Year of rest has Urlacher feeling good
Year of rest has Urlacher feeling good
By TOM MUSICK – tmusick@nwherald.com
LAKE FOREST – Brian Urlacher feels like a kid again.
He laughs and jokes with teammates during practice. He offers long answers to reporters who cover the team. He forces fumbles in the fourth quarter to help his team win games.
What explains the transformation?
“I think my body recovered,” said Urlacher, 32. “I’ve never had a year off since seventh grade.”
Much has changed for Urlacher since the 2009 season opener against Green Bay, when he dislocated his right wrist during an attempted tackle and was lost for the game.
The next day, Urlacher learned that he was lost for the season. He had not missed a game since 2004 before the injury, and the Bears sputtered to a 7-9 record without their defensive leader.
Now Urlacher is back in the middle of the Bears’ defense, and the Bears (3-0) have emerged as one of the NFL’s pleasant surprises. They will head east today in preparation for Sunday’s prime-time game against the New York Giants (1-2), who are four-point favorites despite their record.
If Urlacher has anything to say about it, the Bears will silence critics again with another key win. The six-time Pro Bowl middle linebacker already has 25 tackles, six tackles for losses, a sack, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery, and the season has not yet reached the quarter pole.
“I’m just playing downhill,” said Urlacher, who lifts weights twice a week and stretches every day. “I think that’s the main thing our defense is doing, is getting downhill and being aggressive.”
Bears coach Lovie Smith has praised Urlacher’s speed and skill since he returned to the practice field during organized team activities this summer. Urlacher has found a way to improve each week, posting eight tackles against Detroit, eight against Dallas and nine against Green Bay.
“As you watch him during the course of a game, it looks like he’s having fun,” Smith said. “Guys normally have fun when they’re playing good ball. Brian Urlacher is playing great football.”
Urlacher has played some of his best football during the most crucial moments of each game. As he chased down Packers receiver James Jones with 2:18 remaining in the fourth quarter of a tie game, Urlacher cocked his left arm and punched the ball loose along the right sideline.
Bears cornerback Tim Jennings pounced on the ball on the Packers’ 46-yard line. The Bears offense marched to the Packers’ 1-yard line to set up a game-winning field goal by Robbie Gould.
It’s tough to say whether Urlacher would have been able to make the same play a couple of years ago, when he was nagged by neck and back injuries. By the time Urlacher turned 30 years old, a dreaded milestone in the NFL, critics doubted whether he would ever regain his Pro Bowl form.
Those doubts have diminished this year with Urlacher leading the NFL’s No. 1 rushing defense.
“I’m sure I’m playing better now than I was then,” said Urlacher, who credited a year off with helping his body to relax. “I feel like I’m moving better. I’m heavier than I was [in 2008]. I think I finished the season that year at close to 250 [pounds], so I’m a little bit heavier than I was back then. I feel more powerful.”
After adding about 10 pounds of muscle, Urlacher has not lost his appetite. Bears safety Chris
Harris recognized that when he returned to the team this summer after a three-year absence.
“I wouldn’t say [Urlacher is] different,” Harris said. “He’s very hungry, though. You take a guy away from football for a year, and they’re kind of itching and ready to get back out there on the field. I remember the first game, he was just so excited, because he hadn’t touched anybody since Week 1 of 2009. So he’s back to his old self.”
