Controlled Chaos

Playing tag with Briggs could be dangerous Franchise label could set up clash with linebacker's agent By David Haugh Tribune staff reporter February 21, 2007, 10:08 PM CST So, Jerry Angelo, which was the most relaxing of the 17 days this month that has constituted the Bears' off-season? The one where you did the right thing by sticking a franchise tag on linebacker Lance Briggs but risked setting up a standoff with his agent, Drew Rosenhaus, who wants Brian Urlacher money or else? Or the one where your head coach flexed his Super Bowl muscle and fired a proven defensive coordinator in Ron Rivera to promote buddy Bob Babich in a move roundly understood and endorsed only by the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes Alumni Club? To paraphrase that great sports philosopher Oswaldo Jose Guillen, isn't winning fun? Less than three weeks after losing Super Bowl XLI, Angelo greets the unofficial beginning of the 2007 season Thursday in Indianapolis for the NFL combine, where the Bears will look for this year's Devin Hester or Mark Anderson. Given that Director of College Scouting Greg Gabriel has shown he can find prospects on college football's equivalent of the side of a milk carton, Angelo has every reason to feel confident the Bears again will add an impact rookie or two. Drafting 31st, the Bears most need an offensive lineman for depth who eventually could replace an aging Fred Miller or a play-making safety who can take pressure off Danieal Manning—another 2006 draft find. But before getting too immersed in Mel Kiper-speak, Angelo and the Bears have higher priorities. … Briggs hasn't made himself available to comment publicly, but several sources have related conversations with the Pro Bowl linebacker revealing frustration with the Bears' decision to use the franchise tag and keep him off the free-agent market. Under a subtle change in the new collective bargaining agreement, Briggs would be guaranteed the $7.206 million upon signing the one-year tender, unlike previous years in which the team didn't have to pay until the regular season started. But apparently Briggs has mentioned to at least one teammate the possibility of seeking a trade instead of signing the offer—a looming Angelo headache. Reports have said Briggs is seeking a seven-year deal worth in excess of $63.8 million, a bigger financial commitment than the Bears made to Urlacher in 2003. But the Bears have not communicated with Rosenhaus since informing him of their decision to place the franchise tag on Briggs on Friday. Mentioning a trade could have been Briggs simply reacting emotionally to a friend about losing out on a potential signing bonus two times his proposed salary or it could have been a hint to his off-season strategy. Time tends to lend perspective and perhaps Briggs will realize he can live with a 1,000 percent raise that represents adequate respect and appreciation from the Bears. But with Rosenhaus calling the shots, nothing can be assumed. Remember, Adewale Ogunleye is a Bear only because Rosenhaus engineered a trade from the Dolphins when Ogunleye held out in 2004 and refused to sign a one-year tender of $1.84 million after the Dolphins wouldn't meet his long-term demands. From Terrell Owens to Javon Walker, other examples around the league show how steadfast and creative Rosenhaus clients can be when pursuing a better bottom line. Ogunleye once said Rosenhaus does more for players than the league's union, and he has a $15 million deposit slip from the Bears to prove it. … ___________________________________________________________ There is absolutely no way Briggs is worth that kind of money.

I don't know. I never see Moose really open on his routes. He is never just running free. I know he doesn't have the speed to get past guys deep, but neither does Stokley and he is wide open at times. Other top receivers in the NFL are wide open at times. So if he doesn't have the speed to out run guys and he doesn't have the moves to juke guys, what does he have? He has had countless dropped passes. In my opinion, Moose has been disappointing to say the least since we grabbed him. I think there is a good chance he would be behind Stokley in Indy. Stokley is a great receiver when healthy. He is the go to guy that knows how to get open and has great hands. Reciever was a big ? going into this year and we kinda just forgot about it after some big plays to Berrian, but take out that homerun and our receivers are mediocre at best.

