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I won't try to break down the reasons why Green Bay Packers receiver Donald Driver won the prestigious "Mirror Ball" trophy Tuesday night as the champion of the reality show "Dancing with the Stars." No point in that.

What I will say is that watching the last few weeks of the show was a good reminder about the value of stepping out of your comfort zone. Driver is a great athlete and competitor, and perhaps he was already a good dancer before this show. But his emotional reaction to winning was an indication of how hard he needed to work to secure this accomplishment, and how much satisfaction he felt upon achieving it.

(Having Packers fans supporting you in the viewer voting doesn't hurt, either.)

Driver will have a few whirlwind days of publicity but could re-join the Packers for offseason workouts as early as next week. His agent, Jordan Woy, tweeted: "Congrats to Donald Driver winning DWTS!! Now it is time to get ready for another season with the Packers!"

Here are some other Packers reactions via Twitter:

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers: Speaking of teammates, am so proud of @Donald_Driver80 and his accomplishment tonight!!! Enjoy the whirlwind the next few days quickie!!!

Tight end Tom Crabtree: Donaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaald Driiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiverrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ?#titletown? ?#GoPackGo? ?#dwts? ?#football? ?#dance? ?#America

Linebacker A.J. Hawk: Congrats @Donald_Driver80, Champion, not even close!

Guard Josh Sitton: My little cousin @biigwilly won the sate baseball championship tonight an @Donald_Driver80 won dwts ! What a great night! Congrats guys!!!!!

Receiver Randall Cobb: Quickie has to write a book about this! Congrats to @Donald_Driver80!!!

ESPN analyst Andrew Brandt, a former Packers executive: Donald! Remember skinny 7th round pick coming in saying he would make a name in GB. Great story.

Have a wonderful evening.

We noted earlier this week that Green Bay Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk had cut his legendary hair as part of the startup to "Hawks Locks for Kids," a charitable effort that will encourage the donation of long hair to groups that use them to create wigs for children undergoing treatment for cancer and other diseases.

Hawk appeared Thursday on ESPN 540 in Milwaukee to promote the cause, but he also engaged in what I thought was a fair conversation about his underwhelming season with the Packers in 2011. He missed two games because of a calf injury and finished with a career-low 84 tackles. Backup D.J. Smith was impressive as his short-term replacement, and there have been calls for the Packers to move on just one year after signing Hawk to a new five-year contract.

Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel wrote that the contract "is by far the worst" ever enacted by Packers general manager Ted Thompson and suggested the Packers erred by releasing veteran Nick Barnett and committing to Hawk.

Speaking Thursday, Hawk acknowledged his 2011 season started slowly but felt he was playing better by the end of it.

"I'm sure stat-wise this year it probably doesn't look like I had as good a year as I had in the past," Hawk said. " I felt like early on in the year I definitely missed more tackles than I would like and let the running backs catch the ball out of the backfield on me and that definitely wasn't acceptable. But me and [inside linebackers coach Winston] Moss kind of worked on a technique of how we were going to change that up, and I think for the most part, toward the end, I felt like I was getting a lot better."

Indeed, Hawk posted two of his three-best games in terms of tackles in Weeks 15 and 16. And to be fair, Hawk wasn't the only Packers defender who missed too many tackles in 2011. Coach Mike McCarthy pledged at the NFL scouting combine that "we're going to be a better tackling football team" in 2012, a fair warning for Hawk and about a half-dozen of his teammates.

Three things to know about next Sunday’s NFC divisional playoff game between the New York Giants and the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field.

1. So soon? The Giants and the Packers played each other Dec. 4 at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey. It was one of the more entertaining games of this NFL season. The Giants tied the game at 35-35 with 58 seconds to go on a touchdown pass from Eli Manning to Hakeem Nicks, but Aaron Rodgers marched the Packers right down the field and into range for a game-winning field goal from Mason Crosby. The Giants’ takeaway from that game is the knowledge that they can score with the Packers, which is no small thing. The key will be to get more pressure on Rodgers than they did last time, because that game also proved that Green Bay’s excellent receivers can burn the Giants’ secondary if given any time at all.

