Briggs could be difference-maker against Seah

Briggs could be difference-maker against Seahawks

Bears linebacker missed regular-season loss with sprained ankle

There was a glaring omission from the Bears' defense the last time the Seahawks came to Soldier Field.

Back in Week 6 of the regular season, when the Bears stumbled through a 23-20 loss, No. 55 remained on the sideline nursing a severe left ankle sprain suffered the previous week at Carolina.

How big of a difference did Lance Briggs' absence make?

"We didn't win the football game," Brian Urlacher said, putting it simply.

And that was no disrespect to Brian Iwuh, who filled in admirably at weak-side linebacker while recording a team-leading 12 tackles. But playing without Briggs was like the defensive line going without Julius Peppers.

In fact, the Bears lost consecutive home games with Briggs hobbled. He started the next week against the Redskins but immediately realized his ankle was too sore to continue, and the Bears ended up losing 17-14.

"He's huge," Seahawks quarterback Matt Hasselbeck told the Seattle media.

"For us to sit back and say, 'Hey, we beat them at their place, we can do it again,' that would be a dangerous way to feel because Lance Briggs did not play in that game. He is big, a big-time difference-maker and a great football player. So as hard as this game is going to be, the fact that he's back takes it to another level."

Briggs downplayed the significance of missing the first meeting, with his thoughts focused on Sunday's playoff version of the Seahawks.

"I'm excited," he said. "This week, can't think of a better opponent to play."

With Pisa Tinoisamoa recovered from a Dec. 3 arthroscopic knee surgery, Urlacher fighting off a nagging sprained left wrist and Briggs over his ankle issues, the health of the starting linebackers shouldn't be a major concern. Their performance has been the least of the Bears' problems all season.

But the lack of a pass rush and breakdowns in the secondary — not to mention an ineffective offensive attack that allowed the Seahawks to dominate time of possession — allowed Seattle to capture its signature win of the regular season. The Bears failed to record a sack on Hasselbeck and allowed receiver Mike Williams to make 10 catches for 123 yards.

And now, the Seahawks might be better on offense, with running back Marshawn Lynch adjusted to his new team and tight end John Carlson discovered as a red-zone weapon in Saturday's 41-36 wild-card win over the Saints.

"They use them a ton," Briggs said of the Seahawks' tight ends, who combined for four receptions and two touchdowns — both by Carlson — against the Saints. "Fall-down plays, plays across the field … kind of deception. They threw a lot of hitches. They did a lot of the same things that we expected them to do.

"I feel confident. … We're going to do us."

Doing "us" defensively means a lot more when Briggs is part of the equation. It's no coincidence the six-time Pro Bowler had double-digit tackles in his team's biggest wins of the season: at home against Green Bay (13 tackles) and the Eagles (11). In five career playoff games, Briggs has 47 tackles, a sack and an interception.

"Lance is one of the finest linebackers in the league,'' Tinoisamoa said. ``When you don't have him, it hurts."

vxmcclure@tribune.com

Bears’ Briggs fired up for sequel vs. Seahawks


At a joint training-camp practice in 2003 in Macomb, Ill., St. Louis Rams running back Marshall Faulk was annoyed by one of the Bears’ rookie defenders.
Linebacker Lance Briggs, a third-round pick out of Arizona, played at a playoff pace and ignored the concept of thudding, hitting high without taking an offensive player to the ground.

“He was just running around wild and crazy, hitting everything, just happy to be in the NFL,” said Faulk, now an analyst for the NFL Network. “I said, ‘Buddy, you got to slow down.’ ”
Briggs, a Pro Bowl selection for the sixth consecutive season, has developed into one of the NFL’s best outside linebackers, and he has ­asserted himself as one of the keys to the Bears’ defense.

The Bears were 0-2 when Briggs was out or didn’t play much. He was out against the Seattle Seahawks and only appeared briefly against the Washington Redskins because of an ankle injury.
On Monday, Briggs downplayed his absence from the 23-20 loss Oct. 17 to the Seahawks at Soldier Field.

Asked if he would’ve made a difference, Briggs diplomatically said, “Not really. Not the way that game turned out. Obviously, I wanted to play in that game, but Brian Iwuh played great. He did a great job that game and in the Redskins game.”
Iwuh had a team-high 10 tackles. But racking up tackles is a given at weak-side linebacker in the Bears’ defense. It’s the impact plays that make Briggs special, the tackles for loss (seven), forced fumbles (two), sacks (two), interceptions (two) and passes defended (seven).

