Urlacher out for the year/Derrick Brooks talk

[Posey H8er]

ZachZaidman- Bears officially put Urlacher on IR. They've agreed to terms with linebacker Tim Shaw
43 minutes ago from web

Not exactly Derrick Brooks.

[fleet]

Bears seemingly don't get a year without at least 2 guys out for the season before it begins. The over under was 2, so at least the over hasn't come in. Who wants to bet somebody willl be out for the year after the Packer game?

*sigh*

all too easy. Wake me when somebody removes the curse.

[fleet]

Is this the end of Urlacher in Chicago?

someone should explain to me the amount of dead money the Bears would have to pay after cutting him next year. In any case, Ron Turners reign of terror would end fairly soon in a normal organization (that would have never hired him or kept him this long even).

The Bears do need to begin funneling money into the offense around Cutler. They are gonna have to find some money out there on the roster somewhere. If Brandon Marshall was signed and Urlacher was cut, well, that would be a move that ought to be forthcoming. Lovie Smith would likely need to go as well to bring in an offensive mind in a revamping of priorities. But lets remember this is a stubborn archaic ownership. They brought in Cutler, but I'm not convinced they will finish the route.... if you will

[SpinninHouse]

well, my hopes for this season have changed drastically. i thought with the age and health concerns of our impact defensive players, the window of opportunity would be extremely small. infact, i pretty much thought this was it. tommie harris will have a short career, urlacher had been ineffective for two years, briggs has been playing at the absolute peak of his career, etc --- i thought squeezing one last huge season from everyone would be nice.

i am trying to stay positive because i invest so much emotionally in my sports teams that i legitimately struggle with depression when they fail. not sure if that's normal, or even healthy, quite frankly.

i really need a win against the steelers. come on BEARS. 300 yards and 3 TD's from cutler next sunday!

[Chewie]

[Cliff Levingston]

I guess I'm on the short bus of people that think Urlacher was on the decline even before this injury. He hasn't been an impact player for a while now - despite Lovie talking him up so much at the conference. Urlacher cannot shed blocks and he's lost a step or two in his coverage. It's sad, but you look at the three lynch pins on defense - Brown, Urlacher, Harris. All three are shades of their former selves.

Agreed before this year, but Urlacher was a monster out there on Sunday night. If that was the Urlacher we were going to get this year, the Urlacher of old, then this is a severely huge blow to the defense. Also overlooked is his leadership; he was the QB of that defense, made defensive audibles, etc. Hopefully without him we can still make the right adjustments and such on defense.

[Balance-a-Bull]

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/sep/15 ... orts-bucs/

Report: Bears thought adding Brooks wasn't best for younger players

TAMPA - Coach Lovie Smith says the Chicago Bears will pass on Derrick Brooks, for now, in the team's attempt to shore up its linebacker corps.

Instead, Smith said, the Bears will turn to their current roster to replace middle linebacker Brian Urlacher, who was placed on injured reserve Monday after wrist surgery, and strongside linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa, who has a sprained knee.

The Bears made contact with Brooks but decided adding a veteran of his caliber wasn't in the best interest of their younger players' development, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported today.

"Derrick's been a great player for a long time in the league," Smith told The Chicago Tribune on Monday. "He's a linebacker that's available. We're looking at all available players right now. Derrick would be a part of that. There's no more than that."

Hunter Hillenmeyer, a seventh-year player from Vanderbilt, will start at middle linebacker Sunday against Pittsburgh. Nick Roach is expected to start on the strong side if Tinoisamoa can't play.

Tim Shaw, who adds linebacker depth and can play special teams, was signed Monday. Shaw, in his second year, was recently released by Jacksonville.

Brooks, 36, an 11-time Pro Bowler cut by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in February. Smith was Brooks' position coach with Tampa Bay from 1996 to 2000.

Urlacher and Tinoisamoa were injured in the Bears' loss Sunday at Green Bay.

[SportsWorld]

[Chewie]

Well that's even better isn't it ?

Props to Rodgers for walking away from that.

[Icness]

Shaw isn't terrible. He had a great rookie camp in CAR but got caught in a numbers game and he doesn't play special teams, not at that time anyways. Good tackler and very instinctive, but he's not real quick or able to move laterally in space well. One of those classic "great college LB that fades into a NFL backup for 3-4 years".

I heard a rumor about Zach Thomas but it says a lot that KC cut him and his phone hasn't been ringing. Beware those end-of-the-line players that aren't on teams now; they are not on teams now for valid reasons.

