Written by Matt Norris | 19 July 2010

Brian Urlacher has more than just the 8.4 million reasons in his contract to perform well this upcoming season.

He's looking at a possible Comeback Player of the Year award following a season in which he only played during the first half of the season opener.

Urlacher dislocated his wrist after notching three tackles against Green Bay in week one. Surgery on the wrist required him to sit out for the rest of the year, which in turn ended his consecutive starting streak of 65 games. The Bears won seven games last year, two less than the mark they put up the year before with Urlacher at full strength for all 16 games.

Looking back to his last full year back in 2008, Urlacher failed to surpass the 100 tackle mark, his first time since 2004, and that year he only played in nine games. He also didn't notch a sack in ‘08, a statistic he averages about five of in any given year. This puts additional pressure on him, along with another play maker emerging at linebacker.

In Urlacher's absence long time Bear Hunter Hillenmeyer put together one of the best seasons of his career.  Hillenmeyer finished the year with 90 tackles in 14 games, missing two games due to injury.  He will be a valuable back up if Urlacher runs into injury problems again. 

Nick Roach, a four year pro out of Northwestern, came away with 75 tackles, 2 sacks, and 3 forced fumbles starting at outside linebacker.  Roach was able to refine his craft on the strong-side in 15 games at the position in ’09 and has received the majority of first-team reps during OTA’s. I’m not saying any of these guys are in positions of losing their jobs, but with Urlacher, Roach, Hillenmeyer, 2009’s leader in tackles Lance Briggs, and an oft-injured Piso Tinoisamoa, there could be more of a rotation going on at the position.

The depth there is a very comforting thing, and the past two season the Bears have only kept six linebackers going into the season. All seems well until you take into account Tim Shaw and Brian Iwuh, two guys who thrived on special teams last year, bringing the linebacker total up to seven. With questions on the defensive line and the secondary, the cut to 53 men could be more difficult than anticipated.

Brian has talked up his health lately, saying his wrist is 100-percent and his neck feels perfect. Something a year of rest will do to you.

The Bears’ poster-child will bring an intensity to the Bears defense missing last year, and barring any sort of distractions such as an aggravation to his wrist the win total of the 2010 team should increase.

As a 11-year veteran Urlacher may have to rely more on his intelligence than his overall athletic ability.  The key for number 54 will be to make the plays he can still make while not trying to exceed his own abilities. 

Working to his advantage may be the fact Urlacher's athletic ability was so superior to every other linebacker in the NFL that even a drop in his abilities due to age may only mean he's an average player.  The expectations are simple come out and produce at a high level at or near the consecutive Pro Bowl type of seasons he enjoyed at the peak of his career. 

Urlacher will surely have an opportunity to bounce back this season, but he'll have to prove whether or not his lowered totals in 2008 were merely a fluke or a sign of an aging star.

I'll be providing a run-down on a few other players before training camp kicks off in Bourbannais on July 30th, so stay tuned.

< Prev		Next >