Brian Urlacher vows to be ready for the start of the regular season and I believe him. What would I do if I didn’t believe him? Text him? Send a team of bandits/doctors to Bourbonnais in an attempt kidnap/examine him? I’m taking Brian Urlacher at his word because Brian Urlacher’s is the only word we have access to when it comes to his recovery from knee surgery.

Urlacher’s injury is no reason to panic. It’s not even a reason to worry…yet. Start worrying if #54 is ON the injury report and NOT ON the practice field come Wednesday, September 5th. Start panicking if Urlacher isn’t full strength by mid-season. (Let’s say Monday night November 19th in San Francisco for argument’s sake.) Do the Bears need Brian Urlacher to make a championship run in 2012? Absolutely. But that means having their star middle linebacker healthy and available in December and January, not August and September.

The man in question is thirty-four years old. He has played middle linebacker at an elite level for twelve seasons; playing sixteen games in ten of those twelve seasons. (Plus playoff appearances in 2001, 2005, 2006, 2010.) Dick Butkus played nine years. Jack Lambert’s body faded terribly in his eleventh year. Mike Singletary retired after his twelfth. After three straight seasons playing sixteen games, Ray Lewis was a liability in pass coverage and missed four games in his thirteenth year (2011). Sure there are physical freaks like the late Junior Seau, and maybe Urlacher will play seventeen or eighteen seasons. But convention wisdom and historical data lead us to believe otherwise.

The otherwise? Brian Urlacher is coming to the end of a borderline Hall of Fame career and the Bears need be prepared. It may not be this year or next year but it’s coming. And just as the Ravens began relying on younger, faster players like Suggs and Ngata to carry the bulk of their defensive load so must the Bears. The organization has already begun asking #54 to do less by excusing him from the practice field. Expect that to continue. Expect Urlacher to miss practices on most Wednesdays throughout the season. Expect Lovie Smith to lighten Urlacher’s early-season load in an attempt to preserve him for the pivotal end of the campaign. Expect Smith to compensate with scheme (when possible) for the step or two surely lost by a player undergoing a major knee surgery. Especially a player who relies upon speed as the centerpiece of his athletic ability.

Players are the key, however. New, young players. Players like Henry Melton. Shea McClellin. Paea. Wootton. The kids in the secondary.  Players not only situated to build the post-Urlacher foundation but also to relieve pressure from the aging superstar in the twilight of his career. (JT Thomas’ excellent preseason game aside, the Bears are devoid of young stars-to-be at LB.)

Urlacher must be the on-field transition from leading man to ensemble performer. If he does he could see his career extended several years. If he does not, it will not be his own fault. It will be the failure of the young talent assembled around him.

As starved football fans in football cities across American reach their incorrect conclusions based upon the incomplete data of the first preseason game, organizations carry on. Cuts start Monday and rosters/depth charts begin to take shape.

What will change this week in Bourbonnais? Who knows. But here is what I’ll be monitoring.

Left Tackle

Is there really anything else Bears fans care about? J’Marcus Webb struggled against non-elite pass rushers Thursday night and Mike Tice publicly flogged him by leaving him on the field until sometime early Friday morning. Now we wait to see if Tice decides to give Chris Williams an earnest chance to challenge for the position.

Personally I think it’s a must. Even if the coaching staff has every intention of allowing Webb to start the season at LT, he must feel his starting role is in question. He must feel he’s legitimately challenged. More playing time with scrubs can only send half the message. Competition sends the other half.

Shea McClellin

Will his performance Thursday night be enough to earn him work in the defensive line rotation? Will his performance against second and third-stringers be enough to supplant the thunderous Corey Wootton hype from last week? I know I’d be interested to see what McClellin can do lined up opposite Julius Peppers but that might not be possible for several weeks.

Injuries

Nothing else really matters. A fully-healthy roster for practice on Wednesday September 5th would mean the Bears had an entirely successful preseason.

No Cutler. No Forte. Brandon Marshall for twenty seconds. Peppers on the bench. Urlacher at whatever Lou Malnati’s location he’s been spending his nights. There was never going to be anything to learn from last night’s preseason opener. But I’ll take a few moments this morning and reflect.

