Grossman hits another home run
If the bye week didn't prolong that feeling, it did extend the sense that the hope of a perfect season was a tired pipe dream. Could a promising beginning merely be a setup for another playoff disappointment?
The Bears didn't exactly erase all fear of vulnerability with a 41-10 drubbing of the San Francisco 49ers at Soldier Field on Sunday, but they sent a clear and concise message to the rest of the NFC that the road to the Super Bowl still travels through Chicago and the Bears are a much better team at home than on the road, especially on offense.
''Football is football,'' Grossman said. ''I'm not sure that has anything to do with being on the road or at home. There are a lot of different reasons why there is home-field advantage, but our offensive line plays well on the road and plays well at home.''
The line might play consistently, but Grossman is significantly better at home. Halfway through the home slate, he's on track to produce one of the top passer ratings in league history in the confines of Soldier Field. The same guy who put up a career-low 10.2 passer rating with four interceptions and two lost fumbles at Arizona was winging the ball all over his home stadium Sunday with as efficient a game as you'll ever see.
Grossman has thrown 11 touchdowns passes at home and no interceptions. He has thrown two touchdown passes on the road and seven interceptions.
Grossman came into the game with a 118.9 rating in his previous three home games. According to research by Stats LLC, that would rank tied for the third-best home passer rating since 1970. Instead, he added to his cause, completing 23-of-29 passes for 252 yards with three touchdowns for a passer rating of 137.4.
''Learning from some of my mistakes and [getting] better ... that's the key in this league and the key in anything you do really -- just learn from your mistakes and try to apply them to the next time you do it,'' Grossman said.
The Bears made an emphasis on playing within their scheme, something Grossman failed to do at Arizona when offensive coordinator Ron Turner admitted the QB deteriorated into playing ''street ball.'' Grossman listened to his coaches, adapted the principles into an excellent week of practice and performed admirably Sunday. He went through his read progressions and actually checked down when the deep ball wasn't there.
Grossman distributed the ball perfectly, completing six passes to tight end Desmond Clark, seven to his running backs and 10 to wide receivers.
''Anytime you don't play as well as you would like, you want to come back and have the type of game that you're capable of having, and that's Rex,'' Bears coach Lovie Smith said. ''All quarterbacks will have a bad game here and there, but the good ones don't have a lot of bad games. Rex is a good quarterback and we thought he would come out and play the way he did today.''
Grossman downplayed his performance or the significance of playing well after the stinker in Arizona. Turner said it was good to see Grossman learn from one week to the next. Turner considers the Arizona game an aberration, something an inexperienced player like Grossman can turn into a lesson and move past without much difficulty.
''He did a great job checking down,'' Turner said. ''He made great decisions. We talked a lot about that during the bye week and during this week. I think he hopefully understands that if he runs the offense and takes what's there, good things are going to happen and we'll move the ball.
"We don't want him to not be aggressive, which he will be. Take your shots when they're there, and if not, don't hesitate to dump the ball down. I think he probably learned today, and really, honestly through seven games he's done that six of the seven. You know, one game he didn't. He's done it six of the seven and hopefully he'll continue to do it. We've just got to keep that same focus.''
The performance was important for the obvious reasons, and not just Grossman's psyche -- which seemed unaffected by his struggles anyway -- and not just to renew the confidence his teammates have in him, which never seemed to wane. It was important to remind the rest of the NFL that the Bears are the class of the NFC. They're two games clear of everybody now after New Orleans' loss Sunday, and eager to win a home playoff game for a change.
Mike Mulligan and Sun-Times reporter Brian Hanley host a daily show from 10 a.m.-noon on WSCR-AM (670).