One thing about Lance Briggs that Chicago Bears fans have learned over the years? He doesn’t sugarcoat anything. When he gives his opinion, he gives it straight ahead without any sort of softening of the blow. This is especially true in regards to Bears defensive play. Particularly at the linebacker position.
Remember this is a man who entered a tradition that is unmatched by any franchise in the NFL. No team has a deeper and more decorated linebacker history than Chicago. That sets the level of expectations at a fairly high bar. He should know. He had to face it when he joined the team as a 3rd round pick out of Arizona in 2003.
A decade later he was firmly established as one of the best to ever wear navy blue and orange with seven Pro Bowls. So it’s only fair he’d earn the right to criticize those who came after him for not upholding the tradition as was their responsibility. This has become the case with Leonard Floyd.
Lance Briggs doesn’t see Floyd as a football player
Briggs appeared on 670 The Score recently to talk Bears football. Inevitably the subject of Floyd came up. The former 1st round pick is going through the worst drought of his NFL career with eight-straight games dating back to the end of last season without a sack. Plenty of excuses have been made for why he’s struggling from his broken hand to his forced switch to the right outside position after Khalil Mack took over the left.
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It would seem Briggs is unmoved by such explanations. He seems to think the problem lay elsewhere and is much simpler. The Bears drafted an athlete, but not a football player.
Not much wiggle room there. Briggs is essentially saying that Floyd isn’t good enough and the Bears were misguided in their reasons for drafting him. GM Ryan Pace fell into a trap other teams do all the team. You get so enamored with the athlete and what he “could” be rather than going for the better all-around player who’s already proven who he is on the field.
Floyd was never a great pass rusher in college, failing to crack seven sacks in any of his seasons at Georgia. People thought it was because he simply wasn’t used enough as a pass rusher. Or could it possibly be his coaches never thought much of his pass rush skill and decided to employ his talents elsewhere?
With each passing week, it’s looking like the latter. Briggs has already made his determination. Given his vast experience playing the game, it doesn’t bode well for Floyd’s future in Chicago.