2. Rest vs. repetition. The Packers finished 15-1 to claim the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs and earn a first-round bye. That means they will have had two full weeks off since their last game by the time Sunday’s game kicks off at 4:30 pm ET. Rodgers, who sat out the Week 17 victory over Detroit, will have had three full weeks off. The Giants, meanwhile, had to win their final two games just to get into the playoffs and have therefore effectively been playing under postseason pressure for three weeks in a row. Will the Packers be rusty? Will the Giants be worn out? It’s an age-old debate as to how much rest helps at this time of year. Historically, teams that get first-round byes perform very well in their first playoff games. But last year, the No. 1 seeds in both conferences lost their first postseason games -- Atlanta to the Packers and New England to the Jets.

3. Packing more punch? The Giants rushed for 100 yards on 20 carries in the December game -- one of their most successful rushing efforts of the season. But the Packers that day were without linebackers Desmond Bishop and A.J. Hawk. The Giants ranked 32nd in the league this year in rushing yards, but have been far more effective on the ground over their last six games. We’ll see if the return of those Green Bay linebackers makes it more difficult for the Giants to run the ball, or if they really did something in that Dec. 4 game that has been working since.

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Hi everyone. That was some start to Week 14 here in the NFC North, huh?

A reminder and an update:

• I'll be spending most of the afternoon/early evening over in our NFL Countdown Live chat. Please join me.
• Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk (calf) is active for this game, but to this point the Packers are using D.J. Smith and Robert Francois as their inside linebackers.

Getting inside the Friday injury report:

Chicago Bears: Safety Major Wright (shoulder) was ruled out of Sunday's game against the Denver Broncos. Craig Steltz is expected to start in his place. Other than quarterback Jay Cutler (thumb) and running back Matt Forte (knee), all other players will be available.

Detroit Lions: Safety Louis Delmas (knee) and cornerback Chris Houston (knee) are doubtful and not expected to play Sunday against the Minnesota Vikings. Linebacker Justin Durant (hamstring), who did not practice Thursday or Friday, is questionable. So is defensive tackle Nick Fairley (foot), who did not practice all week. The Lions signed free agent defensive tackle Jovan Haye and waived cornerback Brandon McDonald, presumably for more depth along the defensive line.

Green Bay Packers: Running back James Starks (ankle) and linebacker Desmond Bishop (calf) missed a third day of practice Friday and were declared out for Sunday's game against the Oakland Raiders. Tackle Chad Clifton (hamstring) and linebacker Vic So'oto (back) were also declared out. But linebacker A.J. Hawk (calf) practiced for the first time since suffering the injury Nov. 24 and is listed as questionable. D.J. Smith is expected to start for Bishop, and Robert Francois would play for Hawk if he isn't able to go Sunday.

Minnesota Vikings: Quarterback Christian Ponder (hip) and running back Adrian Peterson (ankle) practiced Friday as limited participants. Neither player is close to 100 percent, and Ponder took only a handful of practice repetitions all week. The Vikings listed both players as questionable for Sunday's game. At 2-10, you wonder if the Vikings will risk further injury to either of their marquee offensive players. Joe Webb would start at quarterback if Ponder can not.

» NFC Final Word: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

Five nuggets of knowledge on Week 14:

Seeking rest: Sunday against the Oakland Raiders, the Green Bay Packers will be going for their 19th consecutive victory, which would stand alone as the second-longest streak in NFL history. More important, they would clinch at least the No. 2 seed in the NFC playoffs and thus a first-round bye. (Even if they lose to the Raiders, the Packers could clinch the bye with a loss by the New Orleans Saints.) The value of that week seems clear when you take a look at the Packers' increasingly lengthy injury list. Right guard Josh Sitton (knee) has already been ruled out. Left tackle Chad Clifton hasn't played in more than two months. Linebackers Desmond Bishop and A.J. Hawk have been sidelined for two weeks of practice by calf injuries. It's also possible that running back James Starks (ankle) will need some time away. The Packers aren't in disproportionate shape relative to the rest of the NFL at this time of year, but their injuries have piled up in recent weeks.

