A Lable He Will Just Have to Bear

Brian Urlacher is the most overrated player in the NFL.

After you’ve stopped choking on your morning muffin, consider the impact of those words. How can anyone hang that label on a player who has been voted to the Pro Bowl in each of his first four seasons? If you don’t want to take our word for it, perhaps the experts will sway you.

The Sporting News polled eight NFL scouts (one from each division) and two TV analysts, and asked them to select an entire team of overrated players. Urlacher received five votes at linebacker and three first-place votes as the most overrated player overall. There was no ballot for the vote, so it was striking that three singled out Urlacher.

“They don’t know what ... they’re talking about,” says Lovie Smith, the Bears’ first-year coach. “He’s one of the best players in the National Football League. I thought that before I got here; I’m totally convinced of it now that I am here. I’ll challenge anybody who says anything different.”

This raised skepticism on our part, too, so we solicited opinions from a dozen more NFL scouts. Among that group, four agree the Bears’ middle linebacker is overrated, and five say he isn’t. Of the remaining three, one says his staff would have regarded Urlacher as overrated before watching tape of his outstanding performance in Week 13 against the Vikings; one says he is a good player, “but I don’t think he’s among the elite,” and the third straddles the fence, adding, “I remember Urlacher making plays where I said, ‘Holy smoke!’ ”

No one is denying Urlacher is one of the best linebackers in the league. “Let me put it this way,” says one AFC scout. “If he were available, I would want him on my team as our middle linebacker.”

But if overrated refers to a player whose hype overshadows his performance or whose reputation is greater than the reality of his play, Urlacher fits the description, according to several scouts.

These are the reasons some think Urlacher is overrated:

* He needs to be shielded by defensive tackles who can keep offensive linemen off him. In 2001, Urlacher’s second season, wide bodies Ted Washington and Keith Traylor were the defensive tackles. The Bears went 13-3, made their only playoff appearance since 1994 and Urlacher was “all-world,” according to one scout.

But when he gets engulfed by bigger offensive linemen who impede his path, Urlacher struggles to make plays. “He’s definitely not the same player he was when he had the fat guys in front of him,” says one scout.

* He takes himself out of too many plays. On running plays, Urlacher has trouble stacking and shedding offensive linemen, so he often tries to go around the blocks. That creates a hole for the runner, who waits for Urlacher to commit himself and then goes the other way.

* Urlacher should make more plays for the money he’s being paid (a nine-year, $54 million package with a $14 million bonus). Last year, he wasn’t involved in a single turnover -- a shocking statistic for someone who is supposed to be his team’s best defensive player. He has one interception and two forced fumbles in nine games this season.

* You hear some scouts say one of the strengths of Ravens inside linebacker Ray Lewis is he makes the other 10 players on defense better. You don’t hear that about Urlacher. In Urlacher’s first four seasons, the Bears finished among the league’s top 10 teams in the three defensive categories (overall, run, pass) just once. In the same period, the Ravens finished in the top 10 nine times in those categories.

* A fan watching the highlights on SportsCenter will see Urlacher make a spectacular play or two and go, “Wow!” A scout who studies an entire tape of the same game will see the linebacker commit several mistakes and go, “Hmmm.”

“I’ve heard those things they said about how he needs big tackles in front of him and he can’t get off blocks,” says Smith. “Whoever would make that statement does not know Brian Urlacher. The guy knows how to get off blocks as well as anyone.”

Under Smith, the Bears have changed their defense. They have switched from a two-gap, read-and-react scheme to a one-gap, penetrating style. The defensive linemen are lighter and quicker. Instead of moving along the line of scrimmage laterally, trying to occupy offensive linemen, their priority is to rush upfield. It is a linebacker-friendly defense because in addition to making tackles, all of the linebackers have opportunities to make big plays by blitzing or dropping into coverage.

Urlacher has excelled in this defense, weakening the argument that he needs massive bodyguards in front of him. Despite missing two games early in the season with a hamstring injury and two more games in late November because of a calf injury that required emergency surgery, he is putting up impressive numbers. In addition to the interception and two forced fumbles, he has six passes defensed, five sacks, four quarterback pressures and eight tackles for loss. Unofficially, he has 45 tackles and 40 assists. Those might be his final stats, too; a hamstring injury late in last Sunday’s loss to Jacksonnville might end Urlacher’s season.

