Urlacher no longer a Bear

longbomberz · Mar 20, 2013

Not totally unexpected, given his age and injuries plus the Bears cap issues, but still sort of a bummer. Face of the franchise.

200lbhockeyplayer · Mar 20, 2013

He should stand tall, proud and retire.

His body is only going to get worse. Ride into the sunset and wait for the HOF to call.

cubfanbudman · Mar 20, 2013

I'd like to see him retire a Bear instead of trying to play one or two more seasons as a part time player with someone else. He'll go down as one of my favorite Bears and joins Butkus, and Samurai Mike as the greatest Bears MLB's.

cubfanbudman · Mar 20, 2013

Who is now the "face" of the Bears?

P-Nut?
Briggs?
Or Forte?

P_Manning 18 · Mar 20, 2013

cubfanbudman said:
I'd like to see him retire a Bear instead of trying to play one or two more seasons as a part time player with someone else. He'll go down as one of my favorite Bears and joins Butkus, and Samurai Mike as the greatest Bears MLB's.

He can be like Jeff Saturday. Play for a team for 1 or 2 seasons... and sign a 1 day contract with the Bears so he can retire a Bear.

nappyd · Mar 20, 2013

cubfanbudman said:
Who is now the "face" of the Bears?

P-Nut?
Briggs?
Or Forte?

cubfanbudman · Mar 20, 2013

nappyd said:
View attachment 14840

Sorry just don't see it. I'm a Jay backer but he's not the face of the team.

cgilmo · Mar 20, 2013

For an athlete who still has the drive to compete, telling him to hang them up is an insult.

From facing this personally, hanging the life up is the hardest thing to do, and I never played beyond the ncaa.

gt2590 · Mar 20, 2013

Yeah, telling an athlete, especially a HOFer, and especially in football, that it's time to hang in up is just not going to work. There is too much competitive nature built into them and the end is so Abrupt that most cannot face it, even when confronted with it head on.

The list of guys who finished their HOF Careers at a diminished level is too long for quoting, but even Jerry Rice ended up as a back-up...

cubfanbudman · Mar 20, 2013

gt2590 said:
Yeah, telling an athlete, especially a HOFer, and especially in football, that it's time to hang in up is just not going to work. There is too much competitive nature built into them and the end is so Abrupt that most cannot face it, even when confronted with it head on.

The list of guys who finished their HOF Careers at a diminished level is too long for quoting, but even Jerry Rice ended up as a back-up...

Oh I agree. Way to many hang on long past they should. As long as he doesn't sign with a division rival I'm good and please god not GB

hive17 · Mar 20, 2013

Um, I actually really like Urlacher; but what exactly makes him a HoF'er? I'll be honest, I've never done a comparison to other HoF LB'ers and him, but he doesn't pass the initial "eye" or "smell" test.

Someone convince me, because he has that Andre Reed feeling to me.

cgilmo · Mar 20, 2013

hive17 said:
Um, I actually really like Urlacher; but what exactly makes him a HoF'er? I'll be honest, I've never done a comparison to other HoF LB'ers and him, but he doesn't pass the initial "eye" or "smell" test.

Someone convince me, because he has that Andre Reed feeling to me.

Because he and ray lewis are the most famous linebackers of thier era.

nappyd · Mar 20, 2013

hive17 said:
Um, I actually really like Urlacher; but what exactly makes him a HoF'er? I'll be honest, I've never done a comparison to other HoF LB'ers and him, but he doesn't pass the initial "eye" or "smell" test.

Someone convince me, because he has that Andre Reed feeling to me.

While his 39.6 QB rating is only higher than Ryan Leaf's rookie year, his defensive stats measure up favorably, alongside current HOF'ers Andre Tippett and Willie Lanier as well as Dick Butkus. If anything, he suffered from fan fatigue in missing out on the pro bowl & all pro in the 2007 season after getting voted to both in '05 and '06.

