Uralacher and Briggs Have High Hopes for Brian Price

Urlacher, Briggs expect Price to fit in nicely with Bears

New defensive tackle working on overcoming emotional distress of losing another sibling

By Vaughn McClure, Chicago Tribune reporter 8:57 p.m. CDT, July 30, 2012

BOURBONNAIS — He has yet to sack a quarterback or even fully suit up for a practice, but Brian Price already has made quite an impression in the Bears' locker room.

One of the first players the 23-year-old defensive tackle approached after arriving at training camp was 34-year-old future Hall of Famer Brian Urlacher.

"He came up to me and said, 'It's going to be an honor playing with you.' That means a lot to me for a guy to say that," Urlacher said. "He's been nice so far. I don't see any reason why that would change."

Price, a former second-round draft pick by the Buccaneers, is scheduled to participate in his first full Bears practice Tuesday afternoon. His story has been well-documented. By high school, Price had lost both of his older brothers to gang-related shootings. One of his six sisters died in a hit-and-run car accident in May, and she left two young sons behind. Price is in the process of adopting the boys.

Losing yet another sibling caused Price tremendous emotional distress, and he admitted being mentally and physically exhausted before being traded to the Bears from the Bucs. His fight with former teammate Mark Barron days after being hospitalized with exhaustion was indicative of his mental state.

Price's new teammates won't judge him based on one incident.

"Everyone fits in around here," Urlacher said. "We don't have issues. I don't know why it is, but we've never had issues with guys in the locker room. I don't see it being an issue with him."

Seven-time Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs agreed.

"It starts with the defensive line, and he's got the right guys around him," Briggs said. "You have vets like Julius Peppers, Israel Idonije, Henry Melton and Matt Toeaina. He's going to be around good teammates, guys who are going to help him excel in this defense.

"Brian (Urlacher) knows everything that everyone on this defense is doing. There is a lot of core leadership, and (Price) will be able to turn to any of us and get help."

General manager Phil Emery, coach Lovie Smith and defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli all raved about how Price could be rejuvenated in a new environment. A disruptive force on the interior of the defensive line is something the team really hasn't had — at least consistently — since ex-Bear Tommie Harris was healthy and at the top of his game. Melton and Price are capable of assuming that role.

"Let's not forget about what we're trying to do here: We're trying to win a championship," Briggs said. "We're trying to get guys in here who are going to help us do that. That's the reason they brought Brian Price here. I'm looking forward to seeing him come here and excel."

Copyright © 2012, Chicago Tribune

They're going to have to hope a whole lot higher after reports on his first practice today

Slowly but surely Phil Emery seems to be filling in some gaps left through the trading of draft picks away for players like Cutler and Gaines. We lost two firsts, a second, and swapped a third for a fifth in 2009 and 2010 via those two transactions.

He used the extra third we received this year from the Olsen trade to acquire Brandon Marshall and even with a 2013 3rd round IOU yet to pay Miami I think we'd all agree that Marshall is worth those two lost 3rds. And since Johnny Knox was who we picked with the 5th we got back for that 3rd we put into the Cutler deal so far I'll call that an even swap if not far more.

This year Emery has managed to pickup two lineman who were both drafted high in round two in their respective drafts (Rachal/2008 and Price/2010) and were both ranked in the top five at their positions in those drafts. One cost us nothing and the other a conditional 7th round pick. All things considered I'd say those are not bad recoveries for the one of the firsts given up for Cutler and the second given up for Gaines (RIP).

Both Rachal and Price have struggled somewhat so far in their NFL careers but given Jerry Angelo's spotty history with high picks nothing says we would have done any better than these two if we had used those picks instead of trading them anyway. At ages 26 and 23 respectively they still have plenty of time to turn their careers around in new surroundings and both could have many years of productive football ahead of them as Chicago Bears.

Rachal has the tools and maybe with some better coaching by later this year or next he may supplant Spencer as a starter and earn himself a nice contract extension and if not he's still an experienced vet who can step in at either OG spot and handle the job fairly well. I'm a whole lot more comfortable with him as a backup than I would be with an untested rookie or second year guy.

