Urlacher threatens to retire

[jackie hayes]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mulligan/90...-bear18.article

 

Noone believes him, but, still, it's Urlacher, so it's news. Key anonymous quote:

 

One NFL insider laughed off the situation as the equivalent of a child taking his ball and going home or threatening to hold his breath until he passes out.

 

''Urlacher has no leverage,'' the source said. ''He wants to be paid, right? If he takes a medical [retirement], then he's got to prove he's hurt. If he does that, he'll never get paid. They're not going to trade him. All he can do is be disruptive.

 

''It's a joke. Players never walk away from millions. They threaten to, but they never do it.''

[ChileBear]

http://www.suntimes.com/sports/mulligan/90...-bear18.article

 

Noone believes him, but, still, it's Urlacher, so it's news. Key anonymous quote:

 

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I'm yawning! Come on Url, just make sure you're in shape when TC rolls around.

[nfoligno]

F Him. Yea yea yea. It is all part of the game. This is the business side of it. I don't care anymore. There were players you expected this from, and then there were players who were supposed to be above this shit. Back when he was drafted, I recall his agents not getting it done in contract negotiations, and Urlacher flat told them to get it done, and he would not miss a minute of camp due to contract crap. A few years later, Urlacher still has two years left, but the bears give him a new deal, and one that dwarfted all prior contracts handed out by the organization.

 

Over the last year or so, he just doesn't seem the same. He was always a friendly, fan favorite. He seemed like a kid who knew he was getting paid to do what he loved. Now? I just don't think he enjoys it. He was playing petty games w/ the media throughout last year. Now this?

 

So let me understand this. On one hand, he says his injuries are so serious that he is contemplating retirement. On the other hand, he wants a new deal w/ new money throw his way. Um, does anyone else see the stupidity in this? He is coming off a weaker than normal season, riddled w/ injury and w/o a pro bowl. Further, the team is coming off a shit year. And he chooses now to try and hold the team hostage? This is the face of the franchise? This is our team leader?

 

I really hope we play hardball w/ him. We own him for 4 more seasons. If he retires, it will hurt the team, but does anyone really believe he will retire. And it isn't like he can retire and return to play for another team in a year. Even if he retires, we still own him for the next 4 years. He can talk about holding out, but then he will just start paying us.

 

Sorry, but I am not fully bitter. F Urlacher. F Harris. F Hester. This only proves my point that it is worthless to sign players to new deals, before the expiration of their original deals. They will play for a couple years under that new deal, then demand more money. Screw them all. Make them play out their deals, and like Briggs, see if the market is really what they think.

 

I have a feeling that as highly regarded as many of these players are, they would be in for a bit of shock if they really tested the market.

 

Urlacher - not just an injury, but a chronic back problem. Not a good injury, particularly for a LB. Wrong side of 30, and coming off a sub-par year.

 

Harris - Dealt w/ injuries the last couple years. Disappears in the 2nd half of seasons, when he is on the field at all. Great DT, but may not fit every teams scheme, which limits options. And anytime you have a player spouting off about being among the highest paid, it will scare off many potential suitors.

 

Hester - Already arguably the greatest return man of all time, but history is pretty clear. Return men do not have a huge window in which they are dominant. While Hester seems to have broken the mold, I still think most will question how long he will be as devestating as he currently is. While he is far better, I think you need only look at how fast Dante Hall's shooting star came back to earth. If he wants to be paid as a top tier WR, I think he must first prove he can play WR.

 

Briggs thought himself worth more than $20m in SB. He got around $13. We played semi-hard ball w/ Briggs, and I think that is exactly what we should be doing w/ the rest of these players.

[barnesat]

This is the same guy who was willing to take a pay cut so that the Bears could resign Briggs right? The same guy who just wanted what was best for the team? Something just doesn't seem right with this, and maybe I have just misplaced my faith here but I have always really respected Urlacher for the way he has been above the crap like this. Does anybody else think something about this doesn't seem right, or is it just me not wanting it to be true?

[windbar]

Long time, no post; hows everyone?

 

I hate to say I told you so, but I told you so. I posted a while back that if we sign Briggs (when I was theorizing about signing Briggs and trading URL since we could get some decent value), it would be inevitable that Urlacher would be asking for money. People said "what makes you believe he would ask for more monny? No way."

 

This is proving to be a tumultous off season. As much as I know this is a business and everyone wasnt to get paid, everyone seems to be posturing at the same time. I wish it was like NE where people accepted less, in order to be a winner.