Man it's like you can sub Kreutz's name in there for Dvoracek and everything still applies. If Dusty can be a Kreutz on the Defensive side of the ball, I'd be very happy

Bears bashing boggles the mind Mike Downey In the wake of the news February 11, 2007 Jay Leno and David Letterman have made Bears jokes almost nightly. A columnist from the Los Angeles Times referred to the Bears as "Da Bums" and as "the Munsters of the Midway." A gentleman from ESPN said of the Bears, "You wonder how they reached the playoffs, much less the Super Bowl." A fellow from a Chicago paper proposed after the Super Bowl that it might be best for all concerned if Rex Grossman went to a different team. A football writer for Sports Illustrated suggested the Bears try to trade for Houston's David Carr, who is the quarterback of one of the NFL's worst teams. A guy from Fox Sports cracked "if Grossman were added to the presidential ticket, Barack Obama probably couldn't carry Cook County." A columnist for the Denver Post wrote Grossman "stinks" and, furthermore, "Truth is, the Bears are vastly overrated." That guy put those last two comments on the record before the Super Bowl. Forgive my foul language on a Sunday, but what the hell is going on here? How did the Bears go from being one of the top teams in football to the butts of jokes and to the targets for all sorts of verbal and critical abuse? How did a seven-point underdog lose a game by 12 points and suddenly turn into a different kind of dog? How did a team win its division a month early, win its conference championship game by 25 points, win 15 of its games and lose four, only to end up on the receiving end of an almost daily bashing? A week ago this day, the Bears were on a wet field in Florida with the favored Indianapolis Colts, a team led by perhaps the best quarterback of the 21st Century. At the end of a quarter, the score was Bears 14, Colts 6. Chicago's fans must have been as proud as punch. Their heroes were up by eight. A 92-yard kickoff return put the Colts in a hole. Grossman threw a touchdown pass. Thomas Jones broke a 52-yard run. In a word, the Bears looked super. At halftime, the Bears were behind, but only by two. They didn't touch the ball much. But there was a Colts fumble and a missed field goal. It was still anybody's game. At the end of three quarters, the score was 22-17. It wasn't a blowout. It wasn't a Bears embarrassment. The favored Colts were up five. They did not score a touchdown on the Bears' defense in the third quarter. Manning passed for 54 yards in this quarter—big deal. In the end, Indianapolis did win. A team that was expected to prevail by a huge majority of NFL analysts—many of them former pro coaches and players with a certain amount of expertise—did, in fact, beat the Bears. It was not an upset. And I, for one, was not upset. I was sorry to see my guys lose but grateful for a great season, as many of my Bears brethren were. Bob Newhart, the comedian, a true-blue fan, called up to joke, "I've just entered a 12-step Bears recovery program." We both expressed surprise at the way the team was knocked and mocked in the game's aftermath. Hadn't the Bears had a spectacular season? Weren't the Colts supposed to beat them? Why did the Bears suddenly seem to be getting a worse beating in the postgame than they did in the game? I have been to Super Bowls decided 42-10, 46-10, 48-21 and 52-17. I saw a team John Elway quarterbacked be torn to shreds 55-10. Now that's the kind of thrashing a team could get embarrassed about. Denver obviously should have gotten rid of that Elway bum. Twenty-three teams lost games from Super Bowls I through XL by margins as bad or worse than the Bears' just was. But now they are bums? They were lucky to make the playoffs? They were vastly overrated? They ought to dump a quarterback who went 15-4 and go get the quarterback of the Houston Texans? Madness, madness. Look, no one likes to lose. In the painful first minutes after last Sunday's game ended, Bears wide receiver Bernard Berrian said that where winning the Super Bowl is concerned, "Anything less is failure." No, it is not. Did we imagine those division and league championships? Did we imagine Virginia McCaskey having the George S. Halas Trophy placed in her hands? Did we imagine beating Super Bowl XL runner-up Seattle twice? Did we imagine winning in Green Bay 26-0, in St. Louis 42-27, beating the two New York teams on the road by a combined 48-20? Did we imagine pounding Detroit 34-7, Buffalo 40-7, San Francisco 41-10 and New Orleans 39-14? Did we imagine Grossman passing for 3,193 yards and 23 scores in the regular season? Did we imagine Jones and Cedric Benson rushing for 1,857 yards? Did we imagine Robbie Gould making 32 of 36 field-goal attempts and Devin Hester returning six kicks for touchdowns? I don't know about you, but—please pardon my language again—I thought Chicago had one hell of a team. mikedowney@tribune.com Copyright © 2007, The Chicago Tribune

and with Rosenhaus salivating in the waters that's unlikely to happen.

