Urlacher, Briggs say rebuilding makes no sense
It's inevitable that there will be turnover in the Bears' 53-man roster from now until the 2012 season opener, but most players don't believe the team needs a complete overhaul despite missing the playoffs for the fourth time in five years.
“There will be some guys gone obviously, and just like every year, there will be a lot of turnover, but I don't think we're very far away,” middle linebacker Brian Urlacher said. “You've seen this year when we're healthy what we can do. We're pretty close to being one of the better teams in the NFL. We've just got to stay healthy and stay together and keep playing hard. The consensus in our locker room is that we're pretty close to being where we want to be.”
Urlacher was selected to his eighth Pro Bowl this year, one more than outside linebacker Lance Briggs — who has been picked seven years in a row.
Briggs agrees with Urlacher that says rebuilding makes no sense.
“It wouldn't solve anything,” Briggs said. “It's not going to solve anything if you get rid of all of the folks who put this team together. This year was unfortunate for us; for us all. Even though we didn't get in the playoffs, we are a championship-caliber team, and we'll get there, it's just not going to happen in the season of '11.”
Special players:Special teams coordinator Dave Toub gets to see his ace coverage guy, Corey Graham, play in the Pro Bowl in February, but return specialist Devin Hester lost out to Cardinals rookie Patrick Peterson.#8220;I was shocked,#8221; Toub said. #8220;(Hester) had a great year, 3 returns (for touchdowns) and he had 1 on kickoff return and 2 on punt return. The fact that he did both, I thought he should (have gone). I'm not taking anything away from Peterson because he is a great punt returner, no question.#8221;Peterson returned 4 punts for touchdowns this season, while Hester scored once on a kickoff return and twice on punt returns.Graham leads the Bears with 20 special teams tackles, and he led last year with 25.#8220;I'm very proud of him,#8221; Toub said. #8220;It's really good for the whole unit. The guys have had a really good year, solid on special teams across the board. And to have somebody individually picked out like that, it's really an indication that the whole group did a good job.#8221;The right stuff:Matt Forte was voted to his first Pro Bowl this week, but teammates believe he has been playing at a high level since he was drafted in the second round out of Tulane in 2008.#8220;Since he stepped into a Bears uniform he's been like that,#8221; center Roberto Garza said. #8220;He's been a Pro Bowl player, been a guy that can do it all. He can pass protect, run the ball, catch the ball, and he's a smart guy who brings a lot of energy to this team. He goes out there and puts on his helmet and goes to work every single day, so he's definitely one of the team leaders and one of the guys that we look to on the offensive side.#8221; Injury update:Brian Urlacher (knee), Kellen Davis (ill) and Marion Barber (calf) did not practice Thursday inside the Walter Payton Center. Urlacher and Davis are expected to play Sunday, while Barber is questionable at best.Lance Briggs (ankle) was limited, while Devin Hester (ankle), Nick Roach (shin), Chris Spencer (back) and Corey Wootton (concussion) participated fully. #376; Follow Bob's Bears reports via Twitter @BobLeGere and check out our Bear Essentials blog at dailyherald.com.