General Chaos
Gronko = Man Beast
Winds of change bear watching
January 30, 2007
BY MIKE MULLIGAN Staff Reporter
MIAMI -- For a team that boasts about its rich tradition and proud history, the Bears have been trying to escape the past all season. What's thrilling about the current Super Bowl run isn't the 20 years of sorrow that preceded it, but the enthralling promise of tomorrow that a championship would indicate.
Maybe the Bears won't be able to bring back all 22 starters next fall, as they did this season, but there's nothing wrong with trying to do so. That starts with putting a franchise tag on linebacker Lance Briggs, something that seemed preposterous when contract talks broke off a week before the draft last April but that now looks imminent.
The Bears can't afford to lose Briggs for nothing, so you can consider it a lock that they'll bite the bullet and settle on a one-year deal for more than $7 million that is the average of the league's five highest-paid linebackers. That's when things will get interesting. What does Briggs do when the Bears slap him with the franchise tag by Feb. 22?
Does a guy making $721,600 this season jump at the chance for multimillions, or does a Drew Rosenhaus client follow the lead of defensive end Adewale Ogunleye -- whose acquisition brought Rosenhaus into the Bears' locker room -- and refuse to sign the tender offer in an attempt to force a trade?
''I will worry about all that stuff when I get to it,'' Briggs said. ''All I know is I have played my ass off since I have been here, and good things come to those who work hard. Things are going to be all right.''
Briggs would be the hottest name on the market if he hits free agency, but it's unlikely any team would give up two first-round picks to sign him if he wears a franchise tag. The league's new collective bargaining agreement allows a team to franchise a player for only two consecutive years, so Briggs could be patient and wait the Bears out.
Time for him to fly?
He turned down a long-term deal in the offseason believed to pay about $5.5 million annually over five or six years. Long-term deals are how players get their guarantees in the NFL because lengthy contracts come with lump signing bonuses and other secured money. The one-year franchise tender would ensure Briggs his one-year contract and nothing more.
There has been speculation Briggs turned down the long-term deal in part because he wants to escape the shadow of Brian Urlacher, something Briggs dismissed Monday, saying that it might be tough to be in another player's shadow, but Urlacher is such an unassuming superstar that he's a pleasure to play beside. Last week the denial wasn't as strong. Asked if he wanted to strike out on his own, Briggs said, ''It's not so much that.''
''I enjoy being with Brian,'' Briggs said. ''I enjoy being with these guys. That is all I can really say about that. Brian is a special guy. I have been fortunate and blessed to be able to come into this league and have him as the guy I am in the room with every day.''
General manager Jerry Angelo has said he doesn't like to use tags on players because it creates animosity with the player and isn't a long-term solution. But in the case of Briggs, the Bears would be foolish to do anything else. They are built on defense, and they have serious issues to deal with at other positions, primarily defensive tackle.
Tommie Harris is ahead of schedule in his return from hamstring surgery and should be ready for training camp. Tank Johnson proved to be a major distraction late in the season and is a long shot to get a long-term contract. Ian Scott and Alfonso Boone are both headed to free agency with Super Bowl credentials. As often happens in the NFL, players from Super Bowl teams tend to attract offers even if they're not part of the core group.
Bears will wait to decide on Briggs
The Bears likely will lose both Scott and Boone. They drafted Dusty Dvoracek in the third round last year, but he missed the season after foot surgery. The front seven can't take the double blows of losing so much at tackle and trying to replace a Pro Bowl linebacker.
''Whether it's Briggs or anyone else,'' team president Ted Phillips said, ''my feeling is when teams have players become free agents, they have certain options they can choose to exercise or not, and we're going to look at every option we have before we make a decision on Lance. The franchise tag isn't used that often leaguewide. I can't remember the last time we used it. Bryan Robinson? That one didn't work out so well.''
The good news for Phillips and the Bears is that they have an option with Briggs. There is the possibility he'll be gone in the offseason, but the team will get something in return. That's solid business.
The hot rumor of the day, however, hints at where the real trouble will come in the offseason. Coach Lovie Smith was asked about a broadcast report that special-teams coordinator Dave Toub is headed to Philadelphia to take the same position with the Eagles. Smith laughed off the idea, saying Toub was coaching at practice earlier in the day and wondering why anyone would ever want to coach anywhere else but Chicago.
Could that have been a dig by Smith at his own contract situation, which was put on hold until after the Super Bowl? Five assistant coaches are coming out of contracts, including Toub, who no doubt will attract offers from several teams when his deal expires Feb. 28.
The Bears have exclusive negotiating rights with Toub for three weeks starting on the Tuesday after the Super Bowl. Ditto defensive coordinator Ron Rivera and wide receivers coach Darryl Drake. The contracts of college scouting director Greg Gabriel and pro personnel director Bobby DePaul both expire May 31.
Briggs probably will be back, but there are no tags that can keep those important figures as members of the franchise.