I like Briggs and I'd like him here, but if he is asking for Urlacher money then see ya. He is expendable. Do you ever wonder why whoever lines up next to Uralcher becomes a star.(see Warrick Holdman) Brian draws all the double teams. Brian is the guy teams game plan for. There has been countless times this season Brian has been double teamed while Briggs runs free to make the tackle. Can you believe teams do that?? Assign 2 guys to block Urlacher leaving Briggs completley unblocked?? That's what he brings to the table. And on top of that he still leads the team in tackles. Briggs is good and a pretty sure tackler and I like him, but his spot can be filled and whoever slides in there will most likely be successful. I want Briggs here, but not to the detriment of signing other key guys cause he's asking for the house. Harris, Vasher and Tillman need to be signed.

I would love to have Archelleta as an insurance policy for Brown.

Our receivers need to learn to go into defensive mode as well. I mean anytime Rex floats a pass its pretty much a guarantee it WILL be intercepted. Both of those passes during the superbowl could have easily been knocked down. Hell even offensive pass interference is an option. We never play defense on offense. I'd say almost half of Grossmans INT's this year could have been defended. This needs to be taught. If the defense has position on you make sure they don't intercept it. And from what I read, the pass to moose may not have been a bad pass as much as miscommunication. Moose had said there was a mixup between him and rex and he was going deep. Now he didn't say who's fault it was, but the way Rex just pump faked and threw right away, Id venture to say it was suppose to be thrown pretty close to where it was. Rex didn't reach back to throw a deep ball...he tried to finess that throw there. My guess is it was suppose to be an intermediate pass in front of the safety. Only problem was the CB didn't bite, most likely cause he was a rookie playing it safe and Moose was running deep. We don't know exactly who's fault it was. Was it suppose to be a deeper throw like the way moose was running or was it suppose to be an intermediate throw like where Rex put it. Even though the CB didn't bite if Moose runs an intermediate route he still would have had front side position on the pass. So well never get an answer, but the fact moose said we had a mix up on the play is enough to tell me it wasn't just rex making a bad pass.

I've heard this on the news multiple times so I don't think it's a joke. They either destroy them or send them to third world countries.

It's funny listening to every announcer get that wrong too.

