Post by motm on Jan 19, 2017 22:23:27 GMT -6
Its hard to argue John Fox's place in the pantheon of Bears coaches when his regime has won nine games in two seasons, but if you're a former Bear, is it bad form to point it out or is it just plain honesty?
Retired linebacker Lance Briggs inadvertently stepped into that no-man's-land while defending his preference to go defense in the draft. It started when a Twitter follower asked Briggs whether the Bears should select Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson.
"He's legit, but you know I always prefer to build around the defense, especially in a city like Chicago!," Briggs replied.
But another user snarked that following Briggs' defense-first philosophy would be like continuing the Lovie Smith era, and Briggs shot back, "Uhhh, that was the last good era of Bears football, or were you just born 4 years ago?"
Last good era?
Between Fox and his predecessor, Marc Trestman, the Bears finished 22-42, a .344 winning percentage. Meanwhile, Smith compiled a .563 record with three playoff appearances in nine seasons. Briggs who played with the Bears during Smith's run and retired under Trestman's watch.
Briggs, who hosts his namesake show on Comcast SportsNet Chicago, isn't one to criticize his old team very often, but he didn't hold back when asked about the Trestman era in a radio interview in August. “Everybody in Chicago knows that Trestman shouldn’t have been here,” Briggs said. "He shouldn’t have been a coach here."
Link: www.chicagotribune.com/sports/chicagoinc/ct-lance-briggs-chicago-inc-20170119-story.html
