Yahoo! Sports reports: Brian Urlacher put in a plug for Kyle Orton and addressed the difference in the Bears' identity with Jay Cutler at quarterback during a weekend interview with Michael Silver of Yahoo! Sports."Look, I love Jay, and I understand he's a great player who can take us a long way, and I still have faith in him," Urlacher said. "But I hate the way our identity has changed. We used to establish the run and wear teams down and try not to make mistakes, and we'd rely on our defense to keep us in the game and make big plays to put us in position to win. Kyle Orton might not be the flashiest quarterback, but the guy is a winner, and that formula worked for us. I hate to say it, but that's the truth."
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THIS MIGHT SHOW HOW BRAINLESS PEOPLE ARE TO CHANGE. TO GET A QB LIKE CUTLER & BLAME HIM. WITH THE RECEIVERS HE'S GOT? MAYBE BRIAN & TURNER SHOULD BOTH BE BLOWN OUT.IS BRIAN BLIND WHEN HE SEES THIS OFFENSIVE LINE THAT JUST SUCKS. HE'S JUST A LOVIE KISS ASS. GET RID OF EM ALL FOR THE BETTER.
THIS MIGHT SHOW HOW BRAINLESS PEOPLE ARE TO CHANGE. TO GET A QB LIKE CUTLER & BLAME HIM. WITH THE RECEIVERS HE'S GOT? MAYBE BRIAN & TURNER SHOULD BOTH BE BLOWN OUT.IS BRIAN BLIND WHEN HE SEES THIS OFFENSIVE LINE THAT JUST SUCKS. HE'S JUST A LOVIE KISS ASS. GET RID OF EM ALL FOR THE BETTER.
Is this the Brian that kisses up to the great Lovie, or the other one that hates the cover two defense?
It's Jay's fault for not standing up to Lovie. Ask Ron Rivera how that played out.
It's funny how people suddenly lack objectivity and logic when they reach a different conclusion than the one we might hold.
Urlacher is exactly as dumb as we thought he was...
Chifan,
Actually it does. The lack of objectivity and ability to analyze facts and come to a logical conclusion. Yeah, but say what you want, but obviously football or anything else is not your concern, because if it were you wouldn't be saying such ridiculous things. lol
No comment on your comments about me. lol You don't make any sense there either.
CP,
So, you are drawing a parallel between the relative opinions of a few Beans football fans with that of the overall educational system of the United States? And furthermore, you offer that as fact as to why we are behind other countries in academia scores?
Listen, football is not your concern right now, you obviously have other issues to deal with. Take a break and sort some things out, then come back when you have a greater and more stable sense of priorities and topics.
It's just a game that some of us probably over analyze a bit, certainly no different than the soccer fans that routinely kill one another over individual plays (sarcasm ;O).
get a grip dude.
HEY BEARS FANS! It's you BRONCO LOVIN' MAMA here! Just stopped b y to offer a few insights into the "game" yesterday (or whatever you want to call it). Heh. Heh.
You know, Jay Cutler is a little turd and a lot of this is just plain karman. He gets whats coming to him but on a larger scale it's hard to even make fun of you guys anymore. A once great organization is now the laughing stock of the NFL and going to be for a long time. I just don't have it in me today to start up with any of you. The whold organization might as will lay down and die. When your own players start criticizing you it's time to find another Sunday interest. Jay's got his $$$$$ and he won't offer to give any of it back that's for sure. What a sad, pathetic chapter in this organization so rich in history. Oh for the Bears of 1985.
Wow, how stupid are Bears fans and people in general? Just reading some of these comments makes me understand why we as americans are far behind most countries in education. The fact that people blame Jay C for a bad defense, bad offensive line, bad coaches and GM is completely asinine. People want to talk about int's and the balls Jay throw, but how many passes did Favre under throw that his "real" receivers went and got. Real receivers go and get passes. I see it every sunday. But lets blame Jay. What do you think Orton would do on this team this year? He has a good O-line and got hurt trying to scramble. Orton would be crippled on this team. Look at the catches that Brandon Marshall made on bad balls thrown by Orton, does the bears have receivers that can do that?