[jason]

Given Urlacher's history, and the fact that he seems to shy away from the media in absolutely every way similar to this, something doesn't seem right. I agree with barnesat; there is just simply wrong with this article.

 

It's too forward.

-Threatening to retire? Highly unlikely for someone who seems to love it so much and hasn't made a fuss up to this point.

-Demanding more money? This is possible, but I doubt Urlacher would take the media route given his track-record and loyalty. He knows he's the face of the team right now.

-Threatening the hold out? If anything, it will be to rest up and save a battered body. We'll see when all the offseason stuff roles around, but I doubt it.

-NFL "insider" who says what Urlacher is "doing" is a joke? How often do the NFL "insiders" make statements this harsh? Almost never. How often does the "insider" turn out to be some guy's cousin who works as a janitor? Quite a bit of the time.

-The speculation of a players' revolt if he doesn't get paid? Come on...that's the straw that broke the camel's back.

 

The verbage is wrong. The wording is too strong, tense, hostile.

 

I think this is a test piece to see if the fans would react the same way as they have with the Briggs and Hester situations. I think this is a fabrication to see the reaction.

 

Urlacher may be negotiating a new contract, but I don't think this is even remotely close to the truth. It's basically Jemele Hill from ESPN ghost-writing for the Sun.

[madlithuanian]

I see the kool aid thermos is empty!

 

As annoying as this is...I'm not sure it's a problem yet. All this posturing is unfortunately aprt of the game now. It's not just in Chicago. Odds are any #1 picks we get will turn into similar problems in no time.

 

It's the problem with modern sports. Only baseball doesn't have the problem, and it's because their contracts are guaranteed. But that too comes at a cost. Bum players not really giving it their all, etc... I still think football has it right...but with that comes a price. This is the price. Maybe we should go uncapped, but then I'd also say remove FA... Go back to the old way of making guys play their careers in one city, etc... Bottom line, is that there is not one way to please everyone.

 

Also, I want to give Hester a little more benefit of the doubt. Wasn't it just jackass Sanders spouting his mouth off?

 

 

 

F Him. Yea yea yea. It is all part of the game. This is the business side of it. I don't care anymore. There were players you expected this from, and then there were players who were supposed to be above this shit. Back when he was drafted, I recall his agents not getting it done in contract negotiations, and Urlacher flat told them to get it done, and he would not miss a minute of camp due to contract crap. A few years later, Urlacher still has two years left, but the bears give him a new deal, and one that dwarfted all prior contracts handed out by the organization.

 

Over the last year or so, he just doesn't seem the same. He was always a friendly, fan favorite. He seemed like a kid who knew he was getting paid to do what he loved. Now? I just don't think he enjoys it. He was playing petty games w/ the media throughout last year. Now this?

 

So let me understand this. On one hand, he says his injuries are so serious that he is contemplating retirement. On the other hand, he wants a new deal w/ new money throw his way. Um, does anyone else see the stupidity in this? He is coming off a weaker than normal season, riddled w/ injury and w/o a pro bowl. Further, the team is coming off a shit year. And he chooses now to try and hold the team hostage? This is the face of the franchise? This is our team leader?

 

I really hope we play hardball w/ him. We own him for 4 more seasons. If he retires, it will hurt the team, but does anyone really believe he will retire. And it isn't like he can retire and return to play for another team in a year. Even if he retires, we still own him for the next 4 years. He can talk about holding out, but then he will just start paying us.

 

Sorry, but I am not fully bitter. F Urlacher. F Harris. F Hester. This only proves my point that it is worthless to sign players to new deals, before the expiration of their original deals. They will play for a couple years under that new deal, then demand more money. Screw them all. Make them play out their deals, and like Briggs, see if the market is really what they think.

 

I have a feeling that as highly regarded as many of these players are, they would be in for a bit of shock if they really tested the market.

 

Urlacher - not just an injury, but a chronic back problem. Not a good injury, particularly for a LB. Wrong side of 30, and coming off a sub-par year.

 

Harris - Dealt w/ injuries the last couple years. Disappears in the 2nd half of seasons, when he is on the field at all. Great DT, but may not fit every teams scheme, which limits options. And anytime you have a player spouting off about being among the highest paid, it will scare off many potential suitors.

 

Hester - Already arguably the greatest return man of all time, but history is pretty clear. Return men do not have a huge window in which they are dominant. While Hester seems to have broken the mold, I still think most will question how long he will be as devestating as he currently is. While he is far better, I think you need only look at how fast Dante Hall's shooting star came back to earth. If he wants to be paid as a top tier WR, I think he must first prove he can play WR.

