John Clayton: "Is the end near for Brian Urlacher?"

Clayton is clearly a Brian Urlacher fan.

LINK to the entire article

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Hearing Brian Urlacher discuss the possibly of being a free agent after the 2012 season caught me a little off guard.
Urlacher is entering the final year of his contract at the age of 34, and there would seem to be little doubt the Bears and Urlacher would like to figure out a way to keep him in a Bears uniform until he retires.
Like Ray Lewis in Baltimore, Urlacher is a symbol of what's right about the National Football League. Lewis, who is 37, is the leader of a Ravens defense that's been tough to beat since he was drafted. Urlacher is the leader of the Bears' Cover 2 defense, which has been to a Super Bowl and is annually in playoff contention.

Even though athletes take great care of their bodies, it's becoming increasingly harder for an NFL position player to stay in the game past the age of 35.

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And yet, John Clayton is 102. Go figure.

Since an exit plan for the Urlacher era doesn't seem to exist yet, I'd expect to see two more seasons from Brian (through the 2013 season). You don't replace a player like Brian by trying to draft a fuzz-faced kid and toss him into a starting MLB role his first season. Ideally you'd think our top draft pick in 2013 would be Brian's eventual replacement. Let this new kid play with Urlacher and Briggs for at least 1 season. Outside of Urlacher and Briggs, the rest of the LB's look very mediocre at best. Roach probably wouldn't be a starter on most NFL teams.....but he'd be a decent backup.

draft his replacement next year, play his replacement as OLB next to Urlacher & Briggs until Brian is really done or retires.

Just need to find a MLB that can play OLB too #32 and extend Urlacher during the season

I hate it when he's compared to that POS Ray Lewis....

It's going to be interesting to watch and see if the Chicago Bears will continue to value the linebacker positions like they have in the past 50 or 60 years. It's a great tradition to have the best LB's in the NFL (or at least they TRY to have the elite LB's here). Even before Butkus' time here, we had great - absolutely stellar - LB's. Some were Hall of Fame level just like Butkus/Singletary & eventually Urlacher.

But looking at guys like Roach, I see very mediocre talent at best. I'm not dissing Roach. He is a solid backup, or even a half-decent starter alongside our 2 Pro-Bowl LB's. Nothing wrong with that - or with Roach. But to replace Urlacher, and eventually Briggs, it will be interesting if they spend a 1st round pick on an elite LB prospect. Or try to "coach up" a lessor player like we have now on the roster (like we did with Roach) and no longer go for elite level LB's on the Chicago Bears.

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Originally Posted by JustAnotherBearsFan99

It's going to be interesting to watch and see if the Chicago Bears will continue to value the linebacker positions like they have in the past 50 or 60 years. It's a great tradition to have the best LB's in the NFL (or at least they TRY to have the elite LB's here). Even before Butkus' time here, we had great - absolutely stellar - LB's. Some were Hall of Fame level just like Butkus/Singletary & eventually Urlacher.

But looking at guys like Roach, I see very mediocre talent at best. I'm not dissing Roach. He is a solid backup, or even a half-decent starter alongside our 2 Pro-Bowl LB's. Nothing wrong with that - or with Roach. But to replace Urlacher, and eventually Briggs, it will be interesting if they spend a 1st round pick on an elite LB prospect. Or try to "coach up" a lessor player like we have now on the roster (like we did with Roach) and no longer go for elite level LB's on the Chicago Bears.

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Very preliminary of course, but with 2 pro bowl LBs in their 30s, I'd be pretty shocked if LB wasn't a very high draft priority next year. As in....1st round if there's a player available emery likes.

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Originally Posted by JustAnotherBearsFan99

Since an exit plan for the Urlacher era doesn't seem to exist yet, I'd expect to see two more seasons from Brian (through the 2013 season). You don't replace a player like Brian by trying to draft a fuzz-faced kid and toss him into a starting MLB role his first season. Ideally you'd think our top draft pick in 2013 would be Brian's eventual replacement. Let this new kid play with Urlacher and Briggs for at least 1 season. Outside of Urlacher and Briggs, the rest of the LB's look very mediocre at best. Roach probably wouldn't be a starter on most NFL teams.....but he'd be a decent backup.

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I think both Lach and the Bears are aware that his next contract will be his last. Knowing this, i would expect the Bears to begin finding and grooming his replacement in subsequent drafts. Might not be the '13 draft but definitely by the one after.

Might be fun to keep an eye on the college ranks this season to forecast who our next MLB might be.

Saw a recent pic of Clayton and boy does he look terrible. Looks like he's melting.