January 30, 2007
BY MIKE MULLIGAN Staff Reporter
MIAMI -- For a team that boasts about its rich tradition and proud history, the Bears have been trying to escape the past all season. What's thrilling about the current Super Bowl run isn't the 20 years of sorrow that preceded it, but the enthralling promise of tomorrow that a championship would indicate.
Maybe the Bears won't be able to bring back all 22 starters next fall, as they did this season, but there's nothing wrong with trying to do so. That starts with putting a franchise tag on linebacker Lance Briggs, something that seemed preposterous when contract talks broke off a week before the draft last April but that now looks imminent.
The Bears can't afford to lose Briggs for nothing, so you can consider it a lock that they'll bite the bullet and settle on a one-year deal for more than $7 million that is the average of the league's five highest-paid linebackers. That's when things will get interesting. What does Briggs do when the Bears slap him with the franchise tag by Feb. 22?
Does a guy making $721,600 this season jump at the chance for multimillions, or does a Drew Rosenhaus client follow the lead of defensive end Adewale Ogunleye -- whose acquisition brought Rosenhaus into the Bears' locker room -- and refuse to sign the tender offer in an attempt to force a trade?
''I will worry about all that stuff when I get to it,'' Briggs said. ''All I know is I have played my ass off since I have been here, and good things come to those who work hard. Things are going to be all right.''
Briggs would be the hottest name on the market if he hits free agency, but it's unlikely any team would give up two first-round picks to sign him if he wears a franchise tag. The league's new collective bargaining agreement allows a team to franchise a player for only two consecutive years, so Briggs could be patient and wait the Bears out.
Time for him to fly?
He turned down a long-term deal in the offseason believed to pay about $5.5 million annually over five or six years. Long-term deals are how players get their guarantees in the NFL because lengthy contracts come with lump signing bonuses and other secured money. The one-year franchise tender would ensure Briggs his one-year contract and nothing more.
There has been speculation Briggs turned down the long-term deal in part because he wants to escape the shadow of Brian Urlacher, something Briggs dismissed Monday, saying that it might be tough to be in another player's shadow, but Urlacher is such an unassuming superstar that he's a pleasure to play beside. Last week the denial wasn't as strong. Asked if he wanted to strike out on his own, Briggs said, ''It's not so much that.''
''I enjoy being with Brian,'' Briggs said. ''I enjoy being with these guys. That is all I can really say about that. Brian is a special guy. I have been fortunate and blessed to be able to come into this league and have him as the guy I am in the room with every day.''
General manager Jerry Angelo has said he doesn't like to use tags on players because it creates animosity with the player and isn't a long-term solution. But in the case of Briggs, the Bears would be foolish to do anything else. They are built on defense, and they have serious issues to deal with at other positions, primarily defensive tackle.
Tommie Harris is ahead of schedule in his return from hamstring surgery and should be ready for training camp. Tank Johnson proved to be a major distraction late in the season and is a long shot to get a long-term contract. Ian Scott and Alfonso Boone are both headed to free agency with Super Bowl credentials. As often happens in the NFL, players from Super Bowl teams tend to attract offers even if they're not part of the core group.
Bears will wait to decide on Briggs
The Bears likely will lose both Scott and Boone. They drafted Dusty Dvoracek in the third round last year, but he missed the season after foot surgery. The front seven can't take the double blows of losing so much at tackle and trying to replace a Pro Bowl linebacker.
''Whether it's Briggs or anyone else,'' team president Ted Phillips said, ''my feeling is when teams have players become free agents, they have certain options they can choose to exercise or not, and we're going to look at every option we have before we make a decision on Lance. The franchise tag isn't used that often leaguewide. I can't remember the last time we used it. Bryan Robinson? That one didn't work out so well.''
The good news for Phillips and the Bears is that they have an option with Briggs. There is the possibility he'll be gone in the offseason, but the team will get something in return. That's solid business.
The hot rumor of the day, however, hints at where the real trouble will come in the offseason. Coach Lovie Smith was asked about a broadcast report that special-teams coordinator Dave Toub is headed to Philadelphia to take the same position with the Eagles. Smith laughed off the idea, saying Toub was coaching at practice earlier in the day and wondering why anyone would ever want to coach anywhere else but Chicago.
Could that have been a dig by Smith at his own contract situation, which was put on hold until after the Super Bowl? Five assistant coaches are coming out of contracts, including Toub, who no doubt will attract offers from several teams when his deal expires Feb. 28.
The Bears have exclusive negotiating rights with Toub for three weeks starting on the Tuesday after the Super Bowl. Ditto defensive coordinator Ron Rivera and wide receivers coach Darryl Drake. The contracts of college scouting director Greg Gabriel and pro personnel director Bobby DePaul both expire May 31.
Briggs probably will be back, but there are no tags that can keep those important figures as members of the franchise.
