Brian Urlacher

whatadai · 05-26-2009, 01:03 PM

I was just wondering. Why does everyone think Brian Urlacher sucks now and that he's too old? He had one down year. When other players have down years people always believe those guys will bounce back, why not Urlacher? Part of his problems last year could be to the bad back he claimed he has. I understand it could be a long-lasting problem that could make him play worse over the seasons, but one down season and a not so serious arthritic back has people talking about him being too old. The guy just turned 31 yesterday. He's a linebacker not a running back. Linebackers usually last longer, into their mid-30s. Mostly elite ones like him. I don't see why people are dropping such a great player down so much after one down season, mostly when he had a great season before.

I haven't heard any positive analysis of him this season at all. It seems to be all negative and seems as if everyone doesn't expect a bounce back year at all. Am I missing something?

Gay Ork Wang · 05-26-2009, 01:18 PM

he is solid but nothing really special, at least he didnt show anything

bsaza2358 · 05-26-2009, 01:25 PM

I don't see why this has its own thread here. Perhaps this needs to be moved to the Bears forum?

whatadai · 05-26-2009, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bsaza2358

I don't see why this has its own thread here. Perhaps this needs to be moved to the Bears forum?

I'm not a Bears fan nor an Urlacher fan. I don't hate him, I'm not some fan trying to support his lack of production last year. I also want analysis by other NFL fans, not homers. It's easy to predict that homers will think that he'll bounce back. I just want to know why everyone thinks he's doing worse, is there something I missed? And why no one thinks he'll bounce back.

bsaza2358 · 05-26-2009, 01:36 PM

At age 30+, the upside for any player is limited. Throw in the fact that lot of Urlacher's game is predicated on his ability to cut off angles and range from sideline to sideline, and it's easy to project that he will lose some of his initial burst/acceleration and will begin to lose some of his effectiveness. The Bears can counteract this by beefing up their DLine and keeping him free to flow to the ball, but that really isn't their system, and he is a bit out of place in many cover-2 playcalls. I believe his strength comes when he pushes forward and meets the ball, not from reading and reacting. Since Smith and the defensive coaches remain, I don't believe he will always be put in situations where he can play to his biggest strengths.

Maybe Next Year Millen2 · 05-26-2009, 01:46 PM

Ehhh Urlacher had a down year but he's still pretty good. Bears rush D was top 5 I believe, of course the way to beat them was through the air so teams passed alot but still top 5 is nothing to sneeze at. Briggs,Harris and the rest of the Dline helped alot of course, but Urlacher is the man in the middle so he gets a ton of credit for being top 5.

CC.SD · 05-26-2009, 01:59 PM

He can play for the Bolts anytime. Even if his game drops off, he brings it and is a complete linebacker.

Gay Ork Wang · 05-26-2009, 02:01 PM

Urlacher would suck in a 3-4. he is horrible at shedding blocks

CC.SD · 05-26-2009, 02:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by *** Ork Wang

Urlacher would suck in a 3-4. he is horrible at shedding blocks

He's not worse than Matt Wilhelm.

BeerBaron · 05-26-2009, 03:05 PM

For starters, it wasn't one down year for Urlacher, he's been going downwards for several now. Lance Briggs easily surpassed him as the team's best defender a number of seasons ago.

Now, Urlacher is still a captain, a leader on the field, and well respected in the locker room. He's smart, sees the field well and does all of the other things you like to see out of your veteran MLB.

Trust me, a good 90% of the other teams in the league would view Urlacher as a serious upgrade to whoever they have if they could get their hands on him now.

But, I'm afraid he can only go downwards from here in his career......hopefully the Bears will get a few more solid seasons from him, but he hasn't played like the pro bowler he once was for several seasons now. I'd love for him to rebound but with his chronic back injury and just age and wear in general sure to take their toll sooner rather than later, I'm afraid for him.

bearsfan_51 · 05-26-2009, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by *** Ork Wang

he is solid but nothing really special, at least he didnt show anything

Nothing special? You think he's an average starting linebacker? C'mon.....

He may not be the elite player he once was, but he's still what I would consider special.

Number 10 · 05-26-2009, 03:09 PM

Back issues can and usually kill the careers (the elite portions of them anyway) quicker than you can snap your finger.

Urlacher is servicable still, saw some things I liked in him early last year. You can no longer build that defense around him though and he may have to be turned into a 2 down LB if the Bears want a strong Urlacher late in the year from this point on.

Gay Ork Wang · 05-26-2009, 03:18 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bearsfan_51

Nothing special? You think he's an average starting linebacker? C'mon.....

He may not be the elite player he once was, but he's still what I would consider special.

well nothing REALLY special.

A Perfect Score · 05-26-2009, 03:26 PM

Brian Urlacher has always been one of my favorite players in the league. First jersey I bought, and I wore #54 when I played ILB because of him. Great football player, great guy as well from everything Ive heard. I didnt get to see alot of Bears games last year, but the guy has always been a pleasure for me to watch and I hope that he continues to play at a high level for years to come. He was the heart and soul of that Bears defense for a long time, and of course there are always transitions, but you gotta believe that at 31 he still has some gas left in the tank. Lets hope so, for the Bears sake anyways.

