Lance Briggs: September 2008 Archives

Lance Briggs looked through the mail in his locker and didn't see any correspondences from the NFL.

That's because the league deemed his hit on Carolina quarterback Jake Delhomme to be legal. Delhomme scrambled out of the pocket on a third down in the third quarter and ran downfield before sliding late. Briggs popped him as his slide was beginning and no penalty was called even though the Panthers complained loudly.

"Lance Briggs will not be fined,'' a league spokesman said. "It was a legal hit and there was no penalty called on the play. The quarterback slid late and Briggs had already committed. It was not a foul."

Nothing has changed in the Bears' philosophy. They are still a running team, you know the one that gets off the bus running.

Rookie Matt Forte, the second-round pick from Tulane, will lead that rushing attack Sunday night at Indianapolis and by all accounts he's looked good so far. Forte is the second high draft pick the Bears have used in effort to replace Thomas Jones, the bargain pickup who was dealt away to the New York Jets after carrying the offense to Super Bowl XLI.

Cedric Benson, the man who had been blocked from playing time by Jones, remains out of the league while he winds his way through the Texas judicial system.

"[Forte] is an instant upgrade from what we had here last year," Pro Bowl linebacker Lance Briggs said Wednesday in an appearance on the Score, 670-AM.

Briggs' appearance revealed a story that doesn't always come out, that the players were incensed when Jones was traded to the Jets, not for a draft pick but simply for an opportunity for the Bears to move up in the second round.

"Honestly, more than I am frustrated that Cedric Benson didn't pan out here, I am more frustrated that a guy like Thomas Jones, who was our best offensive weapon for the years that he was here, was traded and let go,'' Briggs said. "Because the guy, Thomas Jones, he was a great, great leader for the Bears. He was a fiery leader. He was a guy that when he got out on the field there were no biases to who he went to and told, `Hey, we need to get this done.'

"He went out and he played hard every day and even when we didn't win our league, the guy gave his whole heart and soul. He was our best offensive player every year that he was here. That was more frustrating, that he's not with us today."