Aloha Lance, You're Headed to Hawaii

Fourth straight trip for linebacker, only Bear on team

For the fourth time in as many years, Lance Briggs was selected to go to the Pro Bowl. He is the only Bear headed for Hawaii. This is not surprising as the Bears have, individually, been inconsistent and mediocre for most of the season.

As a team, the Bears have worked together to play well, but have just as often fallen apart. Matt Forte has had a standout season, but he is nowhere near Minnesota's Adrian Peterson, Washington's Clinton Portis or Atlanta's Michael Turner, the rushing leaders who were voted to the team. Tommie Harris, who is an alternate, has been inconsistent and plagued by injuries. Greg Olsen, also an alternate, doesn't match up well with the Cowboys' Jason Witten or the Redskins' Chris Cooley.

Even his fellow linebacking members, Brian Urlacher and Hunter Hillenmeyer, have had their troubles. Hillenmeyer has battled injuries, and Urlacher has not had a performance like the previous seasons where he has earned a spot representing the NFC on the Pro Bowl team.

Briggs, on the other hand, has been a cornerstone of the defense all season. He has leads the team with 99 tackles, and leads the league's linebackers in interceptions with three. His leadership and consistent play has kept the defense playing well.

The lack of standout performances is not something that should scare Bears fans. Though individual honors are nice, they are not what the team should be concerned with. Their thoughts should be focused to Monday night's game against Green Bay, and not a postseason trip to Hawaii for the Pro Bowl. After all, the Cubs had eight players named to the All-Star team, and look at how that turned out.

Copyright FREEL - NBC Local Media
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