Goodbye to Urlacher

[Stinger226]

It's the kind of move people new to management make just so they can say they out their stamp on being in charge. It's just popular to rag on Urlacher right now. He was flexible, but the Bears were not. It's poor management, poor negotiation, a poor example for future vet contracts, and poor leadership. Not to mention the fact it hamstrings the Bears in the draft. Bad move.

Its not about bowing down to the king, its about having a better football team. Hanging on to broken down players, doesnt make your team better. Almost all experts think he doesnt have it left anymore, it doesnt matter what you and I think, its about people that matter think.

[adam]

Truly an end of an era. I wish he went out on better terms, but it is easier to part ways now with a new regime then try and do it later. We will have to see who is brought in before we pass judgment on the move. I don't like it but if it makes our team better in 2013 and beyond, great, but with 2 LB holes to fill, and very little cap room, I am not too optimistic.

[Alaskan Grizzly]

Sorry to see him go. He carried himself with Chicago Bear pride and character on and off the field ('cept for that bastard child with the prostitute incident). I'm especially sad that the best Bear since the '85 era probably won't retire a Bear like Butkus, Singletary, Payton, Sayers. The new era Bears are just another soulless quick fix team, but I guess that's par for the course these days.

 

I also bet Trestman doesn't care that much whether the D is good these next two years because unles he 'loses the team', he can be relatively sure he won't be fired until more like years 3 and 4. I worry seeing someone like Trestman who's not known for his defensive genius, dismantling an obviously great D (I think we were the #1 or #2 rated D last year in that rating system that weights things in an effort to compare apples to apples). Whatever we've paid Urlacher over these years, it wasn't half what he's been worth to Chicago. I hope he can let it go, knowing the new guys who ran him out of towntown aren't really even Bears yet until they've been battle tested.

 

Actually, I hope Urlacher retires. ...gives his body the rest it needs and I don't have to see him wearing the enemy's uniform.

 

Well said sir. Cheers to you.

[bradjock]

http://my.chicagotribune.com/#section/-1/a...e/p2p-74726051/

 

He was wiling to negotiate and play for 3m. The Bears were not. Bad move. Period. And anyone saying he sucked just wasn't watching the games. He wasn't an all pro anymore, but he was serviceable. Slap in the face, just like I said before.

 

This is too similar to the Kreutz situation. It sucks and I hate it.

 

Either way, what we should be talking about is who are we going to sign to play linebacker and what are we going to do with the 2 million we were offering him?

[Controlled Chaos]

Its not about bowing down to the king, its about having a better football team. Hanging on to broken down players, doesnt make your team better. Almost all experts think he doesnt have it left anymore, it doesnt matter what you and I think, its about people that matter think.

The experts are right like 50% of the time with shit like this...so consider me an expert. Urlacher had no offseason, no preseason, some reports had him having 3 knee surgeries including 1 just 26 days before the season started. He definitely started off slow, rightfully so, but he was playing at a top level when he went down in week 13 and led the team in tackles. They'll be hard pressed to find someone of his caliber this year let alone missing out on a younger guy learning from him.

[rockren]

Not sure if they will retire his jersey. Ditka, Hampton and Singletary's jerseys are not retired.

 

Peace

 

It just goes to show how much class our organization clearly lacks. I remember when I was in elementary school and I was up late watching a Monday Night Football game when the Giants retired Phil Simms and LT's number on the same night. Those guys couldn't have been retired more than a year or two and they got their jersey retired. I remember asking my dad why the Bears had yet to have retired Singletary's number has he had been retired a year or two before those two....he told me that the Bears organization didn't have half the class that the Giants did.

 

He was right.

[Mongo3451]

Again, we all mostly wanted Urlacher back. I personally think he's one of my favorite Bears ever. But, the main aspect of this whole deal is this... We wanted him back. He was given time to test the market and nobody wanted him. Again, he was offered a contract that most people would give a testicle for. Again, he turned it down. That's his choice. Nobody can sit here and preach that the brass is a bunch souless bloodsuckers because they didn't pay him what his inflated ego thought he should be paid. Same thing happened with Kruetz, as he took less to play elsewhere and proved to be done. Since Urlacher has a home and ties here, he should accept his fate, man up and play. This organization has made him handsomely rich and famous already. It's time for him to be a team player, suck it up and pay it back by finishing his career here.

 

The only thing that could possibly refute this opinion is if he signs for more elsewhere. And it better be enough to cover the expenses of relocation and loss of endorsements in the Chicago area.

