Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher had plenty to say in a radio interview Thursday morning, talking about the sorry state of the sod at Soldier Field, explaining why he doesn’t want to play in London this season and firing back at criticisms leveled by Dhani Jones.
Asked on ESPN 1000 in Chicago about Bears president Ted Phillips saying the grass at Soldier Field gives the Bears a home-field advantage, Urlacher said that’s not true, and in reality the grass at Soldier Field is “a disaster.”
“The weather I think is the biggest advantage we have against teams that don’t play in our weather,” Urlacher said, via Kevin Seifert of ESPN.com. “But we’re a fast defense. You put us on that FieldTurf eight home games a year? We’re going to be really fast. You put [Julius] Peppers on that turf? [Devin] Hester, with all those cuts on turf? [Johnny] Knox? All those guys. We’re going to be a little better, I think. Faster.”
The turf at Wembley Stadium in London likely won’t be in top condition for the October 23 Bears-Buccaneers game, but that’s not why Urlacher is unhappy about going there. Urlacher just seems to think it’s dumb for the NFL to play across the pond.
“No, I’m not excited to go to London,” Urlacher said. “I don’t understand why they do that. . . . I am not excited to go to London, I will say that.”
And as for the comments from Bengals linebacker Dhani Jones that Urlacher isn’t one of the 10 best linebackers in the NFL, Urlacher decided to rip Jones’ style of dress.
“I think we were drafted in the same class, right? Is he a 2000 guy? I haven’t heard anything about him since then,” Urlacher said. “I saw him on a TV show with a bow-tie on though. So I know him better for how the way he dresses than what he does on a football field. Guys are going to talk. I’ve definitely had a lot worse things said publicly from guys, so I can live with it.”