Brian Urlacher's Arrow to the Knee

By Darren Zaitlen

Every Chicago Bears fan who watched the week 17 season finale last year between the Bears and the Minnesota Vikings remembers one thing distinctly.


Brian Urlacher jumping up in the end zone, Major Wright coming over the top and Urlacher coming down awkwardly injuring both his MCL and PCL in his left knee.

To our amazement, sources said that Urlacher would not require surgery to repair the ligaments and that he would be good to go at the start of the 2012 season.

With week three of the preseason set to go tomorrow against the New York Giants, Urlacher's status for the season opener is still up in the air. So is how he treated his knee this off-season.

After telling reporters that he did not have any kind of surgery to repair the knee until this week's scope, the Chicago Tribune's Mike Mulligan reported that Urlacher may have gone to Germany to receive a treatment known as Regenokine therapy. While this therapy is illegal in the United States, it really does nothing that would warrant it to be considered cheating or against the rules.

Credit - Wiki Commons Fair Use

Mulligan reports that this procedure occurred in the May or June. If Urlacher had this therapy done, I am completely fine with that. Other star athletes such as Kobe Bryant, Alex Rodriguez and Fred Couples have had this operation with no issues. What worries me is that he had to have the knee scoped two months later, which shows that the therapy may not have worked.

Bear players, coaches, and Urlacher himself have all told the Chicago media that they are overreacting about this whole issue. That as long as he is ready by week one, everything is A-OK.

 The verdict is still out on that one. If coaches don't think Urlacher's knee will hold up through a 16 game season, we may be looking at a year where he only plays in games that are meaningful.

The first month of the schedule is forgiving in that they have one tough game in Green Bay. Furthermore, there is an extended rest period after that game because it falls on a Thursday. I feel that if Urlacher wants to only play against Green Bay and sit out the two contests against the Colts and Rams, the Bears could get away with that.

However, one would like him to play the following week against the Cowboys in Dallas, but the Bears could probably manage without him against Jacksonville. Then there is the bye week that Urlacher could use to heal before the game against Tennessee.

Bear fans could see Urlacher in only two of the first five games. I think Nick Roach could handle the Colts, Rams, and Jaguars. If it means he is healthy for the rest of the season/postseason then I am fine with that decision. Especially with the harder part of the schedule coming up after the bye week.

Let's hope that coaches and fans don't have to start thinking this way and that Urlacher returns for a healthy 2012 season and that Bear safeties avoid coming over the top in the end zone.