[SportsWorld]

With no offers to play, Derrick Brooks joins ESPN2
http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/sep/16 ... orts-bucs/

Derrick Brooks has settled on the next phase of his career, joining ESPN2 as an analyst on the show "First Take."

Brooks is the most celebrated linebacker in Tampa Bay Buccaneers history, but he was released by the team after last season. He talked with the New Orleans Saints and, earlier this week, the Chicago Bears about continuing his playing career but never received a contract offer.

"While I still feel like I can play in the NFL, I'm excited to be a part of ESPN's NFL coverage where I have a lot of former teammates," Brooks said in a news release from ESPN. "I look forward to the exposure this opportunity will bring as I share my knowledge and perspective of the game on 'First Take.'"

Brooks was the 2002 NFL Defensive Player of the Year and an 11-time Pro Bowl selection, including 10 consecutive seasons from 1996-2007.

[Chewie]

http://blogs.chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/huddleup/

Although veteran linebacker Derrick Brooks agreed to a television gig with ESPN 2's ``First Take,' Brooks still believes the Bears consider him an option after losing Brian Urlacher for the season.

Brooks, interviewed on WMVP-AM 1000's ``Waddle & Silvy" show Thursday morning, believes the chances of him ending up in Chicago are ``high'' based on his own optimism.

``My understanding of the position that they're in, and me knowing the personalities of Jerry (Angelo) and Lovie (Smith), they really want to evaluate the guys that are there this weekend to give them an opportunity to step in and fulfill the loss of not having Urlacher,'' Brooks said. ``And they're going to take it from there, the evaluation process. I'm just grateful to be considered an option. If that's the case, I'll come in (and) do my best to fulfill whatever role they need me to fill in order to win.''

Brooks, 36, was a long-time member of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and had Smith as his linebackers coach there.

``It's really two good buddies,'' Brooks said about his conversations with Smith. ``Lovie came into this league my second year. And I think we kind of grew up together: him making me a better player, and I making him a better coach. Those types of relationships, you really don't lose throughout life.''

Brooks, an 11-time Pro Bowl selection as a weak-side linebacker, was asked about the possibility of playing middle linebacker.

``Whatever role they want me to play, we'll get into greater detail about it,'' Brooks said. ``Once I accept that role, I'm there 100 percent. I don't want to be a part of nothing I'm not comfortable with. That's the beauty of playing this style of defense. A lot of times, you see Lance (Briggs) and Brian (Urlacher) right beside each other in the defense. So technically, you're in the middle. Obviously the terminology changes. But as far on the field being a football player, that's what I am. I'll make it comfortable for me. ... They'll make sure they are just as comfortable as me before we ink a deal.''

Sounds like a one-game tryout for Hillenmeyer. If he looks bad versus the Steelers and we get killed, perhaps Brooks gets the call.

[SportsWorld]

Pretty good article from Vaungh McClure on Urlacher:
Brian Urlacher praises Chicago Bears medical team
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/fo ... 1701.story

If Brian Urlacher fulfills his goal of 15 NFL seasons, Bears athletic trainer Tim Bream, team physician Mark Bowen and hand surgeon Tom Wiedrich will get a lot of credit for ensuring his career did not end in the loss last Sunday night in Green Bay.

The 31-year-old Bears linebacker figured his right wrist was just jammed when he rolled to the ground after a first-quarter tackle of Packers running back Ryan Grant.

That is why Urlacher kept playing with the pain until halftime, when it was discovered he had dislocated his lunate bone -- one of the eight bones of the wrist and one of the most crucial in terms of the function of the arm and hand. The dislocation caused friction against a nerve, killing the nerve and thus causing loss of feeling in the fingers and thumb.

The Bears had placed a splint on the injured area, allowing him to continue until halftime. He was being monitored for numbness until he was pulled from the game.

[Balance-a-Bull]

Per wiretap:
http://football.realgm.com/src_wiretap_ ... ck_brooks/

Bears Still Not Interested In Derrick Brooks

22nd September, 2009 - 11:31 am
Chicago Tribune - Derrick Brooks said last week he expected the Bears to re-evaluate their linebacker situation after the weekend and possibly get back to him about a contract.

Lovie Smith was pleased with the performance of Hunter Hillenmeyer and Nick Roach, the fill-ins for injured starters Brian Urlacher and Pisa Tinoisamoa.

"I like what we did at the linebacker position," Smith said. "Just like we did coming in (to the season).




"All these players we're talking about, it's not like they're new guys. Hunter Hillenmeyer, Nick Roach ... Jamar Williams, we've seen all these guys. They've been around here for a long time. We had an idea of what they could do." [READ]