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I agree. He did not do too well this year, but I'm not ready to say he is done yet. There were other issues going on. I would like to see what we have with a healthy Urlacher next year, assuming he is resigned. If he is healthy and plays like this again, then yeah, he is shot. Been a great ride regardless though. He has been a great player for us.
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Originally Posted by Rogelio
agree to disagree. I can not see him coming back. Fan favorite or not
yeah. There's definitely no way to see who is going to be right on this one. Could go either way. Hope to see him back, but never know...
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Originally Posted by The Benjamin
If he isn't brought back, it will be said that he is retiring. No way to ever find out if it was a forced retire or if he actually wanted to.Quote:
Originally Posted by bearsinhouston
He said he wanted to play 1 - 2 more years. If he doesn't come back they can say whatever they want. It will will be either they didn't want him or his injuries forced him. If he goes off and signs somewhere else or tries to, you can know from that. That will mean he was not resigned but wanted to play.
If he tries to sign elsewhere and no takers then he has a physical issue.
In any case, he's done for this year. This off-season will be interesting for many reasons.
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Originally Posted by The Benjamin
IF the Bears want him back it will be on a one-year deal at significantly less money.
Urlacher is getting old and his knee isn't 100%. While yes he has a following in Chicago it comes to the point where you have to weigh the risk vs. reward return on brining him back and I think we are at that point where we need to weigh it. It was obvious he wasn't 100% in the Seattle game and he didn't play that great of a game to begin with.
For sure Urlacher hasn't been himself this season... but you can't really compare a 13 yr vet to his former self. And I'll be the first one to admit that there's been a hole in the middle of our defense in a handful of games.
A large part of the decision on Urlacher rests on who is coaching in 2013. If a new coach and defensive scheme is brought into the Windy City then the writing may be on the wall for Urlacher, but if it's Lovie and his 'beloved' Tampa-2 it wouldn't be much of a surprise to me if Urlacher comes back on a one-year deal (based largely on performance and % of downs played).
But where is the replacement if its not Urlacher in 2013? The team is something like 7-15 without him in the lineup and while he has lost a step his football IQ and knowledge of the current scheme makes up for some of it. He knows the checks and calls that need to be made. I personally wouldn't trust a rookie in that spot (we'd have to trade well up in the draft to get someone like Manti Te'o) and there really isn't much available in UFAs. Also I don't have much faith in handing it over to Nick Roach (who is also a free agent in 2013) and Briggs is built for where he is at at WLB.
It has been mentioned briefly but what urlacher brings to the table is his intelligence. He is the Peyton manning of the defense! With out his huge playmaking abilities he is still calling plays and positioning players. I really want him back to train his replacement and I think yes it is emerys decision but I think emery is smart enough to have that conversation and hope Brian is on the same page! I think he will be and we can groom a great replacement for the future hall of famer.
My suggestion has always been to turn him into a defensive coach.