It comes like a shark in the murky depths off Amity Island. A girl goes for a swim and floats in with the tide, except this time missing her legs.
It's a quarterback battle and make no mistake about it...there is one in Bearsland right now. They can say whatever they want about Rex Grossman being the guy. They can say Brian Griese understands his role. You can talk and talk about second team defenses and backup center. Griese performed. Grossman didn't. And for the team more desperate for quarterbacking stablity than any other in the game today...that's all that matters.
The pressure has moved to Grossman now. I thought this training camp would be about staying healthy and number two receivers. That's over now and Friday night ended it. Grossman needs to play the entire first quarter this week and in the two weeks that follow and if he doesn't perform dramatically better than he did Friday night, this team MUST be given to Brian Griese on opening day against the Packers.
Why? Becuase Griese has shown he can play. He's proven he can win. He's not Joe Montana or John Elway but he won't be asked to be. Mistakes are something this team can not have from the quarterback position. The defense and running game are too good. We certainly can't have Jim Miller-esque fumbles and missed open receivers all over the place. Consistency and durability are all I ask for and Grossman has proven neither.
This isn't met to be an indictment of Grossman's potential. I think he can be the future of this team. But in the anyone-can-win-right-now landscape of the National Football League, it'd be foolish to squander the league's top defense on an experiment. The Bears have to take advantage of a weak division and the league's easiest schedule.
Rex still has time. He's got this preseason to prove he is the man for the job. I hope he proves it. But if he doesn't, Griese is the word and Rex will have to wait another year.
#2 jeff said . . .Dido. But I would set Griese in as #1 after this Friday if Grossman doesn't impress for 2 reasons 1) to get Griese time with the #1's. I know a veteran like him shouldn't need this all that much but it sure would be good to see him move the O down the field and take away the 2nd team D argument. 2) I don't want a regular season controversy.
August 15, 2006
#3 Max said . . .Thinking about it a little more, you are absolutely right. THE GUY, whoever he is deemed to be, needs to run the first offense in that third preseason game and maybe play a series in the fourth.
Also, ESPN just reported that Jerry Angelo has actually confirmed a quarterback contraversy himself in an interview with a paper in Florida. So there you have it.
God, I wish this game was televised Thursday night!
August 15, 2006
Premature. The man had one bad game. Not even a bad game, the man had a lousy quarter. This is the same guy who threw up 21 points in the playoffs against the Panthers. Now is not the time to go crazy.
Plus, if Grossman is benched this year for Griese, its over for him. There is no way he will be a Bear next year if he doesnt play this season.
August 16, 2006
Here at DaBearsBlog, you are free to kill us or the Bears as you so wish. You are not free, however, to be an asshole. So if you spew racism or ill-meaning foul language (cursing about football is just fine) or anything of that ilk, your comments ain't gonna last long, jerk.