Moving east: The Raiders caught a break a few weeks ago when the NFL moved the kickoff from 1 p.m. ET to 4:15 p.m. ET. West Coast players traveling east historically struggle in early games, which start at 10 a.m. according to their body clocks. The Raiders are 4-2 on the road this season, but haven't won in the Wisconsin in 24 years. You would think the Packers' defense would try to jump on the Raiders' offense early in the game. The Packers have made a relative habit of sending at least one extra pass-rusher this season, doing so 45.4 percent of the time -- the fourth-highest mark in the NFL. And for what it's worth, Raiders quarterback Carson Palmer has a 59.3 passer rating against the blitz this season, the second-lowest mark in the NFL. He has thrown three interceptions, taken eight sacks and completed only 53.6 percent of his passes against five or more rushes this season.

Change of sentiment: My, how times have changed in the NFC North. As recently as last season, we approached the annual Minnesota Vikings-Detroit Lions matchups as presumed victories for the Vikings. Now, the opposite is true. Does anyone see the 2-10 Vikings mustering what would qualify as a massive upset in Detroit? The Lions, who have lost five of their past seven games, are whopping 12-point favorites, according to ESPN's compilation of various lines. On paper, at least, the Lions' passing game should have a field day against a decimated Vikings pass defense that has allowed its past seven opponents to complete 73 percent of their passes for 1,808 yards, 18 touchdowns and no interceptions, according to 1500ESPN.com.

Fighting chance: The Vikings haven't lost five consecutive games in the same season since 1997, and if they're going to avoid that Sunday, they'll need a monster game from defensive end Jared Allen. Truth be told, Allen had his way with Lions left tackle Jeff Backus in the teams' first matchup, beating him for three sacks. Allen, however, has cooled off a bit and has only one sack in his past three games. He'll likely hear his share of boos after again trashing the city of Detroit in a radio interview, but I'm guessing he won't mind.

Career trends: The Chicago Bears haven't had much luck replacing injured quarterback Jay Cutler, and now they'll try to replace tailback Matt Forte as well Sunday against the Denver Broncos. Veteran Marion Barber was once a hard-running feature back for the Dallas Cowboys, but the Bears signed him as a short-yardage specialist and change-of-pace back for Forte this season. The last time Barber averaged 4.0 or more yards per carry in a game that he rushed more than 10 times? Week 17 of the 2009 season.

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. -- The Green Bay Packers had no surprises on their pregame list of inactives, but the New York Giants had one: Center David Baas was a late scratch because of headaches. Earlier Sunday, the Giants learned they wouldn't have backup Stacy Andrews, who was hospitalized with blood clots.

The Giants also will be without receiver Mario Manningham. Running back Ahmad Bradshaw is active.

The full list of Packers inactives: Cornerback Davon House, linebacker A.J. Hawk, linebacker Desmond Bishop, linebacker Vic So'oto, guard Josh Sitton, tackle Chad Clifton and tight end D.J. Williams.

D.J. Smith and Robert Francois were announced as the replacements for Hawk and Bishop, but we'll see what alignment the Packers actually open the game with.

» NFC Stock Watch: East | West | North | South » AFC: East | West | North | South

FALLING

1. Pass defense rankings, Detroit Lions: After giving up 307 yards to Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers last week, the Lions fell one spot, from No. 5 to No. 6, in the NFL's rankings of pass defense. It's fair to assume another drop Sunday when the Lions' presumably depleted defense travels to New Orleans to face quarterback Drew Brees -- who is fresh off a 363-yard, four-touchdown performance Monday night against the New York Giants. It's possible the Lions could be playing this game without three defensive starters. Defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh has been suspended. Safety Louis Delmas has a knee injury he has indicated will sideline him for at least one week. And the status of cornerback Chris Houston remains unknown after he suffered a knee injury last week.

