"The face of the franchise felt more like a freckle back in August 2000.

Brian Urlacher was the Bears' first-round draft pick, the future of the team, the new poster boy in town. None of those factors absolved him from the wrath of veteran teammates such as Bryan Robinson.

"It was a preseason game during my rookie year,'' Urlacher recalled, "and I (goofed) on one of the blitzes. B-Rob went berserk on me yelling, 'You stupid mother (bleep).' I got embarrassed. I was like, 'I'm sorry,' because I didn't know what else to say. He laid into my ass pretty bad.''

Urlacher, who remains close friends with Robinson, becomes a little hesitant now when watching the growing pains of draft picks Stephen Paea, J.T. Thomas and Chris Conte.

"I would never do what B-Rob did to me to any rookie because I know how that made me feel,'' Urlacher said. "I mean, B-Rob was right in doing it, but I just don't ever see myself being like that. Plus I'm not a yell-and-scream type of guy. I don't think that will ever change.''

Urlacher usually reserves his tirades to defensive breakdowns on Sundays. Just ask fellow linebacker Lance Briggs, the recipient of a handful of those tongue-lashings."