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LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Lance Briggs will return to the Pro Bowl, Julius Peppers will reach double digits in sacks and the Bears defense will rank near the top of the NFL.

At least those were the opinions expressed by voters in recent polls on ChicagoBears.com.

Asked which Bears player was most likely to make a return trip to the Pro Bowl, Briggs garnered 37.9 percent of the 29,466 votes that were cast. Peppers finished second (22.4 percent), followed by Brian Urlacher (22.0), Jay Cutler (14.1) and Tommie Harris (3.5).

Briggs has been voted to five straight Pro Bowls, joining Hall of Famers Bill George, Dick Butkus and Mike Singletary as the only Bears linebackers to accomplish that feat.

On Thursday, Briggs was named second-team All-Pro when a re-vote was conducted after Houston Texans linebacker Brian Cushing was suspended for the first four games of the 2010 season for violating the NFL’s policy on steroids and related substances.

Asked how many sacks Peppers would register in his first season with the Bears, 44.4 percent of the voters chose 10-12, followed by 13 or more (25.2 percent), 7-9 (25.0) and less than 7 (5.3).

The marquee free-agent acquisition has recorded 25 sacks the past two years and has compiled at least seven sacks in seven of his eight NFL seasons with 12, 7, 11, 10½, 13, 2½, 14½ and 10½.

Asked where the Bears defense will rank in total yards this season, 48.6 of the voters selected between 1 and 8, followed by 9-16 (41.2 percent), 17-24 (7.5) and 25-32 (2.7). In Lovie Smith’s six seasons as coach, the Bears defense has finished 21st, 2nd, 5th, 28th, 21st and 17th last year.

In other polls, the majority of fans voted that Urlacher would lead the Bears in tackles this season, Dick Butkus is the greatest middle linebacker in franchise history and safety Major Wright will have the best NFL career among the Bears’ first four draft picks.

A total of 51.0 percent of the voters felt that Urlacher would lead the Bears in tackles. Briggs garnered 41.1 percent, while 7.9 percent thought that another unnamed player would top the team.

Asked to identify the top Bears middle linebacker of all time, 58.3 percent of the voters selected Butkus, followed by Singletary (31.7), Urlacher (9.3) and George (0.7).

In predicting which rookie would have the best career, Wright drew 69.8 percent of the vote, followed by Corey Wootton (16.9), Tim LeFevour (9.1) and Joshua Moore (4.2).