NFL Picks Week 2: Will Brian Urlacher’s Family Emergency Doom Bears vs. Saints?
Published by Wes O'Donnell on September 14, 2011
Article Source: Bleacher Report - Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are already considered underdogs against the New Orleans Saints with Brian Urlacher on the field.
If he’s not available, their chances of upending Drew Brees and the high-powered Saints offense diminish greatly.
According to the Chicago Tribune, Urlacher left practice Tuesday to attend a family emergency concerning his mother:
Urlacher is expected to be away from the Bears for several days and his status for Sunday’s game against the Saints is unclear. Teammates, the coaching staff and members of the front office are aware of Urlacher’s situation but no further information was available Tuesday night.
The Bears grounded the Atlanta Falcons in Week 1 at Soldier Field and Urlacher contributed 10 tackles, a fumble return for a touchdown and an interception.
Needless to say, he is and always has been the focal point of this Bears defense.
That means the game in New Orleans would become a major test without him.
At 33-years old, Urlacher is still one of the premier players in the league at his position and is as valuable to this defense as a player on any team.
The Bears currently sit as 6.5 point underdogs against the Saints in New Orleans, but if his status is in question closer to game day that line will move again.
New Orleans is coming off a tough opening night loss to the defending champion Green Bay Packers, but they were in the game every step of the way. Brees and his offense didn’t seem to miss a beat and one particular player, Darren Sproles, torched the Packers out of the backfield and over the middle.
That just so happens to be where Urlacher roams in the Bears’ defense. Should he be absent, the back up is listed as Dom DeCicco. The 23-year old rookie is vastly undersized as a middle linebacker and played safety at the University of Pittsburgh.
Urlacher played a hybrid safety role in college before becoming the Bears’ staring middle linebacker, but DeCicco would be a huge drop off for this team. We could even see the Bears shuffle their unit around to find the best fit of starting players that could include Lance Briggs shifting inside.
There is obviously still the chance that Urlacher does return before game time and gets on the field, but if he doesn’t, the Bears are going to be huge underdogs on both the field and in Las Vegas.
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