Jay is a young qb that still needs to be coached up. The same stupid sh*t I hear people say are same thing they said about Peyton Manning early in his career(who by the way threw 100 ints in his 1st 5 yrs). The same thing was said about John Elway.
People, stop being SO F***ING STUPID
Wow, how stupid are Bears fans and people in general? Just reading some of these comments makes me understand why we as americans are far behind most countries in education. The fact that people blame Jay C for a bad defense, bad offensive line, bad coaches and GM is completely asinine. People want to talk about int's and the balls Jay throw, but how many passes did Favre under throw that his "real" receivers went and got. Real receivers go and get passes. I see it every sunday. But lets blame Jay. What do you think Orton would do on this team this year? He has a good O-line and got hurt trying to scramble. Orton would be crippled on this team. Look at the catches that Brandon Marshall made on bad balls thrown by Orton, does the bears have receivers that can do that?
Jay is a young qb that still needs to be coached up. The same stupid sh*t I hear people say are same thing they said about Peyton Manning early in his career(who by the way threw 100 ints in his 1st 5 yrs). The same thing was said about John Elway.
People, stop being SO F***ING STUPID
Frank,
No, that is how YOU want to interpret it. Brian was criticizing jay, and he should, as should other team leaders and coaches. To be sure, jay is not the only person who should be criticized, but he is the biggest and most responsible for the current losing record. When you whine and cry your way out of an organization, constantly pout at the end of the bench, throw tantrums and make the comments that jay has, then accept the role as savior in a beloved franchise, you better be able to back that s**t up. He hasn't and most likely based on his life long record, will not be able to do so.
How can people be so absent minded.
Urlacher is not criticizing Jay Cutler. If he is he is only criticizing Jay Cutler for not be assertive to the coaches on what he can and can not do as a QB.
Who Urlacher is really trying to criticize is Offensive Coordinator Ron Turner. He is the one Urlacher is criticizing.
I'm telling you FIRE RON TURNER.
Hi -- Jay here --
How are we all doing this wonderful Monday afternoon? I feel great -- I am rich and arrogant and am getting lots of second hand trim on Rush St. I Lovie this town! I wish I was still in Colorado but hey I didnt like the fact they fired the guy that let me gunsling. Now I can't and when I do I get INT'd. Damn -- good thing I have my other hobbies on Rush St. I love Chicago and Chicago loves me -- even Urlacher said so and I thought he hated me and thought I was a big baby.
Brian I love you too!
Bye,
XXOO
JC
Why are the Red Zone struggles for Cutler such a SHOCK to everyone? Go back to the days in Denver - it was exactly the same thing. Lot's of yards, but big TO's in the Red Zone that killed drives. Many of them on FIRST DOWN! They don't call him "BIG GAME JAY" sarcastically in Denver for nothing....
The guy hasn't played in a playoff game in his 4 year career.
He doesn't SUCK (as many here will suggest) - my opinion is that he is just very AVERAGE. That may win games with a great surrounding cast, but not with these guys.
I doubt anyone will lose any sleep if Lovie and Ron are both fired today, but Angelo is un-touchable as he made the trade. His departure would of course be attached to a perception that he made a very bad deal (which he did) and no one wants to admit that right now. And its unlikely Lovie will be leaving anyway, at least for another year.
But all of that is good news for Jay, build-in excuses for poor performances.
Not sure where Urlacher is coming from. Maybe a little jealous because he isn't the big name anymore. 530+ yards given up by the defense, how is Cutler to blame??? Bears have to many over the hill players and Urlacher is one of them. Brian has one or two good games in a year and everyone thinks his game is "back". Lets face it he, along with Tommy Harris and many others are no longer the players they used to be or maybe they never were but for a game to two. Paying them millions of dollars seems to work against productivity as they get paid whether they play good or bad. If Urlacher thinks Cutlers numbers are bad how does he think Orton would have done with the supporting cast the bears have today. Time for a house cleaning right from the management group at top right through the coaching staff. Maybe we can get a few draft pick for the Urlachers and Harris's but with Angelo still in charge we would just use them on non productive players and not the talent other teams seem to get. Even Lovie's philosophy of establishing the running game and that will open up the passing game. 2 yards a carry just doesn't get it. Urlacher is like Zambrano for the my beloved Cubs, when he is good he is very good but the problem is he isn't that good very often.
this "identity loss" started long before Cutler arrived; it started with Smith's pansy training camps where the team forgot how to tackle, for one. SMITH killed the Monsters of the Midway. He made his bed and now he's laying in it...GET OUT OF TOWN and TAKE ANGELO WITH YOU.
