Briggs downplays 'C'

A day after being named the Bears defensive captain, Lance Briggs appeared to audition for the role of "Captain Obvious."

What does it mean to be named a captain by your teammates, Lance?

"That means you get a patch that says 'C' on your jersey," Briggs quipped.

Great, thanks. What does it mean to you?

"It means I get a little patch that says 'C,' " he repeated. "I get made fun of from my teammates. 'Oooh, you're a captain. Oooh.' "

Briggs is serious on the field, but his playful demeanor off of the field also has earned the respect of his teammates. He acknowledged – seriously, this time – that he had become more of a vocal leader in his seventh year in the NFL, whether he had a "C" on his uniform or not.

"I think I had a leadership role before [being named a captain]," Briggs said. "I don’t really think you necessarily change who you are. I think that would be wrong. I continue to be me, and I’ve probably each year subtlely become more vocal anyway.

"Going into year seven, I think naturally, there are a lot more younger guys here than there were in the past," he said. "So [with] these guys, you want to make sure that everybody’s on the same page."

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Bears fans might want to hope that Zackary Bowman is a better at defending receivers than he is at fending off reporters.

Bowman, who is a quiet, hard-working cornerback out of the University of Nebraska, was rumored to have earned a starting spot this Sunday against Pittsburgh. Bears coach Lovie Smith has stonewalled questions about Bowman's potential starting status all week, but some reporters caught up with Bowman after practice Thursday.

A television reporter noted that Bowman had practiced with the first team this week. Would that mean he'd start against the Steelers?

"We’ll just see how things go," Bowman said. "It’s Thursday. We’ve got Friday and we’ve got Saturday. I’ve been practicing, I’ve been doing a good job, so I’m just going to keep working."

So no one had told him that he will start?