• First the bad; Major Wright’s hamstring. Once against Major came up with a terrific interception around the goal line but shortly thereafter found himself nursing a tight hamstring on the bench. Before we start sounding the “Major can’t stay healthy” alarm we should note both Major and Lovie Smith referring to the injury as a “tweak” and saying Wright will not miss any practice time.
• When you watch these games you look for players on the second and third units who seem better than their opposition. Shea McClellin and Alshon Jeffery are clearly first-string talents and they showed it last night. McClellin’s speed is going to give slower tackles in the league fits and Jeffery’s route running was damn impressive for seeing his first professional action. I won’t be surprised if both are starting against the Colts in a month.
• The other name I’d add to that group is linebacker J.T. Thomas. Big #97 was all over the field last night – collapsing the run from the outside and batting down passes ten yards off the line of scrimmage. J.T. is an interesting guy. Jemele Hill at ESPN profiled him favorably in February and that profile ran a week prior to his being arrested for having a bit of the Mary Jane on his person. But he may be the next solid player to graduate from the Lovie Redshirt to the defensive rotation.
• The NFL needs to reconsider their policy of allowing organizations to charge full price for these games. Last night, across the league, stadiums were empty for almost the entirety of second halves. To make fans pay major league prices for minor league football seems criminal.
• J’Marcus Webb did not play awful but he played sloppy, including a false start Mike Tice said would not be tolerated. Webb was left in the ball game well beyond the rest of the starters and I wonder if Chris Williams won’t be given an opportunity to win the left tackle spot in the lead-up to next weekend’s game with the Redskins. My guess? No. I think Tice believes in Webb and last night was tough love.
• I don’t think Armando Allen is going to surpass Kahlil Bell anytime soon.
• Same for Kelvin Hayden and Tim Jennings.
• Don’t take anything the starting defense did seriously. This group notoriously performs terribly in the summer and turn it on once they start keeping score for real. We know exactly what they’re going to be in the regular season – positives and negatives.

Final note: Health is all that matters and last night, barring a change in course on Major Wright, the Bears came out healthy. That. Is. All. That. Matters. This is going to be a very good football team this year but only if their very good players are on the field.

Alex Brown signed a one-day contract with the Chicago Bears. On that one day, today, he’ll retire a Chicago Bear. He never seemed to make the money the other defensive end was making; no matter who lined up over there. He never won a Super Bowl title, although he came as close as any Bear not on the vaunted 1985 roster. He’s not going to be enshrined in Canton unless Canton decides to give me full control of enshrinement moving forward. Because I can say, without question, Alex Brown is one of my all-time favorite Bears.

Why? A million reasons.

AB belonged in a Bears uniform. Belonged in blue and orange. Belonged on the lake in Chicago. He was the quintessential blue collar defensive player in the quintessential blue collar football city (shut up, Pittsburgh). You know that phrase, “blue collar”? It’s the phrase commentators usually throw at any white guy that plays in the NFL. They do that because there’s an inherent racist assumption being made: black guys are born athletes, white guys have to work at it. It’s nonsense but that won’t stop you from hearing it out of the booths of CBS and Fox on Sunday afternoons.

Blue collar means work and AB worked – often harder than anyone else on the field. When the Bears needed a blocked kick, there was #96. When the Bears needed a sack, there was #96. And I would argue, I think without debate, no defensive end played the run better than #96 during Lovie’s tenure as Bears head coach. That run-stopping ability rarely showed up in the box score or on SportsCenter but it was the foundation on which the entire defensive system was built.

My favorite Alex Brown moment was against the Philadelphia Eagles in 2008. On a goal line stand to win the game, Brown came off the edge and wrangled Brian Westbrook to the ground. I remember thinking, in that moment, “Wow. That’s a great football player.” I can’t think of a higher compliment to pay Alex Brown. He was a great football player.

I have been looking for a video of the play and this is the best I can find:

Enjoy your night, Alex Brown. And I hope the Bears faithful at Soldier Field tonight can provide you a bit of the joy you provided us for eight years.

Note: That little fella to the far left of the image above is the one and only Mr. Caleb Hanie.

The first preseason game has less meaning than the first training camp practice. Substantially less, if that’s possible. There are two teams. Neither has game-planned for the other. Both have practiced for barely a week. And every starter worth their salt is terrified by one thing: turning the wrong way on the left knee and watching their season end before it has begun. (At least in the first training camp practice of the starters don’t spend 7/8 of the session chatting with sideline reporters.)

But are there things worth paying attention to? Sure. Since most of us are going to watch the game, we might as well pay attention.