One NFC scout who has studied Urlacher this season says: “I think he’s still willing to throw his body around. He’s still quick with his read-and-react. My only problem with him was I thought maybe he was losing some speed. I don’t know if injuries are starting to break him down a little bit and hurting his range to make plays. At this point, I still think he’s a heck of a football player.”

Evaluating football talent certainly is a subjective business, and scouts tend to have long memories. Some who say Urlacher is overrated might be discounting what he has done this season.

“We played against him last year, and I thought he was very timid,” says one scout. “He’s not a head-on collision linebacker; he’s a side tackler.” (Bears Hall of Fame linebacker Dick Butkus has criticized Urlacher for not punishing ballcarriers enough.) But three of the scouts who say Urlacher is overrated are from teams that played the Bears this season.

“He hurts them as much as he helps them,” says one. “You want to avoid him, yet you want to pick on him, too. If you run play-action, you can get him out of position in coverage.”

Part of the perception about Urlacher might be colored by the hype surrounding him. He came into the NFL as the ninth overall draft pick, a versatile, playmaking safety in college whose profile was raised immediately when the Bears converted him to linebacker. He made a big splash his rookie season, even drawing comparisons to Butkus, and quickly became one of the most recognizable stars in the league. He plays in a big media market, his jersey has been one of the NFL’s top sellers and he has appeared in several television commercials.

Ad agencies determine Urlacher’s worth as a product pitchman, but scouts judge his value as a football player. And on that front,

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This Team Doesn’t Rate Well

Imagine a football team that included 14 players who were first-round draft picks and 15 players who had been selected to a combined 57 Pro Bowls. With all that talent, you’d think it would be a Super Bowl lock. What we have instead is the NFL’s all-overrated team. The Sporting News assembled a panel of eight NFL scouts (one from each division) and two TV analysts and asked them to pick the most overrated players at each position. Some will surprise you, and some won’t:

*--* QUARTERBACK

*--*

Joey Harrington, Lions. Expectations were high for Harrington, the third overall pick in the 2002 draft, but after almost three seasons he still is inconsistent. “He looks confused and doesn’t look like he’s playing with confidence,” says one NFC scout. You can’t argue the Lions haven’t improved the talent around him. In the past two years, they’ve added running back Kevin Jones and receivers Charles Rogers (who has twice broken his collar-bone and played in just six games in two seasons) and Roy Williams.

*--* RUNNING BACKS

*--*

Kevan Barlow, 49ers. One scout questioned whether the 49ers should have released Garrison Hearst after last season and “passed the torch” to Barlow, an inside power runner with adequate speed. He says Barlow is “terrible” at picking up the blitz. “In the West Coast system, that’ll kill you.” In Barlow’s defense, he has not had much blocking help.

Mike Alstott, Bucs. He has the reputation of a short-yardage, power runner who is an above-average blocker and can catch the ball. But he doesn’t do those things as well as he did three years ago. “He’s not the same physical, explosive, dominant guy,” says an AFC scout.

*--* WIDE RECEIVERS

*--*

Keyshawn Johnson, Cowboys. The perception is Johnson is a vertical threat who can outrun corners and make big plays. The reality: He is a possession receiver who can position himself to make catches against smaller defensive backs but has trouble breaking press coverage. “A lot more smoke than fire,” says an NFC scout.

Peerless Price, Falcons. To acquire Price in 2003, Atlanta traded a first-round pick to Buffalo and gave Price a big contract. The Falcons have not reaped nearly enough from their investment. Price is fast and quick, but sometimes he runs out of control, and he hasn’t made enough big plays for someone who is supposed to be a No. 1 receiver.

*--* TIGHT END

*--*

Jeremy Shockey, Giants. His production has not matched his athletic ability. One explanation might be he hasn’t fully recovered from offseason foot surgery. Another is that he has been asked to do more blocking this season, which limits his chances to make plays.

