Briggs decides to stay in Chitown, Berrian thinks it's not cold enough

So the prodigal son has returned without ever having left. Lance Briggs agreed to a six-year contract with the Bears today worth about $36 million with $13 million in guaranteed bonuses. After all the fuss and drama of last season, it’s good to see Briggs finally get the huge contract he deserves. Briggs played like a possessed man in ’07, ranking second on the team in tackles with 140, including ten tackles-for-loss. He also added two sacks, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. If you watched any game last year, you know this guy was always leaving it all on the field every game, holding down the weak side position and providing a great complement to Urlacher. And now that he’s coming back, we can be certain Lovie will keep Urlacher in the middle instead of experimenting with him on the weak side (He’s also incredibly smart. Remember when he crashed his Lamborghini on the Edens at 4 AM the night before practice and inexplicably left the scene? I mean, come oooonnnnn, talk about intangibles). More importantly, with a healthy Harris and Dvoracek holding down the interior of the D-Line, Urlacher and Briggs will be able to move more effectively throughout the second level instead of constantly having to inch up and provide run support. Come to think of it, this should come as no surprise. Briggs had stated a desire to remain in Chicago towards the end of the season, and the front office is famous for its loyalty and inclination to re-sign players rather than explore options through free agency. You had Tillman and Vasher re-signed during the regular season and now Briggs, in addition to Grossman, Orton, Clark, and Brown over the past few weeks. Clearly, they’re viewing consistency as the best course of direction for the immediate future and I think it will serve us well (That is, except with Benson, who as one enlightened colleague notes should just be flat-out dropped, like a bad habit).

However, the receiving corps took a hit with Berrian departing to our divisional rival Norsemen for a six-year, $42 million contract with a $16 million signing bonus. Now, our hopes lie on a trio of Bradley, Hester, and Davis. Can Bradley stay healthy for an entire season? Can Hester’s hands be trusted? Do we know if he’s even smart enough to run routes?! He definitely didn’t impress me much in the limited amount of plays he participated in last year. The onus is on him to provide the explosiveness in the passing game now unless the Bears go after another free agent. There are still some available, too – Javon Walker, D.J. Hackett, Bryant Johnson… Randy Moss… (What would we be without wishful thinking?). The point is, even though Berrian sucked it up last year with drop after horrible, horrible drop, he led the team in receptions, yardage, and touchdowns, and has displayed a great rapport with Grossman. In many ways, the careers of these two players have been inextricably linked, each finding the greatest success paired up with the other. With similar instability at quarterback for the Vikings, expect to see Berrian have another mediocre year. He definitely doesn’t deserve getting paid like a #1, but with the weak free agent class of receivers and the amount of cap space the Vikings have, it’s only the natural continuation of a growing trend in the NFL every offseason.

Conversely, the Bears are undeniably setting Grossman up for more failure by sticking him with a bunch of unproven receivers. Coupled with the appalling incompetence of our overweight workhorse for a running back, the offense looks primed for a pedestrian performance. The quick solution to this would be to snatch up one of the many great offensive tackles swimming near the top of the Big Board (like Boise State’s Ryan Clady or Vandy’s Chris Williams) in the first round, an RB in the second, and a QB and S with our two third round picks. A great tackle can have an immediate impact, and if they draft someone like Steve Slaton or Chris Johnson (4.25 40!), you’d get a back with elite speed and tremendous versatility who, while obviously unable to handle a full load at the professional level, will work well spelling Benson every now and then. Or, as seems to be the popular notion nowadays, they could just line Hester up twenty yards behind the line and hike it to him directly. Here’s hoping they give that notion some thought.