End of an Era

With a head that big, it's no wonder he needs neck surgery.

Not this.

Anything but the dreaded "routine" neck surgery. I don't know who has neck surgery as a routine, but it shouldn't be Urlacher.

In a season where we will need him most (a season likely without Lance Briggs), our most consistent star player is going to be rehabbing from surgery. First it was the back, and now the neck. Sound familiar? How about if I add on the fact that Urlacher "played through the pain all season," only to find out that he needed a minor surgery in the offseason?

If there aren't getting one of those headaches with pictures (an idea), I'll fill you in:

Let's start with Erik Kramer. For those of you that don't read the blog regularly (or just like to skip my Monday bit), Kramer was a beast his first few years with the Bears. Then he had to miss the final 12 games of the 1996 season after a "minor surgery," followed by his retirement after his neck made it impossible for him to QB with the Chargers.

What about Jerry Azumah? Don't remember Jerry? He led all return men in average return yards in the year before his "minor surgery." Then he had another surgery. Everyone downplayed the news, and treated it like a minor affair. Fast-forward two years, and now a sub-par Azumah has to retire from football because of the chronic pain.

Now, we all know that Urlacher drinks his Vitaminwater, so he'll probably be fine and miraculously cured in no time. Hell, he might even do the dance from Thriller like those lizards in the Sobe Superbowl ad (waste of money). But more likely, this surgery puts even more pressure on the Bears to sign Briggs.

I'm not saying that Urlacher is doomed to the same fate as Kramer and Azumah, but neck surgery is never a good thing. If we sign Briggs, we can move Briggs to the inside and have Urlacher play outside -- making Urlacher incredibly fast and deadly for a secondary position (even if he isn't 100%). Of course, this is all assuming that Urlacher plays next year.

I'm not worried about Urlacher: I'm terrified.