Trippin’ Tuesday: Urlacher to skip minicamp?

[dabears54]

Trippin’ Tuesday: Urlacher to skip minicamp?

By Michael Silver, Yahoo! Sports 55 minu

Brian Urlacher says his arthritic back feels great and his surgically repaired neck is fine. However, don’t expect Urlacher to get his mind right until the star middle linebacker’s contract dispute with the Chicago Bears is resolved.
On Monday Urlacher, who has stayed away from the Bears’ voluntary offseason workouts, told Yahoo! Sports he expected to boycott the team’s mandatory minicamp from May 30 to June 1 because of his dissatisfaction with management’s lax response to his requests for a raise.
“I would bet I wouldn’t be there,” Urlacher said from Arizona, where he has spent most of the offseason. “My agents and the team had some good dialogue early on, but nothing’s happened lately. It’s been almost two months since there’s been any action on their end, and it’s a waiting game right now.”
Asked if he might consider missing training camp, Urlacher said, “I haven’t even thought about it. I’m hoping it doesn’t get that far.”
Urlacher, who has four years remaining on the nine-year, $56.5-million contract extension he signed in 2003, realizes that his stance is not a popular one. But the six-time Pro Bowl performer, who was the NFL’s defensive player of the year in 2005, believes he has outperformed his deal and is frustrated that he’s no longer the highest-paid player on his team. According to NFLPA documents, eight Bears earned more than he did last season.
“It’s easy for people to criticize me for wanting (a new deal), and I understand that it’s a contract and I signed it,” Urlacher said. “But this is the NFL, and if I’d signed it and I’d played like (expletive), they’d have cut me or tried to get me to take less. In my mind, there’s no difference. If they can ‘break’ a contract, I have a right to ask for more if I play well enough.
“When I signed my deal the salary cap was $75 million. It’s, what, $116 million now? Things have changed.
“I understand that all of this, to a normal person, sounds crazy. It’s all relative to what you do. If you’re a chair-builder, and you feel you’re the best at what you do, and other chair-builders are making more than you, then you’d want to be paid more, too.”
From the Bears’ perspective, however, giving more money to Urlacher is somewhat of a risky proposition. The eight-year veteran, who turns 30 later this month, was plagued by severe back pain in 2007 and missed the Pro Bowl for only the second time in his career. In late January, he had minor neck surgery to relieve a problem that affected the curve of his cervical spine.
But Urlacher, who nonetheless led Chicago with 123 tackles and had five sacks and five interceptions in ‘07, discounts the notion that he is a health risk. “Their doctors say I’m OK,” he said. “Why do you pay your doctors if you’re not going to listen to them? All I can tell you is my back’s good, dude. My rehab is over, and I was telling our trainer the other day that even my worst day now is 20 times better than my worst day during the season. My neck is good, too.”
The Bears, who have declined to discuss the specifics of Urlacher’s situation publicly, reportedly made an offer earlier in the offseason that would have added a year to their defensive leader’s deal and could have increased his total pay by as much as $18 million. But only $5 million of that total would have been guaranteed, and Urlacher balked at the proposal.
On Monday, the Bears made Robbie Gould the highest-paid kicker in football, signing him to a reported five-year, $14.2-million extension. Defensive tackle Tommie Harris, who is in the final year of his contract, and receiver/kick returner Devin Hester, who has two years left, are seeking lucrative new deals as well.
“I know there are other guys looking to get paid, but it’s not like there isn’t any money there,” Urlacher said. “They were $16 million under the cap before they cut (safety Adam) Archuleta (earlier this month). I don’t understand what they’re doing.”
One thing Urlacher does understand is that such a stance is affecting his popularity in the Windy City.
“They’re killing me in Chicago,” he said. “I think I should just go ahead and retire.”
Urlacher was joking. But if he follows through with his plan to skip the minicamp, expect the standoff to get nastier.

[motownbear]

all these coward players are tough when talking to reporters then come game one they are playing like

Strahan
Lewis
Briggs
Walker

and the list can go on and on

I think JA should acknowledge this threat through the media since this is the road Urlacher wants to take and announce he is withdrawing the extension offer that was given to the bad neck/bad back Urlacher

[Don Imus]

I hope Bumlacher leaves Chicago

[TheBaschnagelnator]

if urlacher can prove that it's 2001, then grant him his payday.

