[CBFF] Urlacher may need a break

[Jason Cetina]

My thoughts exactly....

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Urlacher may need a break
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Franchise player's bad back casts doubt on his Bears future, writes David
Haugh

David Haugh
On the Bears

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 ...

Only 179 days until the NFL draft.

dhaugh at trtibune.com

Copyright (c) 2007, The Chicago Tribune

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