An Interview with:
CHICAGO BEARS LB
BRIAN URLACHER
Q. What do you think of the game
coming up? You're in the NFC Championship
game.
BRIAN URLACHER: I'm excited. It's the
biggest game of my career so far. This is where
we wanted to be when we started the season. It's
a big test for us with the Saints coming in. We're
just excited to have a chance to be in this game.
Q. How about the challenge of facing
the No. 1 offense in the NFL?
BRIAN URLACHER: It's a big challenge
for us, the things they do on offense. They move
the ball around a lot. They have a great
quarterback, pretty good running backs, good
receivers, and a good offensive line. It's a huge
challenge for us.
Q. What about the diversity in their
running backs with the power and strength of
Deuce and the speed of Reggie Bush?
BRIAN URLACHER: Our number one
concern is stopping Deuce McAllister. We want to
stop the run every week. So he is our main
concern right now, especially after what he did last
week. When they throw the ball, we'll rally to it and
hopefully make the tackles. We have got to stop
the run. Reggie is an explosive guy. He catches
the ball well and he's pretty good in the open field.
So we've just got to try and get eleven guys to the
football and make some plays.
Q. Can you talk about how Coach
Smith has got the program turned around there
after you all had success early in your career
and you have got the two young coaches, him
and Payton, one step away from the Super
Bowl?
BRIAN URLACHER: He's done a good
job. Obviously the last two years we've been in the
playoffs. His first year, we kind of were bit with
some injuries, but the last two years, this is where
we want to be. He's turned everything around, the
way we do things, and the players we have here
now. He's brought in pretty much everyone new,
except for myself and I think two other guys, pretty
much all new guys.
But he is a good coach, he is a player's
coach. He takes care of us for the most part
during the season, training camp, and it's paying
off. I think as long as we keep winning, he'll keep
letting us -- we don't really do two-a-days during
training camp. We do one-a-days and have a
special team practice, but he takes care of us. He
played the game so he knows what it's like to be a
player.
Q. How do you stop Drew Brees this
weekend?
BRIAN URLACHER: Pressure on the
quarterback is always nice. If we can get some
guys in his face, put him in some bad situations,
2nd and long, 3rd and long, we think we'll have a
chance to make some plays. He's a good
quarterback. He's done it all season long, made
plays. He's going to make plays on us, we just
have to tackle the guys when they catch the ball
and get them on the ground.
Q. You say Coach Smith turned things
around. Anything specific you can name?
BRIAN URLACHER: Just the way his
attitude is. He told us we were going to be good
from the day he got here. He said we're going to
be a good team. We're going to be good on
defense. We're going to be a physical team on
offense and we're going to run the ball. We're
going to stop the ball on defense. And we've done
everything he said.
His number one goal was to beat Green
Bay and win the division. We've done that. And
the next goal was to win the Super Bowl. So he's
done everything he said so far, we just have to get
that third one finished up.
Q. There's been a lot talked about Rex
January 17, 2007
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B. Urlacher - 1.17.07
Grossman throughout the season. How nice
was it to see him have such a good game last
week?
BRIAN URLACHER: This is our problem.
Rex was 14-3 at the start of this year. I don't know
how many guys in the NFL can say that this
season. I don't care what his numbers are, what
people write about him. He's 14-3. That's enough
said for me. I'm just tired of people talking about
him, especially our media around here. The dude
has won 14 games at the start of this year. That's
pretty good if you ask me.
Q. The Bears have such a great football
tradition. Do you have any sense what the town
is like here, what the mood of the fans are and
so forth, now that you're one step away from
the Super Bowl?
BRIAN URLACHER: It's a little crazy right
now. I was listening to the radio on the way to
work, just the regular music stations, and all they
talk about is us now. The fans are excited. It's
been a while since we've been in this position. So
everybody is pretty pumped up around here. We
have to stay level headed as much we can this
week and don't get caught up to much in the hype
because there is still a football game to be played.
Q. So they're not playing music, they're
just talking about the Bears?
BRIAN URLACHER: Yes, talking. The
morning shows, all they do is talk anyway, but now
all they talk about is us.
Q. Can you talk about the job Roberto
Garza has done and just his development?
BRIAN URLACHER: Garza is great. He's
tough to practice against because he's not very
tall. He always gets under me, but he's done a
good job. Our whole offensive line has done a
good job. If you look at how many sacks we've
given up and how we run the ball, we've been in
some bad situations at times this year, and they've
done a good job running the ball.
Garza, I don't think he made the Pro Bowl.
I think he should have made it. He had a great
season. He stepped up. He's been hurt the last
few years, but he's played great for us this year.
Q. What comparisons do you think we
can draw from the 1985 Super Bowl team?
BRIAN URLACHER: Nothing. The
season is over.