2. Performance arrow, Minnesota Vikings: With every passing week, it appears the Vikings have more rebuilding work to do. In Week 12, it became clear that coach Leslie Frazier needs to grow in the job more than originally believed. Frazier and his team made a number of glaring mistakes at the end of a 24-14 loss to the Atlanta Falcons, errors of judgment and execution that you wouldn't have thought a calm, disciplined and experienced coach like Frazier would have allowed.

3. Questions about personnel use, Green Bay Packers: One of our NFC North preseason narratives: How would the Packers would use their array of wide receivers? Eleven games in, some answers have emerged. It's clear that Greg Jennings (58 catches, eight touchdowns) and Jordy Nelson (44 catches, nine touchdowns) are deservedly getting the most looks. James Jones has been the designated big-play threat, with five touchdowns among his 24 receptions and an average of 18.8 yards per catch, tying him for the fourth-best mark among NFL receivers with at least 10 catches. Donald Driver, 36, has been respectfully phased into a spot player, and rookie Randall Cobb is getting a chance to learn the professional game mostly as a full-time special teams player.

RISING

1. Jay Cutler, Chicago Bears quarterback: Sometimes, a player's value isn't totally clear until he is unavailable. It's more than reasonable to suggest the Bears would have won Sunday at Oakland had Cutler been available and played anywhere close to the level he has achieved in the past month or so. In three starts before breaking his thumb, Cutler threw four touchdown passes, one interception and took two sacks. A relatively mistake-free game from backup quarterback Caleb Hanie probably would have been enough Sunday for the Bears. But we can also use Cutler's history to cut Hanie a break. Don't forget that Cutler threw 16 interceptions in his first 15 games in Mike Martz' offense.

2. Claims of hypocrisy: Some of you cried foul in the wake of my reaction to Suh's ejection from the Thanksgiving Day game. After all, on Oct. 29, I wrote that I didn't think Suh was a dirty player. To be clear, I thought what happened last Thursday clearly crossed the line Suh had previously hovered near. To me, "dirty" connotes a deliberate attempt to injure opponents. Pounding the head of Packers guard Evan Dietrich-Smith into the turf three times, and then stomping on his arm, is well beyond the scope of football and could have no purpose other than to cause harm. I didn't change my mind here. I saw something different. To me, the distinction is clear.

3. Winston Moss, Packers inside linebackers coach: Fans see Moss from time to time on candidate lists for head-coaching jobs, but few probably know why or are aware of his credentials. Last Thursday, at least, Moss' work was visible for all to see. The Packers finished the game with two inexperienced inside linebackers on the field in place of injured starters A.J. Hawk and Desmond Bishop, both of whom had suffered calf injuries. Rookie D.J. Smith finished with five tackles and Robert Francois had three more, along with an athletic interception. Obviously, Smith and Francois deserve part of the credit. But it's mostly a credit to coaching when a team's overall performance doesn't dip noticeably when backups are forced into competitive games at key positions. Moss is in charge of the daily development of Smith and Francois.

DETROIT -- It's a good thing that the Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions will have an extra three days to prepare for their next games. The injury list in this physical game keeps growing. Here are six starters who have not returned since suffering their injuries:

Packers

• Linebacker Desmond Bishop (calf)
• Guard Josh Sitton (knee)
• Linebacker A.J. Hawk (calf)

Lions

• Running back Kevin Smith (leg)
• Safety Louis Delmas (knee)
• Cornerback Chris Houston (knee)

GREEN BAY, Wis. -- This is what happens when grown men come together for a common good, exercising maturity and minimizing ego to address a problem that has proved vexing to all parties.