• Health. Here is my list of players I’d prefer see the field for (at most) 3 plays: Cutler, Marshall, Forte, Hester, Peppers, Melton, Briggs, Tillman, Payton, Butkus, Sayers, Kramer, George, Hampton…etc. I could seriously keep going. Nothing good can come from the first preseason game.
• Caleb Hanie. I know he’s no longer on the Bears but it’ll be interesting to see how Hanie bounces back from one of the worst performances in the history of the NFL (and arguably the world). Knowing Hanie’s track record, I expect him to perform terrifically and give Broncos fans a terribly false sense of security should Peyton Manning see extended time on the bench.
• Defensive Line Rotation. There is “buzz” – that most meaningless of noises to emanate from Bourbonnais this time of year – around a pair of defensive linemen: Stephen Paea & Corey Wootton. Julius Peppers is the rock. Israel Idonije and Henry Melton will be productive. Shea McClellin will develop over time. If Paea and Wootton turn the corner at DL, the Bears could have a ferocious attack up front.
• Offensive Line. This will be probably be the starting unit that sees the most field time throughout the preseason but we’ll learn very little tomorrow night. That being said all fan eyes will be fixed squarely on big ol’ J’Marcus Webb on the blindside. Some to watch his development. Some hoping he’ll fail and be unceremoniously cut by halftime.
• Dane Sanzenbacher. The Bears don’t exactly have 75 receivers in their camp currently so it’s conceivable Sanzenbacher could be catching passes in the second half of this game. As we (I) predicted here MONTHS AGO Sanzenbacher is one of the major stories of camp and I bet there will be a decent number of folks watching late into this one to monitor his progress. No Bear will play harder during these four preseason games.
• Depth Chart. One of my favorite things about training camp is the first preseason depth chart posted by the Chicago Bears on their website. It is very silly. But here are a few names worth focusing a bit of attention on tomorrow night and throughout the preseason: OT James Brown, DTs John McCargo, Brian Price & Nate Collins, RB Armando Allen.
• Rookies. Ultimately they are camp/preseason’s most important tale and the Bears top four will be fascinating to watch throughout the preseason. If Shea McClellin is playing against opposing 2s and 3s, we’ll want to see production. How will Alshon Jeffery get off the line of scrimmage against NFL corners? Can Brandon Hardin stay healthy and challenge for field time at safety? Will Evan Rodriguez ultimately be part of the offense’s base package as a hybrid H-back/tight end? We won’t know tomorrow night but we may know by Wednesday September 5th.

We end with a blog open debate. If your eyes were not going to leave one Chicago Bear tomorrow night, whom would it be? Meaning: who are you most interested in watching against the Denver Broncos?

Apologies for what has been and will continue to be sporadic posting for the next few days. I am beginning my third week of jury service today but there is an end in sight.

BRIAN URLACHER RULED OUT OF PRESEASON OPENER

How many more years do you think Brian Urlacher plays at an elite level in the middle of the Bears defense? Three? Maybe two? In short #54 only has so much time left on the football field and none of that time should be wasted in Bourbonnais or in under-attended preseason stadiums. Every moment he spends on the sideline this summer, with his knee wrapped, may be another moment he can spend on the field come January.

When will I worry about Urlacher? If he’s not on the practice field Wednesday, September 5th.

THOMAS RETIRES, SANZENBACHER CLOSER TO FINAL 53

When I wrote an elaborate piece about Dane Sanzenbacher it was meant with a sufficient amount of mockery. “Why oh why, Jeff? Why must you waste our eye energy on a piece about a meaningless entity like Sanzenbacher,” wrote a fake comment I just made up. Then yesterday happened. Devin Thomas, seemingly out of the blue, walked away from the NFL. That squealing you heard from Bourbonnais was coming from Sanzenbacher’s training camp dorm. (Side note: Good for Thomas. Football is not a sport one should play against their own will.)

Here are the facts at WR. Marshall, Jeffery, Hester, Bennett and Weems are guarantees. If the Bears go with six WRs, the sixth will be The Great Dane. Lovie likes him. Cutler likes him. And contrary to many of the opinions on this site, I think the fans quite like him because fans tend to like white guy receivers. They’re easy to root for. Perennial football underdogs.

But even if Sanzenbacher makes the 53-man roster it will be a cosmetic decision. The sixth receiver never suits up on Sunday. Never. Unless the Bears suffer an injury to one of the top four receivers, Dane will have minimal impact and few touches of the football.

WILL REPLACEMENT REFEREES REALLY MATTER?

First, I don’t believe the NFL will utilize replacement referees this season. Like most strikes of this type a deal will be reached once the workforce faces the actual possibility of missing meaningful work and meaningful paychecks.

Second, I contend it wouldn’t matter much if we saw replacement referees in the NFL. Does anyone think the current crop of refs are that good? It seemed every game of 2011 was marred, one way or the other, by a poor or misguided call. Coaches, players and fans were constantly complaining about the officiating. Now we’re complaining those officials may not be around. Sounds like a Woody Allen joke.

What’s so hard about refereeing the NFL? It’s not like soccer, basketball or hockey. It does not require high levels of conditioning. And how many things are actually called on a weekly basis? Holding. Pass interference. Illegal shift. False start/offsides. You’re telling me, with six weeks of preparation, knowledgeable football men could not be put in a solid position to do the job effectively come September 5th? I agree with Pete Prisco of CBS Sports. I don’t think it would be as big a deal as people think.

It was to be the dramatic showdown of training camp.

In one corner was to stand J’Marcus Webb. 6’8″. 335 pounds. Drafted in the seventh round by the Bears,Webb has played a full season at both tackle positions. While he’s clearly been improving a technique to go along with his freakish physical stature, Webb was the single most maligned Chicago Bear of the 2011 season not called Caleb Hanie.

