Bears guard Lance Louis' season ended on a questionable hit by Vikings DE Jared Allen.              (US Presswire)

Bears coach Lovie Smith took the diplomatic approach after hearing that Minnesota Vikings DE Jared Allen had been fined $21,000 for his blindside, season-ending hit on G Lance Louis in Sunday's 28-10 Chicago victory at Soldier Field.

"My opinion hasn't changed," he said. "It don't do me any good to talk about it. I stated my case on how we felt. Nothing has changed since then. That's what the league thought. We have guys that are in position to make those decisions and look at that video and that's what they came up with."

Then, Smith tossed in the line which made it obvious he thought something more was warranted: "How's that?"

Louis went on injured reserve with a torn anterior cruciate ligament. That injury, and a knee sprain to left guard Chris Spencer, have forced them to play backup Edwin Williams at left guard and to move benched tackle Gabe Carimi to right guard while also signing veteran free agent guard Andre Gurode.

Bears S Chris Conte earlier in the season drew a $21,000 fine for a helmet-to-helmet hit on a defenseless receiver, but that hit appeared far less violent and without any of the ultimate consequences of Allen's hit. Nor did Conte leave his feet to launch himself at the head of Carolina WR Brandon LaFell.

QB Jay Cutler made it clear he didn't think of Allen as a "dirty player" in the same sense as Lions DT Ndamukong Suh, who has been called the league's dirtiest player.

"I was surprised by it, to be honest," Cutler said of Allen's hit. "He's not that type of guy. He plays extremely hard. He usually does things the right way. I've always respected him. It kind of caught me off guard.

"You look at the play and he hit him in the head, he did all of the things he shouldn’t do. Whether there’s a fine, it’s going to be up to the league office, but I don’t think it’s indicative of the player or person he is."

As for Suh, who once removed Cutler's helmet and more or less performed a Wrestlemania move in a takedown of the Bears QB earlier this season ... the situation is different. Suh was just fined $30,000 for allowing his foot to make contact with Houston QB Matt Schaub.

"I mean, it seems like he’s always in this predicament every five, six, seven games," Cutler said of Suh. "So whatever happens happens. You have to be aware of him when he’s playing football. He’s a tough competitor, he plays hard and sometimes he goes overboard."

The entire situation will make for an interesting rematch between the Bears and Vikings Dec. 9, if not the Lions rematch Dec. 30.

A real enhancer: Bears wide receiver Brandon Marshall will get the opportunity to go up against Seattle's 6-foot-4 CB Brandon Browner and 6-3 CB Richard Sherman because of their appeal of a four-game suspension resulting from a positive test for the performance enhancing drug Adderall. It may be a game or more beore the two are suspended, if they are.

The Adderall topic led Marshall to discuss the topic of performance enhancers, although perhaps not the kind most people would think.

"It is such a competitive league, guys try anything just to get that edge. I’m fortunate enough to be blessed with size and some smarts to give me my edge. But some guys, they’ll do whatever they can to get an edge. I’ve heard of some crazy stories. I’ve heard (of) guys using like Viagra, seriously. Because the blood is supposedly thin, some crazy stuff. So, you know, it’s kind of scary with some of these chemicals that are in some of these things. So you have to be careful."

On the actual topic of facing taller corners, Marshall invites the challenge.

"It's different obviously, because it's not what we call the prototypical corner," he said. "So they present some different challenges, but I am excited about this matchup, man. I am happy they are playing."

How do you like me now? Bears QB coach Jeremy Bates was fired by Seattle after one season as offensive coordinator. Cutler thinks facing them will mean something more. "I’m sure deep down it might mean a little something more to him, but it’s game, these are games. You move on. Whenever we played Denver in that preseason (in 2009), it was just a game. It is what it is. Guys get traded, you get fired. I think as a coach coming into this business you know ahead of time you’re going to get fired. It’s just part of the game."

More injuries: As if the Bears needed more injuries at guard, backup Edwin Williams has a shoulder injury suffered in Sunday's game, but he was able to go through a full practice. TE Kellen Davis did not practice due to an ankle injury.

Follow Bears reporter Gene Chamberlain on Twitter @CBSBears.