: Whether he makes the sort of leap Carson Wentz and Jared Goff did in their second seasons, the Bears are banking on Trubisky to take at least a few big strides. They also expect him to hit a few more bumps along the way.“The first time we get out there and play a real game in Lambeau and we play that first regular-season game, there’s gonna be hiccups,” Nagy said. “He’s gonna learn from that. Then we just continue to grow as the games go by. Mitch can handle all of it.”Trubisky threw for 2,193 yards and completed 59.4 percent of his passes in 12 starts last season. But the No. 2 pick in the 2017 draft also threw as many touchdowns as interceptions (seven).But he’s playing in a more open and aggressive system with some new receivers, something the Bears sorely lacked. Besides Robinson, they also added receivers Taylor Gabriel and rookie Anthony Miller Bennie Fowler III Jersey , as well as tight end Trey Burton.NEW TERRITORY: Though he comes with a reputation for developing quarterbacks, one thing Nagy does not have is experience as a head coach. He didn’t even start calling plays until late last season with Kansas City, where coach Andy Reid handled those chores. And he never really had to worry about the defense or special teams until now.“It’s one of those things, some coaches are offensive, some coaches are defensive, and he’s a guy that can really rally all the guys,” guard Kyle Long said.The Bears certainly needed a lift after going 14-34 over three seasons under Fox. That gave him the second-worst winning percentage in franchise history.ON THE MEND: Almost as important as Trubisky’s development is the health of Robinson and Long. Both players are coming back from injuries and hoping to flash their old Pro Bowl form.Robinson tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during last year’s opener with Jacksonville. The 2015 Pro Bowl receiver was injured on the Jaguars’ third play and missed the remainder of the season.Long, a three-time Pro Bowl lineman, is healthy after two injury-filled seasons. He’s coming off shoulder, elbow and neck surgeries, not to mention a major ankle injury in recent years.CATCHING UP: The Bears were drawn to Smith partly because of his speed. Seeing how quickly he can catch up following a holdout wasn’t what they had in mind.The inside linebacker from Georgia showed up 30 days after rookies were supposed to report to camp. He was the final pick in this year’s NFL draft to sign by the time he agreed to a four-year contract that guarantees $18.5 million and includes an $11.5 million signing bonus. There was a holdup over contract language.