The questions Brian Urlacher asked in July became common ones during the NFL preseason. Maybe even the reaction, too, because the Bears’ legendary linebacker was shocked when he first heard about the possibility of the league moving away from the chain gang to determine first downs.
“What?” a confused Urlacher first asked as his mind became foggy, standing in front of the picturesque Lake Tahoe before a round of golf at the American Century Championship in July. The Hall of Famer couldn’t fathom the idea of the chain gang no longer being utilized to measure first downs. The crew holding a 10-yard length of chain with an orange pole on each side has been around longer than a century, performing an archaic routine that has, for the most part, gotten the job done and probably been underappreciated—until now.
