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Urlacher is a 1st ballot HOF


AZBearsFan

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Awesome! Very proud. Talk for years that he was only a good-great and occasionally elite player that was never actually the top linebacker in the league and didn't belong in the hall. Very cool. Good for you, Earl. 

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On a funny note, I will be very curious to see if he has hair for the induction speech, lol.

On a serious note, I think he really revolutionized what people think is possible from the MLB in the 4-3 base defense.  His combination of size and speed was rare, as was his coverage ability combined with great tackling and instincts.

He was fun to watch and we we're lucky to see him for so many years.

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A lot of talk about his comparison to Lewis and i get it but the 2 were asked to do very different things and both may have been the best to do what they were asked to.  Lewis was outstanding at taking on blocks and fighting thru trash to get to the football.  Lach was terriffic in the tampa 2 dropling into coverage and making life difficult on qbs looking to go to the middle of the field.  People also forget that Brian started his career as an olb and had 10 sacks as a rookie.  He was an incredible athlete who also was known as one of the best ever at the mental game.  2 games stick out in my mind as defining who Lach was.  Most people think of the Miracle in the Desert and rightfully so, and i LOVE the story i heard from Pompeii about Lovie going up to him in the 3rd qtr and saying "you're brian freaking urlacher go make something happen"  But if you want a testament to how unique he was as a player go watch Falcons v Bears 2005 when MVP candidate Mike Vick went into Soldier Field with 30 below wind chills and was completely shut down by the sleveless Bears d.  The Bears were one of the few teams who could negate Vicks speed bc they could spy him with #54.

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Thank god.  I was so afraid they weren’t going to let him in this year because they didn’t want 2 LBs going in at once.  Clearly the voters moved on from that nonsense with 2 WRs as well.

Brian embodies Chicago Bears football.  Watching their defense still looks weird to me without 54 in the middle.  Really happy for the man.

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8 hours ago, bkokot said:

On a funny note, I will be very curious to see if he has hair for the induction speech, lol.

On a serious note, I think he really revolutionized what people think is possible from the MLB in the 4-3 base defense.  His combination of size and speed was rare, as was his coverage ability combined with great tackling and instincts.

He was fun to watch and we we're lucky to see him for so many years.

The Bears posted a video of him getting word that he’s in, and in that video he had hair.

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The reason I am a Bears fan...

Dude was a beast and I am not sure I will ever feel as strongly about a player ever again...AZ 06 was the single greatest performance I have ever seen in the NFL...he was everywhere...might actually go watch that before the Superbowl tonight.

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27 minutes ago, pigsooie5 said:

I'll never forget being at a stool by the kitchen table at my childhood home at 8 years old when Urlacher got drafted by the Bears. He is 100% the reason I became a Bears fan. Well deserved! 

I always assumed you were around my age but now i feel old bc i was 20, lol

Payton will always be my favorite player, and Peanut my favorite of the Lovie Bears, but 54 brought back the monsters mentality that was lost when Singletary retired.  Bears MLB is one of the iconic positions in the NFL right up there with Dallas QB.  

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3 hours ago, Superman(DH23) said:

Btw who's going to induct him? Lance, Lovie, Jay Glazer?  

Report yesterday was he was still pondering. I wouldn’t be shocked if it was his brother tbh. The impression has always been that they are really close. 

Maybe he gives the finger to all the fans and has Ted Phillips do it... 

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My account name should say it all.

As you all have mentioned, a HOF player for a historic franchise noted for their MLB play. From Bronco Nugurski (also played FB and T) of the 1930's  to the 1950's with 8 time first team all pro Bill George handing off the position to Butkis in 1965.  George said that the first time he saw Butkis on the training camp field he knew his days as MLB for the Bears were over. This is a player one season removed from first team all pro MLB. Then the 80's with Singletary and of course Urlacher who redefined the MLB position as passing became dominate in the NFL.

It transcends the game for me and I'd love for the heart of the Bears' defense to be a elite LB, as "MLB" is gone from the Bears, and everything else be danged.

One thing per the debate between Urlacher and Lewis. A good center who played against both said that Urlacher was better at taking on blockers than Lewis which kind of surprised me. While Lewis seemed to play with "blocker eaters" in front of him whether in a 3-4 or 4-3 I still assumed he was more forceful along the line. Perhaps because I saw more of the cases where Lewis was taking on secondary blockers like RB and FB while Urlacher was filling gaps in the line taking on Olinemen. Homer opinion to be sure, but that's my stand.

Congrats to both Urlacher and Lewis for making the HOF and it show how legitimate both their performance and careers were.

 

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