LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Most of the names and faces are the same, but Brian Urlacher sees a much more aggressive and confident Bears defense than the one that struggled in key situations last season.

The Bears were the NFL's only team to have a takeaway in all 16 games last season.

“We’re getting up field and we’re attacking our gaps—not just the d-linemen but linebackers also,” Urlacher said Thursday. “We’re going downhill again, running through our gaps, not stopping. We read our keys and we go hit a gap, and that’s the way it should be.”

Last season the Bears failed to generate a consistent pass rush and allowed journeymen quarterback Brian Griese (407 yards), Gus Frerotte (298) and Dan Orlovsky (292) to post season highs in passing yardage.

The Bears responded by revamping their defensive coaching staff during the offseason. Head coach Lovie Smith assumed play-calling responsibilities, Bob Babich was reinstalled as linebackers coach and veteran assistants Rod Marinelli and Jon Hoke were hired to lead the defensive line and secondary, respectively.

The changes resonated with Bears players throughout the summer.

“We’re excited again, we’re confident, and guys are flying around,” Urlacher said. “We’re playing fast. That’s the No. 1 thing we did in the preseason. We made some mistakes—we’re going to do that—but we played fast. We got to the football. Our guys got there and they hit. We’re doing that again, and it’s fun.”

It was evident that the Bears defense lost its swagger last season when the unit ranked 30th in the NFL in passing yards and 29th in sacks per pass attempt.

“We didn’t make a lot of plays to get that confidence,” Urlacher said. “We haven’t made any this year either. Preseason doesn’t really count. But I think we’re going in the right direction to get back to where we need to be.”

Defensive end Adewale Ogunleye believes a big difference this year is that players are being held more accountable for miscues they make in games and practices.

“Especially with the front seven, we’ve got a very veteran group there,” Ogunleye said. “We have no place for [mistakes] on this team … and coach [Smith] has been very vocal about that.

“I think the biggest key about that is he’s calling guys out. When we do mess up, we call out the person in front of the whole team and in front of the whole defense … and that’s good because everybody’s being held accountable.”

Ogunleye said that sometimes young players will even point out errors made by veterans, something he has no problem with as long as it means the defense is getting better.

Alex Brown had two sacks in the preseason after leading the Bears with six last season.

“It’s not hard when you know that the goal is the Super Bowl,” Ogunleye said. “Last night I was watching the Steelers’ story on NFL Network about them going to the Super Bowl.

“If you just put your egos aside and [pursue] that common goal and winning the Super Bowl is what we want, I know it’s constructive criticism and I don’t take it personal.”

The defense’s first big test comes in Sunday night’s season opener in Green Bay against a Packers’ No. 1 offense that scored nine touchdowns on 12 possessions in the preseason.

The unit is led by quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who performed like a Hall of Famer in the preseason, completing 29 of 41 passes for 465 yards with six touchdowns, no interceptions and a sparkling 147.9 passer rating.

“Rodgers is playing as good as I’ve seen in preseason of the quarterbacks I’ve seen over the last couple years,” Ogunleye said. “I’ve seen a lot of good quarterbacks, but he’s on point.

“He’s already kind of in mid-season form, so we’ve got to be able to match his ability. The defensive line has got to make life miserable for him—hopefully get him running, scrambling and throwing off his back foot; that’s going to help us out. But if he’s setting in the pocket and taking his time, patting the ball, then we’re going to be in trouble.”

The Bears didn’t sack Rodgers in either game they played against the Packers last season—a 37-3 loss at Lambeau Field and a 20-17 overtime win at Soldier Field. For the year, Chicago registered 22 sacks in its nine wins and just six sacks in its seven losses.

“We need to get to the quarterback,” said defensive end Alex Brown. “We need to get to the quarterback with [the front] four. That makes it a lot easier on the defense, and it makes this team a lot better.

“There is a lot being put on us as in the past. We just haven’t been doing our job. Hopefully we can do that. We believe we can do it. It’s just a matter of going out on Sundays and doing it.”