[Ed Hochuli 3:16]

The experts are right like 50% of the time with shit like this...so consider me an expert. Urlacher had no offseason, no preseason, some reports had him having 3 knee surgeries including 1 just 26 days before the season started. He definitely started off slow, rightfully so, but he was playing at a top level when he went down in week 13 and led the team in tackles. They'll be hard pressed to find someone of his caliber this year let alone missing out on a younger guy learning from him.

So he had that many injuries from his waist down and you want him back? That strained MCL he suffered week 17 in 2011 turned into a year long issue. That issued caused him to miss the preseason, not something else. He then was juuuust getting healthy, and then hurt his hamstring. He's just an older player who isn't good with a broken down body. End of story.

 

And for the record, he got a new deal 2 years ago in training camp by the Bears. Wasn't this his turn to take his $1m guaranteed and earn $2m total?

[Connorbear]

It just goes to show how much class our organization clearly lacks. I remember when I was in elementary school and I was up late watching a Monday Night Football game when the Giants retired Phil Simms and LT's number on the same night. Those guys couldn't have been retired more than a year or two and they got their jersey retired. I remember asking my dad why the Bears had yet to have retired Singletary's number has he had been retired a year or two before those two....he told me that the Bears organization didn't have half the class that the Giants did.

 

He was right.

The Bears have the most retired jerseys in the NFL with 13. The Giants are second with 11. The NFL discourages teams from retiring jersey because they don't want them to run out of numbers.

 

If you think the Bears have no class, then why are you a fan?

 

Peace

[ParkerBear7]

Urlacher is on Sirius right now and said "I wouldn't play for $2 million...not for the Bears at least." Then get the f*** out. "At least?" What the f*** does that mean?

 

Salary is only part of the money. $2 Million plus whatever he makes in endorsements in one of th elargest markets in the country? I side with management and let 54 walk if he won't play for $2M. Good luck getting more than $2M and the endorsements in Minny. Jay, must be thinking to him self whose the Pu$$y now?

[fudgeripple2000]

This is too similar to the Kreutz situation. It sucks and I hate it.

 

Either way, what we should be talking about is who are we going to sign to play linebacker and what are we going to do with the 2 million we were offering him?

 

but do you remember what happened to Kreutz? He got picked up and then let go.

[bschmaranz]

Kinda had a feeling this was gonna happen. Bears would be fair with the guy and he'd wind up offended and bitching to the media. Wait until he realizes nobody is going to give him even as much as what the Bears had floated by him.

 

Should it have ended like this? Absolutely not. Should the Bears get the brunt of the anger from the fanbase? Not so sure about that.

[ParkerBear7]

Although I am disappointed that #54 is being greedy atleast we have a GM that seemingly will not overpay for a quality player in the twilight of his career. What does bothers me is the uncertainty of what will happen moving forward with Plan B. So will Emery look to bring in two vet LBs like Jones in Green Bay and Smith from Jacksonville to fill the spots vacated by Urlacher and Roach?

 

 

I hope they will add to the OL as well as I am not liking the current Draftek Mock where they take a WR in RD 1, LB in RD 2, CB in RD 4, DT in RD 5 and only 1 OL, a center in the 6th.

 

 

I think we need to DRAFT BPA: OG, LB, OC with signing a LG and 2 LB in FA. Hopefully the Center and Guards drafted are high enough to come in and compete for starting jobs this year. There is NO margin for error and we can not make any sketchy picks like years past i.e Bauzine, Gilbert et ol. We need 2-3 day one starters out of this draft class for this season. On the positive side, OL and LB are positions when drafted in the top 4 rounds that this may be a reasonable expectation.

[Stinger226]

Youre a moron

He was my favorite Bear during his prime, that is long gone. I just heard on the radio the statement where he said (I wont play for the Bears for 2 mil) comes from the logic that the Bears paid him 17 mil the last two years when he admittedly was not very good, so he deserves to be paid more now. He is full of himself and if you wish to worship him , buy a poster and take it in the bathroom and shut the door. We just have opinions , whether the Bears succeed or fail , doesnt have anything to do with what we think. You want to worship an old FORMER all pro by giving him what ever he wants to play for when it is detrimental to the team to play players for past performance. I want the team to be better, so lets start replaces the ones that dont play well anymore. I think its time to find another leader of our defense and try to be better for the next 5 years going forward. The longer we wait to replace players , the longer it takes to get to where we need to go. I dont think the defense will be any good this year whether Urlacher was here or not, but we might as well set ourselfs up to be better sooner by getting started now. The coaches and the league seem to be more inline with my thinking than yours, so if Im a moron, what label show we put on you?