As you probably know, Green Bay Packers cornerback Charles Woodson offered a blunt assessment of his team's defensive scheme and performance last week. Standing in the bowels of Qualcomm Stadium, Woodson called the defense a "liability" and implored defensive coordinator Dom Capers to find different ways to rush the passer.

Woodson and Capers quietly met last week to talk through the situation, emerging with an approach Monday night that overwhelmed the Minnesota Vikings in a 45-7 victory at Lambeau Field. The Packers held the admittedly outmanned Vikings to the lowest yardage total (266) and second-lowest number of first downs (14) of their opponents this season, missing a shutout only because of a special teams fumble in the red zone.

"I think tonight we got a little bit more of what we like as a defense," Woodson said, "with the guys that we have. Just getting after an opposing offense. If you looked out there tonight, guys had fun. It's all determined on how the game is called. When Dom calls it that way, guys pin their ears back and go play football."

And how did Capers call it? Most notably, he blitzed on a whopping 74.4 percent of the Vikings' 39 dropbacks. It was by far his highest rate since joining the Packers in 2009, according to ESPN Stats & Information. Included in that total: Capers blitzed at least one defensive back on 19 dropbacks, also a high for Capers in Green Bay.

Woodson was all over the field, finishing with nine tackles, three defensed passes and one tackle for loss. Linebacker Clay Matthews, capitalizing on the resulting frenzy, recorded his first multiple-sack game of the season. Overall, Christian Ponder completed only 16 of 34 passes for 190 yards and finished with a 52.3 passer rating.

It's only fair to point out that the Vikings have one of the NFL's least explosive passing games. With a rookie quarterback and relatively few playmakers in their passing game, the Vikings aren't a risky team to blitz. But from a psychological perspective, the Packers were yearning for the kind of results that would quell their growing concern over recent weeks. It was important to remember what it's like to crush an offense's spirit.

"We finally feel like we played up to the level of which we're capable of and the level which we know how to play," Matthews said. "It feels good. Obviously, our offense is going to put up points. It was up to our defense to hold up their end of the bargain. And we were able to do that tonight. We feel real good about that. You can see how much drastically better it makes our team better when our offense and defense are on all cylinders."

Indeed, the final result was the second-worst loss in Vikings history, based on margin of defeat. (Hat tip to Judd Zulgad of 1500ESPN.com.) Woodson noted on several occasions how much fun players had executing Capers' full arsenal of blitzes. But for the Packers, nothing could have been more fun than seeing Matthews break out after managing three sacks over the first eight games of the season.

Matthews didn't leave his spot at left outside linebacker much, something we theorized might happen, but the blitzes helped limit how many players the Vikings could devote to blocking him. One of his sacks came after a one-on-one defeat of Vikings right tackle Phil Loadholt, and the other resulted when Matthews blew past fullback Ryan D'Imperio and tailback Adrian Peterson.

Those are matchups the Packers will take any day.

"We just understand that playmakers have to step up and make plays," Matthews said. "Tonight was no different than any other week. Everybody is accountable. That's a word that everyone on defense has to understand. That's exactly what happened. Everyone made their plays when they needed to."

It would be a bit premature to declare the Packers' defensive issues solved based on one dominating night against a 2-7 team. Woodson, in fact, made a point to note that they played well "in one game." Independent of Capers' playcalling, the Packers avoided the kind of communication breakdowns that had left receivers running open downfield in recent weeks.

But it should be encouraging for any Packers fan to see the pride that has bubbled to the surface in the past two weeks. The Packers started 8-0 without the help they expected from their defense. They could continue to ride the coattails of their presumptive MVP, quarterback Aaron Rodgers, or they could raise their standards to the point where "every game looks like this," as linebacker A.J. Hawk said.

"Last time I checked," said defensive lineman B.J. Raji, "we're a championship defense. We haven't really shown that with the numbers, but we know how to play football around here. We understand what it takes to win."

