Comments on: Urlacher "clarifies" comments about Cutler, Forte

By: Route36West

Route36West — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 05:53:31 +0000

I dont think he was taking a shot at Cutler. It reads to me like hes taken a shot at Lovie Smith and their offensive cordinator. He said hes not happy with how they changed their identity. It seems like he said the bears cant win this way regardless.
He didnt say Orton was better then Cutler I think he was saying the way the Bears used Orton was better then the way the Bears are using Cutler. If they used Orton the same way as they use Cutler the Bears would be even worse. Its just that they wouldnt put Orton in that situation and that he pefers that way then the way their doing things now. That this isnt how the Bears are suppose to do things.
It seems like he would rather have Orton then Cutler not b/c hes a better qb but b/c the way he is used is more the way he thinks the Bears should play football.

By: SmackMyVickUp

SmackMyVickUp — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 21:18:21 +0000

Urlacher was a good friend with Orton.
Bears defense was 27th last year because they spent 3/4 of the game on the field. Played 3 good quarters and lost it in the 4th, if not the 3rd. Offense couldn’t wear anyone down with constant 3 and outs.
Orton is a career backup QB, once Denver drafts their QB of the future he can take his place where he belongs – holding a clipboard.

By: aznjay7

aznjay7 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 19:55:23 +0000

# bearsrule says: December 1, 2009 12:40 PM
Urlacher is a tool and a hillbilly with money.
_______________________________
Agreed.
He’s a low class, trash talking egomaniacal moron.
I never thought I would see a Bears fan who would say that though. Kudos!
==============================
urlacher is a spotlight whore. of course he’d let some hack writer follow him for a weekend. BUT what he says about kyle orton is right…the margin for error in a bears scheme is so slim and kyle was very good at limiting turnovers, going to the checkdowns when he needed to, knowing when not to force throws into coverage. Keeping drives alive and T.O.P. is what wears down a defense and that’s what kyle did…cutler is only here for the big plays and only if we can grab a #1 WR in the offseason, then this talk for cutler will end…other than that, with the team he has now…kyle is more suited for this team.

By: CKL

CKL — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:37:08 +0000

By: GreatGallopingGhosts

GreatGallopingGhosts — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 18:18:21 +0000

Dear Beastie Bills:
1. One key factor to being a success in the NFL is staying healthy. Urlacher has never done that.
Urlacher has only been “injury prone” for two years. He’s not a young man any longer.
2. Learning QB would be a process on a new team, new coach, new wr’s etc. Its not like you can just install a QB and a system and have things click right away.
Agreed.
3. TO has almost always stayed healthy, trained hard, and been as ready to play as possible. He’s had some drops, but all LB’s have missed tackles, all QB’s throw picks…nobody plays perfect football. (apparently except New Orleans and Minnesota)
Turrets Owens has done more to divide and undermine the morale of his own teams than any other football player. He has talent and an uncontrollable ego wired straight to an uncontrollable mouth.
So can we go ahead and label Urlacher as a glass figurine, douche bag, team killer, cancer, underachiever??
You are so far off the mark. Urlacher has been the heart of that defense from the beginning.
Rebuilding the team with a mentality condusive to a throwing quarterback is the first step but you can keep TO.

By: chicagofan6096

chicagofan6096 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:39:22 +0000

orton was 7-9 and 9-7. that’s 16-16 overall. and no playoffs…..that is not a winner.

By: Beastie Bills

Beastie Bills — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 17:36:41 +0000

Serious question: How does TO get labeled as a cancer, team killer, douche bag etc. etc. etc. and yet a large portion of you think its “cool” that Urlacher is throwing HIS teammates and HIS quarterback under the bus?
1. One key factor to being a success in the NFL is staying healthy. Urlacher has never done that.
2. Learning QB would be a process on a new team, new coach, new wr’s etc. Its not like you can just install a QB and a system and have things click right away.
3. TO has almost always stayed healthy, trained hard, and been as ready to play as possible. He’s had some drops, but all LB’s have missed tackles, all QB’s throw picks…nobody plays perfect football. (apparently except New Orleans and Minnesota)
So can we go ahead and label Urlacher as a glass figurine, douche bag, team killer, cancer, underachiever??
The Bears are going to rebuild around Cutler. He’s had a 4500 yard 30 TD season in a young career. His style won’t subject him to a high degree of injury risk, as he likes to get the ball out.
Like all the non-Bears fans said, the Bears have been winning on flukey defenive and special teams play. Last year Forte had the most boring “successful” season I’d ever seen. They’ll get there as soon as they build the team the right way. Getting Cutler was step 1.
Maybe they get TO next year?

