Urlacher: "I hate the way our identity has changed"

ON THE PLANE IN MINNEAPOLIS–Brian Urlacher wasn’t a happy camper watching the Bears’ 36-10 loss to the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday.

Mike Silver of Yahoo! Sports hung out with the linebacker, who still has a cast on his surgically repaired wrist, and discovered what it’s like to take in a game with the face of the franchise, a guy who hasn’t been around this season.

“Look, I love Jay, and I understand he’s a great player who can take us a long way, and I still have faith in him,” Urlacher told Silver. “But I hate the way our identity has changed. We used to establish the run and wear teams down and try not to make mistakes, and we’d rely on our defense to keep us in the game and make big plays to put us in position to win. Kyle Orton might not be the flashiest quarterback, but the guy is a winner, and that formula worked for us. I hate to say it, but that’s the truth.”

The Bears have slumped to 4-7 this season with Urlacher missing all but the first half of the opener at Green Bay. Urlacher seemed disappointed in the offense, or the play calling in the fourth quarter when Matt Forte got one of his eight carries.

“Now we’re gonna run that [expletive]!” Urlacher he told Silver. Earlier, after a screen pass failed, Urlacher said, “You know why that doesn’t work? We don’t make anyone [expletive] miss. I guess I just don’t realize what great tacklers these [opposing defenders] are. They’re amazing.”

Check out Silver for the full read. Lots of good stuff in there. He believes the Bears will bounce back, but they’re digging themselves a deeper hole.

“I believe in Lovie, and I hope I get to play for him for a long time,” he said. “I really think we’ll come back stronger than ever next year, and then everything will take care of itself. I know we have what it takes. I believe in this team, and trust me, I will do everything I possibly can to help us get better next season.”