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Bears sending six players to Pro Bowl
December 21, 2005
LAKE FOREST, Ill. - Middle linebacker Brian Urlacher will lead a brigade of six Bears to the Pro Bowl, the team's largest contingent since sending six players following the 1990 season.
Five of the Pro Bowlers play on the Bears' No. 1-ranked defense. While Urlacher will make his fifth trip in six NFL seasons, safety Mike Brown, cornerback Nathan Vasher, linebacker Lance Briggs and defensive tackle Tommie Harris are being honored for the first time.
Brian Urlacher will make his fifth trip to the Pro Bowl in six NFL seasons.
The Bears offense will be represented by center Olin Kreutz, a Hawaii native who will be making his fifth straight Pro Bowl appearance in his home state.
The five defensive players are the most the Bears have sent to the Pro Bowl since the 1985 Super Bowl season when Richard Dent, Dan Hampton, Mike Singletary, Otis Wilson and Dave Duerson were honored.
Bouncing back from an injured-plagued 2004 campaign, Urlacher is a candidate for NFL Defensive Player of the Year after recording 161 tackles, six sacks, nine tackles for loss, six pass breakups and one forced fumble in 14 games this season.
Returning with a vengeance after missing the final 14 games last season with a torn Achilles' tendon, leads the Bears secondary with 89 tackles. The sixth-year pro also has three interceptions, one of which he returned 41 yards for a touchdown against the Lions to extend his club record for career defensive TDs to six.
Vasher is tied for the NFC lead with a team-high and career-high eight interceptions, two shy of the franchise record set by Mark Carrier in 1990. No other Bears players have had more than eight interceptions since Roosevelt Taylor led the NFL with nine in 1963.
Vasher also set a record with the longest play in NFL history, returning a missed field goal 108 yards for a touchdown in a 17-9 win over the 49ers Nov. 13 at Soldier Field.
A second alternate to the Pro Bowl last season, Briggs has registered a team-leading 162 tackles with two sacks, seven tackles for loss, 11 pass breakups, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
A quick impact player who's ideally suited for the Bears' gap-shooting defense, Harris has tallied 56 tackles with three sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
Kreutz, meanwhile, has helped protect quarterbacks Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman and blasted open holes for Thomas Jones, who has rushed for a career-high 1,168 yards and 8 touchdowns on 277 yards for the NFL's ninth-ranked ground game.
Check ChicagoBears.com later for expanded coverage of the Pro Bowl selections and other news from Halas Hall.
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Vor allem für Mike Brown ist diese Auszeichnung schon lange mal verdient!