How do you
quantify the loss of the Bears middle linebacker Brian Urlacher?
According
to ESPNstats Brian Urlacher has played more snaps than any other Bear the last
3 seasons at 96.9%. So like he did in
training camp, Nick Roach moves to the middle and Geno Hayes moves in on the
strong side. But actually replacing
Urlacher? Not an easy task.
"You
can't replace that" said Hayes a former starter in Tampa Bay, calling
Urlacher one-of-a-kind. "You can't
make too many guys like Brian Urlacher he's a special guy".
At 34 years
old, Urlacher's 13th season has been unlucky.
A PCL tear in the 2011 season finale that didn't respond as well to
offseason treatments, lingered into training camp. Now this. Lovie Smith knows
no other middle linebacker except Urlacher on his team.
"Great
player" Smith said, "of course
he's one of the leaders, he makes all of the calls, him being in the huddle so
we're going to miss him, I can't belittle that at all."
Hamstring
injuries among linebackers like Urlacher and Green Bay's Clay Matthews, tend to
happen up high near the buttocks.
According to leading sports orthopedist Anthony Romeo, if Urlacher's
injury is a low grade 2 strain he could return in two to four weeks (for the
playoffs). A high grade-2 could mean
more than one tendon tear or a full tear and would take longer.
One of the
leading hamstring specialists in the NFL is Steelers Dr. Jim Bradley. Using the PRP (platelet rich plasma) blood
procedure, the Steelers got Hines Ward back quickly enough to earn Super Bowl
MVP in 2009.
Considering
Urlacher reportedly did a similar procedure popular in Germany, the PRP could
be part of his treatment.
Typical
hamstring treatments for a professional athlete take place three even four
times a day. While Lovie Smith wouldn't
elaborate on what Urlacher is doing to hasten his return, he did say, "as
much treatment as he could possibly get, he's just thinking about - you have an
injury its the next step, how quick can I get back?"
With the Bears hanging on to a wild card berth
in the playoffs and a handful of teams just one game behind, the answer is, not
soon enough.
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