All it took was a healthy exchange of ideas. What a novel concept.

By now you've probably heard that the NFL has fined Green Bay Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk $10,000 for flashing his middle finger at the team's bench during last Sunday's game against the St. Louis Rams, a story first reported by Fox Sports' Jay Glazer.

Hawk has apologized for the gesture and said it was an inside joke with teammates he declined to name. Regardless, the discipline has conjured the Hypocrisy Police. They are wondering why Hawk received a five-digit fine for his one-digit salute, while neither Detroit Lions coach Jim Schwartz nor San Francisco 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh were disciplined for their part in last Sunday's postgame fracas at Ford Field.

Minnesota Vikings punter Chris Kluwe was among the first to take to Twitter: "A.J. Hawk fined 10k for flashing a middle finger as an inside joke. Harbaugh and Schwartz fined nothing for fighting. #doublestandardmuch"

Part of me wants to note that there are two different sets of circumstances here. The other is begging me to quote the NFL's own 2011 standards for game-related discipline. Here it is:

"It is important to note that the unsportsmanlike conduct rules apply to all personnel in the team area, including players, coaches, team employees, and officials. Lack of respect or other unsportsmanlike conduct will not be tolerated during games or at other times, including postgame interviews. This includes abusive, threatening, insulting, or profane language or gestures, and physical acts by coaches, players, and other club personnel directed at opponents, officials, game personnel, or fans."

Normally I like to push back on the Hypocrisy Police, but in this case they have a point. It's true that NFL players are governed under a collectively bargained system of discipline they have tacitly agreed to. And yes, we should point out that Schwartz and Harbaugh didn't actually fight. Harbaugh did slap Schwartz on the back during their post-game handshake, and Schwartz bumped Harbaugh's shoulder from behind. But otherwise there was just a lot of yelling, screaming and "hold-me-backs."

Coaches aren't governed under the CBA, but they are supposed to be held to the standard quoted above. The NFL said neither man was disciplined because they didn't fight. But I think you could make an argument that their behavior was "unsportsmanlike" and "threatening," not to mention "insulting" and "profane." I don't think anyone would have protested had they been fined.

So where does this leave us? Hawk has no room to complain about his fine. He got caught in an act that is clearly covered under the rules he plays under. The coaches? Quite frankly, they caught a break. The money itself is not as big of a deal as is the message: The NFL tacitly condoned a coach melee on one of its fields minutes after an emotional game. We'll file that away for the next one.

Consider this scenario from the point of view of an NFL game official:

A player is open in the end zone. The quarterback spots him and throws the ball. A defender, positioned behind the receiver, jumps into the vertical plane occupied by the receiver and knocks the ball away. It all happens in a millisecond. Both players crash to the ground.

Pass interference, right?

Referee Clete Blakeman's crew came to that conclusion with the clock showing 0:00 last Thursday night at Lambeau Field. New Orleans Saints running back Darren Sproles was the open receiver. Green Bay Packers linebacker A.J. Hawk was the defender. The call was pass interference, giving the Saints possession at the 1-yard line for the final play of the game.

Longtime blog readers know we use this Dirty Laundry post to take a weekly look at officiating issues during the regular season. They often fall within a gray area of judgment, so I try to examine both sides in the context of the official NFL rule book and then offer a bit of analysis. The gray area of this case was especially deep.

Hawk has a pretty reserved personality on the field, so I took particular notice at how adamantly he protested the call. Asked afterwards about the play, Hawk said: "I'm going to try not to get fined here."

From the top, it seems clear where Blakeman's crew was coming from. Rule 8 Section 5, Article 2(b) of the NFL rule book states: "Acts that are pass interference include but are not limited to ... playing through the back of an opponent in an attempt to make a play on the ball."

Watching the play live, that's exactly what appeared to happen. Hawk seemed to climb Sproles' back, so to speak, to reach over him and knock the ball away.

