EmBEARassing: Is There a Rift In The Bears Locker Room?

By now, most if not all Bears fans are aware of Brian Urlacher's comments about the Bears, and in particular, Jay Cutler and Matt Forte. The comments, which criticized what Urlacher referred to as a "Change in identity", were aimed at the new style of offense Jay Cutler brought to the Bears as well as the ineffectiveness of the Bears running game.

Brian had this to say, “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 said. “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.”

Urlacher played this off as frustration, and claimed that it was not a attempt to take a cheap shot at Cutler. However, in the summer when Cutler was brought to Chicago, there were many reports of Urlacher's displeasure. These comments make it seem obvious Urlacher has some sort of hidden problem with Jay Cutler being the Bears QB.

However, Urlacher didn't stop there. His next comments seemed to criticize running back Matt Forte's abilities. "You know why that doesn’t work? We don’t make anyone [expletive] miss."

Although Jay Cutler once again shrugged off news that Urlacher had taken another shot at him, and even stated that he completely understood the comments, running back Matt Forte wasn't so understanding. "Urlacher has his own opinion," Forte said. "If I couldn't make anybody miss, I probably wouldn't be playing pro football." 

The problem here isn't just a simple argument in the locker room. It seems that the current slump is resulting in what could be a rift in the Bears locker room. There is, in fact, an identity crisis at Hallas Hall. The long time face of the franchise, Brian Urlacher, finally has some star power to compete with.

Whether Urlacher likes it or not, Cutler is here to stay. Regardless of whether his comments are correct or incorrect, they simply cannot be said. Urlacher needs to realize that football is a team game, and whether your frustrated or not, you cannot abandon your teammates. Urlacher did more then abandon them, he tossed them under the bus.

Urlacher, Forte and Cutler are three extremely talented players who the Bears must rely on in order to find success in the near future, but with nonsense like this going on, how can we expect change.

In my opinion, Urlacher is a great player and the Bears desperately need him back, but these comments were far out of line. I believe Forte hit the nail on the head with his comments and hopefully Urlacher will soon realize that his comments were not warranted, not wanted, and not needed.

Here's to hoping these 3 can be the backbone of a successful Bears organization for years to come.