Standing at the lectern in the press room Thursday at Halas Hall, Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher, literally knocked on wood when it is said,”We have been very healthy for most of this season.” Of all the breaks the Bears have achieved this season – starting with Calvin drop Johnson””en the end zone through the confrontation today with a new third quarterback against the Lions at Ford Field – none has been more integral to the success of the Bears to their previous good health.The Bears have been the healthiest team in the NFL, which is so important for a good team and led the league in total defense or touchdowns. His only player in the DL is the linebacker Hunter Hillenmeyer, who suffered a concussion in the opener. owners of the Bears have lost a total of five games to injury – Jay Cutler, QB (a), guard Roberto Garza (two) and linebackers Lance Briggs (a) and Pisa Tinoisamoa (one). Not only that, but players – and others who have had nagging injuries that keep them out of the lineup – have been recovered. Urlacher averaged 11 tackles as the Bears won their first three games. Then averaged five tackles during the next four years, when he was bothered by a groin injury. The Bears lost three of four games.

But healed during the bye week and regained his effectiveness with 10 tackles against the Bills and the Vikings and 11 against the Eagles. He was held to four against the Dolphins because they ran only 48 plays. Thus, while the Lions will be without quarterback Matthew Stafford and Shaun Hill and kicker Jason Hanson and most likely without defensive end Kyle Vanden Bosch, the Bears will be without only Tinoisamoa, who has a knee injury.Kudos Coach Tim Golden, strength and conditioning coach Jim Arthur, coaches and players what I did to maintain their health. ”A lot of that goes to the players and how they prepared for the season, getting his body ready to play a long season,”said Bears coach Lovie Smith. ”We’re talking about adding games and things like that. In order to do that and make it through the season, we must put in time in the offseason. Our players have done that.” But make no mistake about it, that this healthy at this point in the NFL is certainly a break. You can not spend every moment of football in a hyperbaric chamber and not be so healthy 12 weeks of a season in the NFL. It does not happen very often. ”No,”said Smith. ”It has not been here for us.

Not anywhere, really, which is present until late in the season with the amount of injuries we have.” It is notable, especially at Halas Hall. This is a huge change for a team that has struggled not only with injuries, but with rehabilitation. Last year, Urlacher was lost for the season in the first half of the first game. Tinoisamoa also injured in that game and played only one game after that before going on injured reserve. That seemed to justify the criticism that Smith’s philosophy of limited contact during training camp left a bad conditioning players to contact the game speed. But now the system of Smith-field training is seen as a winner. Lions coach Jim Schwartz said Urlacher has been so effective this season, seems to have gone through a time machine.