Meanwhile, Urlacher has been out...

[denverYooper]

with knee issues. Schefter:
https://twitter.com/AdamSchefter/status/235399531456499712


Bears announced @burlacher54 underwent arthroscopic surgery on his left knee, still hoping to play in regular-season opener.

It'll be interesting to see if this affects his speed, a pretty big part of his game in that D.

[smuggler]

Probably the smart thing to do, even if they lose him for the first few weeks. We'll get to play them in week 2 without Urlacher, perhaps?

[MadScientist]

Probably the smart thing to do, even if they lose him for the first few weeks. We'll get to play them in week 2 without Urlacher, perhaps?
Or perhaps recovering and not at 100%. Might balance out the loss of Bishop in the game.

The worst thing he could have done (for the Bears that is) is wait it out to see if it heals and then have to get it fixed when the games count, similar to what happened with Neal last year.

[LP]

http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/08/16/report-urlacher-has-had-multiple-knee-surgeries-this-year/

The plot thickens.

[RashanGary]

He's old. He's done. Even when he comes back, good luck playing that deep cover 2 zone.

[denverYooper]

Urlacher expected to be out for remainder of regular season with Grade 2 Hammy.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/breaking/chi-chicago-bears-brian-urlacher-hamstring-strain-20121204,0,882544.story

Will his absence make their D better or worse? He hasn't actually been playing all that well.

Also, where did Peppers go this year? I know he's there but he seems to have been relatively quiet.

[LEWCWA]

I think this is a huge loss for the bears, He may not be as active, but I do think he is what makes their cover 2 def. work. He gets good drops and plays the middle of the field as well as anybody I have ever seen....plus he is still better than anybody GB runs out there.

[Bossman641]

Maybe a big loss emotionally, but he hasn't been getting it done this year. Even when the Bear D was balling earlier in the year he wasn't coming up with any big plays. The bigger problem the Bears have is that their older players are slowing down (Briggs and Tillman are both nursing injuries and Peppers has been playing through plantar fascitis).

[denverYooper]

Maybe a big loss emotionally, but he hasn't been getting it done this year. Even when the Bear D was balling earlier in the year he wasn't coming up with any big plays. The bigger problem the Bears have is that their older players are slowing down (Briggs and Tillman are both nursing injuries and Peppers has been playing through plantar fascitis).

Ahh, maybe that's what's going on with Peppers. I knew about the other 2, not Pep.

[Patler]

I think this is a huge loss for the bears, He may not be as active, but I do think he is what makes their cover 2 def. work. He gets good drops and plays the middle of the field as well as anybody I have ever seen....plus he is still better than anybody GB runs out there.

When he drops in coverage, it seems like he is 7 feet tall with a 10 foot wingspan. All QBs seem to misread their chances of getting throws over him

[Pugger]

Maybe a big loss emotionally, but he hasn't been getting it done this year. Even when the Bear D was balling earlier in the year he wasn't coming up with any big plays. The bigger problem the Bears have is that their older players are slowing down (Briggs and Tillman are both nursing injuries and Peppers has been playing through plantar fascitis).

I've noticed Ulicker has slowed down too.

[Cheesehead Craig]

Urlacher just has that knack for the game though. Can't replace that or his ability to call the defense and get guys in the right spot. Huge loss for the Bears.

[denverYooper]

When he drops in coverage, it seems like he is 7 feet tall with a 10 foot wingspan. All QBs seem to misread their chances of getting throws over him

Especially Packers QBs...

[red]

I've noticed Ulicker has slowed down too.

he has slowed down, he looked like he was running in slow motion on his int return for a TD

but he was still returning an INT for a TD.

the guy just knows and plays the game at a whole other level. huge loss for the bears imo

[Bossman641]

I think you guys are in for a surprise. The Urlacher of years past would be a huge loss, but Urlacher has been slowed all year. They haven't been playing their Tampa 2 as much this year, and the main reason is that many feel Urlacher can't handle the deep drops anymore.

[Patler]

I think you guys are in for a surprise. The Urlacher of years past would be a huge loss, but Urlacher has been slowed all year. They haven't been playing their Tampa 2 as much this year, and the main reason is that many feel Urlacher can't handle the deep drops anymore.

Maybe, but he still has an interception, 2 forced fumbles and 7 passes defensed through 12 games, pretty much right on with his career averages. His tackle numbers are down. Per the Chicago media, the biggest problem is that they really have no one to replace him, so even a slowed Urlacher will be greatly missed.

[pbmax]

Football Outsiders have a piece about the Bears defense suddenly taking a huge dip in Week 11 after performing at a record pace early. They were asking for input on personnel to help explain it. Show age on defense might finally be showing, but Urlacher's replacement could be a step up if only because he would be healthy.

[denverYooper]

Football Outsiders have a piece about the Bears defense suddenly taking a huge dip in Week 11 after performing at a record pace early. They were asking for input on personnel to help explain it. Show age on defense might finally be showing, but Urlacher's replacement could be a step up if only because he would be healthy.

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/dvoa-ratings/2012/week-13-dvoa-ratings

Interestingly, FO shows that Chicago's play against 1/2 WR has fallen off the most. Could be that Peanut's injury + new baby are affecting him and that is causing some falloff in the overall play of the D.

Matt Bowen made an interesting observation that the Bears D had a difficult time against the option run by Wilson. Might also explain their troubles vs. Kaepernick.

[swede]

http://www.footballoutsiders.com/dvoa-ratings/2012/week-13-dvoa-ratings

Interestingly, FO shows that Chicago's play against 1/2 WR has fallen off the most. Could be that Peanut's injury + new baby are affecting him and that is causing some falloff in the overall play of the D.

Matt Bowen made an interesting observation that the Bears D had a difficult time against the option run by Wilson. Might also explain their troubles vs. Kaepernick.

Cue .gif of Aaron faking Urlacher and Briggs out of their jockstraps.