Compared to Rachal, Price isn't all that much of an enigma. Look at what this kid has been through since 2010 and you get an idea of his character. He lost most of his rookie season to an injury that required his hammy's to be surgically reattached to his pelvis but he recovered well enough to play in 2011 make some plays and add 3 sacks. To me that seems like the kid has both a real desire to play and some pretty strong recuperative abilities.

Then he loses yet another family member and needs to convert from being Uncle Brian to Brian the Dad by adopting his sisters kids. As a result two months ago he ended up being hospitalized for physical and emotional exhaustion. No wonder. How many of us have been through this kind of stuff during the past two years and remained at the top of our craft? Some would still be hospitalized or curled up on the couch with a cocktail, a remote control, and an "I give up" attitude.

Questionable pickups yeah, but also very low risk pickups with an upside that could pay off big time in the next year or two. Contrast this way of going about rebuilding on the fly with what we'd become used to over the past several years. These aren't guys who've crested the top of the hill and are on there way out of the NFL or never was types like Gholston. These guys are young and they were starters with their former teams and even if they don't make it they'll provide some serious competition for anyone else trying out at their positions.

I like it. :18_1_205:

Quote:

Originally Posted by CalgaryBearsFan

They're going to have to hope a whole lot higher after reports on his first practice today

Jeez, tough crowd around here. What did he or didn't he do? It was his first day in pads and everyone else's 4th so unless he re-injured himself we could probably cut him some slack. The guy missed a lot of practice time this spring and he's in a new situation with possibly some different responsibilities.

Just like McClellin. I wouldn't be too quick to judge. Some guys take a bit to get up to speed and then you have guys like Nick Reed who wowed everyone with his pass rush in the preseason last year but did jack shit when the regular season came along. I'll wait a bit before I kick him to the curb.

Quote:

Originally Posted by soulman

Jeez, tough crowd around here. What did he or didn't he do? It was his first day in pads and everyone else's 4th so unless he re-injured himself we could probably cut him some slack. The guy missed a lot of practice time this spring and he's in a new situation with possibly some different responsibilities.

Just like McClellin. I wouldn't be too quick to judge. Some guys take a bit to get up to speed and then you have guys like Nick Reed who wowed everyone with his pass rush in the preseason last year but did jack shit when the regular season came along. I'll wait a bit before I kick him to the curb.

Comment was a little more tongue-in-cheek then anything, but the point does have some merit to it. I expected Price was going to have to shake off some rust, but the comments made on his practice went far beyond a guy who was a step behind or slow to find his groove and were rather directed more towards someone completely out of their element. Flattened by rookies, making mental lapses and slow of the snap all day long.

I am not going to throw the towel in on Price this early, but I am willing to believe there is reason to believe that Price was traded for as little as he was besides the locker room antics alone. He has alot to prove after being traded for likely one of the last 10 or so picks in the draft.

I agree, even more the Shea(who was sold as an every down DE) but at least he's a rook and you can hope for the best. But this guy is a vet and you would think it wouldn't be getting pushed back 3-4 yards, false starts, pancaked etc etc. Nothing came out in a positive light for him. At least Shea had 1 good day of practice.

We all know it's early, but since when aren't we allowed to react? No one is calling for Emery's head or that Shea is bust, or he made a bad move brining in this guy; just that he had an AWFUL practice.

I'll cut him some slack ( for now). He really had no OTA, probably didnt workout like he should have. He couldn;t keep food down, so thats an effect on his body. He's probably 6 months behind everyone on conditioning right now, new scheme. He'll probably be one of the LAST cuts or stays on the roster. It's up to him

yeah, from what I've read he had a tough day. That's never as good as reading that someone blew it out, but I'm not too worried yet.

Quote:

Originally Posted by CalgaryBearsFan

They're going to have to hope a whole lot higher after reports on his first practice today

LOL

Quote:

Originally Posted by yttocs

I'll cut him some slack ( for now). He really had no OTA, probably didnt workout like he should have. He couldn;t keep food down, so thats an effect on his body. He's probably 6 months behind everyone on conditioning right now, new scheme. He'll probably be one of the LAST cuts or stays on the roster. It's up to him

Do you tuck this guy into bed at night?