Ed Hochuli 3:16 Posted November 13, 2008 Report Share Posted November 13, 2008 Jerry Angelo shrugged off threats by pouty linebacker Brian Urlacher last summer. Unhappy with the $25.5 million he had remaining on his deal, Urlacher couldn't find Lake Forest in the offseason and made noise he may not know the way to Bourbonnais. Asked if he thought the six-time Pro Bowler was trying to hold a gun to his head, Angelo offered a chesty response. ''If he does, it's a water pistol,'' he told Harry Teinowitz of WMVP-AM (1000). Urlacher and agents Pat Dye Jr. and Bill Johnson are having the last laugh. Angelo may have perceived the threat to be an idle one, but he caved. He rewarded the favorite son of Lovington, N.M., with $18 million in new money, including a $6 million signing bonus. If I were cornerback Corey Graham or safety Kevin Payne, I would be searching for the same water pistol. This is bad, but it shouldn't come as a surprise. The Bears' history of writing big checks for average players (see Bryan Cox, Phillip Daniels, Muhsin Muhammad) is as steeped as their history of trotting out inadequate quarterbacks. Graham and Payne have the same number of tackles as Urlacher, 49. So does Charles Tillman. The trio of defensive backs has defended passes and created turnovers. Urlacher hasn't. Payne even has a sack. Urlacher doesn't. No interceptions, either. So if Urlacher isn't going to make tackles, harass quarterbacks or get takeaways, for what is he making his fortune? Graham and Payne, both second-year players, are earning $375,000 this season. Urlacher doesn't get out of bed for that. Who's to blame? A couple Bears defenders say it's the scheme and, to an extent, they are correct. Filling gaps with angry, large mammals -- and sometimes asking them to penetrate with rude intentions -- has been proved effective. Lovie Smith, however, stubbornly says he will not alter his philosophy to get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks. Should testy defensive tackle Tommie Harris, who also got himself an enormous payday in the offseason, tell Smitty he doesn't know football as he did to a reporter Sunday after the Titans thumped the Bears? Should the highest-paid Bears defenders (with the exception of Lance Briggs, who has played exceptionally this year) quit pointing fingers, berating officials and bellyaching? Are these answers available on FoxSports.com? Urlacher hasn't become Public Enemy No. 1, but he is moving in that direction. More than anything, it's because of his lack of productivity. When you toss in his irritability and his me-first attitude, we're dealing with a guy seemingly willing to forfeit his rightful place in Chicago sports lore. Looks to me like a water pistol can be a very destructive weapon. suntimes.com Thoughts? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Controlled Chaos Posted November 13, 2008 Report Share Posted November 13, 2008 Pointing out that DB's have more tackles than Urlacher when teams are throwing more passes against the Bears (375) than any other team is just stoopid. Yeah Graham and Payne have more tackles....because they're allowing passes to be caught!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wesson44 Posted November 14, 2008 Report Share Posted November 14, 2008 suntimes.com Thoughts? The problem isn't Urlacher its the defense that we are running. With him up on the line he is getting blocked more often than not. True we are stopping the run but with #54 dropping back into the deep zones it makes QB throw the ball elsewhere. Now when they (our LB) are up in the line...the slant plays that they used to take away are getting big gains now. I hate to see what happens if we do this against the Packers a team that lives off these kinds of patterns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
selection7 Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 A more fair article criticizing Urlacher than the types I usually see. It's not unreasonable to ask more of him than we've been getting. A lot more, really. I thought the timing of his tantrum this past offseason for more money was strange, as he was coming off a down year where he was diagnosed with a sereious chronic back problem. Part of me wondered whether Urlacher knew he'd never be the same and wanted to strike while the iron was still hot. I still question it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DABEARSDABOMB Posted November 16, 2008 Report Share Posted November 16, 2008 Watch Urlacher on the field, he looks slow. He's a shell of what he once was and we all know he relied on pure athletism as he has never been a techncially sound lb from the standpoint of shedding blocks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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