Q. Do you feel the pressure of the great
Bears teams to get back to the Super Bowl
now?
BRIAN URLACHER: Do we feel
pressure?
Q. Because of the tradition of the
Bears?
BRIAN URLACHER: There was one
season where -- it was '85 the last time it
happened. Obviously you guys know that. We
don't feel any pressure. We're just happy to be in
this position. This is where we wanted to be from
training camp, summer workouts, this is where we
wanted to be. There's no pressure. We're having
fun with it. We felt we've earned the chance to be
here. We just have to go take advantage of the
opportunity.
Q. Many kids growing up want to
emulate their offensive stars. Do you think
maybe you've showed some kids that it's cool
to play defense as well?
BRIAN URLACHER: I hope so, because I
love defense, obviously. I love it. The thing about
defense, I think, you don't have to have someone
else call the play for you to get the ball, like you do
on offense or someone to throw you the ball. If
you don't make plays it's your fault. So on defense
you kind of do your own thing.
The number one thing I try to do is have
fun. You see that when we're playing as a
defense. We have a good time when we're out
there. And I hope that's the number one thing that
kids take from this game, is fun.
Q. Have you had to adjust your game
with both Harris and Brown out?
BRIAN URLACHER: No. I've said this
before. Our defense has stayed the same. We
have had different guys in there who have stepped
up. You're not going to replace either of those two
players. They're great players. But we've had
some guys step up and do a good job for us while
they've been out. Our defense has stayed the
same. We've had the same calls, just had different
personnel in there.
Q. Brian, the Bears obviously have had
a couple of good middle linebackers before
you, Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary. How
does it make you feel when people compare
you to those two guys?
BRIAN URLACHER: It's pretty good.
They played for 10, 12 years, so I have got a ways
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B. Urlacher - 1.17.07
to go. I know winning a World Championship
would definitely help put myself in that category.
But it's an honor to be thought of with those two.
But I have got a long way to go. They are in the
Hall of Fame. This is my 7th year. I have got a
long ways to go.
Q. What do you think is going to be the
difference this weekend that puts you guys
over the top against New Orleans?
BRIAN URLACHER: If we're more
physical than them and we stop the run, we think
we'll have a chance to win the game. Like I said
earlier, they are going to make plays. We know
that. They're too good on offense not to make any
plays. If we're more physical, if we can stop the
run and slow those guys down a little bit, we have
a chance to win the game.
Q. How do you prepare for a running
back like Reggie Bush who lines up at wide
receiver in the slot as the regular running
back?
BRIAN URLACHER: We have a good
game plan. That's what our coaches get paid for,
to put good game plans together. They have done
that for us so far, and we just have to go out there
and execute it.
Q. How big of a difference will
home-field advantage be, especially
considering the support the fans get from --
BRIAN URLACHER: I think it's going to be
loud. Our fans are behind us right now. It's going
to be loud as heck. People want to talk about the
weather. I don't think weather is going to have a
big deal to do with this game. It's going to affect
both teams. The eleven guys on the field will win
the football game, not the weather. But we're
excited we're home because of the fans.
Q. Do you feel like you've made any
adjustments for this weekend because you are
playing the most high-powered offense in the
NFL?
BRIAN URLACHER: We do all season
long. There's times it has hurt us, there's times
we've been successful. We're not going to change.
We don't double anybody. We don't really change.
Our defense is pretty simple. We do what we do
and we try to make the offense adjust to us.
Q. How did you guys regroup after
losing a guy like Tommie Harris early in the
season?
BRIAN URLACHER: We lost him, I think it
was the 12th or 13th game. Like I said, you're not
going to replace Tommie. We have a bunch of
good D linemen. Our guys have stepped up and
do a good job. The pass rush hasn't been the
same because Tommie did such a good job on the
passing game. Our run defense is still about the
same with the guys we have in there, but you're
not going to get a guy who can rush a passer like
that anywhere I don't think.
Q. What does it mean to get that first
playoff win and move on to the NFC
Championship?
BRIAN URLACHER: Get that monkey off
our back I hope. In my career, we were 0-2 before
last week. We had the bye in the first-round home
game, or second round, whatever it is, and we lost
twice. Both times I've been in that game, we lost.
It's nice to get over that hump to show ourselves
that we can play in the playoffs and we are a good
football team. So that was big for us to get over
that hump.
Q. Do you feel that they (Saints) feel
like they have nothing to lose in this situation,
that they're going to come out and play
because they've never been to the Super Bowl?
BRIAN URLACHER: I don't really know.
That's how we feel too. No one on this team, on
my team, has been to the Super Bowl with the
Bears. We can say the same thing. I know they
had a tough season last year going through
everything they went through, but we can say the
same thing. I think pretty much every team in the
NFL, when you get to this point, has got nothing to
lose. You want to get there and win that big game.
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