This post from another site sums things up pretty well. From Muskrat McHerny: The 7:21 mark of the third quarter was the beginning of the end for me. The defense had been on the field for the entire second half, but they hadn't allowed a score this second half. I turned to my friends who were over watching the game and said, what we SHOULD do is run the ball, control the clock, go for some first downs. If we don't score, at least chew up a few minutes to give this defense a breather on the sidelines. They've been out there a long time. Here's Turner's playcalling from NFL.com for that series. Remember now...exhauseted defense, plenty of time on the clock, only down by 5... 1-10-CHI32(7:21) R.Grossman pass short middle to T.Jones to CHI 46 for 14 yards. (Well...not exactly the beginning of a grind out, rest the defense type of series. But, Turner just LOVES to throw on first down. The problem is, you run the risk of your plays not working if you are predictable.) 1-10-CHI46(6:54) R.Grossman pass to M.Muhammad to IND 45 for 9 yards (Ok Ron, ANOTHER first down toss...ya got the ball into Indy territory...it's second and 1...remember, you are only down by 5, plenty of time on the clock, ya gots an exhausted defense, all you need it ONE f*cking yard in the next three downs) 2-1-IND45(6:17) R.Grossman sacked at CHI 44 for -11 yards (WTF? Why are you passing...AGAIN...the third straight pass you f*cking idiot...we NEED, for the sake of the defense, some runs and time to be chewed off of the clock. Now you've put Grossman in third and forever. He has one of the worst statistics for third down completions, and now we run the risk of stalling this drive. Why? What is God's name was your intention on that play? A quick score?) 3-12-CHI33(5:45) R.Grossman FUMBLES (Aborted) at CHI 44, and recovers at CHI 33. R.Grossman to CHI 33 for no gain. (GOD DAMMIT...all of this could have been prevented if ya would have just tried to eat some clock, and run for a first down) So...we punt...and Indy controls the clock, drives down the field again, and yet we still only hold them to a field goal. We get the ball back on the kickoff, and a PF by Indy gives us the ball at the Indy 40 at the 3:11 mark of the third quarter. Once again, here's the play selection by Turner from NFL.com 1-10-IND40(3:11) T.Jones up the middle to IND 32 for 8 yards (All Right. THAT'S what I'm talking about. Just run it and run it.) 2-2-IND32(2:40) T.Jones right end pushed ob at IND 28 for 4 yards (Good. Run it until they stop you. You've got one first down...let's go for another one. Rest that defense, pound the ball) 1-10-IND28(2:14) R.Grossman pass incomplete deep middle to R.Davis (HUH? A deep pass? Turner...you f*cking idiot. Now you are in second and long. Why do you do this? Why to you chuck the ball downfield everytime it looks like we have a bit of a running game going? Do you HAVE to always pass on first down? Can't we try for a series of nothing but runs...maybe see if they can stop it?) 2-10-IND28(2:08) T.Jones left guard to IND 26 for 2 yards (REAL hard to run on second and long in the NFL Ron. This is why you want to get some yards on that first down. However, second and long is a good time to call a screen play...but you don't know what one of those are, now do you?) 3-8-IND26(1:10) R.Grossman pass incomplete deep left to D.Clark (ANOTHER long, deep f*cking pass. ANOTHER drive killed. You pounded the ball for a first down the first set of chains, they weren't stopping you, 12 yards in TWO CARRIES...and you abandon that with TWO long passes. You've chewed off LESS than two minutes on the clock. Way to rest our defense Ron) OK...so we kick a field goal, and on the next series, we stop Manning and the Colts. Psychologically, Indy must be concerned. They are controlling the clock, amassing huge amounts of yardage, yet they really can't score in the Red Zone. We're still only down by 5, lots of time on the clock when we get the ball back on a punt in the fouth quarter. If we put together a drive, run like we did for the first TD, another score is really going to put the pressure on Indy. Remember, both Manning and Dungy have reputations/doubts of not being able to win big games. You chew up the clock, run the ball, score, and now the pressure to win is on Manning, NOT Grossman. Here's the game, set and match from NFL.com's play selection. Most of you are going to blame Grossman. 1-10-CHI20(13:18) T.Jones right tackle to CHI 32 for 12 yards. Penalty on Chicago, J Tait, Offensive Holding. 10 Yards, enforced from the 20. No Play (Dammit. That was another nice run by Jones. They aren't stopping him on these first down runs. OK guys...let's see if we can get this back in a few chunks...d*mn, that holding hurt) 1-20-CHI10(13:09) T.Jones up the middle to CHI 16 for 6 yards (Ok...good start. Let's see if we can get about 6-8 more on the next play. Patience Ron, patience) 2-14-CHI16(12 :06) R.Grossman pass deep right to M.Muhammad to CHI 38 for 22 yards (Wow...Grossman just got that one in there. Ok...settle down guys. We're out of that hole. Nice job overcoming 1-20. 12:06 left, ball on our 38. Twelve more yards to the fifty. Plenty of time. Manning can't score if he's on the bench. Jones has been tearing off some decent runs. C'mon Turner. You can do it. Let's get some first downs now. Run Jones until they stop him. He's had 8, 4, 2, 12, 6 yards on each of his last carries. Put the game in his hands.) 1-10-CHI38(11:59) R.Grossman pass deep right intended for M.Muhammad INTERCEPTED by K.Hayden at IND 44. K.Hayden for 56 yards, TOUCHDOWN (GOD D*MN YOU, GOD D*MN YOU, GOD F*CKING D*MN YOU TURNER! AGAIN! You went for another deep pass. On first down. Do you think that is surprising the Colts? Do you think Grossman is Dan Marino? It's NOT OUR STRENGTH IN THIS GAME. Our strength has been in the running game. We scored our first TD by moving the ball downfield with the RUN. Do you read stats Turner? Did you by any chance happend to notice that Indy had the lowest rated defense against the run to ever play in a Super Bowl? Turner, you are the f*cking stupidist coach I have EVER watched in all of my 40+ years of watching football. You couldn't recognize what a defense was giving you if they f*cking hand delivered it to you wtih a topless tittygram.) Sigh...so, this year is over. If you go look at the replay of the game, you will see, we really were in this thing up until that INT for a TD. Thomas Jones only got to carry the ball 15 times. He still had over 100 yards. He was averaging a whopping 7.4 yards per carry. He SHOULD have carried the ball 25-35 times this game. Somebody posted that Indy was stopping Jones and it was time for Grossman to step up. Well, I don't know what game they were watching. I went back and looked at the game play by plays. Jones would have had an MVP game if Turner would have put the focus on the run game. Jones was just chewing through Indy, and it should have been Jones carrying the ball for a victory in the fourth quarter, not Grossman. This was the Super Bowl gang. Why on earth would you try and put the outcome of the game, in the fourth quarter, in the hands of basically a first year roller coaster QB, when you had an experience pro like Thomas Jones to be your leader? You go with the player that is hot...you don't try and make one hot. It's coaching decisions like this that has left me scratching my head for most of the second half of this season. I stated at the beginning of the year, that Turner was the weakest link in this team, and he coached rigtht up to my expectations today. However, the biggest disappointment for me today was Rivera. He made very few adjustments to Manning. It was almost a repeat of last years Carolina game with the entire coaching staff, making very few adjustments to what was really happening on the field. I had thought they'd learned last year, but they all had a deer in the headlight coaching mentality today. On the flipside, kudos to Tony Dungy for a well coached victory. Well...now we get to see what changes are made to this team. Like all good Bear fans...I can't wait until training camp opens in July.

