In the NFL, there's simply no excuses

Sorry, fellas, no excuses are allowed in the NFL.

You know, like the Bears had no excuse for playing so poorly Sunday at Green Bay.

OK, so Brian Urlacher is out for the season. Now go out and win 10 or 11 games without him.

Bears head coach Lovie Smith always says, "- and we'll go from there."

That's the idea now. Urlacher won't cut off his injured wrist like Ronnie Lott once cut off a fingertip to play, so the Bears will have to make the playoffs without him.

As defensive tackle Anthony Adams said Monday at Halas Hall, "We have to go out and get some wins for (Urlacher)."

Look, Urlacher didn't even come into the season as the Bears' best defensive player. Lance Briggs did.

Nor was Urlacher the Bears' most important defensive player. Tommie Harris was, which looked like a big problem against the Packers.

But there can be no denying that Urlacher, the middle linebacker, was the face of the defense as the longest tenured Bears defensive player.

Until last season I might have said that losing such a core piece pretty much ended any aspirations the Bears had for a successful season.

However, a couple of developments changed that thinking in 2008.

One was the drop-off in Urlacher's play, though he came into this season in better physical condition and appeared ready to play well.

But what really changed my mind was what happened from coast to coast in the NFL.

In San Diego last year the Chargers lost all-pro linebacker Shawne Merriman and still made the playoffs.

The Chargers were only 8-8 during the regular season but then upset the Colts and Peyton Manning in the wild-card round.

Of course, Merriman is only a linebacker like Urlacher. It's not like the Chargers lost quarterback Philip Rivers.

That's true. Rivers would have been a bigger loss than Merriman, just as Jay Cutler would be a bigger loss than Urlacher.

(The Bears do expect Cutler to play better than he did at Green Bay or the season is lost anyway, right?)

Isn't it true that no team can lose its quarterback and still record double-digit victories? Except, consider what happened on the other coast.

New England quarterback Tom Brady, perhaps the NFL's best player, was injured early in last season's opener and the Patriots went on to win 11 games without him.

The lesson is that no single player is indispensable, not even the league's best linebacker or best quarterback.

By saying all the right things Monday the Bears indicated that they understand that.

Israel Idonije: "(Urlacher's injury) is a reality and you just kind of move forward."

Adams: "We all just have to step up our game a notch."

Smith: "We played without Brian most of the (Green Bay) game and continued to play well."

Now with 15 regular-season games remaining, all the Bears have to do is believe it.

They must believe that the personnel department provided quality depth at linebacker. If they don't, the coaching staff must con them into believing it.

Seriously, Brian Urlacher's absence is no excuse for missing the playoffs.

mimrem@dailyherald.com