LINK to the article Urlacher: Knee OK, ready for practices By Dan Pompei, Tribune reporter 1:46 p.m. CDT, July 25, 2012
BOURBONNAIS -- Brian Urlacher reported to his 13th Chicago Bears training camp healthy and enthusiastic.
The veteran linebacker said his left knee, which was sprained in the final game of last season, feels good and he is ready to start practicing “as far as I know.”
Asked if he will be participating in every practice, he said, “Every practice they let me go I’ll be going. (Coach) Lovie (Smith) gives us days off sometimes when we don’t expect them. We’ll see how that goes.”
Urlacher is excited to get started in part because he believes the Bears have potential.
“I think we have the talent now to reach our expectations,” he said. “We always say it, but I really think we can do it this year. We added Brandon Marshall, Michael Bush. Our defense is healthy again, which is a big deal for us. Jay (Cutler) is back healthy.”
Urlacher would like to see more consistency out of that healthy defense.
“We’ve been up and down last couple years,” he said. “We always get takeaways. We are always pretty good at sacks. Sometimes we’ll give up 150 yards rushing, 100 yards passing. We have to be consistent in both the running game and passing game.”
He also has renewed faith in the offense.
“Offensively I think we’ll be able to throw with Brandon now,” he said. “If we can protect the quarterback we’re going to be alright.”
The training camp routine can get old for veterans like Urlacher. And this training camp probably will get old soon enough.
For now, though, Urlacher feels like he is in a good place.
“It’s exciting now because everything is new,” he said. “Everyone is zero and zero right now so it’s fun at the beginning. It kind of drags on. With the new rules it’s a little easier because we have days off, so it’s nice.”
dpompei@tribune.com
