BlueBrewer
11-02-2007, 02:31 PM
Urlacher may need a break
Franchise player's bad back casts doubt on his Bears future, writes David Haugh
October 30, 2007
Tuesday's two-minute drill ...
Brian Urlacher did more than increase traffic for his favorite Web site with his weekend admission that he indeed had an arthritic back. Even more than a buzz, Urlacher created doubt about the future of his Bears career that the team cannot ignore as it plans ahead.
Suddenly the contract extension that Urlacher and the team had begun exploring informally looks like a risky commitment to an aging middle linebacker with arthritis. The Bears still owe $22.4 million to Urlacher after this season, including a whopping $7.35 million salary in 2011 when he will be 33.
After his admission that "there is no clear-cut solution to give me relief" from the arthritis, can anybody be sure Urlacher will even finish the current contract, let alone rip it up to sign a richer one?
Go down that road at your peril, Jerry Angelo, but anybody who doesn't think an arthritic back will hasten Urlacher's decline isn't paying attention on Sundays this fall. Not sure who has been wearing No. 54, but he hasn't consistently resembled a perennial defensive player of the year candidate.
"I think we're going a little far with what Brian's injury is," coach Lovie Smith said Monday. "How many games has Brian missed with this injury? If you didn't know there was something going on with Brian's back, you can't see that. He won't be in a wheelchair tomorrow or anything like that. Brian has pain. Most guys have some form of pain they're dealing with."
Naturally, Smith aimed to downplay the big-picture implications, but the development potentially changes every assumption about the Bears as they move forward to repair the wreckage from this disastrous 3-5 start.
Will Urlacher ever be the same player? If the Bears eventually do restructure Urlacher's contract, will it be to pay him less instead of more?
The Bears have to wonder. They will need to consider free-agent options to find a new running back, quarterback, offensive linemen and possibly a wide receiver as well as lock up Tommie Harris and Devin Hester to expensive long-term contracts.
No way the Bears can print new money for Urlacher now, amid all the doubts.
They would be better off opening the vault and letting Lance Briggs name his price to ensure they have a durable Pro Bowl linebacker in his prime instead of past it. Briggs has had a better 2007 season than Urlacher and at this point looks like a smarter investment for the next five seasons than his more famous buddy.
If Urlacher can still function at an acceptable NFL level, it might make sense to consider switching him to an outside linebacker position, where he wouldn't be required to run to the deep middle of the field in the Cover-2.
Lovie Smith isn't going anywhere, so neither is the Cover-2 scheme, which is a terrible fit for a thirtysomething middle linebacker with a bad back.
If it might extend his career, Urlacher and the Bears have to stay open-minded and exhaust every possibility for a Hall of Fame candidate destined to be a different player than the one Chicago and the league are used to seeing.
Those are long-range implications. Short-term, the Bears might want to think about shutting Urlacher down until they can be sure how healthy or unhealthy his back is. It's not like this season can get much worse.
Former longtime Bears trainer Fred Caito didn't want to comment specifically on arthritis without knowing Urlacher's medical history, but he has enough experience treating back conditions to wonder if the Bears should consider giving Urlacher a break.
"It's a matter of how effective is this player, is he at-risk of getting injured further because he can't function at a level he's used to playing," Caito said Monday. "That's the question. This isn't a bump or a bruise. You can see he's having a hard time taking on blocks or playing up to par. He might need some rest.
"The coaches, the organization have to decide what is in his best interests at this point. They have to ask, at what level can he still play? Can he protect himself?"
The Bears have to protect themselves for the future now that their franchise player has revealed a potentially chronic condition during the same season their potential franchise quarterback and running back failed. In the NFL dictionary, that's the definition of Square One.
The Urlacher situation reminded Caito of the day he accompanied Dan Hampton to East Lansing, Mich., for another knee surgery near the end of his proud career. The doctor laid it on the line with Hampton. "He told Dan, 'Here's what you've got, it's not going to get any better,' " Caito recalled. "Then the decision has to be made what to do. When you get to these high-profile athletes, it's a tough question to answer."
In the Foxsports.com story written by his author of choice, Urlacher was quoted as saying, "The thing that's so frustrating is there is no clear-cut solution to give me relief." Did anybody else wonder if those sounded like Urlacher's words? Maybe we're just not used to hearing Urlacher issue 15-word sentences. ... The Bears claim to be using the off week to get back to the basics and reinforce fundamentals. Yet on the weekly calendar released to the media, they're scheduled to spend a total of three hours practicing: 90 minutes on Wednesday and Thursday ...
Hester is a Pro Bowl lock. But at this rate, Harris looks like the only Bears player on offense or defense worthy of Pro Bowl consideration. More vulnerable against the run than one might prefer, Harris still will get a lot of attention and respect if he keeps adding to his seven sacks ...
Speaking of sacks, anybody know where defensive end Mark Anderson spent his October vacation? ... It's back to this: The most outstanding player for the Bears on Sunday was punter Brad Maynard, who averaged 47.8 yards per punt, including a net average of 44, and dropped three inside the 20-yard line ... The most curious sequence of play-calling came on the first series of the second half after the Lions had burned six minutes off the clock but missed a field goal. Cedric Benson gained eight yards on first down but then the Bears did their tired defense no favors by throwing on the next two plays. They never gained the two yards they needed and apparently never considered using Benson to get them ...