In the other corner would be Christopher Joseph “Chris” Williams. 6’6″. 315 pounds. Drafted fourteenth overall by Jerry Angelo to be the franchise left tackle for the Bears organization. Injury here. Injury there. Demoted inside to left guard in 2011, Williams looked like he was finally finding a home in the NFL. Injury again.

They were, these two very large men, destined to battle camp practice after camp practice for the starting left tackle position. They would battle for the right – nay the privilege – to protect the blindside of the first franchise quarterback in Chicago Bears history. It was my firm belief that this battle would reach its pinnacle under the primetime lights of the that giant air conditioner in the swamp – the Meadowlands – as Webb and Williams would come under the onslaught of the world championship trio of Tuck, Umenyiora and JPP. It would be glorious.

And then it ended. Just like that. It took half a week for Chris Williams to start working with the #2s behind right tackle Gabe Carimi, not Webb. It took half a week for Lovie Smith and almost all of the establishment media to acknowledge that it will be J’Marcus Webb lining up at left tackle for the Bears when they meet the Indianapolis Colts in a month or so. It took half a week for Lovie, Mike Tice & company to illustrate what a sham the whole battle was to begin with.

Is this final? Probably not. Like I said earlier in the week, if Robert Mathis torches Webb for three sacks on opening day I’d be shocked if pressure does force the offensive coaching staff to make a change at the position. without sIs it surprising? Yes and no.

I got into a bit of a tiff on Twitter the other day. I wouldn’t call it a scuffle. Certainly not a melee. It was what it was: a tiff. I’d had a few Narragansetts (which I drink because Robert Shaw drank them in Jaws) and a bit of New England’s finest sometimes frees me to say the silly things I’m thinking on that most social of social media. So I said it. I hate training camp and think it’s irrelevant.

First, let me explain. I do not begrudge any fan who finds pleasure in attending or following camp. We all love football and, more specifically, the Chicago Bears. From the end of each season we clamor for our boys to step back onto the football field and training camp is truly the first time they gather as a unit. And I especially don’t begrudge the families who enjoy these training camp sessions as an affordable opportunity to experience Bears football.

But I hate training camp. And there are many reasons.

• Everything now gets overblown. Because the media knows fans are clamoring for every piece of information available they utilize Twitter to report every single piece of information. So fans now hear about every PRACTICE drop, PRACTICE fumble, PRACTICE missed block and draw inane conclusions from it. (Fans were already calling Shea McClellin a bust yesterday. After his fourth practice. Second in pads.)
• This is an era where the NFL has gone completely top secret. Nobody shows anybody anything and everybody lies. To think an NFL franchise would display any plays/schemes of relevance in front of fans or media – all armed with devices capable of taking extensive video – seems naive. We are basing a majority of our opinions on work  most likely never to be seen in the light of game day.
• It all gets wiped clean on Week One. All of it. If J’Marcus Webb beats out Chris Williams for the left tackle gig this summer and allows three sacks to Robert Mathis in Week One, he’s going to lose his job. If Shea McClellin struggles all summer and plants Andrew Luck on a big third down in Week One, he’s going to find himself in the rotation. The reps and installations are important. The results are essentially wiped clean once the games start.
• Risk/Reward. You can’t win a Super Bowl in training camp. You can prepare your team well for the start of a season but even starting a season well, as we’ve seen in recent times, has no baring on your year-end success. What can you do in training camp? Watch it all go down in flames with a single turning of the wrong player’s knee

There’s more but I’ll stop there. It’s not that I don’t love the re-infusion of Bears football into my life. I do. It’s that I have a very low tolerance for the overreaction and over-analysis that accompanies what amounts to glorified practice sessions. Evan Rodriguez is a God. Shea McClellin stinks. Stephen Paea is going to be the next great defensive tackle. Blah blah blahbeddy blah.

Learn the systems. Entertain the crowds. Stay healthy. The rest I’ll leave to other folks.

Tomorrow I’ll begin, in earnest, the 2012 season on DaBearsBlog. And before the season actually begins I’ll be predicting something that is sure to crush my heart into a million tiny pieces.

Tonight I thank you. Reverend Dave conceived it. My friend Mike designed it. I sold it. The great Jared will be producing it. We have never had anywhere near this kind of success with a tee shirt. We sold a boat load and made a great deal of money to help this site continue to produce at a high level. (Or whatever level it is I operate at.)

So see ya tomorrow. And thanks.

We have received an almost intimidating number of shirt orders. The final opportunity you will have to order one, and receive it by the start of the regular season, is tomorrow 5:00 PM CT. Any order placed after 5:00 PM CT tomorrow will not be filled until September.

The shirts are pictured above. To see the koozie, CLICK HERE.