It's not exactly a secret that Brian Urlacher is one of the most popular players on the Chicago Bears. If you need proof, all you have to do is go to Soldier Field on a Sunday during the NFL season -- well, unless it's playoff season -- and look around the crowd. You'll see his jersey adorning roughly 50% of those fans in attendance.
The question these days, though, is whether or not the Brian Urlacher we're seeing play these days is the same one we saw during the first few years of his time in Chicago. The simple answer is of course not. There aren't many people on Earth who could take the pounding that an NFL player does on a routine basis for nine years and come out the same person. Are you the same person now that you were ten years ago?
This past season was statistically one of the worst in Urlacher's career as a Chicago Bear. He was only credited with 107 tackles -- good for third on the team, but not good for Urlacher standards -- and two interceptions, and did not pick up a sack all season despite the fact the Bears blitzed more than they ever have in his time here. All of which has led to a lot of criticism for the face of the franchise in both the local and national media.
Columnists and television analysts everywhere talked about how his skills are declining either because of injury or age, or most likely both. Urlacher's defenders say it wasn't his fault as much as the scheme he's forced to play in. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle as it often does in these cases. Whatever the case is, however, now that the season is over Brian finally let some of the frustration out.
"I'm tired of criticism that is unwarranted," he said. "People who say stuff about me, they don't know our defense. They don't know football.
"Yes, I wish I would have made a lot more big plays. Obviously, everyone could say that on our defense. I wish I was around the ball more, but I wasn't. Just the way things worked out this season."
Brian also denied that the neck surgery he had before the season and his back had absolutely nothing to do with his play.
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"I sprained my thumb at some point. That was the worst it got for me," he said. "I did my exercises for my back. (Strength and conditioning coordinator) Rusty Jones and (head athletic trainer) Tim Bream were great for me this season. And that's how I was able to play."
One has to wonder if Brian is in denial about his neck and back injuries. Whether or not he feels any pain in his back during a game, he has to realize that having an arthritic condition in your back is going to affect the way you play on Sundays. His back is probably the reason he's lost half a step and has trouble covering the deep middle part of the field like he used to do with ease. His back is likely also a factor in his inability to shed blocks from lineman and fullbacks keying in on him.
While Urlacher is no doubt right about the fact that much of the criticism is unwarranted, he's also deep in denial about the fact that his body is starting to fail him a bit. Nobody will be all that surprised if Urlacher bounces back and has a much better season in 2009, but if he thinks he's ever going to be the same player at 30 that he was at 24, he has as much to learn about football as the critics.
