Linebacker Brian Urlacher isn’t the only Bears defender dealing with a lingering injury.
Defensive end Julius Peppers has a case of plantar fasciitis, which caused the team to schedule regular days off during camp. Peppers wouldn’t even tell Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune which foot was bothering him, following the lead of Urlacher’s evasiveness.
“I’d refer to it as soreness,’' Peppers said. “General soreness.’'
Peppers hasn’t missed any game time this far, and looks like the same explosive player during the preseason.
Bears coach Lovie Smith shrugged it off as a non-issue.
“Guys fight through a lot of things,’' Smith said. “Lance [Briggs], Roberto [Garza], Brian — all those guys who have been playing that long have something going on. But it’s nothing we can’t monitor.
“We take care of our vets. We get them their work, but we don’t beat them up and stuff. Julius should be fine. How many days has Julius missed? He gets sore every once in a while. Nothing major.’'
Peppers is often overlooked, because his production, while good (100 sacks in 10 seasons), hasn’t been viewed to match his ridiculous natural talent.
But he’s played at least 80 percent of the defensive snaps in his two years with the Bears, and has only missed four games because of injury in his career. That kind of durability, coupled with those natural gifts and a better-than-advertised presence against the run, keeps him among the top ends in the league.