You can try to describe the Bear offense’s performance yesterday and words do not do it justice. Anemic? Humiliating? Turd-like?
But to be fair, the Bears ran the ball kind of well, and they didn’t drop any passes. They actually even blocked fairly well.
What does that leave?
Oh yeah. Rex.
The days when he played well seem so long ago that they’re like a bedtime story. Somewhere between myth and legend.
The Bears are an excellent football team. That much we remember. Their defense is mean and tough and good. Sure, they give up a few too many running yards from time to time, but they don’t let the other team score very often, and that’s kind of the point of the whole exercise.
The Bears special teams are tremendous. They followed up a poor effort last week with a tremendous one this week. Devin Hester is tough to tackle and even tougher to catch. Even the kickers have been top notch. Oh, and don’t forget the great long snapping of—oh, who cares?
But the offense has regressed to the point where, screw the idea of switching to Brian Griese, going to Kyle Orton seems tempting. Hell, at this point, I’d settle for Mike Phipps.
It’s not because I don’t like Rex, or I don’t think he’ll ever turn it around. It’s because he’s going to kill the Bears. I don’t see any other way this can end now.
I half-assed defended him last week, but even I didn’t see a 34 yard passing day coming against the 30th ranked pass defense in the league. How did that happen? Hell, how did he ever throw for 34?
Here’s what I don’t get about Lovie’s stubborn refusal to bench him. If it was any other position, wouldn’t he make a change? Say Thomas Jones kept fumbling. Say he fumbled twice a week. Wouldn’t Cedric Benson get most of the carries? What if Ruben Brown stopped blocking and it screwed up pass plays and got the running backs blown up? Wouldn’t somebody else be lining up in his spot?
Chris Harris lost his job early in the season. Why? Because he was getting burned. How is this any different?
It’s not Rex’s fault that he missed most of the last two seasons because of injury. It is his fault that he’s throwing the ball to the wrong team. Experience or no, you can’t have that. This team is too good to be torpedoed by a QB slump.
I can understand Lovie’s hesitance to this point to pull Rex. He’s going to have to learn sometime. He’s never going to get through it if he doesn’t play through it. I get that. What I don’t get is that it’s getting worse, not better.
Hell, we were supposed to take his Patriot’s performance as a positive because his three interceptions were “the right reads, just bad throws.” Oh, that’s better. Yay?
Brian Griese’s a stiff. We know. We’ve seen his act in four other cities. But Rex can’t do anything now. He can’t get out of his own way.
You know when he needed to get benched? When he got his foot caught under Olin Kreutz’s and fell down after taking the snap. He just laid there waiting to get called down. We like Rex because he’s feisty and aggressive and has a big arm attached to a small body. I don’t see that guy right now. That Rex doesn’t lay there and wait to get “tagged.” That Rex gets up and makes some dangerous and ill-advised throw.
He’s gone from being aggressive and productive to aggressive and counterproductive to passive and just plain dumb. He’s afraid of screwing up now. Every once in a while that little devil on his shoulder dares him to go deep and he does, but mostly he’s just paralyzed by indecision.
So here’s how you fix it.
You piss him off. Force him back to the way he is when he’s good. Give him something to prove. Sure he’s got something to prove now, but with consequences.
Notice how Chris Harris has been better since he got back in the lineup. Part of it is that he’s better suited to Mike Brown’s safety spot than Danieal Manning’s, part is that he got challenged and has for the most part (minus a horrible late hit or three) responded.
Tell Rex he’s starting on Sunday, but that Brian Griese is going to play. Tell him the more the offense struggles under him, the more chances Griese will get. Make him re-earn his spot. I think he’ll be able to do it. It gets him out of “Wow, I hope I don’t fuck this up” mode into, “I’ll show them, I’m the man for the job” mode. If it doesn’t work, Griese plays more and more and you pray to god he can do a Baltimore Raven-era Trent Dilfer impersonation in the playoffs. If it does work, Rex is still your quarterback.
The point of showing him unconditional support is over. That didn’t work.
You never want to have a quarterback controversy, but you’ve got one now, regardless. Now you have to manage it. Telling Rex everything is all right isn’t getting it done.
Make him earn it, again. I think he just might.
What have you got to lose? Other than a home playoff game.
I say you platoon the two guys. When the other team’s best pass rusher typically lines up on the offense’s right side, you play Rex. That way he can see the shithead coming at him. When the guy is on the blindside, let Griese take the snap. Run some sets with two quarterbacks and let the best center in the game decide which guy gets the ball snapped to him.
It’s time this franchise got down to some forward-thinking like this. Right, Andy?
> I can understand Lovie’s hesitance to this point to pull Rex. He’s going to have to learn sometime. He’s never going to get through it if he doesn’t play through it. I get that. What I don’t get is that it’s getting worse, not better.
If a 1.3 passer rating doesn’t learn him, nothing will.
I’m down with keeping Rex in there next week with a shortened leash. See if it has finally hit home. If not, yank him at the half or the next week and you still have 3 or 3.5 games to get Griese rolling. (We probably only need two wins from here to get home field, and defense and special teams ought to be good for at least one a piece.)