LOL, the biggest problem on this team that can immediately be fixed is freaking turnovers. Picks, fumbles, horrible red-zone percentage, terrible decisions and time of possession CAN be fixed by 1 person, and his name ain't Smith or Turner, and his position ain't GM.
Good grief, we could easily be a 7 or 8 win team right now save the performance of 1 individual.
I think that #54 is glossing over a very significant detail - the team no longer has the personnel or ability to play the "strong defense and running game" style of football. It seems that Jay was brought in to stem the tide that we've been seeing the last few years - the run game has been weak (they haven't really had a good running game since Big Cat retired in 2003), and the defense is showing signs of age and attrition at key positions, most notably safety. The team has dropped or traded a lot of players who should be playing now (Chris Harris, Tank Johnson). We've also let a lot of guys go via free agency, who now appear more valuable than they seemed when they were here - it's painfully obvious (most painful to Cutler) that John St. Clair would be the best tackle on this team right now, had they re-signed him. Shaffer stinks. Orlando Pace couldn't block Rod Marinelli these days, even with help from a fullback. And Williams is playing out of position at RT.
I think this team has major personnel issues. Some of it is the GM thinking he can plug players into different positions and they'll be okay. Some of it is that the talent level has declined. And our offensive scheme sucks. Brian can say that the move to being a pass-first offense is too blame, but given what is left on this roster, I don't think you had much choice. We tried the low-scoring run-first stuff in the first 4 games, and we stunk at it. Our defense has been beaten by such luminaries as Alex Smith, Matthew Stafford, and Seneca Wallace. When playing a real QB like Favre, Palmer, or Warner, we get torched. Can't blame that all on the offensive strategy, Urlacher. This defense stinks. Part of it is Brian's absence, but a lot of it is the inability to develop depth at key positions when we had the first-string talent. Now we're starting guys who'd be lucky to see the field in 28 other cities. Other than Tillman, Briggs, and Tommie Harris (when he shows up), we have a bunch of NFL backups playing defense. The fact that our scheme is easily defeated by a competent quarterback further hampers their ability.
Don't blame Jay for the change in philosophy (not that he isn't blameless, but not for this problem). Like Luke Skywalker, he was Princess Lovie's only hope. Unlike Star Wars, the golden boy doesn't save the Princess, he only makes it obvious where the real problems on this team lie.
Rick, join the long, but ever-shrinking, list of folks in Chicago that don't understand the bigger impact a marque player can and will have on the entire team.
When a real franchise QB helps turn a team around, he is quick to get accolades on how ball control helps the defense, how field position helps the defense, how leadership spills over both sides of the line. Teams in this league either win with real franchise QB's, or they win with smothering defense, we have neither. I don't blame Jay directly for the lackluster play of another, people have to take responsibility and ownership, but he is the biggest difference between 08 and 09. He is NOT making other players better, he is NOT helping our defense get off the field, he is NOT winning the game of field position, he is NOT an effective leader. He is what he is, what he always had been and what he always will be, a selfish and limited QB with a bad attitude and a .500 record.
Rick, join the long, but ever-shrinking, list of folks in Chicago that don't understand the bigger impact a marque player can and will have on the entire team.
When a real franchise QB helps turn a team around, he is quick to get accolades on how ball control helps the defense, how field position helps the defense, how leadership spills over both sides of the line. Teams in this league either win with real franchise QB's, or they win with smothering defense, we have neither. I don't blame Jay directly for the lackluster play of another, people have to take responsibility and ownership, but he is the biggest difference between 08 and 09. He is NOT making other players better, he is NOT helping our defense get off the field, he is NOT winning the game of field position, he is NOT an effective leader. He is what he is, what he always had been and what he always will be, a selfish and limited QB with a bad attitude and a .500 record.
