DukeNukeEm Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 My biggest issue with losing Urlacher is we clearly don't have a replacement for him and now have a need at 2 starting spots in the linebacker corps. Exactly, we created a need. If someone was waiting in the wings or we didn't have any other positions that were in dire need of attention it'd be one thing but we basically made another hole to fill before training camp. Makes no sense to me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Soxbadger Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Yeah Im not a big fan of this move. His best days may be behind him, but it sounds like he wasnt asking for insane money and there is something to be said about continuity. Guess this is the reality of a new coach/gm. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
IlliniKrush Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 QUOTE (DukeNukeEm @ Mar 20, 2013 -> 10:53 PM) I do not like letting Urlacher go. I dont like the fact that we have one LB left with more than a few minutes experience playing in the NFL. I dont like the implication that we are now going to spend, without a doubt, one of our first two picks on a LB when what we really need to do is draft two OL. Urlacher may have been way under par athletically and entirely incapable of being the player he used to be, but he at least knew where to be and was never out of position because he made a mental error. The new guy will undoubtedly be a rookie, f***ing up left and right, biting on fakes, not knowing where to be, generally being confused. But not just that, he'd be a rookie playing a position we could've had covered for this season while Cutler still runs for his life because as it stands now there are 4 guys on our OL that barely deserve to be on NFL rosters. We don't even know if Urlacher can run at this point. Just because you know where you should be doesn't mean you can get there. See last season. So he was indeed out of position many times. Just because you don't know what the solution is doesn't mean you stick with a current problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
witesoxfan Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 QUOTE (soxfan49 @ Mar 20, 2013 -> 07:24 PM) They lost their best WR and their best CB and added a WR on the downside of his career. Minnesota isn't a threat. K. I was pretty much just talking about them signing Urlacher, sooooo Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Quin Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Hope he gets a good deal somewhere else. He'll look really stupid if that was the best offer he gets. He can't go back and accept it now. My guess is he plays this year, then retires. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 QUOTE (IlliniKrush @ Mar 21, 2013 -> 12:55 AM) We don't even know if Urlacher can run at this point. Just because you know where you should be doesn't mean you can get there. See last season. So he was indeed out of position many times. Just because you don't know what the solution is doesn't mean you stick with a current problem. He was a liability last year. It will be hard not to upgrade at mlb. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 QUOTE (bmags @ Mar 20, 2013 -> 08:46 PM) I'm torn, on one hand I think we could easily upgrade over urlacher. On the other I think the clubhouse could mutiny ahainst an unproven coach and a GM who just spurred the clubhouse leader. But mostly I just think the nfl is really evil. I kinda got the feeling that Urlacher was most of the clubhouse problem.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabiness42 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 That's what the Bears offered him,a nd wouldn't budge according to 54. He said he was willing to ply for $3-3.5 million. I definitely don't think Urlacher is worth a multi-year deal or even a big one-year deal, but if he was really willing to play on a 1/$3M contract, I have a hard time understanding why he couldn't get that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 QUOTE (HickoryHuskers @ Mar 21, 2013 -> 07:07 AM) I definitely don't think Urlacher is worth a multi-year deal or even a big one-year deal, but if he was really willing to play on a 1/$3M contract, I have a hard time understanding why he couldn't get that. Cap room? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cabiness42 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Cap room? Is $1M more really going to affect the cap that much? Even if so, Briggs loves him enough to restructure his deal to create $1M more in cap room. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHurt05 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 21, 2013 -> 06:51 AM) I kinda got the feeling that Urlacher was most of the clubhouse problem.. That's what I was thinking too. I have to give the guy credit, he has done a great job putting the Chicago media in his back pocket. Some of this media reactions to this are ridiculous. Last time the Bears "insulted" a player like #54 it was Olin Kreutz. He played 4 games for the Saints before he called it quits. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9347 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 QUOTE (iamshack @ Mar 20, 2013 -> 09:03 PM) I seem to remember pointing out that Urlacher sucked a year or two ago and that Briggs was much more important to this defense...and getting absolutely bashed for it...is this sour grapes or do people finally see that this guy has been overrated since about 2008? Brian Urlacher didn't suck two years ago. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9347 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 QUOTE (Jake @ Mar 20, 2013 -> 09:13 PM) PFF had Urlacher as horrible last year, great in 2011, bad in 2010 HE'S DUE I'm torn. I actually think our offer was at market value, though I would have been happy to guarantee the second million for this season. I probably wouldn't have freaked out about $3M either, though. I understand where Brian is coming from, he's thinking about that $5M that Ray Lewis got last year. It's difficult to conceptualize that kind of paycut when you're Brian f***ing Urlacher. I hope he retires if we can't have him, it's almost Buehrle-level weird to think of him in another uniform. I'm not mad at either side. I just hope we can get something going in our LB corps, it is absolutely decimated at this point. There's just nobody there, not even last year's backups. We'll probably need to go MLB in round 1 and we need to find another OLB too unless we want Kelvin Hayden (if we can get him!) on the field half the time. Urlacher's quotes were pretty brutal. "Two million isn't enough to put my body through an NFL season" - but 3.5 is? It is what it is, and it made the Bears' choice easier. I don't get why this thread can show Urlacher no