Urlacher says knee will never be the same

Chicago Bears LB Brian Urlacher says that his left knee is pain free and that he’ll definitely be on the field this Sunday when the Bears kick off their 2012 season. That’s the good news. The bad news, is that he says that the knee, “just isn’t the same anymore. It’s never going to be the same.”

While not shocking, Bears fans can love hearing that.

“The knee has been an issue, obviously, since last season,” Urlacher said. “Felt good going into training camp. I was excited about it. Then, I kind of aggravated my knee during training camp. Then I had surgery, a little minor surgery, and it feels good again now. That’s all that matters, I feel good going into the season.

“It feels much better now. I have been running around quite a bit, not with the team in practice, I have been taking it really slow like Coach (Lovie) Smith said we would. Everything they are going to let me do, I’ll do. There is going to be some restrictions on what I can do because they don’t want to overwork me too early. It’s a long season. There will be some restrictions but there won’t be restrictions in the game on Sunday.”

The guy is 34-years old. He’s been crushing people since 2000. A reasonable person would have to conclude that at some point his body is going to start failing him. Hopefully, he can still play at a high level despite the injuries.

How much longer? Who the hell knows.