[Stinger226]

x2

buy a poster.

[madlithuanian]

Exactly...

 

The Bears are like any organization...they have had good and bad days. But overall, they are a class organization.

 

The Bears have the most retired jerseys in the NFL with 13. The Giants are second with 11. The NFL discourages teams from retiring jersey because they don't want them to run out of numbers.

 

If you think the Bears have no class, then why are you a fan?

 

Peace

 

[madlithuanian]

Save it. Once he retires, it'll be a classic Bears jersey like Singletary, etc...

 

The sooner he retires, the sooner you can return to wearing it.

 

Dang...what to do with my #54 orange crush jersey

 

[madlithuanian]

Bottom line...

 

I will sorely miss the Uracher that was. I don't believe I will miss the one that will be...

 

Much love Brian. You made us all so happy for over a dozen years. Thank you.

 

You will always be a Bear. Our loyalty will just take a brief vacation if you choose to go elsewhere for a minute.

 

Here's to # 54! As part of the remarkable linebacking legacy for the best franchise on earth! There were others before, there will be others after. But there never will be another quite like him.

 

Bear down. Literally & figuratively...

 

[Controlled Chaos]

He was my favorite Bear during his prime, that is long gone. I just heard on the radio the statement where he said (I wont play for the Bears for 2 mil) comes from the logic that the Bears paid him 17 mil the last two years when he admittedly was not very good, so he deserves to be paid more now. He is full of himself and if you wish to worship him , buy a poster and take it in the bathroom and shut the door. We just have opinions , whether the Bears succeed or fail , doesn't have anything to do with what we think. You want to worship an old FORMER all pro by giving him what ever he wants to play for when it is detrimental to the team to play players for past performance. I want the team to be better, so lets start replaces the ones that dont play well anymore. I think its time to find another leader of our defense and try to be better for the next 5 years going forward. The longer we wait to replace players , the longer it takes to get to where we need to go. I don't think the defense will be any good this year whether Urlacher was here or not, but we might as well set ourselves up to be better sooner by getting started now. The coaches and the league seem to be more inline with my thinking than yours, so if I'm a moron, what label show we put on you?

Nobody said give him whatever he wants. He's not the same player and he wasn't asking to be compensated like the same player. He would've been back here for 3mil. This team is NOT going to find a better player/leader out there for that. He plays hurt and does whatever he can to be on the field and when he is injured and fights through it, he gets beat up for sucking. (All players are treated like this and I think it's ridiculous) I understand all the rage is take everything emotional out of any decision and base it on stats/productivity, but this is an emotional game. IMO you need that emotion to succeed and you need some of that emotion when making your personnel decisions. 54 at 3 million is bargain and deciding not to do it is a mistake. This was handled poorly. Clearly they didn't want him back and wanted to start fresh. If that's the direction then fine...they could have worked that out months ago, but it is insulting to basically offer him the league minimum, 1 mil with a chance to make another mil in incentives with a take it or leave it offer?? It doesn't make sense...especially if they want to run the same style of defense. I would have absolutely no issue if they brought in a new DC with a different philosophy and announced in Jan or Feb that Urlacher wouldn't be coming back. Thanks for your service and good luck, but this?? This was weak sauce.

[Stinger226]

Nobody said give him whatever he wants. He's not the same player and he wasn't asking to be compensated like the same player. He would've been back here for 3mil. This team is NOT going to find a better player/leader out there for that. He plays hurt and does whatever he can to be on the field and when he is injured and fights through it, he gets beat up for sucking. (All players are treated like this and I think it's ridiculous) I understand all the rage is take everything emotional out of any decision and base it on stats/productivity, but this is an emotional game. IMO you need that emotion to succeed and you need some of that emotion when making your personnel decisions. 54 at 3 million is bargain and deciding not to do it is a mistake. This was handled poorly. Clearly they didn't want him back and wanted to start fresh. If that's the direction then fine...they could have worked that out months ago, but it is insulting to basically offer him the league minimum, 1 mil with a chance to make another mil in incentives with a take it or leave it offer?? It doesn't make sense...especially if they want to run the same style of defense. I would have absolutely no issue if they brought in a new DC with a different philosophy and announced in Jan or Feb that Urlacher wouldn't be coming back. Thanks for your service and good luck, but this?? This was weak sauce.

I will admit he is probably the best player we could have at MLB this year, not due to his play, but the leadership qualities he would bring with a new coaching staff taking over. If he has any loyality to the Bears he would have accepted reallity and accepted the offer and he would be here. You are throwing all the blame on the Bears and Urlacher has responsibility for this as well. The Bears made him a rich man, sometimes you have to give back. Making 2 mil for you last year in the league is fair and he should have took it. I like you picture on your profile.

