Tank Johnson’s defense attorney Lorna Propes thought she had an upper hand when she and her client entered a Cook County court room on Thursday. Already armed with Lovie Smith testifying on the behalf of her client, Propes already figured the judge would be too star-struck to decide against her client. When she bumped into Brian Urlacher at the courthouse, Propes thought she had an open and shut case.
The addition of Urlacher was unexpected as Propes ran into the middle linebacker in the courthouse hallway. Urlacher was already at court battling a paternity suit with Tyna Robertson, the mother of his two-year-old daughter. Propes asked Urlacher to act as a character witness but he instead used the time to tell Judge John Moran of Johnson’s role in the Bears’ Cover 2 defensive scheme.
“We rely on Tank to stay in his gap, which allows the linebackers to roam freely and unblocked,” Urlacher said. “The Cover 2 needs the defensive tackles to get up field and get pressure into the offensive backfield. Tank does everything the defense asks.”
Despite Urlacher’s testimony, Judge Moran sentenced Johnson to a 120-day jail sentence. He will likely only serve 60 days of his sentence, getting “day for day credit” or good behavior. Meanwhile, Urlacher’s paternity suit has been continued.