By: dbs0011

dbs0011 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:52:10 +0000

I think I know why Florio leans on the Seinfeld references so much. Now that he’s hooked up with NBC Sports, it’s tougher to be humorous without offending some easily-offended portion of the PFT audience that might notify 30 Rock, so dropping in quotes from a sitcom eleven years dead is both familiar and safe and honorable to the higher-ups. Plus, can’t go wrong going back to big Sein. Those early shows in syndication are looking awfully dated now, though. What were they doing with Elaine’s hair?

By: GreatGallopingGhosts

GreatGallopingGhosts — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:34:14 +0000

You know, it seems to me we had a quarterback named Grossman that used to get slammed just like Cutler (deservedly so but not the point). He was a gunslinger that took chances too, not like his backup, Kyle.
Orton was not a passer, when he came in for the injured Grossman all he did was the short pass and the run. He was a rookie trying like hell not to lose and the Bears won 10 games. Return Grossman and we got the same interception riddled QB we knew him to be.
Then it was Orton’s turn and the style of play was still the play-it-safe-don’t-lose-and-end-up-like-Grossman. The complaint now was that Orton didn’t have the arm to create a deep threat. But there was that decent defense and so winning was still an option.
Now everyone wants to blame Cutler because they don’t like him. Look at the history folks, the QB’s have changed but there is one thing that has not: the coaching staff (and I’m not counting the recent house-cleaning of their defensive staff). You put any decent pass oriented QB in this situation and I’ll bet the outcome will always be the same. Eventually the blame needs to be placed where it belongs. I watch the games and their running attack has been relegated to “punch it over the middle”. Passing routes are literally the same ones they used in training camp and their is NO imagination in their play calling.
If Lovey can’t bring himself to clean house on the offensive coaching staff then, much as it pains me, he needs to go too.

By: vdogg

vdogg — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 16:27:10 +0000

@Sourdough: If you want to talk about homer hats get your facts straight first. Cutler was in the top 5 in the league in ALMOST every significant passing stat in Denver last year so how could you say he was awful…? Not to mention he was only sacked 7 times all year long which translates to the o-line protecting and giving him time to throw….if he had a good line in front of him he would be posting those numbers again and Forte would defintely be having a better year, the fact the defense cant stop anyone would be a little over shadowed by the fact they would have a chance to at least outscore someone since they cant stop anyone this year.

By: Sourdough

Sourdough — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:47:53 +0000

@DeluxeReverb: How do Pace, Omiyale & Kreutz figure into Cutler’s decision to throw to wide open DB & Safeties!? Do yourself a favor and take off your homer hat so you can see Cutler for what he is, a very average QB w. a strong arm and poor mechanics. Cutler stinks in Chicago as he did in Denver. The Bears GM got taken on this deal.

By: DeluxeReverb

DeluxeReverb — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:35:34 +0000

Anybody who has seen the Bears this year and understands football can plainly see that their offensive line is horrible. They can’t run or pass block. Orlando Pace is terrible, Frank Omiyale is terrible and so is Olin Kreutz. Washed up, overpaid and washed up. With zero running game and a pass rush that is instantly in his face you have no way to really tell how good/bad Cutler really is.

By: texasPHINSfan

texasPHINSfan — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 15:05:29 +0000

urlacher may be a moron, but he’s not incorrect here.
Orton has clearly shown he’s a better QB all-around than Cutler. Orton has posted better stats & win-loss records when he was the captain of both those teams.

By: Sourdough

Sourdough — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:58:53 +0000

Urlacher isn’t saying anything we don’t already know about Cutler, and that is Cutler isn’t a winner. He makes poor decisions by throwing the football to wide-open DB’s & Safety’s. Neither Lovie Smith nor Ron Turner force him to make those poor throws, yet Bear fans like to point the finger away from Cutler much like Bronco fans did when he was their starting QB. Be careful what you wish for Bear fans.