*--* OFFENSIVE TACKLES

*--*

Chris Samuels, Redskins. Some observers compared Samuels to Jonathan Ogden, Walter Jones and Orlando Pace when he was the third pick overall in 2000. Nobody is grouping him with those elite left tackles now. One scout described Samuels as a heavy-footed guy who gets beat on bull rushes and is lazy at times.

Luke Petitgout, Giants. Back problems have slowed Petitgout, but they don’t account entirely for his mediocre play.

*--* GUARDS

*--*

Ruben Brown, Bears. Some scouts think Brown, whose season was ended in late November by a neck injury, has been living off his reputation as an eight-time Pro Bowl player. When he pulls and gets out in space, he is an athletic lineman. When he’s asked to anchor inside and be physical, he doesn’t do as well.

Damien Woody, Lions. Woody, a first-round pick by the Patriots in 1999, has great athletic ability, but he underachieved in New England before getting a big free-agent deal from Detroit after last season.

*--* CENTER

*--*

Kevin Mawae, Jets. The only center who received more than one vote, Mawae is the choice by default. One scout’s take: “I think people are enamored with the fact he’s athletic and can pull. But when he’s got to be man-on-man, the fight is a little different. He doesn’t show up as a guy who will anchor and stop a bull rush.”

*--* DEFENSIVE ENDS

*--*

Marcellus Wiley, Cowboys. Jerry Jones paid Wiley big bucks to come in and be a three-down, high-impact end who could both stop the run and rush the passer. It took Wiley 11 weeks to come up with his first sack of the season.

Grant Wistrom, Seahawks. Wistrom, who landed a $14 million bonus when he signed as a free agent with Seattle, plays with intensity and effort, but the production is rarely there.

*--* DEFENSIVE TACKLES

*--*

Chris Hovan, Vikings. He made his reputation as a disruptive defender by out-quicking opponents with his initial movement off the snap. Somewhere, he lost that and now teams seem to have figured him out. “He’s got all these arms and legs and elbows thrashing around, but he’s never really going anywhere,” says an NFC scout.

Warren Sapp, Raiders. Sapp’s play started declining before he departed Tampa as a free agent after last season. Once the best 3 technique tackle in the league who was a mismatch inside because of his explosiveness and quickness, he is out of place when he lines up at end in the Raiders’ 3-4 scheme.

*--* LINEBACKERS

*--*

Brian Urlacher, Bears.

LaVar Arrington, Redskins. Arrington, who has missed most of this season after knee surgery in September, is a contradiction. He makes plays in areas where he shouldn’t be and misses them in areas where he’s supposed to be. He’ll read one play and close the gap quickly, then misread the next play and take himself out of position. “He free-lances a bit and tries to make the big hit when he just needs to play the position and make tackles,” says an AFC scout.

Zach Thomas, Dolphins. A tough, blue-collar player who is undersized (5-11, 230) for a middle linebacker, Thomas can make a ton of tackles when he’s protected by his defensive linemen. When he doesn’t get that protection, he can become lost in space.

*--* CORNERBACKS

*--*

Charles Woodson, Raiders. He’s a gambler who tries to bait teams into throwing at him so he can make interceptions. But he gives up a lot more big plays than he makes. Woodson also doesn’t show a lot of intensity and isn’t big on run support. “His bite isn’t as good as his bark,” says an AFC scout.

Dre’ Bly, Lions. He had six interceptions en route to his first Pro Bowl last season, but Bly is more of a solid No. 2 corner than a dominant No. 1. He gets beat on jump balls by bigger receivers, guesses too often and gives up a lot of plays.

*--* SAFETIES

*--*

Tebucky Jones, Saints. He can get from Point A to Point B as fast as anyone. But what Jones possesses in speed, he lacks in instincts. “He’s all over the place,” says an NFC scout. “You just can’t trust him.”

John Lynch, Broncos. Age and injuries have reduced Lynch to a one-dimensional player. He still can deliver a hit that will rattle your ribs, but he lacks the speed to be a good cover safety and needs to play near the line of scrimmage to be most effective.

-- Sporting News