Apparently, Bears linebacker Lance Briggs is still getting used to the new look of his defense.
For the first time, he’s out there without a number of long-time co-workers, particularly linebacker Brian Urlacher.
And when he was asked about missing another unsigned free agent, Israel Idonije, Briggs replied “I miss everybody, you guys,” and he walked away from the media, according to John Mullin of CSNChicago.com.
Prior to that, in his first interview of the offseason, Briggs talked about the challenges of trying to fill in as a leader and a signal-caller for the defense for Urlacher, something he admitted was “very different.”
“It just means continue to be me. I’m just vocal now,” Briggs said. “I didn’t call the plays before and now I’m calling the plays. I just have a lot of respect, . . .
“I’ve been spoiled for the last 10 years.”
The on-field adjustment shouldn’t be hard for Briggs, but reading between the lines makes it seem like he’s still not 100 percent on board with the absence of Urlacher, a stance management seems to be fine with. That said, stepping into a leadership role was a significant move for Briggs, which should help eventually allow them to move on.