In reality, this was an extraordinarily unique situation. Sproles, listed at 5-foot-6, is one of the shortest players in the NFL. In most cases, a defender couldn't jump over the shoulder of a receiver and lunge for the ball without initiating substantial contact.

When you watch the replay multiple times, however, Hawk did just that. Obviously I wasn't standing right next to them, but the replay indicates that Hawk -- at best -- grazed Sproles' right shoulder. Sproles was knocked to the ground by contact that occurred after Hawk knocked down the pass.

You might never see that kind of play on an NFL field again. Watching it live, it was natural to assume Hawk's torso hit Sproles' shoulder and knocked him down before he had a chance to catch the ball. So while I think Blakeman's crew might have made the wrong call, I can't come down too hard for it. In most instances, a defender leaping from behind to knock down a pass is going will initiate early contact. This was a rare case that didn't.

In previous incarnations, Dirty Laundry has concluded with a weekly look at NFC North coaches' success rates for challenges. I'll still hit those periodically during the year, but on a weekly basis I want to look at NFC North penalty totals with an assist from ESPN Stats & Information.

Below, you'll see each team's total number of penalties in Week 1, which includes penalties that were declined. I think that provides a more accurate illustration of how penalty-prone a team is over time.

News of Lance Briggs' request for a new contract seemingly came out of nowhere. It shouldn't have.

There is no guaranteed money remaining in the six-year deal Briggs signed in 2008, and the Bears have already set a precedent for re-working the contract of an aging but valuable linebacker long before it was due to expire.

The facts: Briggs received $13 million guaranteed in three annual installments after signing his contract, in addition to his base salaries. In 2011, he is due a base salary of $3.65 million and nothing more. His 2012 salary is $3.75 million before jumping to $6.25 million in 2013.

Just before the starting of training camp in 2008, the Bears added one year to linebacker Brian Urlacher's contract in an agreement that added up to $18 million to his deal. The Bears might consider Urlacher's deal a one-time face-of-the-franchise agreement, as Vaughn McClure of the Chicago Tribune notes, but Briggs is probably the Bears' best linebacker at the moment.

Is that enough to justify giving a soon-to-be 31-year old linebacker a contract adjustment three years before he would be eligible for free agency? I highly doubt the Bears think so. Briggs apparently has decided to play out the season with the Bears but demand a trade this winter if he hasn't received a deal by then. For that reason, it wouldn't be at all surprising if the Bears table the issue until the offseason.

Briggs has missed the Bears' past two preseason games because of a knee injury, but he told McClure that his game absence hasn't been related to his contract situation. It would be difficult to imagine a veteran staging a holdout with so many years remaining on a freely-negotiated contract.

So where does this leave us? Briggs has a measure of leverage because the Bears have failed to compile much depth behind him. General manager Jerry Angelo recently noted "this year is probably the least amount of depth that we've had." If the Bears had an heir apparent, they would have an easier time taking a hard-line stance.

I understand where Briggs would be upset to see younger linebackers, most notably A.J. Hawk of the Green Bay Packers, receiving more lucrative contracts than he ever imagined he could get. Briggs is a six-time Pro Bowl linebacker who has been named to the Associated Press All-Pro team three times.

But quite simply, he signed the deal that left him in this position. He hasn't outperformed his contract, which is the usual argument for renegotiation. He signed the deal at the height of his market value. I don't want to say he got a bad contract, but it wasn't a great deal if he wanted six years of highly lucrative pay.

In return for being paid more than $22 million in its first three seasons, Briggs had to accept about $13 million over the final three. Maybe he intended all along to renegotiate at this point, but I doubt the Bears planned to. It's possible the Bears will do something Urlacher-like to soothe Briggs' feelings, but if he's looking for a new market-level contract with three years remaining on his current deal, he might be disappointed.

Before Friday, I had never had the remote inclination to watch a championship team's visit to the White House. So while I have no context for comparison, the Green Bay Packers' visit Friday afternoon was fun and particularly interesting for its NFC North angles.

