11/23/24
September 14, 2009
Brian Urlacher Suffers Season-Ending Wrist Injury: Chicago Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher dislocated his right wrist in the first quarter of Sunday's season opener and will be out for the season. Urlacher is a six-time Pro Bowler and one of the team's captains.
He a great player but is always injured. The announcers jinxed him in yesterdays game by commenting about how this is the first season in the last couple that he was completely healthy. OOOOOPS
Him and Donovan McNabb get the award for top players always injured.
posted by Atheist at 06:26 PM on September 14, 2009
I don't know from nuthin, but I really don't think Jack Lambert (e.g.) would've been out for an entire season with a dislocated wrist...
posted by bobfoot at 12:18 AM on September 15, 2009
I grant you I don't know from nuthin either, but I would guess that it's the team doctors who make the call about how long a player will be out, rather than the player.
posted by outonleave at 04:34 AM on September 15, 2009
I don't think the Bears are willing to bet on Urlacher's career that he can continue playing this year without further injuring his wrist. Too much of a risk factor due to how much they've invested in Urlacher.
posted by BornIcon at 09:43 AM on September 15, 2009
I kinda agree with bobfoot, broken or dislocated wrist on a QB, RB or WR I can understand but I remember the days when those defensive players would just get a cast on it and play. How does this stop Urlacher from running into people?
I can't help but wonder if chosing to sit out the season has something to do with watching the Bears and Cutler's disapointing performance against the Packers which had to take some of the enthusiasm out of him. Let's face it, the Bears have all these high hopes and feel they finally have that QB that is going to get them past the hump and then the see it is the same old Bears, Urlacher probably just said screw it, why take the chance.
I'm just saying....
posted by Atheist at 10:46 AM on September 15, 2009
It has to do with more of the business aspect of the game. The days of yore are long gone considering the amount these players make. They're considered valuable commodities and assets, so why would an organization decide hurt their investments?
posted by BornIcon at 11:10 AM on September 15, 2009
I don't know from nuthin, but I really don't think Jack Lambert (e.g.) would've been out for an entire season with a dislocated wrist...
I kinda agree with bobfoot, broken or dislocated wrist on a QB, RB or WR I can understand but I remember the days when those defensive players would just get a cast on it and play.
This is just ignorant. You really think Urlacher is a wimp? Based on what? The entire NFL is designed to grind players up and spit them out. Urlacher is no different. If he could play, he would be expected to play.
Btw, Lambert retired because of turf toe - another serious injury that is commonly mocked as unserious.
posted by bperk at 11:33 AM on September 15, 2009
After Cutler's joke of a performance I'm not surprised if Urlacher wants to be out this season.
posted by billsaysthis at 12:28 PM on September 15, 2009
I never said he was a wimp, I said based on the Bears performance he has little incentive to do anything other than rest and recover and wait for a better shot at playing with a contender.
Exactly my thoughts Billsaysthis, and just in the rare event that Cutler gets his act together and the Bears begin to contend, watch how Urlacher makes a remarkable recovery and comes back for the playoffs. Not that it will happen, I mean the bears making the playoffs but, if it did, don't be surprised.
I'm just sayin......
posted by Atheist at 12:32 PM on September 15, 2009
Okay, it is still stupid to imply that a player such as Urlacher would choose to nurse an injury instead of helping a team that clearly needs him.
posted by bperk at 01:41 PM on September 15, 2009
bperk - point being this guy is always hurt. With him or without him the Bears stink. The defense isn't great but has always been overated by mearly the fact that they play 8 games is Chicago which is not friendly to offensive minded football due to weather, as is Green Bay, they get Detroit twice a year who can't score anyway. So just as the year they played Indy in the superbowl their defense looks good statistically but against a good offense in good weather they were terrible. The environment in Chicago can stifle any offense with wind and cold. All defenses will have good stats in that kind of situation. Cutler will find out how difficult it is to rack up yardage in Chicago for a big part of the year.
Don't get me wrong I like Chicago and want them to do good, but for the last couple of years their QB situation was viewed as the reason they could not contend when in fact they have a lot more holes than that.
