It seems that the Bears defense loses another player or two to an injury with each passing week. But veteran coordinator Vic Fangio won't use attrition as an excuse.
"A carpenter never blames his tool," Fangio said. "He just finds a way to get the thing built."
While that may be true, it's a lot more difficult to build something without your best tools. That's the challenge that Fangio faces over the final month of the season.
With former Bears Brian Urlacher and Adrian Peterson being inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame this week, senior writer Larry Mayer ranks the top 10 college football players who went on to play for the Bears.
Marshall was a consensus two-time All-American at Florida, where he was a finalist for the Lombardi Award in 1982 and '83 and was named national defensive player of the year in 1983.
Payton rushed for more than 3,500 yards at Jackson State, averaging 6.1 yards per carry, and set the school record for career rushing touchdowns with 65.
Singletary was a two-time All-American and two-time conference player of the year at Baylor, where he won the Davey O'Brien Award as the most outstanding player in the Southwest.
Atkins helped the University of Tennessee win a national championship in 1951, was named All-American in 1952 and is still considered one of the best defensive players in SEC history.
McMahon set 70 NCAA records while playing quarterback at Brigham Young University, where he was a two-time All-American who finished third in Heisman Trophy voting.
Ditka was a unanimous All-American at the University of Pittsburgh, where he started all three seasons from 1958-60 and had his No. 89 jersey retired.
Nagurski was an All-American defensive tackle and fullback at the University of Minnesota, where he led the Gophers to an 18-4-2 record and had his No. 72 jersey retired.
Butkus was a consensus All-American at Illinois as both a center and middle linebacker. He finished sixth in Heisman Trophy voting, a rarity for someone who didn't play a skill position.
Lujack won the Heisman Trophy and led Notre Dame to three national championships in the 1940s, a career that was interrupted for two years during World War II.
Grange was a three-time All-American at Illinois who led the Fighting Illini to a national championship in 1923 and is considered one of the greatest players in college football history.
Last Sunday against the 49ers, defensive end Mitch Unrein suffered a season-ending knee injury, while nose tackle Eddie Goldman (hip) and outside linebacker Pernell McPhee (shoulder) sustained injuries that have forced them to miss practice this week.
In the Bears' previous two games, outside linebacker Leonard Floyd suffered a season-ending knee injury against the Lions Nov. 19 and safety Adrian Amos sustained a hamstring injury versus the Eagles Nov. 26 that forced him to miss the 49ers game.
"It kind of seems to have all happened here of late where it seems like the last three weeks or so where it's been one right after the other," Fangio said.
Earlier in the year, the Bears lost outside linebacker Willie Young and inside linebacker Jerrell Freeman for the season, while inside linebackers Danny Trevathan and Nick Kwiatkoski missed games with injuries. Safety Quintin Demps recently returned to practice, but he hasn't played in a game since breaking his arm in a Week 3 win over the Steelers.
"It's been a little trying," Fangio said. "But one man's misfortune's given some of these other guys opportunities, so hopefully we'll able to play through that."
With Unrein now lost for the season, young defensive ends Jonathan Bullard and Roy Robertson-Harris figure to see expanded playing time over the final four games.
Bullard, a 2016 third-round draft pick from Florida, played 42 of 75 snaps (56 percent) last Sunday against the 49ers, recording four tackles and one tackle-for-loss.
"I think Jon's taken good advantage of the snaps he's gotten," Fangio said. "I know he's played a pretty good bit here in the last month or so. We've had a little package where we play four of those guys and he plays in that and he's been getting more and more reps, too, rotating with the other guys and he's been doing good."
Robertson-Harris has shown promise, though he has been slowed by injuries. The 6-7, 268-pounder spent his entire rookie season on injured reserve last year after joining the Bears as an undrafted free agent from UTEP.
"It's hard to say what his ceiling is, but his ceiling has definitely got more floors than his bottom level," Fangio said. "I think the guy has got a bright future. How bright? I am not sure. But definitely intrigued. Definitely see good things for him. He was definitely set back by that injury. I am very hopeful for him in the future."
