QB switch a head-scratcher

DETROIT -- For all the fretting about the Rexyll-and-Hyde quarterback, his fluctuating performances and his supermodel-body-fat passer ratings, he should have stayed in the game Sunday. How are we supposed to know if Rex Grossman can direct a fourth-quarter comeback drive in January if Lovie Smith doesn't let him try in December? This was the perfect situation for confidence-building and faith-healing, was it not?

Instead, what we have is the mysterious rekindling of a quarterback debate that had been assumed a dead issue. Riddle me this, Lovetron: If Grossman is your starter for the postseason, as you continue to insist, why risk even the slightest strains of another public controversy by inserting Brian Griese with the game in doubt? You say it was the plan all along, but if so, why did Rex say he knew nothing about it? Seems all you've done is play with Grossman's brittle psyche, give talk radio something to jabber about all week and create a story line after trying incredibly hard to avoid such intrigue all season.

I'm confused. Are the Bears standing by Grossman? Is Griese still in the picture? Could a two-headed monster await? What is this hocus-pocus from a conservative coach?

Most of us were half-asleep in Ford Field when the switch happened with 10 minutes left. The Bears were losing 21-20 to the Lions, a team so wretched that Chicago fans outnumbered Detroit fans on a day when dozens fled in a staged, second-quarter walkout. The defense, for the second straight week, was struggling with big plays against another inferior offense. The Bears had possession on their own 7, a yard line very close to where a young John Elway once told his teammates in a title game, ''We've got 'em right where we want 'em.'' Now that Grossman has survived his 10-interceptions-in-five-games daze and is in a better place in QB life, I wanted to see him take the next step and win a game.

So did he, for what it's worth.

''I thought I was playing the whole game. But I guess they had plans that they were going to get me out mid-third quarter,'' said Grossman, dropping a very interesting tidbit that the coaches didn't communicate with him beforehand. ''It is what it is. My mind-set is, I'm playing the whole game. If they take me out, they take me out.''

Upon learning the disappointing news, he even went so far to approach Smith and lobby to stay in. ''I did, a little bit. You're not gonna win that battle too much,'' Grossman said. ''I went up to coach Smith and said, 'Can I keep playing?'''

The answer was no. Smith said he wanted playing time for Griese, who looked efficient in leading a 72-yard field-goal drive that proved the game-winner in a 26-21 victory. But I'd argue, in the bigger picture, that Grossman needed the rush of leading his team to a win more than Griese needed the work. Isn't there a game for Griese next week against Green Bay? And is it possible the Bears were protecting Grossman from himself -- from a late pick that could have lost the game and awakened all those maddening doubts among media and fans? If so, Smith would be making decisions out of fear, not confidence. Fact is, Rex is an unfinished product and must prove more.

''The plan, coming in, was to let Rex get into the third quarter,'' Smith said. ''No player ever wants to come out. The game was on the line.''

EX-ACT-LY. Not only did we want to inspect Grossman under pressure, it seemed a bigger issue given the shaky performance of the once-dominant defense. It has become soft and chewy, like the cookies you left Santa, and if not for Devin Hester's good fortune that Lions receiver Mike Williams had the mitts of Edward Scissorhands in the final seconds, they would have relinquished four more touchdowns after allowing four to Tampa Bay in little more than a quarter the previous Sunday. I don't need to remind anyone that defense is the calling card of Smith, the year-round obsession of Jerry Angelo and the foundation of this franchise. And at the moment, it's vulnerable to weakling offenses, which must thrill Drew Brees, Bill Parcells and LaDainian Tomlinson.

For now, the Bears look like they'll need a good quarterback to bail out their defense.

Can Rex win a playoff shootout? Can he be a crunch-time hero?

Sunday could have provided evidence. Instead, Griese brought his own answer. ''It felt good to get out there and contribute to a win,'' said the backup, playing for the first time in eight games. ''I'm ready to play when they want me, but I don't have any expectations.''

At least Grossman no longer is the perplexing rag doll who committed 18 turnovers in seven games and doubted his ability to make decisions. He threw another scoring pass, giving him five in three pick-free games, but he did miss a wide-open Muhsin Muhammad on a deep ball before he was pulled. This isn't to say he's ready to dominate the playoffs and wear a roman-numeraled toga, because once anyone declares as much, you know his evil twin will rise up. But considering where he was, confused and shaken and a couple of bad wobbles from a ballcap, Grossman has come far. If Smith stuck by him when all of Chicago was calling for Griese, it was all the more reason to turn Rex loose in the crunch.

''I think the players know what I can do and know that I can do it on a consistent basis,'' Grossman said.

Would a 93-yard TD drive against the Lions have lessened the anxiety? Sure, somewhat. Now, there is a little more intrigue. Now, there are gathering echoes of the C-word.

And I don't mean Christmas.

Jay Mariotti is a regular on ''Around the Horn'' at 4 p.m. on ESPN. Send e-mail to inbox@suntimes.com with name, hometown and daytime phone number (letters run Sunday).

RICK TELANDER

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