Hopes were high for Cutler being their savior, and although one game does not make a season, this weeks game against Green Bay mearly exposed the fact that they are indeed a long way away from playoff contention. A injury prone Urlacher is a big part of that problem. I just feel that if they looked better the news on Urlacher would be a wait and see with the injury not an "out for the season".
I really believe that if the Bears could get their act together and make a run at the playoffs (which won't happen) Urlacher will put a cast on the wrist and play as I doubt he will let the opportunity get by. Of course missing this season won't really matter as unfortunately they look terrible to me.
posted by Atheist at 02:27 PM on September 15, 2009
and just in the rare event that Cutler gets his act together and the Bears begin to contend, watch how Urlacher makes a remarkable recovery and comes back for the playoffs
Not if they put him on IR, which they're sure to do if he says he's out for the season.
posted by bdaddy at 04:56 PM on September 15, 2009
The NFL is full of stories of gruesome, life-debilitating injuries that occurred to players who kept on playing after an injury. That, along with advances in medical knowledge, is why there are fewer Jack Lamberts today. Not the farcical notion that Brian Urlacher isn't as tough as they were back in the day.
posted by rcade at 04:59 PM on September 15, 2009
I will agree, though...my first thought when I heard the news was similar: "out for the season? For a dislocation? For a dislocated WRIST?"
You just don't hear that very much. Remember when Emmit dislocated his shoulder, but yet...not only didn't miss the season, kept playing the game in which he dislocated it?
The wrist seems so inconsequential for a defensive LB, considering they can (and do) pad those things up like clubs with broken hands, etc.
posted by bdaddy at 05:19 PM on September 15, 2009
It's funny, cause I routinely don't know from nuthin. But I thought it was odd that BU is out for the season with what has been described as a dislocated wrist and McNabb's injury still has some speculation of his return in a couple of weeks. For broken ribs. Which I couldn't imagine trying to be an NFL QB and still playing.
posted by THX-1138 at 06:28 PM on September 15, 2009
Former New York Giants linebacker Carl Banks sent his well wishes to Urlacher via a reporter on Tuesday. Banks suffered a lunate bone dislocation during the fourth game of the 1990 season ... ''I was told if a guy working construction had the same thing he'd be out 18 months... It's a serious injury. If that tiny bone in there comes out, it destroys his whole hand. It's an integral part of the bone structure. Anyone who thinks he should be playing through it doesn't know how serious this is. I hope he can come back and be the same player he was before the injury.''
I thought this was a relevant quote from a former player who had the same injury. I had been thinking the same about seeing players with broken wrists / hands just playing with their cast. But maybe this isn't that simple.
posted by opel70 at 09:01 AM on September 16, 2009
I guess it maybe isn't that simple, but I see again a player today (Bill's MLB Paul Pozlunski) who has a BROKEN ARM and his coach says he'll be out "several weeks".
Maybe for Urlacher that tiny bone in his wrist is a "integral part of the bone structure" but here's another guy playing the position where the BONE ITSELF is broken (nevermind the bone structure) whose only going to miss a few weeks. Just seems very odd to me. You just rarely hear of someone going on IR for a dislocation.
posted by bdaddy at 10:28 AM on September 16, 2009
It's easy for any one of us to make a case as to why Urlacher should be playing thru this injury but since we don't have to deal with the injury ourselves or truly understand the extent of the injury, we can only assume that he should continue playing.
This type of injury sounds as if he should allow some time for it to heal and then in a few weeks, the team doctor can re-evalute it and decide if he can play with it or if he will only make it worse if he plays.
posted by BornIcon at 11:10 AM on September 16, 2009
This is the most inane discussion. Have we entered an alternate universe where players are not required to rush back from injuries or something? If the team says Urlacher is out for the year, then the recovery time for this injury is even longer. That is how the NFL works.
posted by bperk at 11:33 AM on September 16, 2009
Damn..with Urlacher out the rest of the yesterdays game, the Bears D looked shaky at best. With him out the rest of the season, some guys are going to have to step up because Urlacher was being spoken about before the season as someone who worked hard in the off season to turn it up a notch and now he's gone.