#30

I would be remiss if I didn't dedicate a post to one of my favorite, and for my money one of the greatest, Bears of all-time: Mike Brown.

Confirmation came today that he tore an ACL and will be out for the rest of the year. Make no misktake - NO ONE was surpised by this. Not the Bears...they had already planned for this by drafting Danieal Manning, Kevin Payne, and signing Adam Archuleta. Not the fans...we've seen this happen each of the past 3 years. Not even Brown himself...the tears and frustration in his voice the other night had nothing to do with physical pain, or disappointment for missing this season...it had to do with him realizing this was the 4th season in a row ended prematurely (extremely prematurely in 3 of the 4 seasons) due to a lower leg injury, and that 30 year old safeties with 1 year left on a contract who have missed the majority of the prior 4 seasons aren't exactly coveted commodities in the N(ot)F(or)L(long) these days.

All that considered, it's still a crushing blow. This guys is the captain of the defense, on and off the field. All his coaches and teammates swear by him. He has made more impact plays in his 8 year career than every other Bears defender combined during said timeframe. The defense has been at the top of the league in the times he's played, and remained good but not great in the times he's missed. There is no way Reggie Wayne gets so open for a 50 yard touchdown in the Super Bowl if Mike Brown was playing center field. None. Something like that might've changed the complexion of that whole game. We should still win our division, and contend for a spot in the Super Bowl, but anyone who thinks our chances didn't take a MAJOR hit losing Brown & Dusty on Sunday is fooling themself.

As a Mike Brown fan, I hope his surgery/rehab goes perfectly, and he's 100% by May 1 for minicamps and OTAs.

As a Bears fan, I hope Archuleta plays like it's 2001, Danieal Manning plays up to his physical talent, and that Jerry Angelo is savvy enough to convince Brown to come back for a minimum contract next year to compete for a roster spot. While I firmly believe Brown is one of the 5 greatest Bears I've seen (since I was old enough to start understanding football...say from early 90s on), from a non-emotional standpoint, the Bears can not allow themselves to get burned by another one of his injuries, and I have a feeling we may have seen the last of him in the blue and orange.

That said, I've always thought Angelo is a hell of a GM, and Brown is a hell of a guy who loves this franchise, so I don't consider him gone just yet, but it's hard to imagine they'll bring him back after 4 straight years of dashed expectations. Then again, it's hard to picture him in anything but blue and orange.