Franchise player's bad back casts doubt on his Bears future, writes David Haugh
October 30, 2007
Tuesday's two-minute drill ...
Brian Urlacher did more than increase traffic for his favorite Web site with his weekend admission that he indeed had an arthritic back. Even more than a buzz, Urlacher created doubt about the future of his Bears career that the team cannot ignore as it plans ahead.
Suddenly the contract extension that Urlacher and the team had begun exploring informally looks like a risky commitment to an aging middle linebacker with arthritis. The Bears still owe $22.4 million to Urlacher after this season, including a whopping $7.35 million salary in 2011 when he will be 33.
After his admission that "there is no clear-cut solution to give me relief" from the arthritis, can anybody be sure Urlacher will even finish the current contract, let alone rip it up to sign a richer one?
Go down that road at your peril, Jerry Angelo, but anybody who doesn't think an arthritic back will hasten Urlacher's decline isn't paying attention on Sundays this fall. Not sure who has been wearing No. 54, but he hasn't consistently resembled a perennial defensive player of the year candidate.
"I think we're going a little far with what Brian's injury is," coach Lovie Smith said Monday. "How many games has Brian missed with this injury? If you didn't know there was something going on with Brian's back, you can't see that. He won't be in a wheelchair tomorrow or anything like that. Brian has pain. Most guys have some form of pain they're dealing with."
Naturally, Smith aimed to downplay the big-picture implications, but the development potentially changes every assumption about the Bears as they move forward to repair the wreckage from this disastrous 3-5 start.
Will Urlacher ever be the same player? If the Bears eventually do restructure Urlacher's contract, will it be to pay him less instead of more?
The Bears have to wonder. They will need to consider free-agent options to find a new running back, quarterback, offensive linemen and possibly a wide receiver as well as lock up Tommie Harris and Devin Hester to expensive long-term contracts.
No way the Bears can print new money for Urlacher now, amid all the doubts.
They would be better off opening the vault and letting Lance Briggs name his price to ensure they have a durable Pro Bowl linebacker in his prime instead of past it. Briggs has had a better 2007 season than Urlacher and at this point looks like a smarter investment for the next five seasons than his more famous buddy.
If Urlacher can still function at an acceptable NFL level, it might make sense to consider switching him to an outside linebacker position, where he wouldn't be required to run to the deep middle of the field in the Cover-2.
Lovie Smith isn't going anywhere, so neither is the Cover-2 scheme, which is a terrible fit for a thirtysomething middle linebacker with a bad back.
If it might extend his career, Urlacher and the Bears have to stay open-minded and exhaust every possibility for a Hall of Fame candidate destined to be a different player than the one Chicago and the league are used to seeing.
Those are long-range implications. Short-term, the Bears might want to think about shutting Urlacher down until they can be sure how healthy or unhealthy his back is. It's not like this season can get much worse.
Former longtime Bears trainer Fred Caito didn't want to comment specifically on arthritis without knowing Urlacher's medical history, but he has enough experience treating back conditions to wonder if the Bears should consider giving Urlacher a break.
"It's a matter of how effective is this player, is he at-risk of getting injured further because he can't function at a level he's used to playing," Caito said Monday. "That's the question. This isn't a bump or a bruise. You can see he's having a hard time taking on blocks or playing up to par. He might need some rest.
"The coaches, the organization have to decide what is in his best interests at this point. They have to ask, at what level can he still play? Can he protect himself?"
The Bears have to protect themselves for the future now that their franchise player has revealed a potentially chronic condition during the same season their potential franchise quarterback and running back failed. In the NFL dictionary, that's the definition of Square One.
The Urlacher situation reminded Caito of the day he accompanied Dan Hampton to East Lansing, Mich., for another knee surgery near the end of his proud career. The doctor laid it on the line with Hampton. "He told Dan, 'Here's what you've got, it's not going to get any better,' " Caito recalled. "Then the decision has to be made what to do. When you get to these high-profile athletes, it's a tough question to answer."
In the Foxsports.com story written by his author of choice, Urlacher was quoted as saying, "The thing that's so frustrating is there is no clear-cut solution to give me relief." Did anybody else wonder if those sounded like Urlacher's words? Maybe we're just not used to hearing Urlacher issue 15-word sentences. ... The Bears claim to be using the off week to get back to the basics and reinforce fundamentals. Yet on the weekly calendar released to the media, they're scheduled to spend a total of three hours practicing: 90 minutes on Wednesday and Thursday ...
Hester is a Pro Bowl lock. But at this rate, Harris looks like the only Bears player on offense or defense worthy of Pro Bowl consideration. More vulnerable against the run than one might prefer, Harris still will get a lot of attention and respect if he keeps adding to his seven sacks ...
Speaking of sacks, anybody know where defensive end Mark Anderson spent his October vacation? ... It's back to this: The most outstanding player for the Bears on Sunday was punter Brad Maynard, who averaged 47.8 yards per punt, including a net average of 44, and dropped three inside the 20-yard line ... The most curious sequence of play-calling came on the first series of the second half after the Lions had burned six minutes off the clock but missed a field goal. Cedric Benson gained eight yards on first down but then the Bears did their tired defense no favors by throwing on the next two plays. They never gained the two yards they needed and apparently never considered using Benson to get them ...