Da Bear Cast Blog

   Rex Grossman. A tough, many times sore subject when it is brought up to most Bears fans. There are so many things to think about. Where to start…his injuries kept him sidelined for basically 2 entire seasons before we were ever able to see  what he looked like. I think I will always remember that first down drive against Green Bay where he threw the fifty-some yard bomb to Bernard Berrian and the packers were simply crushed from then on. It would be a sign of things to come…for a while at least.  He was glorious especially in games like the Seattle Sunday night game in which the Bears smacked the then NFC defending champion Seahawks like they were one of the worst teams in the NFL.Then came the Arizona game.

 Things took a drastic turn for the worse after that game. There was the disaster against the Patriots, the Miami game I might not ever forget either, and then the Superbowl. After being benched this year it appeared to me, and most, that Grossman’s success, as well as career in Chicago would be coming to  an end this January. So many things looked so wrong. His pocket presence, his decision making, his mobility(lack there of that is). It was time to see what  Brian Griese could give this team.

Interestingly enough, Griese’s progression has appeared to be like a microcosm of Grossman’s time in Chicago.  He started out on fire.  He threw for as many yards in his first three starts as Tom Brady in the same stretch of games. Then the wheels fell off. Griese began throwing into triple coverages, consistently dumping it down to the check off, and failing consistently to get the Bears first downs, not to mention touchdowns. This has really got me thinking.

What if not nearly as much of this is Rex’s fault as I originally thought? Why am I seeing a veteran qb make the mistakes a guy in only his second starting year is making? Why did I hear all offseason that this team on offense is incredibly fast yet is seems that receivers are rarely open? All these issues made me realize a couple of things.

Number one: no quarterback can thrive in Chicago until Ron Turner is kicked to the curb because, it is evident that his lack of originality and game plan will not allow  anyone to succeed at the qb position. The O-line is not keeping either guy upright for long, and defenses are stacking the box with 8 DARING the Bears to try and throw. Where is the screen pass? Why not roll the qb away from continually collapsing pockets? Not brain surgery or rocket science here.

Number two: it is worth a chance to bring Grossman back for another stint. On the face of this statement it seems outrageous,  believe me I know. However, there are reasons to consider doing so. First of all, Grossman will come cheap. He lost out on lots more money than he could possibly be getting because he and the Bears both chose not to resign him this past offseason. Secondly, there are plenty of examples of quarterbacks that took a while to get it. If I were compiling a list of examples I would start with Terry Bradshaw, Brett Favre, and Matt Hasselbeck. Am I saying Rex will get it, no. Am I saying we should explore the possibilities, perhaps.

Being a Bears fan is often very painful. We have not had a consistently successful quarterback since Henry Burris, no, I mean Kordell, no, uh..Rick Mirer? You get the picture. I think it has become difficult to be patient with a qb’s learning curve, especially given the success of Tony Romo lately, but I am really not so sure the best course of action is to proclaim Grossman unusable and chuck him on the trash heap after this season.Bearsaddict