Briggs still has soft spot for Wade

Linebacker Lance Briggs doesn't usually take a personal interest in the players he knocks down on the football field, but he might today.

Briggs and Vikings wide receiver Bobby Wade, a former Bear, were classmates and roommates in college at Arizona, so they talked frequently this week.

"That's my boy," Briggs said of Wade, who was drafted by the Bears in the fifth round in 2003, two rounds after Briggs was selected. "He called (early in the week), but he just wanted to get some tickets because he knows the home team gets better seats than the away team. They have a bye next week, too, because he was talking about meeting me in Arizona. It's always sweeter when you win, because you've got some good bragging rights."

The friendly trash talk will likely continue right up until kickoff and maybe beyond.

"He's going to tell me how he's going to throw me on my back," Briggs said, grinning, "and I'm going to tell him I'm going to slap him around."

Briggs has been doing a lot of different things for the Bears this season. His 44 tackles are just 1 behind team leader Kevin Payne, he's tied for third with 3 tackles for loss, has 1 interception, returned a fumble 21 yards for a touchdown and has half a sack.

But Briggs was informed during the week that another former teammate, Bernard Berrian, who is now the Vikings' go-to receiver, said the linebacker couldn't cover him over the middle.

"Bernard said what?" Briggs said. "If Bernard comes over the middle, we've got to do what we gotta do, and it's nothing personal. I'm sure Bernard's going to say the same thing: 'If I take one to the house, it's nothing personal.' That's just the way it goes."

But Briggs will remain friends with both Vikings wide receivers regardless of what happens during the game.

"I don't usually help someone up when I hit them down," Briggs said. "But these guys right here, they're kind of close to the heart. A guy like Bernard, a guy like Bobby, those (are) guys I have long-standing relationships with."