The following is all from a vantage point of my eyes.. and how I view Urlacher. Not intended to be cast upon anyone else's opinion of him.. just how I view it. I give a ass testicle if he wears a Bears uniform.
Urlacher is a very good football player.. but he is not a complete football player. To be considered an all time elite player, like many like to call Urlacher, you can't have holes in your game. Simply put, as PolarGrizz noted so very well, he isn't dominate in the box. You want to beat him.. you run right at him.
Personally, that is what makes that combo of Briggs and Urlacher so good.. Briggs is better in the box and can be had outside of it.. Urlacher excels in space and struggles more in the box. IMO, there is a bigger dropoff in Urlacher's game in the box than Briggs outside of it.
They compliment each other very well.. and that is what has made them a dominate duo.
Both very fine football players, but neither on their own are those era defining players. Ray Lewis is a Era defining player.. Mike Singletary is a era defining player.
London Fletcher is every bit the player Urlacher has been... he just lacks the over hype. That is my area of contention with Urlacher, excellent player, but not this all world player that he gets painted too often.
PolarGrizz nailed it.. Clay has over hype to him as well.. last year he rounded out his pass rushing repotaire and became more of a complete pass rusher.. but he can be run on from time to time because he is too aggressive and especially passed on.. the Former Bear Olsen had him for lunch early in Carolina for example.
Rant off/
I respect Rodgers for talking on behalf of Urlacher and giving us more of a picture of who Urlacher the man on the field is through his observation. And I respect the heck out of both Urlacher and Briggs for bringing it hard on gameday.. it isn't their fault the some over bill them as individuals.
"The oranges are dry; the apples are mealy; and the papayas... I don't know what's going on with the papayas!"