 

Briggs thought himself worth more than $20m in SB. He got around $13. We played semi-hard ball w/ Briggs, and I think that is exactly what we should be doing w/ the rest of these players.

[nfoligno]

I know it is part of the game. At the same time, while I expect this BS from some, I do not expect this BS from the "face of the franchise". I expect him to be above this crap. Further, the simple fact that he is making a play for more money after last year, considering the year he and the team had, I think is just unbelievable.

 

As for Hester, I do not think I have blasted him, and said myself I am giving him the benefit of the doubt. But, if we are going to blow it up and rebuild, his value may be higher than any, and more than any, I question our ability to keep him long term and/or his ability to dominate long term.

[nfoligno]

I think it is you, and the rest of us fans, wanting it to be true. For better than I year we have read various web sites predict that Briggs posturing would lead to an eventual showdown between the team and Briggs. We didn't want to believe that to be true, but it sure seems to have come to pass.

[nfoligno]

Part of what is unbelievable is that most who felt Urlacher would ask for more, did so because of the idea Briggs would get a deal greater than Urlacher's. Briggs in fact got around $7m less in SB than Urlacher did several years ago, thus it would have seemed the previous reasons to believe Urlacher would do this fell null and void. Nope.

[Da Bears 88]

Brian Urlacher called a report in the Chicago Sun Times that he may be threatening to retire a "gossip column."

 

"I never said that I was going to quit," Urlacher claims. "Reports like that is why I choose not to speak to the media." Urlacher says the Bears are offering him a one-year extension. They're right to hesitate considering his uneven play in 2007, offseason neck surgery, arthritic back, and age (30 in May).

 

Report isn't true.

[nfoligno]

I hear you on how this doesn't sound right, but let me point out that it could be Urlacher's agents doing the trash talking, which IMHO, would make more sense. While that "may" change things some, I question how much his agents would be talking w/o his permission.

 

Retirement - You argue why he would not retire, but that does not touch on whether or not he would try to use it as a threat, however empty. A couple years ago, would have you believed Urlacher to skip OTAs?

 

Demanding more money - As said above, I doubt Urlacher is taking his issues to the media so much, but that doesn't mean his agents aren't doing the talking. We have held players accountable for the actions of their agents in the past, so why not here.

 

Holdout - Players always have a reason, but the injury reason seems to be out, as Urlacher is quoted as talking about how good he feels. He is saying that he may skip OTAs to spend more time w/ his family. Nice sentiment, but do we all not have to miss our families some to earn our pay?

 

Regarding the insider bit, I always love how quick people are to dismiss confidential sources when it doesn't fly w/ their belief, and use said sources when it does. If we were talking about PFT's "Bears insider", okay. But we are talking about a local papers bears beat writer. They often do have pretty solid ties, and I do not believe should be so easily discounted.

 

I would like to point you back to the early period of Brigg's contract squabbles. Eearly on, Briggs was acting the part of the good guy in front of the camera, while Rosenarce was acting the part of the bad boy behind closed doors. Could this not be the same. Urlacher is working to keep up his image w/ the fans, while his agents play dirty. Why would that even be surprising, as it is all but the norm in the NFL. Some, like Chad Johnson or Terrell Owens, are happy to show their true colors, but most hide behind their agents. I freaking love how players always say, "I am really not involved. My agent is handling this, and will give me a call when it is time to sign a new deal. I'm staying out of it and focusing on the football side."

 

Yea, and I have some sweet ocean front property in Arizona.

[madlithuanian]

Gotcha

 

I know it is part of the game. At the same time, while I expect this BS from some, I do not expect this BS from the "face of the franchise". I expect him to be above this crap. Further, the simple fact that he is making a play for more money after last year, considering the year he and the team had, I think is just unbelievable.

 

As for Hester, I do not think I have blasted him, and said myself I am giving him the benefit of the doubt. But, if we are going to blow it up and rebuild, his value may be higher than any, and more than any, I question our ability to keep him long term and/or his ability to dominate long term.

[Guest TerraTor]

Gotcha

 

 

Tho its all BS, he wants to be an ass about things, trade him to atlanta...hahaha, thatll teach 'im

[Ed Hochuli 3:16]

Tho its all BS, he wants to be an ass about things, trade him to atlanta...hahaha, thatll teach 'im

Trade him and Tommie to ATL for their 1st and 2nd, and their 1st next year.

[Da Bears 88]

You people are way overreacting to this crap.

 

Flipping out over stuff that's BS.