Lance Briggs Like Blackhawks – and Rod Marinelli Too
Lance Briggs hit the airwaves on Tuesday and chatted up ESPN 1000’s Afternoon Saloon. Can you guess his favorite players? Check it out from Vaughn McClure’s post on ChicagoBreakingSports.com:
"“My favorite is (Brent) Seabrook,” Briggs said, referring to the Blackhawks defenseman. “You know where I come from. I’m a defensive guy. … And he’s a comical guy as well. I’m also a big fan of (Marian) Hossa, too.”"
Those defensive guys stick together, huh? And speaking of defense, Briggs really likes what newly promoted defensive coordinator Rod Marinelli has in store for opposing teams next season.
"“I’m learning that we all fit pretty well in [Marinelli’s] scheme. He wants aggression. We’re gonna be a pretty violent bunch. One of the things he kind of mentioned, he said, ‘Hey, this isn’t a 3-4 defense. We’re not gonna beat people [by] trying to disguise the things we do. We line up with our best 11 and basically kick their butts.’ I love that attitude, and I think that’s what we’ve got to do.”"
I hate to say this, but I’m not convinced that what I saw from Marinelli last season gives me any confidence that the Bears will be all that “violent.” The Bears ranked 13th in the league in sacks last year under Marinelli’s tutelage as D-line coach, but only 24 of their 34 sacks came from Hot Rod’s defensive line. Besides, we all know who is really pulling the strings on that sideline – Lame Duck Lovie!
When asked about the tenuous coaching situation (Man, I am really rocking the segue’s tonight!), here’s what the recently added Second Team All Pro had to say:
"“We don’t sit around and think, ‘Hey if we lose, my coach is gone,’ ” he said. “That’s not the attitude.”"
In fact, Briggs thinks the Bears will do quite well this year. Here’s his response to Peter King’s pre-season ranking:
"“Peter King is gonna have to eat his words at the end of the year. It’s fine,” Briggs said. “You know what? We’ve been backs against the wall anyway. It’s really a put up or shut up year. There’s nothing that can be said that’s going to make us play any better. We have to go out and prove it each week. That’s the attitude that we have to have.”"
One thing’s for sure – it’s put up or shut up time.