“You can’t even really say because he didn’t play,” linebacker Pisa Tinoisamoa said when asked if Briggs would’ve changed the outcome of the first meeting against the Seahawks. “But you know if he would have, it would have been a different outcome, at least defensively, because you can count on Lance Briggs for a couple of game-changing plays.

“That’s what we missed.”
It was one of the Bears’ worst defensive performances, and it came against an offense that finished 2010 ranked 28th. The Bears gave up 353 yards, didn’t generate a turnover and didn’t sack quarterback Matt Hasselbeck.

“It’s frustrating anytime you can’t apply the pressure that you want to,” defensive end Julius Peppers said. “But we got another shot at [Hasselbeck], and hopefully this time we’ll do a better job.”

Having Briggs will help, Peppers said.
“It’ll be big to get him back,” Peppers said. “Missing Lance was big for us.
‘‘Having him back in there will settle the rotation, and it’s going to be huge for us.”
Briggs is often overshadowed by middle linebacker Brian Urlacher.
He doesn’t begrudge that fact, praising Urlacher whenever given the opportunity.
Faulk, though, likened Briggs to other talented players who played alongside even more heralded teammates in the same unit.

“Unfortunately, it’s kind of like being like John Stallworth or John Taylor,” Faulk said. “You never get the credit you deserve. But when you look at what Lance has done, I think he’s just as important as ­Urlacher in that defense.

“If you talk to some of the offensive coordinators, when they game- plan, they game-plan for that joker [Briggs],” Faulk said. “He’s a force. He’s disruptive.”
As the Bears prepare for the ­divisional playoff game against the Seahawks, Briggs said he’s looking forward to getting his “first crack at them,” especially because his ankle isn’t an issue anymore.

“I feel great,” he said. “No complaints. Full go. Nothing holding me back.”
Now 30, Briggs fondly recalled Faulk’s anecdote when he was a rookie and the Bears headed to ­Macomb, where the Rams used to hold training camp.

Faulk is one of a kind.

“When I was young, that’s all I knew how to do,” Briggs said of Faulk’s beef that the young player was overzealous in those practice sessions.

“I had to go out and make statements and earn my way.”

But Briggs admitted that Faulk got the better of him on more than one occasion.
“He ran one route, and it’s like he ran circles around me, and I looked at my coach, and he was like, ‘Yeah, we haven’t taught you that route,’ ” Briggs said. “But it’s always good to learn from veterans, especially ones as legendary as Marshall Faulk.”

Briggs watched with great ­interest Saturday as the Seahawks ­outmaneuvered the defending ­Super Bowl-champion New Orleans Saints.

“They used him a ton,” Briggs said of tight end John Carlson, who scored two touchdowns. “Fall-down plays, plays across the field, deception, a lot of hitches.”
But Briggs expressed confidence that his defense won’t be so easily fooled.
“I’m excited,” he said. “This week, I can’t think of a better opponent to play because it’s them.

“The Saints did some different things [five-man fronts]. We’re going to do us.”
And that’s only possible, when Briggs is a part of the lineup.

I would like to think our defense doesnt hinge on one single player.

Our defense doesn't "hinge" on a single player..

BUT 'difference makers" and "probowlers" DO help the "D" take it to a different level than when their back up s are in there.

True, i just dont like to see excuses like that for lost games. Takes a team to win, and a team to lose.

Glad to have him back, but I'm with Jimmors on excuses. I'm sure they had someone out too in the first game.

Not sure if they had anyone out, but i would say our lack of offense is what kept us from winning that game...the only offensive TD was a rushing one by Forte, the other TD was a Hester return. Cutler put up 290 yards, but 0 TDs. And oh...that was the game we were 0 for 12 in 3rd down conversions. So i hardly think Briggs wouldve made that big a difference in that game.

with briggs they wont run on us at all. briggs is so important. despite iwuh getting like 11 tackles in that game, that doesnt tell the story considering the weakside linebacker will usually get a lot of tackles every game. briggs is just as important as anyone to this defense.

Highly doubt we go 0 for on third downs again. If we do, it won't matter if Briggs/Urlacher/Peppers, et al are out there. Having Briggs back will help, sure, but it's not the game one way of the other if he's out. I would say Martz' game plan, Forte and the OL are the difference makers this time around.

Giving up a d@mn safety in that first game vs the seachickens doesn't help either!

Offensive production per drive:
Touchdown
Punt
Punt
Punt
Field Goal
Punt
Field Goal
Safety
Punt
Punt
Punt
Punt
Missed FG