While Carson Palmer was eager to blame the Bengals coaches for their lackluster season, Bears linebacker Brian Urlacher was more introspective:

The CHICAGO TRIBUNE hears the opposite from Chicago’s defensive standout about his team’s tumble from the highs of last year’s Super Bowl appearance.

Unlike Palmer, Urlacher put the blame of a bad season not on the men on the sidelines, but the men on the field: “The coaches didn’t screw up this year. The players screwed up. They didn’t miss 20 tackles as a coaching staff; we did as players. And they didn’t drop all those balls or miss all those blocks on offense. It’s our players, and that’s all there is to it.”

Urlacher also touched on his snubbing from the Pro Bowl. Despite leading the Bears in tackles and interceptions this year, Brian won’t be Hawaii-bound for only the second time in his career.

But it didn’t seem to bug him too much: “Was I motivated by that? No. Did I deserve to go? Obviously not, because I didn’t make it.”

We’re sure he’ll have a fun off-season, anyway. Who knows what he’ll get his hands into?

We suggest staying away from texting ex-girlfriends.