By: vdogg

vdogg — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:43:50 +0000

This is clearly not a shot at Cutler or Forte, Urlacher is just as frustrated watching this team run the same friggin plays every week when they havent worked once yet…this is a shot to Turner, Lovie and Angelo. Get your heads out of your asses and realize every team we play can guess the next play call as easily as the rest of the arm chair QB’s, wannabe play callers sitting on bar stools, and small children who are forced to watch this awful product we put on the field each week. No imagination in the play calling, no imagination or complexity to the defensive schemes and poor use of past current and future draft picks by the GM have mortgaged the future of this franchise for the next 3-4 years at a minimum. Cutler was the kind of move they needed to make, albeit three years late…but you have to have a franchise QB in todays league, Forte can be a good back, needs a good compliment back to share carries with but you have to spend high picks on o and d lineman EVERY year or else you face what we have right now…old lineman and no one in sight for a backup. Cast offs arent the answer Angelo…

By: rusH1023

rusH1023 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:34:13 +0000

I sort of agree with the big dummy. Plugging Cutler — a ‘gunslinging’ no-one with a big arm and a bigger mouth/ego — into a system that has been built around the opposite and expecting it to work was stupid, in my ignorant opinion.

By: RicanRock44

RicanRock44 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:32:29 +0000

You’re a real class act, Urlacher!
I seem to recall none of your teammates called you out when you make your tackles 10 yards down the field. Nor when I used to see your butt flying thru the air in big games when a real blocker was on you.
What exactly have you ever done? Except for that freak super bowl year, what has your team done with you on the field?
Media created superstar. Overrated for years. Attention whore. Bad teammate.
Anything else left unsaid is obvious.

By: Richm2256

Richm2256 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:29:22 +0000

I agree that Urlacher was taking a huge shot at Lovie and the offensive scheming, but no way can you NOT see those comments as an indictment of Jay Cutler. You can tell me that he’s saying they used to play different and that Orton had success with that offense, but it’s clear he’s saying Orton is the better QB period.
I believe Orlacher called Cutler a “pussy” earlier this year?
Silly me, I forgot that in Chicago that’s a compliment, right?

By: Ross

Ross — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:28:49 +0000

The Bears are not who we thought they were.
They changed with the onset of Cutler.
They had a formula worked out whereby they won games.
Smash you in the mouth, hardnosed football.
It is a formula that works.
When they in their wisdom(?) chose to go after an ‘Arm’ QB, by necessity, they had to change philosophies.
Its the nature of the beast.
Win or lose with on ability of the quarterback.
Basic football 101.
This is, more or less why Josh McDaniels looked for a better fit to his offensive philosophy.
Cutler has never won on any level.
Cutler has always thrown interceptions.
Cutler has shown the traits toward lacking team leadership.
You Bears folks knew this.
Yet you celebrated with tickertape parades (figuratively) when you acquired him.
Purchased your playoff tickets (again, figuratively).
Now you seem in denial.
Now a very popular member of your team, Brian Urlacher points out the obvious, you villify him.
Toss him under the Bear bus. Denounce him. Claim he is a country bumpkin devoid of any knowledge of the situation that you know about only through the media reports(taking someone elses word for it).
Face it.
Jay Cutler is who we (in Denver) thought he was.
And thanks by the way, for the high draft pick in this coming draft.
Kyle Orton too.

By: purpleguy

purpleguy — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:18:31 +0000

Hey, the guy was being honest, what’s wrong with that? The thing that bugs me is trying to cover his ass when he had nothing to apologize for or clarify in the first place.

By: PUR-D33

PUR-D33 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:03:08 +0000

Cutler was a mistake plain and simple. I’m just glad it wasn’t my team that made the mistake.