[jason]

Nobody said give him whatever he wants. He's not the same player and he wasn't asking to be compensated like the same player. He would've been back here for 3mil. This team is NOT going to find a better player/leader out there for that. He plays hurt and does whatever he can to be on the field and when he is injured and fights through it, he gets beat up for sucking. (All players are treated like this and I think it's ridiculous) I understand all the rage is take everything emotional out of any decision and base it on stats/productivity, but this is an emotional game. IMO you need that emotion to succeed and you need some of that emotion when making your personnel decisions. 54 at 3 million is bargain and deciding not to do it is a mistake. This was handled poorly. Clearly they didn't want him back and wanted to start fresh. If that's the direction then fine...they could have worked that out months ago, but it is insulting to basically offer him the league minimum, 1 mil with a chance to make another mil in incentives with a take it or leave it offer?? It doesn't make sense...especially if they want to run the same style of defense. I would have absolutely no issue if they brought in a new DC with a different philosophy and announced in Jan or Feb that Urlacher wouldn't be coming back. Thanks for your service and good luck, but this?? This was weak sauce.

 

VERY well said.

[jason]

I will admit he is probably the best player we could have at MLB this year, not due to his play, but the leadership qualities he would bring with a new coaching staff taking over. If he has any loyality to the Bears he would have accepted reallity and accepted the offer and he would be here. You are throwing all the blame on the Bears and Urlacher has responsibility for this as well. The Bears made him a rich man, sometimes you have to give back. Making 2 mil for you last year in the league is fair and he should have took it. I like you picture on your profile.

 

The reality is, the Bears deserve most of the blame for not making this happen. Negotiation world-wide (trust me on this, I've been to dozens of countries) is the same: one side goes high, one side goes low, the meeting is in the middle. Both are really happy if it's exactly in the middle, but that's not always necessary. The problem is that the Bears didn't want to budge, didn't want to negotiate.

 

[jason]

He was my favorite Bear during his prime, that is long gone. I just heard on the radio the statement where he said (I wont play for the Bears for 2 mil) comes from the logic that the Bears paid him 17 mil the last two years when he admittedly was not very good, so he deserves to be paid more now. He is full of himself and if you wish to worship him , buy a poster and take it in the bathroom and shut the door. We just have opinions , whether the Bears succeed or fail , doesnt have anything to do with what we think. You want to worship an old FORMER all pro by giving him what ever he wants to play for when it is detrimental to the team to play players for past performance. I want the team to be better, so lets start replaces the ones that dont play well anymore. I think its time to find another leader of our defense and try to be better for the next 5 years going forward. The longer we wait to replace players , the longer it takes to get to where we need to go. I dont think the defense will be any good this year whether Urlacher was here or not, but we might as well set ourselfs up to be better sooner by getting started now. The coaches and the league seem to be more inline with my thinking than yours, so if Im a moron, what label show we put on you?

 

 

Would you quit using this line of reasoning? It's dumb considering the horrible moves we've seen the Bears make for the past 30 years. Saying that the coaches align with your thoughts is just as often a negative as it is a positive.

[Stinger226]

Would you quit using this line of reasoning? It's dumb considering the horrible moves we've seen the Bears make for the past 30 years. Saying that the coaches align with your thoughts is just as often a negative as it is a positive.

We have new people running the Bears and until they prove that they made mistakes I would prefer to let them do there job and will pat them on the back or condemn for those moves of which wont know the results for at least one year if now two. I have my opinion, right or wrong and they are acting upon what I think is the right thing to do. Its not that there are agreeing with me , I am just making an observation.

[Controlled Chaos]

I will admit he is probably the best player we could have at MLB this year, not due to his play, but the leadership qualities he would bring with a new coaching staff taking over. If he has any loyality to the Bears he would have accepted reallity and accepted the offer and he would be here. You are throwing all the blame on the Bears and Urlacher has responsibility for this as well. The Bears made him a rich man, sometimes you have to give back. Making 2 mil for you last year in the league is fair and he should have took it. I like you picture on your profile.

He made the Bears rich as well and they will continue to make money off of him when they release...commemorative this and commemorative that. I mean his high offer, the initial offer which everyone knows is just an inflated number to get things started was only 5.5 mil, so I don't think he was trying to take them for ransom. He may have even gone for 2 with incentives to get him to 3, but who knows...because this was never a negotiation.