LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Given the way opponents are picking apart the Chicago Bears, Lance Briggs has reason to cringe. | NFL page

"It's not cute, it's not fun, to see yourself on somebody else's highlight film," he said.

On the bright side, at least he's on a highlight film. Devin Hester hasn't made one all year.

Ten games into the season, Hester's still searching for a touchdown return after two record-setting seasons and his frustration is mounting.

"It's tough on me," he said. "I don't even like going outside now."

The return game and defense were expected to be the Bears' strengths. Instead, they're sources of frustration for a team that's 5-5 and in a three-way tie for the NFC North lead heading into its game at St. Louis on Sunday, and Briggs and Hester couldn't hide their feelings this week.

Briggs reiterated a claim he previously made, saying the defense can be great "when we decide."

So did Hester, who said he's not the only one to blame for the lack of touchdown returns.

"I know at the end of the day I get blamed for the return game," he said. "But like I say, there are 11 guys on the field and that's basically all I've got to say about it."

The Bears have six games left to find solutions, and a game against the lowly Rams (2-8) is a good place to start. Hester delivered his breakout performance the last time the Bears visited in December 2006, running back two kickoffs for touchdowns, and the struggling defense has a chance to make some highlights rather than serve as fodder considering St. Louis is averaging just 271 yards - 29th in the league.

"I know what we have been," Briggs said "I know what we can be. This defense will play great football when we decide. The problems are not from coaching. It's not from the technique. It's not from the defense. It's from ourselves. We've got to lay it on ourselves."

Why haven't they decided to play great football?

"I can't answer that question for you because it's an in-house problem," Briggs said. "It's something that we have to settle amongst ourselves."

Over the past two years, the Bears have locked in Briggs and linebacker Brian Urlacher, defensive linemen Tommie Harris and Alex Brown and cornerbacks Charles Tillman and Nathan Vasher with multiyear deals, but they're not getting the return they anticipated. While Briggs is tied for the team lead with 88 tackles, others have struggled because of injuries and poor play overall. Complacency might be part of the equation, too, although Briggs dismissed that idea.

"There's no way you can convince me that these guys are satisfied," Briggs said.

They're just not performing as expected.

They've been picked apart by slants, struggled to apply pressure, and a 37-3 loss at Green Bay last week was particularly brutal.

"I honestly believe if we want it bad enough, then people won't be scoring 37 points on us," Briggs said. "It's a stick right in your pride."

Hester's pride has taken some shots, too.

He set a record with five kick returns for touchdowns as a rookie in 2006 and broke it last year with six, putting him two behind Brian Mitchell's all-time record. That does not include the opening kickoff he ran back for a touchdown in the Super Bowl or the missed field goal he returned 108 yards as a rookie.

Lately, opponents have kicked to him rather than avoid him, but instead of making them pay for it, Hester averages 21.8 yards on kick returns and just 6.3 on punts. It didn't help that several key contributors the first two years are gone, including Pro Bowl pick Brendan Ayanbadejo.

Magnifying Hester's struggles is the fact that his transition to wide receiver hasn't been a smooth one.

The Bears expected him to play a bigger role on offense. Instead, he has just 26 catches for 318 yards.

"I'm frustrated just like the rest of you all about this return game," said Hester, who signed a four-year extension reportedly worth $40 million at the start of training camp. "I've been trying to dodge the media just from talking about it, but now since you're all out here I'm going to go ahead and express my feelings. I'm frustrated. It's hard. And I want to get back to where I was, not only as a player but as the home run hitter."

Maybe he just needs to relax.

"He may be thinking a return is not necessarily going to get in the spot where it's designed, (and) abandon it, maybe come out of it, second guess himself a little bit at times," special teams coordinator Dave Toub said. "And then it shows up as hesitation. It looks like he's not hitting it as fast, thinking a little bit too much at times."

Toub saw signs of the "old Devin" last week, when he returned a kickoff 31 yards. Hester said the return unit needs to rediscover "that swagger and bring it back."

The same goes for the defense.