By: WorldChampionBears2009

WorldChampionBears2009 — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:00:51 +0000

Urlacher is the MAN! He was right in everything he said and is a p*ssy for trying to apologize for it.
Any idiot with half a brain can see that he wasn’t talking about Cutler or Forte he was talking about the coaching staff. “Our identity change” isn’t about these two. It’s about the people calling the plays and HE’S ABSOLUTELY RIGHT!
The Bears identity of running the football and good defense has been what the front office has been about for years. But, they need to change that mentality because the entire league can read it like a book.
You run the same vanilla plays and dress the same defense and same schemes year after year. It ain’t gonna work!
Our screens don’t work?! THAT’S CUZ THEY’RE ONLY TWO SCREEN PLAYS IN THE PLAYBOOK. Same runningback screen and same WR screen. They run it at the most inappropriate times and the defense sniffs it out easily. “make people miss” you can’t make 5-6 players miss when they can easily read it.

By: cliffcla

cliffcla — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 14:00:22 +0000

I read this as meaning one of about five things…
1. Despite his comments he reeeeeealllly does not like Cutler.
2. Himself being the face of the franchise for so long does not realize that criticizing the new face off the team could send him packing.
3. He hopes criticizing Cutler will result in him being traded to a better team.
4. He does not like the offensive coordinator, and is frustrated with the play book.
5. He is expressing anger that they are bad at many different levels. And cannot be expressed in just one way. Too many short throws when you need third downs, too many dropped balls, not enough time for cutler to find open receivers, no holes for forte, receivers not blocking, Y.A.C, Defense getting tired out from being on the field too long, Exc………

By: Raw Deal

Raw Deal — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:45:11 +0000

I still don’t read it as Urlacher taking a shot at Cutler. He’s basically commenting on the Offensive game-plan changing from running the ball to relying on Jay to do it all. It’s not a new approach– running the ball to set the tone.
I know you get more attention making this a bigger issue than what it is, but how about accidentally keeping it in context of what it is?? It’s about with Orton they ran the ball more and they won–hence, he’s a winner. With Cutler they pass a lot more while ignoring the run game, and they’re losing. It should all be blamed on the Offensive Coordinator– unless Cutler is audibling out of every single play…

By: green&bold

green&bold — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:41:30 +0000

Is it just me or is this a shot at the coaching staff and GM, and not on Jay Cutler? Jay isn’t calling the plays. Jay isn’t blocking for the running game. I’ve seen firsthand what happens when a good qb spends a season running for his life, with little to no weapons to throw to. Just look at Favre’s worst seasons in GB. 40-50 attempts/game, lots of interceptions trying to put the team on his back.
Here is a question about the organization. If you were to make an ALL TIME Bears team, who would be the WRs? Tom Waddle?

By: lebowski

lebowski — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:40:15 +0000

Urlacher is awesome, he was the face of the Bears for a decade when they had no offense at all. Always wished he’d been a Packer.

By: Johnny

Johnny — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:38:45 +0000

Everything that Brian said is true. Jay looks like crap the running game is crap and the receivers are not getting open or Jay over throws the ball. Like Brian said Orton might not be the flashiest QB but he wins games and he gets first downs. With some of the moves that were made and the fact that Jerry will not get a big name like Marvin Harrison just kills me. The receiver corps sucks and so does the O-line. Matt is not running the ball worth a damn. The defense cant stop anybody so don’t come down on Brian for telling the truth.

By: KennyPowers

KennyPowers — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:32:42 +0000

Idiot comment? Yes
False? No
Everything he’s saying is correct. The problem is, the Bears have no offensive line and Matt Forte isn’t very good. Thefore, Cutler is forced to try and put the game on his shoulders with a bunch of avg-to-below-average WRs. It didn’t take teams long to figure out they could rush four and still get to Cutler and stop the run.
The Bears, if they have any idea what they’re doing at all, will try and build an Oline and add to the defense over the next two drafts and add a proven WR via Free Agency.

By: jd

jd — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:29:08 +0000

Urlacher is commenting on coaching, not playing in Cutler’s case.
The shot at Forte was pretty blatant though.

By: ILikeBeer

ILikeBeer — Tue, 01 Dec 2009 13:15:40 +0000

HA!! They are who we (Denny, Pack and Vikes fans) have allways known they were!
Its not the QB or the RB or the Coach: Its shallow, empty Bears football.
When the ball bounces the other way and you don’t make the 1 in a million play on D or special teams that they have relied on to win games – its real simple, you dont win.