GREEN BAY, Wis. — GREEN BAY, Wis. — The war of words between the Packers and Bears leading into their Sunday matchup continues to escalate.
One day after Green Bay tight end Jermichael Finley said that Chicago linebacker Brian Urlacher is "playing a little slow" and that the Bears aren't "losing too much" if the 13-year veteran is not on the field, Urlacher's teammates defended the future Hall of Famer.
"He's an idiot," Bears linebacker Lance Briggs said of Finley to the Chicago Sun-Times. "Just suit up and play ball. His comments aren't going to change the outcome of the game, they're not going to help him or anybody else play better. Doesn't really matter."
Urlacher, who has a hamstring injury that will likely keep him out the remainder of the regular season, later responded to the comments Finley made about him.
"Just like a couple of years ago, I think, (Finley) tore his ACL and the Packers were actually better without him," Urlacher told SiriusXM NFL Radio according to the Chicago Sun-Times. “You know, they won the Super Bowl. I hope we can duplicate that as well because it won't hurt my feelings if we go on and win the Super Bowl without me like they did without him.
"People can say what they want. It feels like I deal with something like this every year. Someone's always saying something about me."
Finley wasn't available for comment Thursday, but he did post a follow-up message on his Twitter account about Urlacher.
"Urlacher is a hall of fame player and person," Finley wrote. "I meant no disrespect to him in previous comments, I was simply trying to explain that his replacement in the lineup is a good player as well."
Urlacher's replacement in the lineup is 27-year-old Milwaukee native Nick Roach. According to the rating system of ProFootballFocus.com, Urlacher has been the Bears' worst defensive player this year, with Roach just ahead of him as Chicago's second-worst.
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