Smith downplays Urlacher's bad back

Brian Urlacher's arthritic back isn't expected to keep him out of any games, shorten his career or jeopardize his quality of life in later years.

But that didn't stop Bears coach Lovie Smith from getting peppered on the topic Monday at Halas Hall.

Everything else, including the Bears' 3-5 record, took a back seat to Urlacher's bad back.

"First off, we don't play players that are injured," Smith said. "Do players play with pain? Yes, weekly, daily, players play with pain. To be truthful, Brian has felt a lot better lately."

That wasn't nearly enough info to prevent a slew of questions about the slumping six-time Pro Bowler who has been held to 5 tackles or fewer in three games this season, including two of the last three.

Quite a difference from the previous seven seasons when Urlacher averaged 11 tackles per game.

When it was pointed out that his middle linebacker missed a pair of tackles Sunday, Smith said don't blame the injury.

"Guys miss tackles each game," Smith said. "We missed more than 2 tackles, believe me, so I don't think that had anything to do with it.

"Brian's injury doesn't have anything to do with … some of his bad plays don't have anything to do with the injury. I think he'll tell you that. What did he say (Sunday)?"

The fact is Urlacher hasn't said much at all during his recent discontent, but he did promise to keep his fans updated on the Web.

Lost amid the commotion over an ailment that hasn't caused Urlacher to miss a single play in any game this season have been his four games with double-digit tackles and his first 3 sacks since 2005.

"He can still play at a high level, which he's done," Smith said. "Brian has pain in his lower back. Everyone in the league has (pain). If you're going to talk about Brian Urlacher, you need to talk about a lot of other people.

"There's an injury list that has a lot of guys on it daily, weekly. Brian is no different. Believe me, maybe he's playing with a little bit of pain, but that's it."

In only one of his eight NFL seasons has Urlacher missed a game. That was in 2004, when he was sidelined for seven games with two separate hamstring strains and a lower-leg injury.

Smith said questioning Urlacher's quality of life in the future is a bit extreme.

"I think we're going a little far now with what Brian's injury is," Smith said. "How many games has Brian missed with this injury?

"He won't be in a wheelchair tomorrow or anything like that.

"Brian has pain. Most guys have some form of pain that they're dealing with. I'm just not talking about our team, I'm talking about all the players in the National Football League. It's a tough sport."

More information on Urlacher's condition may or may not be available on the Internet later this week, but he's not sure when.