Thread: No More 54 per ESPN..

Originally Posted by WindyCity

Urlacher has always been incredibly well compensated by the Bears and no one can argue that.

This was his chance to take 1 million less and ride off into the Chicago sunset. This was his chance to re pay the organization by taking less and he did not want to do it, which is his choice.

But a contract was on the table, he chose not to take it.

Good point, he may feel "insulted" over the offer, but people still need to remember that at least he HAD an offer...Emery couldve just as easily said "nope, not gonna bring you back, good luck in FA" without offering him anything.

So, while everyone demonizes Emery for making a SMART business move (albeit painfully emotional one), do not forget that Lach has some of the blame by refusing the offer the Bears gave him. If you want to try and make the case that he "deserved" more money, then that is an entirely DIFFERENT argument then what we have now.

Ya he probably should of took it. He could have milked the city for years to come. He probably still will , but it won't be the same. Restaurant 54? BU's Bar n Grill? :)

A few things:

Could this have been handled better? Yes

Was this a time to move on despite the toughness of the situation? Yes

Should there have been a better plan of succession so that you don't see things like BU and Kreutz? Yes

And as to BU being all busted up 20 years from now, he didn't get Evel Knieveled and broke every bone in his body repeatedly. With the money he made and with technology he could have stem cell, cloned, or bio regen probably anything he wants in a fancy resort with many fine nurses. I think that old boy will be ok.

Originally Posted by MPBears68

I agree with that. Any transaction is ultimately a mutually consented decision. He's not a "victim" here, no doubt.

Moving on, since you're the offseason mock guru (which I appreciate and enjoy), what do you see now for us to plug the holes at LB? We have to sign an outside FA now...who? How much?

My perfect world would be to sign a LB, these guys are high on my list.

Daryl Smith
Brad Jones
Karlos Dansby

Draft a LB in the 1st or 2nd round that can play SLB as a rookie and move to the MLB spot down the road.

I love Arther Brown [K State] in the 1st.
I love Khaseem Greene [Rutgers] in the 2nd.

Ogeltree is immensely talented if he checks out off the field.

Don't forget we still have a star, Pro Bowl player at LB, something we have never had at OL till this season.

Originally Posted by AmericanPitBull

I still think the jury is out whether on not this is a wise business move. AVG lineback salary is about 1.8. Bears pretty much said your an avg Joe and we will pay you like one. Our linebacker core can still stink up the place this coming year. Therefore, if they find their avg Joe MLB for $2 or rookie stater , he needs to play well. I feel 54 is still worth more then avg. He might be slower but he was stupid fast to begin with. Dude knows his shit and has great leadership skills, thats certainly worth something. He might of played all year and done a good job, or he could have goten injuried and been useless. Only time will tell. It's the fact that we have no linebacker in place at the moment, that has me uneasy. Unless you count that Dom kid.. i dunno.

And what is wrong with that? Unlike a guy like Forte, who way outperformed his rookie contract, Urlacher was a top 10 pick and was highly paid since his rookie year. The Bears certainly did not "owe" him back pay for services rendered (like they kinda did for Forte and Hester), Urlacher has ALWAYS gotten paid extremely well for his services, so i really dont see the problem with the Bears offering and treating him like an "average" LB, since we all know he only had one or two years left anyway, and his play IS average. His leadership and knowledge are top notch, but while the mind gets better with age, the body does not.