appreciation for 13 years of mostly awesome football, though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 QUOTE (LittleHurt05 @ Mar 21, 2013 -> 07:23 AM) That's what I was thinking too. I have to give the guy credit, he has done a great job putting the Chicago media in his back pocket. Some of this media reactions to this are ridiculous. Last time the Bears "insulted" a player like #54 it was Olin Kreutz. He played 4 games for the Saints before he called it quits. Urlacher has always been a "me first" guy. I'm not surprised at all that it ended with him crying about his being insulted. Hell, he has been insulting fans and media here for years. Deal with it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 21, 2013 -> 07:52 AM) Urlacher's quotes were pretty brutal. "Two million isn't enough to put my body through an NFL season" - but 3.5 is? It is what it is, and it made the Bears' choice easier. I don't get why this thread can show Urlacher no appreciation for 13 years of mostly awesome football, though. If you need more Urlacher fellatio, check out TV, radio, twitter, facebook, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9347 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 QUOTE (Soxbadger @ Mar 21, 2013 -> 12:54 AM) Yeah Im not a big fan of this move. His best days may be behind him, but it sounds like he wasnt asking for insane money and there is something to be said about continuity. Guess this is the reality of a new coach/gm. I agree with this, oddly. Yes, I know Urlacher sucks. But on passing downs he still had pretty decent value. If we had anything resembling a second linebacker beyond Briggs I could give a s*** - but we don't. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve9347 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 (edited) QUOTE (southsider2k5 @ Mar 21, 2013 -> 07:55 AM) If you need more Urlacher fellatio, check out TV, radio, twitter, facebook, etc. Recognizing the guy was a beast for my favorite team and the fact that he's been a Bear my entire adult life (drafted in 2000 when I was 17) is not phellating him. It's just not minimizing who he was simply because he's bad now. Edited March 21, 2013 by Steve9347 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 21, 2013 -> 07:52 AM) Urlacher's quotes were pretty brutal. "Two million isn't enough to put my body through an NFL season" - but 3.5 is? It is what it is, and it made the Bears' choice easier. I don't get why this thread can show Urlacher no appreciation for 13 years of mostly awesome football, though. I think that was mostly said out of pride. That was the Bears original offer. He probably thinks he should get at least a little more through negotiation. It was probably time to move on. A friend of mine who is a radiologist told me last year Urlacher's injury was going to end his career. He said it wouldn't get much better and would lead to hamstring problems. He seems to be 100% correct. I agree, where's the appreciation? He was a great player for a long time. It wasn't that long ago where if he didn't play, the Bears were walked all over. Definitely one of the all-time great Bears. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
southsider2k5 Posted March 21, 2013 Author Share Posted March 21, 2013 QUOTE (Dick Allen @ Mar 21, 2013 -> 08:07 AM) I think that was mostly said out of pride. That was the Bears original offer. He probably thinks he should get at least a little more through negotiation. It was probably time to move on. A friend of mine who is a radiologist told me last year Urlacher's injury was going to end his career. He said it wouldn't get much better and would lead to hamstring problems. He seems to be 100% correct. I agree, where's the appreciation? He was a great player for a long time. It wasn't that long ago where if he didn't play, the Bears were walked all over. Definitely one of the all-time great Bears. Ptatc said the same thing last year about his injury. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 21, 2013 -> 07:52 AM) Urlacher's quotes were pretty brutal. "Two million isn't enough to put my body through an NFL season" - but 3.5 is? It is what it is, and it made the Bears' choice easier. I don't get why this thread can show Urlacher no appreciation for 13 years of mostly awesome football, though. Urlacher was the face of the franchise for 13 years, a dominate force on the field and a lock for the Hall of Fame. But he didn't have it anymore and he didn't really have a place on this team. New coaching staff, new GM, time for a fresh start. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 It's actually pretty similar to the end for Frank Thomas, except the White Sox didn't even bother with a token offer for Frank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LittleHurt05 Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Urlacher was the man, probably a HOF, and I definitely will always remember his time with the Bears. But if he is gonna play the victim card here and drag the media along with him to make the Bears look bad, then I'll worry about the appreciation later. Get over yourself Brian, you aren't the player you used to be, accept it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StrangeSox Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 QUOTE (Steve9347 @ Mar 21, 2013 -> 08:03 AM) I agree with this, oddly. Yes, I know Urlacher sucks. But on passing downs he still had pretty decent value. If we had anything resembling a second linebacker beyond Briggs I could give a s*** - but we don't. His biggest liability was on passing downs? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Allen Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 QUOTE (StrangeSox @ Mar 21, 2013 -> 08:17 AM) Urlacher was the face of the franchise for 13 years, a dominate force on the field and a lock for the Hall of Fame. But he didn't have it anymore and he didn't really have a place on this team. New coaching staff, new GM, time for a fresh start. You're right. The bottom line is if you are taking up a roster spot, you have to be able to make plays. He can't make them how he used to make them. They will get someone to take his spot. It will be an upgrade over where he's at now, and a downgrade over where he was most of his career. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jake Posted March 21, 2013 Share Posted March 21, 2013 Can my favorite teams ever let a franchise player go without that player making the team look bad in the media? Can't it ever just be "it was mutual and I love them and especially the fans on Soxtalk"? PK is our greatest hope, he's not much of a s***-talker. I could see him retiring at the end of the year and I could also see him being stubborn and wanting to play for a few more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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