By BOB LABRIOLA

Steelers.com

 

Brian Urlacher makes a difference. He makes an impact. That, not statistics, is what makes him so important to what’s happening with a Chicago Bears team that’s 9-3 and steaming toward an NFC North Division championship this season.

 

In fact, Urlacher is such a force that Coach Lovie Smith has fine-tuned his defense to take advantage of his unique blend of skills.

 

The marquee playmaking position in Smith's defense, which is a variation of the scheme he picked up while the linebackers coach for Tony Dungy and coordinator Monte Kiffin in Tampa Bay, is traditionally the weak-side linebacker, the spot where Derrick Brooks won Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2002. The Bears do it with Urlacher in the middle.

 

Smith said the biggest difference in the positions is that Urlacher is in position to blitz more and thus rack up more statistics. But as Rivera already has explained, Urlacher is about more than statistics; he’s about making an impact on the team. So then, how about this statistic: without Urlacher in the lineup over the last two years, the Bears are 0-7; with him, they’re 14-7.

 

It’s enough to have people in Chicago campaigning for him to win the Defensive Player of the Year Award.

 

“I certainly think Brian could make a run at [the award],” San Francisco 49ers coach Mike Nolan, who came from Baltimore where Ray Lewis and Ed Reed both won the award, told the Chicago Tribune. "It's all about two things at the linebacker position: making plays and how you affect your team. Brian has a tremendous effect on that team, as Michael Singletary had on the Bears when he was there. Great players not only make plays, but they have a great impact on the team as far as winning.”

 

The comparison to Singletary is hugely significant in Chicago, where the 1985 Bears are the standard for contemporary fans of the team just as the Monsters of the Midway were for fans some generations ago. Because 2005 is a clean mathematical 20 years after 1985, this Bears defense has been hearing a lot about its predecessors.

 

“I am and I’m not,” said Urlacher when asked if he’s tired of the comparisons. “Like I’ve said all season long, they won a Super Bowl and we haven’t done that. We haven’t won any games in the playoffs yet. Statistically, during the regular season, we’re comparable. They won the Super Bowl. If we can do that, I’ll definitely be happy to be compared to them.”

 

The strength of this current Bears unit is a defensive line that’s been led all season by ends Alex Brown and Adewale Ogunleye. In consecutive games against Carolina and at Tampa Bay, Brown and Ogunleye alone combined for nine sacks. According to statistics compiled by the Bears coaches, Brown has drawn 14 holding penalties and nine false starts so far this season.

 

“[Alex Brown] has played well all year long,” said Urlacher. “Now that they finally quit holding him, he’s gotten some sacks. They’re just playing at a high level. I can’t explain why. We’ve had the lead late in a couple games to give them a chance to pass rush. If you block them one-on-one, they’re usually going to win and they’ve been in some one-on-one situations.

 

“They’ve gotten some big sacks for us, takeaways. Our defensive line had eight sacks against Carolina. That’s pretty good for just those four guys up front. They just pin their ears back and go. They played against the run too when we’ve asked them to.”

 

The Bears will come to Heinz Field with a defense that’s ranked No. 1 in the NFL in five categories, including third-down conversion allowed and points allowed. The unit is second in average gain per rush, third in interceptions and fourth in sacks, and Urlacher is in the middle of it all, both literally and figuratively.

 

He’s second on the team in tackles, second in sacks (ahead of Brown but behind Ogunleye), and he also has five passes defensed.

 

“Because of the sacks, people now have to pay attention to him in their protections,” Rivera said. "So when we blitz, I don't want to say sometimes he is a decoy, but that's kind of what happens. Now you see a guard or a center turn into him or a back stepping up at him. It's not just what we see him doing. As I interpret what offenses are trying to do, it's obvious people are paying attention to where he is.”

 

That’s what impact players do.