DrunkBomber

123 tackles 5 ints and 5 sacks? I wouldnt exactly say Urlacher is using the media at all. There have been statements of what he has said but he isnt going on tv and doing stuff like Chad Johnson is. He isnt even doing what Briggs did. Its to the point where we dont even really know for sure whats going on, this has mainly been handled behind closed doors. Sitting out off season workouts is one thing but I highly doubt, new contract or not, he wont be on the field when the season comes around. He isnt bashing his team or front office like most players do either. Obviously stuff like this happens, and even you said you dont fault him for trying to get more cash, then how would you propose he went about it?

If you look at the trend of the league the past few years its quite a crap shoot. Unless you say the Pats and Colts are going to be good its almost impossible to figure who will be good next year. Would anyone be shocked if teams like us, the Saints or Philly has a good year? Would people be shocked if Cleveland went 6-10? What about if Arizona or Buffalo finally turned the corner. Playoff teams like Tennessee and Washington could finish last in their division an nobody would be shocked.

Well I think this sentence is the difference between me and everyone else in this thread then. I do care what hes done for the Bears and I think what hes done for this franchise warrants him trying to renegotiate. Everyone is acting like this is Terrell Owens and its just another one of his antics and he is some huge distraction. He has no history of being a problem if anything its the exact opposite. Since the Bears drafted Brian they have had the most success since Payton retired. He put our defense back on the map and him and Mike Brown are the only two guys on this defense that are left since the 01 13-3 season. Every single player on that team looks up to him and respects him. Im sure most of you guys have read articles over the years about how he befriends new guys on the team when they dont know anybody and about his extensive work with charities and overall what kind of person and teammate he is. He is a sure fire first ballot Hall of Famer and hes played every snap of his career as a Chicago Bear. So even if you guys dont care about stuff like that hes been the one constant on this team since he was drafted and the team has had a lot of success and not to mention thats been without a potent offense for the majority of his career. It appears the Jamar Williams/Michael Okwo or whoever they would use to replace him era is wanted sooner than later by a lot of people here. Im also sure half of you probably have his jersey and have praised the hell out of him his whole career and have now resorted to calling him a baby, calling him selfish and suggesting we prepare for life without Urlacher. So you might question his tactics or even mine considering I said I would do the same thing in his situation but I question a fan who turns on someone who has done what Brian has for an organization over something like this. The reaction he has gotten cements my point even more, if the organization and the fans dont give a shit about him, why should he give a shit about the organization or the fans? Maybe we should wait to see if he sits out the season before jumping all over his case too. Im assuming all of you guys hate Lance Briggs too because he did the same thing. Also, Im sure you wont be able to stand it when Hester OR Harris does something like this next year. They more than likely wont have both these guys locked up and if they dont next off season will be ugly because if either one of those guys dont get a new deal they will absolutely do similar things, whether if its they try to franchise Harris or not pay Hester number one receiver money. This stuff is a part of the sport and isnt going to change anytime soon so to lash out on one player for it isnt fair.

The only way we could consider something like that if he is given a contract based predominately on performance. He signed a pretty big contract and hasnt even played. If we could work out something like that with him it would be a very good move because he can back up Kruetz and more than likely start at either of the guard positions.

Thats easy to say from our perspective but theres a lot more to it than simply saying you would honor the contract. First of all, the teams dont always honor their ends of contracts. People seem to think this is worse because of the scale of money they make but thats an unfair way to look at it. If you were one of the top five people in your work field and they were bringing in new guys not as talented as you and paying them much more because the companies payroll budget went up but they kept your salary where it was because you signed a contract years ago when people werent making the kind of money they are now anybody would be upset about it and it shouldnt change because of the amount of money they make, its the same principle. This is something athletes have been doing for a while to so its not like this is unprecedented, they use whatever leverage they can and thats their right. The shelf life for athletes is very short and could end at any time. Who are we to judge someone for trying to accumulate as much as they can so him and his family can live comfortably for the rest of their lives when he retires. he doesnt owe anything to any of us and I still think anybody in his situation would do the same thing.

When people call having 123 tackles 5 ints and 5 sacks an off season and are speculating he was more injured and thats what hindered him it gives you an idea of what caliber athlete he is. I understand the concern about having a bad season when we thought we were poised to rip through the NFC last year but MLB was never an issue last year. Vasher, Mike Brown and Dvoraceks injuries is what killed our defense, not to mention that since our offense wasnt able to score so all the pressure was put on guys like Urlacher, Harris and Tillman who all had to play hurt to keep our defense afloat. Im honestly surprised to hear so many people with this attitude towards Urlacher. Whether you want to admit or not, Im sure almost anybody here would be doing the same thing he is. Sure he signed a contract, but the cap has gone up a lot and players not even close to his level are making more than him and I dont blame him for being upset about it.

Our offense line wont allow for him to "make guys miss" he needs to be able to run through people AP is significantly better than him at blocking and as good if not better than him at receiving Forte could possibly be better than him at all that stuff anyway. If he was good enough he would have been out there at the end of the year after Benson went down. He simply doesnt have it in him to be a productive running back in the NFL. Maybe special teams, just not here.

I like that only one guy had the Giants at 1 and the rest had them lower than 5th. Seriously, until San Diego does something the media needs to get off their jock. Talk about a team that is so hyped up every year and never does anything with it. They better hope LT doesnt get hurt this year with Turner gone.

He showed flashes of being a very good tight end. Im not too concerned about some of his drops either because of rookie jitters and he wasnt very involved in the offense for the most part. Id be willing to say hes gonna be the best number two tight end in the league next year.

Hester might be more exciting but he has a long way to go to surpass what Urlacher has accomplished.

There are still people that think theyre gonna get to see Wolfe this year? Hes 4th string and isnt better than any of the other three guys in any single skill. So unless two guys get hurt. I wouldnt expect to see much out of Wolfe. They might as well cut him.

There isnt a player in Chicago sports today that is more loved and respected than Urlacher. I hope they get this straightened out soon and it doesnt become a distraction. I personally think they should renegotiate his contract for him.

Im definitely not down on him for it. I actually think he deserves it and think the Bears should renegotiate for him. For what hes meant to the franchise since hes been here he deserves a new contract since the cap rose.

Also, Im pretty sure Urlacher was never franchised.

Yea, we actually got Briggs for a discount considering what we were thinking he was going to get.

Dont the Bears normally not negotiate during the season? I would assume they will be working hard on getting Harris and Hester reworked before the preseason this year.

Thats good news

If Mike Brown alone can stay healthy we will have a good defense.

Me and a friend were trying to figure it out. That was the only possible thing we came up with. Never heard it used before though.

What exactly is a UT?

I would run a double tight end with no full back QB-Grossman RB-Forte TE-Clark and Olsen WR=Hester and Bennett (I realize this is a huge stretch but I think these two guys would compliment each other well and we would have both TEs also) LT-Williams LG-St Clair C-Kruetz RG-Garza RT-Tait Same defense we started last year but Brown at SS and D. Manning at FS

This is very positive for a rookie coach. It seemed like the team had a bunch of thugs on it when I watched them play the Ravens last year. I guess Billick was doing a better job than he got credit for.

Good stuff. I guess time will tell if our first two picks were reaches but I certainly liked the positions we chose.

It would be pretty cool to have him here only to be next to Hester returning kick offs but we cant use a roster spot on a 2nd returner when we already have 4 running backs.

If Benson is healthy and out of trouble, Wolfe should absolutely be the odd man out. My guess would be we would go with one fullback unless theres an injury though.