[dabears54]

Originally Posted by CHIEF WAHOO

I hope Bumlacher leaves Chicago

do you really beleive what you post?

Or As I suspect just write the opposite of whatever you think will get a maxium reaction?

Ie bear fans hates favre, so you do posts praising him

Board like url, so you do posts saying he's a bum..

people bash rex you praise him

people praise rex, you bash him...

If people are postive, you are negtive..

if people are negative you are postive..

why do this?

[motownbear]

I wouldnt call him a bum he is a huge part of this team but at his age he is not worth mortgaging cap space for him

call his bluff and let him sit bears arent in the business to pay his child support and poor judgement off the field

[Don Imus]

I never bashed Rex

[Don Imus]

He's only a huge part of this team because of the fans,I really hate this guy I don't see what hype is over him,you guys gets crazy over him int a ball that was thrown and his chest or when he recovers a fumble,the ball rolled rifght to him,the guy runs over to the pile and puts his hand on the player and acts like he did something spectacular

[dabears54]

Originally Posted by TheBaschnagelnator

if urlacher can prove that it's 2001, then grant him his payday.

in 2001 urlacher with inferior players around him had 148 tackles , 6 sacks, 3 ints and 4 passes defended

in 2007 urlacher had 123 tackles, 5 sacks, 5 Int's and 12 Passes defended

So despite playing in a different "D' that instead of funneling plays to him in jauron's "D' they are now funneled to the WLB in the tampa-2 and he is off the line alot more now in coverage..and had some injuries corncerns midseason

he basically has the same or better stats than 2001.. More INT's and passes defended in 2007 and less than 1 tackle a game less than 2001 ..Sure seems the same or if anything a better all aorund player now..

[motownbear]

i dont think you will find too many people agreeing with you

other then his performance against power running backs he has had a hof worthy career

[TheBaschnagelnator]

Originally Posted by dabears54

do you really beleive what you post?

Or As I suspect just write the opposite of whatever you think will get a maxium reaction?

Ie bear fans hates favre, so you do posts praising him

Board like url, so you do posts saying he's a bum..

people bash rex you praise him

people praise rex, you bash him...

If people are postive, you are negtive..

if people are negative you are postive..

why do this?

i'll explain it. i live a mile away from him.

favre is old-school, tough and gritty, mows his own lawn and wears t-shirts, whereas other "superstars" are divas.

we both believe urlacher has been grossly overrated for the past 2-3 years. 150-something tackles last year? please. 80 of them must have been when he jumped on top of a pile.

he loves rex because he is a florida gator freak. he loved him in college and wet his pants during the 2003 draft. poor boy is still grieving wuerffel.

we're a different breed. we are smarks. this is not due to the sake of being different.

[TheBaschnagelnator]

Originally Posted by dabears54

in 2001 urlacher with inferior players around him had 148 tackles , 6 sacks, 3 ints and 4 passes defended

in 2007 urlacher had 123 tackles, 5 sacks, 5 Int's and 12 Passes defended

So despite playing in a different "D' that instead of funneling plays to him in jauron's "D' they are now funneled to the WLB in the tampa-2 and he is off the line alot more now in coverage..and had some injuries corncerns midseason

he basically has the same or better stats than 2001.. More INT's and passes defended in 2007 and less than 1 tackle a game less than 2001 ..Sure seems the same or if anything a better all aorund player now..

point well-taken, but i cast no doubt that the good folks over at STATS have padded those numbers in recent years. i mean, 158 tackles last year, db? level with me on that one...

[TheBaschnagelnator]

Originally Posted by Dan Gadd

i dont think you will find too many people agreeing with you

other then his performance against power running backs he has had a hof worthy career

he has, no doubt. all im saying is what ive said in the former up above. urlacher is not a mega star NOW. he's very good, but he has been overrated for the last few years. i think STATS has fluffed him up in recent seasons.

158 tackles?!

guys, seriously...

[motownbear]

Tackles is a devious stat especially for teams who have bad offenses and keep their defenses on the field the whole game and also doesnt account for the gain the player had before being tackled. Like two or three years ago when the bus ran all over Urlacher how many of his tackles that game were quality?

[Bearfanmike20]

blah blah blha..

lachs a whiney baby...

blah blah blah.....

sorry thats all I heard.