Basically he has the longevity & overall stats to make it. Nothing outstanding in any one column, although, for the heck of it, including his first year in the league in 2000, he's had 1052 tackles. Pretty close to the #'s put up by Ray Lewis with 1090 in that same time frame. Also similar in having 22 interceptions to the 24 of Lewis.

And he had sex with Paris Hilton & didn't get some crazy STD. That alone deserves a HOF nod.

ChasHawk · Mar 20, 2013

Marshall is the "face"

Forte lost his appeal to Chicago fans after all the contract BS.

Urlacher should retire, and if you don't know why he's a HOFer, you haven't been watching football

hive17 · Mar 21, 2013

ChasHawk said:
Marshall is the "face"

Forte lost his appeal to Chicago fans after all the contract BS.

Urlacher should retire, and if you don't know why he's a HOFer, you haven't been watching football

See the problem is, I've 'only' been watching him, I haven't been homer-tracking his stats since he was a rookie. I think his first 5 years are HoF-worthy; but he played much more and was "good" but not great. It's the "Koufax" argument from baseball: do a few great years qualify for the HoF when the player should be judged over an entire career?

Plus, Ray has 2 rings, 1 of which came with a team that was all D, a D that he was the leader of.

Like I said: the 5 first years for Urlacher were HoF, but his career averaged him down to good, but not quite great.

I'll say this, if he makes it in, I'd be fine with that; but it ain't going to be 1st ballot. If Tim Brown and Chris Carter have to wait, so does Urlacher, IMO.

cgilmo · Mar 21, 2013

He's in.

Without waiting. The nfl isn't about stats.

hive17 · Mar 21, 2013

cgilmo said:
He's in.

Without waiting. The nfl isn't about stats.

But my whole point is, if it's not about stats with Urlacher, then the last 7-ish years of his career don't make him stand out much from year-to-year.

Let me put it this way, as a Packer fan: I haven't been concerned about Urlacher for years now. In fact, Julius Peppers was the last defensive player the Bears brought in that I took notice of.

ChasHawk · Mar 21, 2013

hive17 said:
as a Packer fan:

This was the only part I needed to read...

cubfanbudman · Mar 21, 2013

ChasHawk said:
This was the only part I needed to read...

Lol

Musial Collector · Mar 21, 2013

hive17 said:
See the problem is, I've 'only' been watching him, I haven't been homer-tracking his stats since he was a rookie. I think his first 5 years are HoF-worthy; but he played much more and was "good" but not great. It's the "Koufax" argument from baseball: do a few great years qualify for the HoF when the player should be judged over an entire career?

Plus, Ray has 2 rings, 1 of which came with a team that was all D, a D that he was the leader of.

Like I said: the 5 first years for Urlacher were HoF, but his career averaged him down to good, but not quite great.

I'll say this, if he makes it in, I'd be fine with that; but it ain't going to be 1st ballot. If Tim Brown and Chris Carter have to wait, so does Urlacher, IMO.

Hard to disagree with Hive here folks
Im sure some will come in and denounce football reference dot com, but its a great tool IMO for comparisons sakes
Urlacher an eventual HOFer, yes. Lock for first ballot, not in my opinion. Hes done nothing to stand out as a "first ballot lock" from my perspective.

Brian Urlacher - per football reference dot com, similar players comparison

Career Greg Lloyd, Pat Swilling, Willie Lanier*, Randy Gradishar, Wilber Marshall, Andre Tippett*, Mike Curtis, Dick Butkus*, Karl Mecklenburg, Charles Haley

I see three HOFers with the same "career" type as Urlacher

Ray Lewis

Career Lawrence Taylor*, Bill George*, Mike Singletary*, Derrick Brooks, Joe Schmidt*, Jack Lambert*, Jack Ham*, Zach Thomas, Isiah Robertson, Sam Huff*

I see seven HOFers with the same "career" type as Lewis

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