please delete

Well he really only got to carry the rock somewhat regularly in 2005. He had 76 attempts for 5.1 YPC. Go see where 5.1 ranks amoung the this years RBs. He had one game where he was the man and he got 24 carries. He ran for 120 and a TD. 5.0 YPC. I'm not saying he is the next greatest RB, but he can block and he can catch and most of all he has the right attitude to be a 3rd down/change of pace back.

have you ever seen him??

Are you just pointing out his position on the depth chart for me or are you saying AP can't perform?? AP is more than capable of being a 3rd down back. Ideally, I'd like Thomas Jones, but he wants to be the man and I don't blame him. If he's willing, than absolutely that's the way to go, but he want's the starting job. I think a trade will most likely be the result.

yes.

No running back would enjoy the situation and to be honest I wouldn't want a rb that would. I think the Bears will be great with Benson as the starter and Peterson as the change of pace. I love Jones heart and attitude, but if we can get something for him, I think it's time to part ways.

BEARS 34 - colts 20 Bears - Grossman 2 TD's(Berrian, Moose), Benson 1 TD, 2 Gould FG's, 1 Defense/ST TD, Colts - who cares FINISH!!!!!!!!!

the other article I read said after rex said that the media people there laughed. He was simply saying they don't understand the Bears offense. he wasn't calling them ignorant as in rude, but ignorant as in unknowledgable to the offense. Rex's quote ''To me, you're just trying to sell papers,'' Grossman said. ''It doesn't matter. ''It's frustrating when some of you guys don't put too much thought into it and you're just trying to go off the fans' reaction or you don't know much about what we're doing on offense. Just realizing how ignorant some of you guys are -- and I don't mean that necessarily in a bad way. I mean, like just understanding that you may not be correct and accepting that fact and not paying attention to it much.''

no shit. I can give a freak what the ring looks like...I ain't wearing it anyway. Just win baby!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The NFL has a laundry list of requirements for being a Super Bowl host, but the four cornerstones of a bid are these: The city has an NFL team. There is a stadium with at least 70,000 seats. It has an average January temperature of at least 50 degrees or a domed stadium. There are 24,500 hotel rooms within an hour's drive of the stadium.

Did you see that Latina reporters cones yesterday...I was like Pow I'd tap that!!!!!!

Reading this article just goes to show you how clueless he is.

Just in John Clayton reports that the Bears will Franchise tag Briggs if they can't resign him. Rivera being one of his biggest supporters saying he is the derrick brooks of this D.

Big storm headed for Miami.