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Urlacher fired up about competition in camp
By Larry Mayer
July 29, 2005



BOURBONNAIS, Ill. - In an interview at training camp, Brian Urlacher discussed the intense competition at key positions, the progress the defense is making and what it's like facing an improved offense led by quarterback Rex Grossman and All-Pro receiver Muhsin Muhammad.
It seems that in this camp there are a lot of positions where players say they can't afford to take a play off because of the competition for roster spots.


Brian Urlacher keeps his eye on the ball during a training camp drill in Bourbonnais.
We have good players at every position. It's going to be tough to get a job on this team. It's good competition. Hopefully we keep that all the way through camp and keep guys healthy and keep them on the field.

Is it more intense than normal?

When I'm on the field it's always intense. I want to go out there and do the same every day, but there are a lot of guys competing, so there are going to be a lot of fights, a lot of competition going on.

How has the defense performed to this point?

We've got a long ways to go, I know that much. We're up and down just like the offense probably. We have good days and bad days, but we've got to have a lot more good days than bad.

How much does the defense focus on trying to force turnovers?

We're always trying to cause fumbles and trying to get takeaways. That's our thing. If you're not trying to cause a fumble you're not doing the right thing.

What's it like having a solid, healthy secondary behind you?

It's awesome. We have complete confidence in those guys back there. We've got the four guys up front going pretty well right now. Those guys in the back are doing a great job. We feel pretty good about it right now. We've just got to keep them on the field like I said. I'll say it every day-we've just got to keep guys on the field and we're going to be all right.

What's it like facing an offense with playmakers like Rex Grossman and Muhsin Muhammad?

They make us better, I know that much. Going against Moose, one of the best receivers in the league, our DBs have got to get better doing that every day. The young receivers are coming along with his help. They're doing a great job out there. They've made some amazing catches so far.

What are your impressions of Hunter Hillenmeyer?

He makes a lot of plays. He's kind of banged up right now with a concussion, but for the most part he does a lot of good stuff on the field. He's faster than people think he is. They say he can't run, but he can run. He talks a lot when he's out there and knows the defense really well.

Has he improved because he's played alongside you and Lance Briggs?

I wouldn't say that. We have good coaching and he got to play a lot last year and I think that helped quite a bit. The few games I did come back he moved to 'Sam' and did a great job at 'Sam' for us. He can play all three positions which is really good for us.

How much better can Briggs get?

He's pretty good right now. We can all get better, but Briggs flies around. Just like Hunter he knows the defense really well, he's always around the ball and when he hits you you're going backwards.

Was it good to get some live tackling in during the goal-line drill Thursday?

It would have been a lot better if we had done better. We got kind of got ran through by the offense, but it's the first day. We won't be like that during the season. But it's nice to just get out there and hit. It's competition and anytime you get a chance to compete you've got to do well.

Do you look forward to live tackling in practice?

Practice is fun and all, but we like to save the contact for Sundays. We get a chance to hit every once in a while in practice. We don't get a chance to take guys to the ground a lot. We got a chance to do that during goal line, but you kind of watch out because we've got to stay healthy. We want to keep guys on the field and if we get a chance to go live we're going to like that obviously, but we'll save those hits for Sundays.

Your team goals are obvious, but what are your individual goals?

Win a lot of games.

That's it?

Win a lot of games.

Defensive player of the year?

Win a lot of games. If we win a lot of games, everything will fall into place.