| 23 July 2010
Even with the depth and talent that the Chicago Bears have at the linebacker position, the defense hasn’t been anywhere near the level of dominance it was during the ‘06 Super Bowl run. The talent and depth is still prevalent even with Urlacher being 32-years old and set to come back from season ending wrist surgery.
Of course there is a lot of pride in Chicago in it’s linebackers and there’s a lot of respect throughout the league for the likes of perennial Pro Bowler Lance Briggs and Brian Urlacher. Even the young Nick Roach came into his own last year and should push Pisa Tinoisamoa for the starting strong side linebacker spot this year. The depth starts with Roach and follows through with Hunter Hillenmeyer who registered over 90 tackles through 14 games in 2009.
As good as the linebackers are, there still has been an overall lack of dominance by this group over the last three seasons.
Starting with Lance Briggs, who went to yet another Pro Bowl there seems to be something missing in this group. There is no pure leader amongst the three starters and hasn’t ever been. Even Urlacher has shied away from being a leader in the mold of a Mike Singletary, Ray Lewis, or Junior Seau. Briggs failed miserably at being in the spotlight in 2009.
Yes Lance Briggs was his typical productive self even without Urlacher next to him, but he failed to take his game and the defense to another level in Urlacher’s absence. Throughout Briggs’ contract extension negotiations, he stated that he wanted to be out of Urlacher’s shadow, that he wanted to be the leader of his own defense, the man in charge and the best player on the field. Briggs claimed that he craved the idea of taking his game to another place and in the process taking it to another level without having people question just how good he could be in Urlacher’s absence.
Briggs did not accomplish that in 2009, he simply maintained the same plateau he’s been on as a player and a defender for arguably the last five seasons. Nothing spectacular, nothing game breaking, nothing that elevated the level of the players around him. Briggs did nothing that truly GREAT players do, he was comfortable with the status quo and we’ll likely see more of the same from him in 2010.
Not that that is necessarily a bad thing, it’s just disappointing to learn that Briggs was offered the job of being the middle linebacker and the job of being the quarter back and the leader of the defense, the man who made the defensive calls and set his defense right and REFUSED.
So the question is why did Briggs not elevate his game to another level as should have been anticipated in Urlacher’s absence? There may be no simple answer to this question regarding Lance Briggs. Briggs has consistently been one of the best linebackers in the league, but he’s only maintained, he hasn’t developed a new level or new dimension to his game or ability.
Briggs is forever a good linebacker who is simply happy playing his role and doing his job and doing nothing to take his game to a level that could someday get him a call to the hall of fame. Briggs instead will be a great run defender, good tackler in the open field and good in coverage. Briggs however lacks in the blitzing or pass rushing department and is happy skating along at the same level of production year after year. 
Which is fine because the defense wouldn’t be as good without him and when he does make a big play it serves to help seal a victory.
Simple expectations for Lance Briggs, expect more of the same and hope that there is no sign of a drop off or dip in his production. He should possibly come away with more passes defended or INTs and less broken or missed tackles. Briggs led the NFL in missed tackles in 2009 according the site Football Outsiders.
One of the most intriguing battles in training camp will be between Pisa Tinoisamoa and Nick Roach for the starting strong side position. Tinoisamoa edged out Roach last year, but went down with a season ending injury and Roach played a lot better than anticipated in his absence. Given that Roach will be entering his third year in the NFL this could be the year that he reaches his peak performance level and takes his production to a new level. Tinoisamoa will have the battle of his career on his hands but the good news is the winner will make the Bears’ defense better as a result. How much better remains to be seen, but there are signs that Roach has a pretty decent future ahead of him and could do a lot to continue this line backing core as being one of the best in the NFL.
Let’s be honest though we can talk about Briggs, and Roach’s bright future, but the linebacker discussion begins and ends with the man in the middle. It’s all about number 54, Brian Urlacher and whether or not he can bounce back from his injury problems. If Urlacher is healthy expect a high level of production and play from the face of the franchise. Urlacher showed flashes last year when healthy and was probably ready to show that he can still be one of the best linebackers in the league even at 31. At 32-years of age Urlacher and a season of rest under his belt, the question is will the injury rest provide him with a longer career. This is likely his last contract with the Bears, he’ll have the chance to play out his contract and then he can determine the rest of his career from there.
Overall the scope of what Urlacher means to this team was evident last year, and he’ll be just as valuable to this team this year. Whether or not he’ll be near the level we expect him to be is not completely clear. However based on the public comments by Urlacher himself and the fact that he wasn’t a story during the off-season workouts and mini-camp I assume he’s completely healthy and ready to go. If he’s still playing at a high level Brian Urlacher could very well cement his status as a hall of fame player.
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