Here are some facts to think about:
Urlacher is no leader!
Yes, Jay is to blame for some of the play.
No, It's not all Jay's fault.
Forte isnt as good as we thought he was.
Urlacher is no leader.
Our O line sucks, and our D doesnt scare anyone.
Urlacher is no leader
I read the entire article. Brian's faith in Lovie scares me!!! That's right, Blame Jay. It's Jay's fault that Matt Forte "trickles" through holes rather than burts though them. Maybe he is scared of getting his head bashed in because the line can't open a hole big enough to spit your gum through. But that's probably Jay's fault. Does "Cover Two" mean the defensive backs stand around watching guys catch passes in wide open spaces??? That's probalby Jay's fault too. Who knew a QB could make your defense suck so bad???!!!
Someone really needs to gather all of the "if we only had X, then Jay would be better" quotes, and publish them in some sort of on-line diary of this season. Would be funny to read someday down the road when we don't suck anymore. Just curious though, if we did have all of those things like a good O-line, a good receiving corp, a good defense, better coaching, a good running back and a better water boy, why would we need a cant-miss franchise QB? Wouldn't any QB succeed in that situation? I thought that cant-miss franchise QB's were supposed to elevate the play of their teammates, make other players better, take charge. What the #$*! do we have?
Well good. This kind of thing will help team morale for sure!
This coming from a broken Defensive player whose D is getting lit up like a Christmas tree, which, if I remember correctly also occurred last season and the season before..
IT IS THE DEFENSE TOO BRIAN!!!!!
Although it was only a matter of time before the Defense started pointing fingers at the Offense.. also a sign of bad coaching...
Look, the Bears O used to go 3 and out long before Cutler was here.. the Offense has not changed much people.. other than the increase in turnovers, but really that occurred in the last two seasons too..
Calling Orton a winner is a stretch, he is on a good team (who also should be like 4-7 if not for a few good bounces their way)
By Urlacher's reasoning the Bears made the playoffs for the past two season cause they had Orton and a vaunted D... oh wait... THEY DIDN'T. WHAT praytell is Urlachers excuse for the past two seasons when Orton was here, and their Defense, which has not changed much, has been here?
The Bears team is infected with the poor attitude that Cutler brought with him from Denver. He does not inspire his teammates to play beyond their abilities and to believe that they have a shot at winning once the chips are down. Jeff Fisher and Josh McDaniels saw the flaws in Cutler and one passed on him in the draft and the other traded him away because they knew that he was nothing more than a strong arm attached to a cocky body lacking any sense of leadership.
A strong arm is useless if it throws into 2X & 3X coverage or overthrows wide open receivers constantly. Orton doesn't have the same strong arm but has the smarts to throw the ball away or look for another option instead of trying to fit a pass into a tiny window of opportunity after locking onto his WR.
You can tell that Jay is lost for the game once he gets down by 14 points by his body language and deer in the headlights stare.
Didn't Urlacher call Jay a "p#ssy" this summer? Even if he didn't he would have been right on the money.
brian urlacher is a meatball with a very low offensive football IQ
his physiucal talent has been dwindling drastically and he's desperate because he realizes that the bears are no longer his team.
listen to the fans,
no one in Chicago really cares about Urlacher anymore.
sorry Brian but THAT is the truth.
Hey, it looks like Urlacher is making waves so that he can maybe get traded away - I don't think he wants to play for the Bears! Look at all the crying he did when he wanted to get his contract renewed! What a hypocrit! He's not a leader of a team - leaders don't say these things in public this way!
Is giving up 500+ yeards in a game part of the relying on the defense that you mention? Or is the the 30+ points in a half?
The bears problem is not Jay, it a head coach and GM with no clue. You have not made the play offs in three years. Your identity is still the same since your clueless coach let Ron Rivera go.
