Enormously jealous Urlacher can't admit it's Cutler's team now
July 30, 2009
BY DAN MCNEIL
I consumed more than three hours of talk radio Wednesday afternoon. I surfed the Internet incessantly to read what people are saying about Brian Urlacher's alleged inflammatory comment about Bears quarterback Jay Cutler.
In case you missed it, here's what Minnesota Vikings receiver Bobby Wade said on a Minneapolis radio station Wednesday about a recent conversation he had with Urlacher, his former teammate, in Las Vegas:
''Jay Cutler is a good player,'' Wade said. ''Obviously, it's a much different environment going from Denver to play in Chicago. Chicago is a tough club to play for. What is so funny, I actually saw Brian Urlacher this past weekend in Las Vegas, and we had a long conversation. I don't want to get him in trouble, but it wasn't what [the Bears] expected. Pretty much [urlacher] said Jay Cutler was a [deleted], for the most part.''
Maybe I missed it, but I haven't heard anybody suggest that maybe Urlacher is right. It is not impossible that Cutler is, in fact, a -- excuse me -- ''sissy.''
But that's not what has me seeing double. Urlacher is the ''sissy.'' And his denial of what he allegedly told Wade about Cutler was weaker than his pass rush.
If Wade lied or embellished, Urlacher would be seething at the former butterfingered Bears receiver/return man. His history is to fire back, perhaps condescend, mutter something incoherently. What has been a consistent and all-too-familiar Urlacher calling card when he's in the middle of the storm is overt anger.
He didn't respond that way Wednesday. Instead, Urlacher told the Tribune: ''That's just Bobby being Bobby. That's just stirring it up before camp.''
Thin. Not buying it. Not going out of my way not to buy anything else Urlacher tries to sell, either.
If Urlacher didn't call Cutler ''the P word,'' he would have barbecued Wade. He would have suggested Wade keep his head on a swivel when he steps on the field against the Bears. He would have hammered Wade the way he hammers ... ball carriers.
But he didn't. He shrugged. He also denied Terry Boers' report on WSCR-AM (670) that Cutler and Urlacher had to be separated once in Lake Forest. He called sports-radio types ''sissies,'' too.
OK. We're ''sissies.'' Can't recall, however, too many of us backing off an argument or a dislike for a co-worker. To the contrary, some of us thrive on it.
No. 54 no longer 'The Man'
I believe Urlacher said what Wade said he did, and I have a good idea why he said it. Urlacher won't admit to what he said because he doesn't want anybody to know how enormously jealous he is. It's Cutler's team now, and Urlacher doesn't like it. He never has had a business card that didn't read ''The Man.''
He let Cedric Benson know this was ''his town'' when he and fellow defenders took liberties with Benson in his first training camp. The Bears were lightly scrimmaging, but Urlacher and others went full speed and tackled Benson as though he were wearing green and gold.
Second banana doesn't agree with Urlacher. Any perceived threat to his status as Mr. Bear must be penalized.
Urlacher would score points with me if he just admitted it. Maybe he will on some Web site soon. For a price, of course.
I won't absolve the Bears organization here, either. Somebody in the front office should have been on the phone with Urlacher as soon as the ''story'' broke and advised him about how to handle it. Maybe Halas Hall is crawling with ''sissies,'' and nobody will dare to confront Urlacher about how stupid he sounds.
For being the face of the franchise for almost a decade, it's puzzling that Urlacher has regressed instead of maturing. Might it one day occur to Jerry Angelo or Lovie Smith that it's a good thing when their stars are perceived as good guys? Are the GM and head coach ''sissies,'' too?
When Urlacher arrived in 2000, he was deferential to his predecessors. After a 2002 ''Decades Of Dominance'' dinner, honoring Urlacher and Hall of Fame Bears linebackers **** Butkus and Mike Singletary, Urlacher admitted to me he was ''embarrassed'' to be on the same dais with such luminaries.
That was good perspective for one so young. He was grounded, approachable and easy to root for.
Doesn't deserve admiration
That was a long time ago. Since, the Urlacher file has been stained too many times for him to deserve our admiration when he's not wearing football gear.
Problem is, Urlacher got lost in his stardom. The money. The headlines. Endorsements. Honors. The mindless, pseudo-celebrity concubine. It was all too much for Urlacher to handle.
I don't care if Urlacher and Cutler don't like each other. But I am a fan who wants to respect the athletes about whom I write and speak, for whom I root.
Wonder if Urlacher would think that makes me a ''sissy,'' too.
Cutler is one of the tougher players in the NFL...at least physically.
