Lance Briggs had been talking like he was going to sit out the first 10 games of the season because he was upset that the Bears made him their franchise player. But, Briggs caved in and signed a 1-year contract that specifies that he can’t be franchised in 2008 if he plays at least 75% of the Bears’ defensive snaps this season. It’s a good thing that the Bears and Briggs compromised a deal because many experts believe that Briggs, not Urlacher, is the best player on the Bears defense. Briggs played in all 16 games last season for the Bears and he made 130 tackles, had 1 sack, 2 interceptions, defensed 8 passes, forced 4 fumbles and recovered 1 fumble.