Chicago Bears: Brian Urlacher May Be out vs. New Orleans Saints
Published by Bob Warja on September 14, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
Who dat sey dey gonna beat dem Saints?
Well, the Bears want to say that, but the task may have just gotten a bit more difficult if middle linebacker Brian Urlacher doesn’t dress for the game on Sunday.
Until head coach Lovie Smith gives an update later today, all we know is that Urlacher left the Bears to go back to Arizona to attend to a personal matter.
Oh wait, we do know one more thing—we know the Bears will miss their middle linebacker if he’s not in New Orleans.
For all we know, the issue may not prevent Urlacher from missing Sunday’s matchup against the Saints. But if he can’t go, the Bears will likely move Nick Roach to the middle and slide Brian Iwuh over to Roach’s spot.
That wouldn’t be too awful, as Roach has subbed there before and has done a pretty good job.
But a player like Urlacher is extremely hard to replace. His physical attributes and the way he uses his speed to go all over the field and drop back in coverage makes him difficult to game-plan for.
Without Urlacher, you can expect the Saints and defensive coordinator Gregg Williams to alter the plan to go after Roach.
Williams’ defense is already a handful, as he is a gambler who likes to blitz and show a lot of different alignments. Last week against the Packers, however, they couldn’t cover anybody, as Green Bay’s 399 total yards will attest to.
Jay Cutler is licking his chops, hoping for a repeat performance. Meanwhile, the Bears defense will also be tested by Drew Brees, who is more than a tick above Matt Ryan as a QB.
Even in the loss to the Packers, Brees threw for 419 yards, three TDs and a QB rating of 112.5.
One positive for the Bears is that Saints WR Marques Colston is out for the game with a broken collarbone. Lance Moore was unable to go against the Packers, so New Orleans could be without two of their primary weapons on Sunday.
Urlacher, meanwhile, was named the NFC’s defensive player of the week for his performance against the Falcons last Sunday.
He had 10 tackles, one tackle for a loss, an interception and a fumble return for 12 yards and a touchdown against Atlanta.
The Chicago Tribune learned Tuesday that Urlacher had left Chicago to attend to a family emergency in Arizona involving his mother.
The human side of me hopes his mom is OK. But the Bears fan in me hopes that Urlacher can play on Sunday.
If not, who dat sey we won’t miss him?
Update: Shortly after submitting the article, we learned that Urlacher’s mother passed away. My thoughts and prayers are with the Urlacher family.
Read more Chicago Bears news on BleacherReport.com
