Bears Linebackers
This entry I’ll be writing about one of the Bears strongest positions. The linebacker position has been pretty much covered for the past decade so it seems. No real surprises or big changes. It’s one thing I can say is stable on the whole team. There’s one thing for sure, the Chicago Bears have the linebacker position covered. There’s no other team in the NFL that has had more legendary players at the linebacker position. I could go on and on about how awesome the Bears are, but you already know that. =) Oh and by the way, all the Bears linebackers will be sporting mohawks this year. Briggs told a reporter a few days ago when the Bears are 3-0, Babich will sport a mohawk. I can’t wait to see that.
With Brian Urlacher having a year to rest up and heal, he will have a dominate year that will rival his rookie year. I think we will see a new Brian out there this season. A faster and stronger one that will create lots and I do mean lots of havoc. It definitely hurt not having him throughout the year on defense, but I think it was for the best. He basically added another year to his career by sitting out the entire year. So mark my words, a great year for the monster in the middle.
Lance Briggs is on a roll, he has been voted to the last five Pro-Bowls and has been selected 3 times to the All-Pro team. He has been an unstoppable force for the past decade and teams have no real answer to stop him from pile driving ball carriers. Last season he racked up 118 combined tackles, 2.5 sacks and one interception. With Urlacher back on ‘D’ this year, his numbers might go down a little, but not much.
There will be competition at the Strong Linebacker position between Pisa Tinoisamoa and Nick Roach this year. I firmly believe that Pisa will be starting this year. Nothing against Nick Roach, he’s a great player and has plenty of experience but Pisa has more. Only reason why Pisa keeps riding the pine is because of injuries. If he hadn’t been injured last year it would of been a good season for him. He’s a ferocious linebacker who seems to be around the football most of the time. I do believe that Nick Roach is a very good back up and will most likely start next season. That’s just my opinion.
Brian Urlacher’s backup Hunter Hillenmeyer went down with a foot injury during the preseason game against the Chargers. I hope it’s nothing serious because believe it or not he’s a very good backup. Which is why the Bears have kept him all these years. His football IQ is amazing, but the only thing keeping him back is his size and strength. I do believe if he was built like Urlacher or Briggs he would be starting for another team.
This will be my last blog post for a while, going on vacation in a few days. So always remember. Bear Down! Oh and watch out for Tim Shaw this season. He’s going to tear it up out there . I don’t think he’ll start but he will be one of the best special teams players the Bears will have this year.
GammaBears
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Tags: Brian Urlacher, Hunter Hillenmeyer, Lance Briggs, Nick Roach, Pisa Tinoisomoa, Tim Shaw
And on Hunter H, you are right, plus! he can backup multiple LB positions, important as an MLB backup, but can play multiple roles on the squad. He’s become underrated. He also adapts to the game, just watch how he’d change his approach during the Vikings game last season.
I think another thing on Urlacher that was forget isn’t on his own numbers, but on how much better everyone else around him is if he’s on the field. That’s the real deal right there.