Among them: The President of the United States' request to trade quarterback Aaron Rodgers to the Chicago Bears. More in a bit.

President Barack Obama, of course, is a longtime Bears fan who provided the Packers some bulletin-board material last January when he said he would attend Super Bowl XLV only if the Bears won the NFC Championship Game. After the Packers' victory, cornerback Charles Woodson told teammates that if Obama didn't want to see the Packers play in the Super Bowl, "we'll go see him" by winning it.

Friday, Obama said he had learned something during that episode: "Don't mess with Charles Woodson."

In light-hearted remarks during a 10-minute ceremony, Obama said: "I'm just going to come out and say it: This hurts a little bit. This is a hard thing for a Bears fan to do."

He added: "You guys [are] coming into my house to rub it in. What are you going to do, go to Ditka's house next?"

Packers fans, Obama said, should "enjoy it while it lasts" because Bears fans "have two dates circled" this season -- the two Bears-Packers games. Joking, I think, Obama reminded the Packers that "if you guys are on a roll" late in the season, "just keep in mind that there is only one person here who can ground all planes in and out of Green Bay if he has to."

Obama got in the obligatory joke about linebacker Clay Matthews' hair and, after Woodson presented him with an honorary share of Packers stock, Obama said: "If I'm a part owner, what I'm thinking is we should initiate a trade to send Rodgers down to the Bears. What do you think?"

Woodson then clarified that Obama is "a minority owner."


(An aside: Jay Cutler just can't get an ounce of love -- not even from the President of the United States!)

Meanwhile, Packers players filled Twitter with some cool photographs from their day at the White House. Some of the best:

• Linebacker A.J. Hawk, tight end Spencer Havner, linebacker Brad Jones and Rodgers in front of an Abraham Lincoln portrait.
• A view of the White House from tight end Tom Crabtree that you don't normally see.
• Safety Nick Collins' view of Obama's entrance with coach Mike McCarthy, team president Mark Murphy and general manager Ted Thompson (not shown).
• Receiver Greg Jennings' photo with Woodson and Obama.

In a classy move, the Packers brought former right tackle Mark Tauscher with them on the trip. Tauscher was released this summer. Meanwhile, linebacker Desmond Bishop tweeted that he left his identification in the Packers' team plane and was denied access to the ceremony.

Detroit Lions left tackle Jeff Backus is not the only NFC North player who suffered an injury during the lockout. Green Bay Packers linebacker Brandon Chillar tore his hamstring last week and has now endured the worst of lockout nightmares.

The Packers released Chillar on Friday morning, a story first reported by Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Because the injury occurred during the lockout, the rest of his contract has been voided and he won't receive the injury protection that veteran players otherwise get when they are released in the midst of an injury. The risk of such an eventuality was one of the primary reasons that Packers players decided against holding full-team workouts during the lockout.

No one will be crying for Chillar, who received about $10 million of the $19 million deal he signed in 2009. And it's possible the Packers would have released him anyway because of the multiple shoulder injuries he has suffered. In a radio interview, Chillar told ESPNMilwaukee.com that he knew his Packers career was over the moment he heard his hamstring pop during a private workout and said he has "no hard feelings."

"As a pro, you have to be real careful on how you train," Chillar said. "And I was. It was just a freak accident."

The Packers have spent much of this week clearing veterans from their corps of linebackers. The count is now up to three: Chillar, Nick Barnett and Brady Poppinga. By my count, their departures created $12.38 million in salary-cap space for 2011.

Per their philosophy, the Packers will spend a good part of training camp developing and evaluating their depth at inside linebacker behind starters Desmond Bishop and A.J. Hawk.

Recent Packers posts: Who might replace left guard Daryn Colledge? The Packers trust Mason Crosby as their place-kicker of the future. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers really, really wants the Packers to re-sign receiver James Jones. To little surprise, the Packers told Barnett he will be traded or released.