The toughest man ever to go by the name of Lance will play for the Bears again in 2007.

-

Though it may have snuck up on many football fans, it is probably not a shocker to hear that the Bears are set to report to training camp in Bourbonnais this Friday.  What may come as more of a surprise is that Lance Briggs will be attending camp with his Chicago teammates.  Long story short… Lance Briggs did what he vowed he would never do; Briggs will play for the defending NFC champion Bears for one season at $7.2 million under the team’s franchise tag.  I can’t say that I am surprised at the flip-flop; playing football for $7 million seems like a lot more fun than his alternative… playing checkers for nothing with Drew Rosenhaus. 

It’s somewhat mind boggling to think of everything that has gone on this off-season.  What a circus it has been just to get to where we stand today, but what the hell… let’s play some football.

While few experts would call their off-season moves earth shattering, the Bears seem to be as good of a football team as they were last year, at the very least.  The Bears once again will feature two of the league’s best linebackers anchoring one of the NFL’s toughest defenses.  I love Ron Rivera as much as any other Chicago Super-Fan… but how many tackles did he make again last season?  The return of Tommy Harris, Dusty Dvoracek and the addition of Anthony Adams should be enough to absorb the losses of Tank Johnson and Ian Scott.  Mark Anderson is a year older, stronger, and smarter.  Mike Brown is healthy… and he has plenty of financially happy and healthy help in the secondary as well.  Make no mistake about it, the Bears defense will again be in the top tier of the NFL.  

Offensively, I think the Bears will be more consistent, not to mention more explosive in 2007.  A highly skilled and experienced O-line is coming back for another shot at the title and Cedric Benson should be running with something to prove.  Having a battle tested played like Adrian Peterson backing up Benson makes for one hell of a qualified insurance policy (much like the QB dynamic), though Tom Jones will be missed.  The receiving corps should get a boost from the addition of Devin Hester and Greg Olsen.  These two explosive players are a big part of the reason why I believe that the 2007 Bears will be a more dangerous group than the Bears of ’06.  All of the sudden, there is a lot of talent on the Bears receiving depth chart, and the guy in charge of getting them the ball hopefully has learned from his mistakes.  A more mature Rex should be a more efficient Rex in 2007.

I said the Bears will be as good of a team as they were in 2006, but the truth, very quietly, I think they’ve gotten a little better.  I truly believe that this fall is going to be a lot of fun. 

Are you ready for some football?  I know I am… and it all kicks off this Friday baby!!!