http://www.chicagobears.com/news/newsDetail.jsp?id=10035

LAKE FOREST, Ill. - The Bears defense has high expectations this season, and judging by the unit's dominant performance Saturday night in Indianapolis, no goal appears to be unrealistic.

Facing the NFL's most explosive offense, the Bears generated consistent pressure on reigning NFL MVP Peyton Manning and limited Pro Bowl running back Edgerrin James to four yards on six carries while forcing and recovering two James fumbles.

"We want to be the best defense in the league," said end Alex Brown. "There's no secret about it. That's what we're trying to do and I believe we're headed in the right direction.

"We've just got to keep rolling and keep correcting mistakes that we see and just keep critiquing each other and make sure everybody's doing what they're supposed to be doing. I believe we'll get there because we have a good if not great player at every position."

The Bears manhandled the Colts from the outset of Saturday night's game. On Indianapolis' first possession, Adewale Ogunleye and Tommie Harris stopped James for no gain on the first play and Brian Urlacher forced an incompletion by drilling tight end Dallas Clark.

The Colts then followed with three straight false start penalties, the final two by left tackle Tarik Glenn, who seemingly was too eager to get in position to keep Brown away from Manning.

"They were a little scared, which is a compliment to guys like Alex, Ian (Scott) and Tommie," Ogunleye said. "I'm sure they've been watching film and they know that we get off the ball pretty well. For them to be jumping offside at home tells you that's something's going on."

On Indianapolis' second possession, Briggs and Nathan Vasher teamed up to drop James for a loss of four while Harris and Brown pressured Manning into a second-down incompletion.

Later in the first quarter, Mike Brown and Michael Haynes tackled running back J.T. Wall for a four-yard loss on a third-and-one pass play, forcing an Indianapolis punt.

The Bears then closed the period by producing two takeaways on three plays. First, Ogunleye stripped James from behind and Charles Tillman recovered the loose ball. Harris followed by forcing a James fumble that Urlacher recovered.

"You can't get too excited about the preseason, but you've got to call a spade a spade," Ogunleye said. "We played well. Hats off to everybody, especially the defensive line. We were able to get after Peyton real good."

"We did what we needed to do," Urlacher added. "We got off the field. We had a couple three-and-outs and a couple takeaways. We're getting better and better every week. That's what you've got to do in the preseason."

The defense was so aggressive that Bears players nearly knocked teammates out of the game on two occasions. Knifing into the backfield on a running play, Mike Green torpedoed Alex Brown in the legs. Mike Brown later drilled Tillman while trying to hit Clark on an 8-yard reception.

In three preseason games, the Bears' starting defense has permitted just 10 points on 15 possessions. The only TD came Saturday on Manning's 25-yard pass to running back Dominic Rhodes. The score was set up by a 15-yard unnecessary roughness penalty against Urlacher on a third-and-19 incompletion that resulted in a first down.

In the Hall of Fame Game against Miami, Chicago's No. 1 defense permitted three first downs while forcing four straight punts before yielding a field goal on its final drive.

On four possessions versus the Rams, the starters forced three punts and produced a turnover on a Tillman interception.

The Bears didn't sack Manning Saturday night, but their defensive line pressured him into several incompletions, a development that caught some observers off guard.

"It wasn't a surprise," Urlacher said. "I know our front four can go. They do it every week as far as I'm concerned. They're always in the backfield. It's nice when you play cover two and cover three all day and you don't have to blitz. It takes a lot of pressure off the guys on the back end."