NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Brian Urlacher wants more cash

Image details: Chicago Bears v Minnesota Vikings served by picapp.com

What is it about the Bears?

Do they just not like linebackers?

Or do they just not like to pay linebackers?

You remember the franchising of linebacker Lance Briggs and all the acrimony that went with it?

Now it is on to Brian Urlacher.

Brian Urlacher says his arthritic back feels great and his surgically repaired neck is fine. However, don’t expect Urlacher to get his mind right until the star middle linebacker’s contract dispute with the Chicago Bears is resolved.

On Monday Urlacher, who has stayed away from the Bears’ voluntary offseason workouts, told Yahoo! Sports he expected to boycott the team’s mandatory minicamp from May 30 to June 1 because of his dissatisfaction with management’s lax response to his requests for a raise.

source

The odd thing here is that Brian has 4 years left on his deal. Four years!

Urlacher, who has four years remaining on the nine-year, $56.5-million contract extension he signed in 2003, realizes that his stance is not a popular one. But the six-time Pro Bowl performer, who was the NFL’s defensive player of the year in 2005, believes he has outperformed his deal and is frustrated that he’s no longer the highest-paid player on his team. According to NFLPA documents, eight Bears earned more than he did last season.

“It’s easy for people to criticize me for wanting (a new deal), and I understand that it’s a contract and I signed it,” Urlacher said. “But this is the NFL, and if I’d signed it and I’d played like (expletive), they’d have cut me or tried to get me to take less. In my mind, there’s no difference. If they can ‘break’ a contract, I have a right to ask for more if I play well enough.

“When I signed my deal the salary cap was $75 million. It’s what, $116 million now? Things have changed.

It is hard to see the Bears relenting in this deal. The kind of message it sends is wrong. But relenting may not be changing something, throwing a bone to keep Brian happy. He is, after all, the center piece of their defense and it is their defense that took them to the Super Bowl a couple of years ago.

So Lance may be happy now, but Brian is not.

Look out Chicago Bears.

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

More blogs about football.

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
The 49ers got a little too eager last year and paid for it.

The San Francisco 49ers forfeited their fifth-round pick in next month’s NFL draft after commissioner Roger Goodell said they tampered with Chicago linebacker Lance Briggs.

In a statement released by the league Monday, Goodell also said the teams will switch picks in the third round of the April 26-27 draft. Chicago, which had the 12th pick, will get San Francisco’s seventh pick and the 49ers will get Chicago’s choice.

Goodell said the 49ers violated the NFL’s anti-tampering policy by contacting Briggs’ agent, Drew Rosenhaus, about his client during the 2007 season.

source

The 49ers were a major disappointment last year as Alex Smith failed to develop at QB and the whole team just kind of went downhill.

Now they get a major slap in the face.

NFL Football Fan Question Did Commissioner Roger Goodell make the right call?

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

More blogs about football.

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.
After all that talk last year of holdouts and forced trades and not liking the Bears anymore.

After all that talk of leaving the Bears, because they franchise tagged him.

After all that talk of not even coming back for any games at all and wanting to be the man on a different team.

After all that venomous talk, Lance Briggs shouts “Show me the Money”.

Free-agent linebacker Lance Briggs re-signed with the Chicago Bears, agreeing to a six-year deal Saturday.

The Bears didn’t disclose financial terms of the deal, but the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Tribune both reported Saturday that Briggs would receive $36 million. source

Kind of be careful where you air your dirty laundry.

Briggs had a great year last year with 140 tackles and also crashed his Lamborghini in the middle of the night in August.

Man, don’t you hate crashing your Lamborghini?

Be sure to check out my companion blog at NBA Obsessed.

As always, any NFL Football related comments are welcome.

More blogs about football.

Guess he can afford a new one now.

NFL Football Fan Question How many times have you crashed your Lamborghini?

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Lovie Smith says It will be a Cold Day in Detroit when we use injuries for an excuse

It happens often.

Sometimes there is just no explanation for it.

What is it?

The team with the supposed disadvantage comes up big, sometimes in the very place where they are hurting.

The Bears are hurting with a number of injuries.

Some think the Lions are catching the Bears at the right time. Some think it’s the worst possible time to play the defending NFC champs.

Confused? Don’t be. Both scenarios are possible because the Bears are struggling. source

Two teams living in two different worlds

The Bears are a team that just went to the Super Bowl and wants to return. No, make that thinks they will return. In their minds, they are the favorites.

The Lions are an up and coming team, short on talent Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Ray Lewis chortles - They made my group number 1!

Hey, it is time to rank the linebackers, only we don’t have to do it because FootballOutsiders.com did it for us.

How about we get in the mood first.

Squibster will now perform his psychic act.

Here goes. –You have always dreamed of being a vicious 6′ 4″ 250 pound linebacker. A true animal waiting to destroy everything in your path.

You do not care about pain, in fact you love it!

You want to crush people, now! Grrrrrrrr. Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Vikings player helps Rex with foot placement on deep throws

Geez, the Bears were that close to winning it all. That close!

So what the heck are they doing in the off season? Do they purposely want to fail?

You know you had a team built on extra strength defense, right? Well, you would not know it.

They got rid of their defensive coordinator.

Ronald Eugene Rivera (born January 7, 1962 in Fort Ord, California) is the first American of Puerto Rican and Mexican descent to play in the National Football League (NFL). He was a member of the 1985 Chicago Bears, who won Super Bowl XX. Rivera was the defensive coordinator for the 2006 Chicago Bears, who won the National Football Conference championship. He is currently the linebackers coach for the San Diego Chargers. source

Tank Johnson gets incarcerated. As we read in the Taipei Times. (What, you are not reading the Taipei Times? Get with it.)… Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Lance Briggs is jumping at the chance to be a Redskin!

The rumors are flying all over the place.

Let’s start with the Redskins going for Lance Briggs, again. Yeah, yeah, we heard this one before and nothing happened, only this time it makes a little more sense.

Washington does not like to improve through the draft and they would get a proven player in exchange for their 6th pick and maybe something else.

Meanwhile Chicago cuts payroll, gets rid of an unhappy player, and gets the 6th pick in the draft.

Oh, and don’t forget Lance gets to be the man, which is something he would never get playing next to Brian Urlacher.

Shameless Squibster promotion - You can find your intrepid author on NFL - The Blitz for the April 25th show. My four minute slot is found about 7 minutes into the show. Read more

NFL Football at its best. NFL Football at its craziest.

Lance says - No long term deal, No helmet and jersey

He has no drive in window.

There are no fries.

You can’t wash your car, get coffee, or rent a limo.

Hey, what kind of franchise is Lance Briggs anyway?

Jerry Angelo, GM of the Chicago Bears, will not give Lance Briggs a long term deal, so they franchised him.

Just how do you franchise a player? Read more