Briggs only Bear selected to Pro Bowl

It wasn't long ago that Lance Briggs said he never wanted to play for the Bears again, but now he's the only Pro Bowl representative for a team that sent four players last season and eight the season before that.

Linebacker Brian Urlacher and center Olin Kreutz, both six-time Pro Bowl picks, were not selected this season, nor were any Bears special-teams players, although they had filled five spots the previous two years.

The 28-year-old Briggs, a six-year veteran, signed a six-year, $36 million contract on March 1, but it took nearly two years for him to finally get the lucrative, long-term contract he had sought.

In the spring of 2006, he rejected a six-year, $33 million contract extension from the Bears, who then slapped the "franchise" tag on him in the 2007 off-season.

That kept him off the open market in unrestricted free agency but guaranteed him a salary of $7.2 million, about 10 times the $725,000 he made in 2006.

Still, Briggs at first threatened to never play for the Bears and then said he was considering sitting out the first 10 games in protest.

He also suggested that if he went to another team he could become the leader of the defense, a title that he and almost everyone else doubted he could ever wrest from Urlacher.

The Bears and Briggs finally agreed on a long-term commitment at the start of this year's free-agency period and, in light of his latest honor, Briggs was asked if this is now his defense.

"I do feel like, obviously after four Pro Bowls, I am definitely a big part of what we do," said the former third-round pick out of Arizona.

"Whether it's my defense, or whose defense it is, that's not necessarily for me to decide right now. I do think that my role, as far as what we do, is definitely bigger."

Briggs leads the Bears with 122 tackles and has a career-high 3 interceptions, plus 2 fumble recoveries, 6 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, 6 pass breakups and a half-sack.

Hours before the NFL's announcement of the Pro Bowl teams, Briggs received the endorsement of Bears defensive end Adewale Ogunleye.

"If he doesn't get in to the Pro Bowl, one, I'd be shocked," Ogunleye said. "And, two, I think I'd write a petition to the league about that because that guy, every game this year, he's showed up.

"He's made plays, and the players respect that. You go around the league and talk to anybody, they respect how Lance plays and (how) he goes about his business on Sundays."

Bears nickel back Danieal Manning said the four-time Pro Bowler inspires his teammates with his aggressiveness.

"I always call him the quiet assassin," Manning said. "He really don't say much, but you get on the field, and he gets us hyped up with big plays and big hits. He's just all over the field, just his presence, that's what's so big about Lance."

Although many Bears veterans, especially on defense, have been rewarded with mega-millions in new contracts since Super Bowl XLI, Briggs is one of the very few who has earned his money, as the once-dominant defense has slipped to No. 17 in yards and a tie for 15th in points allowed.

This season may be Briggs' best yet, but he wouldn't say so.

"I don't know," he said. "I think it has been a pretty good year, and next year will be better."

After Briggs had 9 tackles and returned a fumble 21 yards for a touchdown in the season-opening upset of Indianapolis, Urlacher mentioned him as a defensive MVP candidate.

"It goes through my mind," Briggs said of the possibility. "But if I want to be defensive player of the year, I've got to do more. As this season comes to a close - and hopefully we get playoffs and a Super Bowl berth - but those (personal honors) are the things that you think about, that I will be thinking about in the off-season."

Briggs believes he has to do more to be a candidate for the league's top defensive award.

"It means more interceptions, more sacks, being involved in more than a half-sack, causing fumbles, making plays, getting interceptions, things like that," he said.

"It's crucial if you want to be considered the defensive player of the year. You have to do more."

Briggs is the 22nd player in franchise history voted to four Pro Bowls, and the 17th to be selected four years in a row.

He is the seventh Bears linebacker to make at least four Pro Bowls, joining Hall of Famers George Connor, Bill George, Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary along with Joe Fortunato and Urlacher.

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