BuddyCHRIST · 05-26-2009, 03:34 PM

He's still a very good player and his backlash has been a little much. He's struggles in traffic but so do most LB's, he can still make outstanding plays with space. I just don't think he's particularly special anymore, and LB is kind of an overrated position as most guys can play pretty well if they are given room to run, so unless your a truly special player (including intangibles) I just don't see the value. That said this isn't the first time people said he had a down year, and he's had strong years after those so I wouldn't write him off as being on the downslope of his career yet, he's still quite the athlete.

People also talk about how he struggles if you can run right at him, and I don't know if the Bears still play Cover 2 but that's just an overall weakness of that system.

tjsunstein · 05-26-2009, 04:02 PM

He's still a special player but he set his own standards so high that people expect that out of him year in and year out. He will never be the player he used to be again but he's still a very very good player.

parrish_lemar24DBSkins · 05-26-2009, 04:12 PM

I've followed Urlacher's career somewhat closely, mainly in comparison to Lavar Arrington, since both were top 10 picks in '00.

Urlacher was the far superior player, but it's odd now that because he's not the freak athlete at MLB he was 4-5 years ago, that people are hinting he's become an average player(!!).

I remember the regular season game against the Arizona Cardinals 2 years ago where Urlacher enforced his will on that victory in way that I've rarely ever seen few MLBs dominate.

I love London Fletcher, but we'd take Urlacher for the next 5 years and not even worry about it.

I know there's Willis in SF, Vilma in New Orleans, but I can't believe there's four MLBs I would start ahead of him.

Chicago fans are spoiled, IMO, and have forgotten how good Urlacher still is.

If he's healthy, he's still a great player.

bearsfan_51 · 05-26-2009, 04:48 PM

I would take Urlacher over Vilma without even blinking. I'd probably take 4-5 other linebackers too.

bigbluedefense · 05-26-2009, 05:28 PM

Cover 2 sucks.

Cerni88 · 05-26-2009, 05:31 PM

The Bears installed a "Mug up" look on defense last year. Basically the linebackers were asked to play at the line of scrimmage and then get into their assignment. This defense looked well at first against Peyton Manning, who couldnt easily diagnose against the defense that his team also plays. But thats not to say it was completely effective. If anyone remembers that game Manning missed on a couple passes which prolly would have been touchdowns. The mug up defense is a stop the run at all costs mentality. If anyone watched the Titans game thats what happened.

There are 2 positions that were consistant and dependable: MLB and WLB. The SLB was terrible in coverage.

http://www.nfl.com/videos/nfl-game-h...s-Packers-2008

CC.SD · 05-27-2009, 02:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by bigbluedefense

Cover 2 sucks.

It used to be pretty nifty. I think Peyton stuck a dagger in it's heart during the Indy/Chi-town Super Bowl. "Hai guys I'm a TE going up the seam come follow me, don't worry about those RBs lol they don't catch it!"

Addict · 05-27-2009, 03:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CC.SD

It used to be pretty nifty. I think Peyton stuck a dagger in it's heart during the Indy/Chi-town Super Bowl. "Hai guys I'm a TE going up the seam come follow me, don't worry about those RBs lol they don't catch it!"

For some reason I can just see Dallas Clark say that. Although he'd probably say a lot more lol in my mind.

"Hi Guise!!! I'm the TE going up the seems! Come on, run with me... don't mind those guys back there, they're just RB's... lol they run, that's what the R stands for 'running'... If they'd catch they'd call than run and catchbacks but they're called running backs so obviously no catching there lol. Now run with me!!!!"

CC.SD · 05-27-2009, 03:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Addict

For some reason I can just see Dallas Clark say that. Although he'd probably say a lot more lol in my mind.

"Hi Guise!!! I'm the TE going up the seems! Come on, run with me... don't mind those guys back there, they're just RB's... lol they run, that's what the R stands for 'running'... If they'd catch they'd call than run and catchbacks but they're called running backs so obviously no catching there lol. Now run with me!!!!"

Gay Ork Wang · 05-27-2009, 04:02 AM

oh man and we were still within 1 TD until Grossman started to realize he was actually a Colt :/

Cerni88 · 05-27-2009, 05:27 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by CC.SD

It used to be pretty nifty. I think Peyton stuck a dagger in it's heart during the Indy/Chi-town Super Bowl. "Hai guys I'm a TE going up the seam come follow me, don't worry about those RBs lol they don't catch it!"

Any defense isnt gonna be the same without our best D lineman. T Harris wasnt in that game nor the playoffs. There was a lot to blame (grossman that int for TD threw the route way late on top of it a route where cover2 people (dungy) preach to jump on that), but Urlacher was absolutely not to blame. The run game killed us because no consistant pressure, draws for huge gains. Just from memory, i dont know it all.