That is not all to the article....go to yahoo and read all of it. He's quoted on there saying plenty. Here is a littl bit more of it. -
Immediately after the Bears went down 36-10 in the fourth quarter, second-year Chicago halfback Matt Forte(notes) (eight carries, 27 yards) took a handoff to his left and was stopped after a two-yard gain. “Now we’re gonna run that [expletive]!” Urlacher said sarcastically. Earlier, discussing a screen pass to Forte that was stuffed, Urlacher had said, “You know why that doesn’t work? We don’t make anyone [expletive] miss. I guess I just don’t realize what great tacklers these [opposing defenders] are. They’re amazing.”
is comments about now we want to run it is pretty much a hit on the offensive play calling, and coordinator. Then he says we cant make guys miss and that the other defense is just amazing at tackling. He’s gotta take some heat for that. I agree that we need to run the ball, but its obvious we cant, and that’s why we’re throwing it. Maybe he should play offensive line and quit riding Jared Allen’s jock!
Brian has more then earned a right to comment on this team, his pro-bowl caliber and heart is not in question.
Hi -- Jay here --
How are we all doing this wonderful Monday mourning (pardon the pun)? I feel great -- I am rich and arrogant and am getting lots of second hand trim on Rush St. I Lovie this town! I wish I was still in Colorado but hey I didnt like the fact they fired the guy that let me gunsling. Now I can't and when I do I get INT'd. Damn -- good thing I have my other hobbies on Rush St. I love Chicago and Chicago loves me -- even Urlacher said so and I thought he hated me and thought I was a big baby.
Brian I love you too!
Bye,
XXOO
JC
Time to see what we can get for Urlacher in trade. We can get rid of the coaching staff while we're at it too. This guy should keep his yap shut if he's not on the field making a difference. A defense that allows 500+ yards by a division rival is nothing to breag about.
The bears have changed, and how. In nearly every conceivable way, this team is 180 degrees different that the Bear teams for the last several decades. Overnight, they lost the ability to run, to block, to play defense, to pull together as a team. I don't like the new-look bears, they look like crap to me. They say a team will take on the personality of it's leader, (baby Jay) sadly that is true.
I don't know why all of you are mad at him-he told the truth. You don't need a big arm qb to win (Joe Montana ring a bell) rather you need a SMART one. You also need a front office that spends money and judging by the stadium-don't expect it anytime soon. We're not the Dallas Cowboys and we don't have money as though it's flowing river. People need to stop living in a fantasy world-Kyle Orton doesn't miss playing here and neither does anyone else. We're not the Colts or Patriots and people aern't dying to come here.
This Bears team should be 2 - 7 right now. Given the the wins to the Steelers team that was without Palumualo, and three missed field goals was the only reason they lost that game, and then you look at the Seahawks game as well, missed field goals plagued that team, so there's two wins that where given to the Bears. Without the exception of the Lions, and the Browns, this season could have been worse then, and instead is pretty much just a mediocre Bears season once again. There's going to be a lot of head scratching to do on the part of management once this season ends. I've already made the estimation of what players on this Bears team needs to go.
The Bears are atrocious and no longer respected or relevant as competitors. They have been sorely mismanaged and and poorly coached. Their GM, Angelo, has ransacked their roster, leaving them with 3rd rate caliber players where top flight players used to exist. Their offensive coordinator, Turner is one of the absolute worst in the NFL - no imagination - no football IQ or genius. Their lifeless, clueless and ineffectual coach, Smith took over the defense this year and has demonstrated his own ineptitude and abysmal performance not only as head coach but even as defensive coordinator. It is so "Time to kick these 3 turkeys out of their cozy roost" starting with con artist Jerry Angelo. They have ruined the once proud Bears legacy and made being a Bears fan excruciatingly painful. The Bears are cheap, defective product that should be recalled. Let a new GM take over, hire a new head coach and remake the roster.
Hey Brian......Having a good QB actually exposes all of our neglected weaknesses, doesn't it (o-line, receivers)? Oh yeah, that "formula" you speak of worked once in 2006 until the QB lost the Superbowl for us. I just hope we can still get something of value for you when we trade you, Brian.
Hey Brian,
In case you haven't noticed.. The defense can no longer stop anyone and the running game is non-existent.