Columnist Loses Mind Because Lance Briggs Was Excused From Practice to Open Barbeque Restaurant

Lance Briggs had a get-out-of-practice note Monday – the Bears linebacker was opening a new restaurant in California, and needed to attended the festivities. He’s a popular athlete, a bold face name, and those things carry weight in the food service industry!

Naturally, the Chicago sports media found this an odd occurrence, and potentially, a slippery slope:

"We’re seeing where Trestman’s noble philosophy of treating players with respect and humility clashes with the reality of pro football, with all its demands and rules. There’s a reason football gets compared to the military: It’s incredibly structured, with practice drills scheduled right down to the minute. In the same way you’re not likely to see a commanding officer let a soldier out of war-games exercises to attend his niece’s birthday party, you won’t often see an NFL coach allow one of his defensive leaders to skip practice for a restaurant opening."

Relax, Rick. It’s a barbeque restaurant. And Briggs is a veteran. And the defense is going to be terrible (again) if Briggs skips a day or not.

I do, however, like the Bears in week one over a bad Buffalo team.