Bottom line, no matter what happens: Olin’s O-Line needs to get its shit together (or Griese isn’t going to have a pocket to pass from anyways), and Ron Turner needs to get his head back in his game plans.
Neifi Grossman is our starting quarterstop.
What? No mention of us turning the ball over *twice* yesterday, costing the offense two possessions? One could rightly snark that we merely prevented two more Grossman turnovers, but one could also argue that we gave him two fewer opportunities to get going yesterday (the Bears would have taken over inside the Minnesota 40 if not for the punt-return team’s horrendous inattention to where the frigging ball was…) and that we took points off the board, Devin’s TD scamper notwithstanding (even a three-and-out on that hypothetical drive probably gets you a FG…)
There’s NO disputing however, that we made things much tougher for the defense yesterday. Those two extra possessions we gave the Vikings may have been the reason the defense was sucking gas late in the 4th…
1.2 passer rating for the entire game. Rex needs to take a hot bath and cuddle up to his toaster, or a hairdryer, or any other electrical appliance that is, of course, plugged in. HE SUCKS!!!!
Not to mention we failed to recover an onside kick.
Special teams was decent at best. A couple of great plays and a couple of terrible ones lead to an average day.
How ridiculous do these look now? Moose had better vote about 2 million more times if he wants to get his buddy Rexy in.
Lovie won’t make the change because Angelo won’t let him. Angelo ain’at never wrong, you know.
Number one in special teams votes, bitches.
Might I suggest that Lovie continue the Rex Grossman on-the-job learning experiment when the rest of the team isn’t super bowl capable?
We have the rest of the pieces to win this damn thing and now isn’t the time for Rex to be “learning.”
Get Griese in there – the more game reps he can get now the better we’ll be in the playoffs. We don’t need him to become Peyton Manning – we just need him to get a few first downs or so and not turn the ball over 3 times a game.
> Might I suggest that Lovie continue the Rex Grossman on-the-job learning experiment when the rest of the team isn’t super bowl capable?
We have four games left and weak opponents. They’re not quite meaningless yet, but damn close. Even if Rex lays a turd in St. Louis, that’s still 3 games for Griese to get his legs (just keep the neighborhood dogs away from them).
what if we turn rex into a “Handeroffer” we leave cedric in there, and never pass the ball again. with devin, robbie, cedric, and the bears D, we can win on short field rushing tds, field goals, the occasional 108 yrd missed field goal for a td, a punt return for a td, and the always entertaining pick for a td.
think about it.
and i can randomly pin teams at their own 3 for an imminent bears safety.
Brian Griese is a stiff:
Grossman:
54.2 PCT, 18TD/17 INT, rtg of 70.9
Griese:
63.2 pct, 103 TD/78 INT, trg of 84.9
Who’s a stiff?
> what if we turn rex into a “Handeroffer†we leave cedric in there, and never pass the ball again.
Without a passing threat (though let’s face it, we’re pretty close to that now anyways), defenses will crowd the line. And, unless the o-line steps it up in the run blocking department, that’s a recipe for some short series.
Right now we need the pass to set up the run.
> Who’s a stiff?
Brian Griese.
Possibly Rex Grossman, too, but that’s a bit of a small sample to be drawing conclusions from.
That’s the problem….all we have is a small sample size.
Griese won’t be as electrifying as Rex could be, but I’d bet he wouldn’t be putting up multiple games with 2 picks or more either, looking like Chad Hutchinson for crying out loud!!!
People forget I won a Super Bowl with Tampa when my defense did all the work and I kept the offense from fucking up and turning the ball over. Brian Griese can do the same since you guys have a much better running game. It can be done people!
The only balls I would let Rex handle on Sundays is Orton’s. What do I know though, i’m only the best Coach in the game today. That Lovie guy is too soft and needs to think about his team’s success and not worried about hurting Rex pussy.
I am #12. That may be fine to win out the rest of the regular season, but come playoff time, you won’t have a passing game or running game, because Benson, Jones and Co. will be too banged up to be effective.
It’s not like I changed my number. Why is my phone not ringing? I’ve got Rusty Lisch’s number too, if you’re interested.
Hey I’m available.
if lovie needs me, i can suit up for this monday against the rams
Actually, Bob, you WOULD have to change your number, since you’re old number–me–is retired.
But not for you, you dope. I’m what George Halas wore, and the team retired me after Papa Bear died.
Phone number, you dope.
Word is I closed out negotiations for Ted Lilly while hooked up to an EKG machine at an Orlando hospital.
Shocked, I know, but The Jimmer’s doin’ just fine.
Nurse, another bearclaw, please…
Any head coach worth his salt should be able to realize the talent sitting on the Bears sideline. Replace Rex TODAY!
Wait, Drew Brees was a free agent and we could have had him…but we signed Griese instead. Damn we could’ve dominated even more…I don’t care if his shoulder was hanging by a thread when we could’ve signed him. Shoulder problems are never a problem in Chicago, right?
Right, Shawon.
shoulder problems in chicago?
Should I be updated?
I just signed Jason Marquis to a shitload of money, number 31. That’s enough to keep the dumbass title I think.
Am I at a loss of words to write a blog this week?
or am I a lazy bastard?
who doesnt think I look like Gary Brolsma, the Numa Numa guy
Remember me? When this site was updated?