The Slobber Knocker
Rex is gross
BRIAN LUPTAK
Sports Columnist
Issue date: 9/27/07 Section: Sports
- Page 1 of 1
The Chicago Bears are in extreme danger of turning a travesty into a trend. Last year as the Pittsburg Steelers defended its Super Bowl title it obtained the designation of being the worst team to defend an NFL championship. Now the Bears didn’t win the Super Bowl in 2006, but they did play in it so I think they would still have something to prove.
Apparently, I’m wrong.
The Dallas Cowboys had no trouble cruising by the defending NFC Champions Sunday night with an impressive 34-10 victory. Rex Grossman even managed to have an effect on the outcome of the contest. Too bad it was by running his team into the ground and kicking himself while he was down. The former first round draft pick mustered his way to a 27.5 pass rating and sadly, that is only the fifth lowest rating he has earned in his 26 career starts.
Lovie Smith must feel like he is on a bipolar rollercoaster of NFL coaching. It is one thing to lose a NFL championship partly in result of a less than satisfactory performance by your deteriorating and highly inconsistent quarterback. What’s worse is that right when Smith was ready to rebound from the Super Bowl defeat Rex Grossman has suddenly become very consistent; consistently horrible.
Last season, Grossman had some hot games in which he caught everyone’s eye throughout the NFL. During those spells he played seven games where his quarterback rating was over 100. However, he still proved his lack of reliability by adding five that were under 40. In the three games he has played this season he has managed a high of 56.0 by throwing only one touchdown pass and six interceptions.
Fans also accused the receivers of playing poorly Sunday because they missed some easy catches. They were probably just shocked when they turned and the ball was actually being thrown at their hands.
Hopefully this won’t be the problem for the Bears come this Sunday when they take on the Detroit Lions, without Rex Grossman. Lovie Smith announced Wednesday that ten year veteran Brian Griese will be replacing Grossman as the leader of the Bears offense.
Playing Detroit, maybe the coaching staff thought that if Jon Kitna can re-introduce his name to the NFL then so can Griese. Or maybe they just needed to call on anyone but Grossman.
Whatever the case, Chicago is probably still in trouble. Since his Pro Bowl season with Denver in 2000 Griese has become a traveling man starting with being cut two years later.
He has since been released by Miami as well as Tampa Bay before being picked up by Chicago
last season.
Though I don’t see Griese bringing the Chicago Bears back to life or finding him returning to the Pro Bowl, he certainly doesn’t have big shoes to fill.
If the Bears find they can only rely on him to be mediocre from week to week, he just may look like a superstar in the dust of the short-lived Rex Grossman era.
It’s very possible that the Bears franchise just couldn’t handle the Super Bowl loss and it needs a lot more than a quarterback that can hit a ten yard pass at least half
the time.
Whatever the Bears figure out it needs after this season I guarantee it needs a new quarterback, and it could likely find itself picking one up as one of the first ten picks of next year’s NFL Draft.
Apparently, I’m wrong.
The Dallas Cowboys had no trouble cruising by the defending NFC Champions Sunday night with an impressive 34-10 victory. Rex Grossman even managed to have an effect on the outcome of the contest. Too bad it was by running his team into the ground and kicking himself while he was down. The former first round draft pick mustered his way to a 27.5 pass rating and sadly, that is only the fifth lowest rating he has earned in his 26 career starts.
Lovie Smith must feel like he is on a bipolar rollercoaster of NFL coaching. It is one thing to lose a NFL championship partly in result of a less than satisfactory performance by your deteriorating and highly inconsistent quarterback. What’s worse is that right when Smith was ready to rebound from the Super Bowl defeat Rex Grossman has suddenly become very consistent; consistently horrible.
Last season, Grossman had some hot games in which he caught everyone’s eye throughout the NFL. During those spells he played seven games where his quarterback rating was over 100. However, he still proved his lack of reliability by adding five that were under 40. In the three games he has played this season he has managed a high of 56.0 by throwing only one touchdown pass and six interceptions.
Fans also accused the receivers of playing poorly Sunday because they missed some easy catches. They were probably just shocked when they turned and the ball was actually being thrown at their hands.
Hopefully this won’t be the problem for the Bears come this Sunday when they take on the Detroit Lions, without Rex Grossman. Lovie Smith announced Wednesday that ten year veteran Brian Griese will be replacing Grossman as the leader of the Bears offense.
Playing Detroit, maybe the coaching staff thought that if Jon Kitna can re-introduce his name to the NFL then so can Griese. Or maybe they just needed to call on anyone but Grossman.
Whatever the case, Chicago is probably still in trouble. Since his Pro Bowl season with Denver in 2000 Griese has become a traveling man starting with being cut two years later.
He has since been released by Miami as well as Tampa Bay before being picked up by Chicago
last season.
Though I don’t see Griese bringing the Chicago Bears back to life or finding him returning to the Pro Bowl, he certainly doesn’t have big shoes to fill.
If the Bears find they can only rely on him to be mediocre from week to week, he just may look like a superstar in the dust of the short-lived Rex Grossman era.
It’s very possible that the Bears franchise just couldn’t handle the Super Bowl loss and it needs a lot more than a quarterback that can hit a ten yard pass at least half
the time.
Whatever the Bears figure out it needs after this season I guarantee it needs a new quarterback, and it could likely find itself picking one up as one of the first ten picks of next year’s NFL Draft.
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