It's up to Rex, but is Rex up to it?

Smith, Turner still believe their QB has what it takes

Bears quarterback Rex Grossman has seen his passer rating decrease like a countdown the last four games, dropping from 105.7 to 81.4 to 23.7 to 1.3. That's dramatic stuff, but its ultimately anticlimatic because there apparently is no blastoff to come.

Which leads you to wonder exactly what it takes for the quarterback to get benched in these parts. Is there anything that Grossman can do against St. Louis to lose his job?

''Definitely, it's getting to the point where it's pretty critical that I start to play the way I'm capable of playing, no doubt,'' Grossman said.

Really? Says who? Lovie Smith? Ron Turner? Has anybody actually threatened to pull Grossman, strip him of the starting job or told him the game Monday is his last chance?

''No, not really,'' Turner said. ''Not by me. I told him he needs to play better. I told him we have to play better offensively. I told him I have to coach better.''

Smith said roughly the same thing, that the quarterback position needs to improve. He reiterated what he has been saying all along, that the Bears are 10-2 with Grossman and he gives the team the best opportunity to win.

But what is the means test here? How are the coaches evaluating his performance? Turner says Grossman needs to play better, stay within the scheme and trust his reads. He needs to stop pressing, make good decisions and take what is there instead of going after the big play.

Nothing like jargon, lingo and coach-speak to clear matters up.

Let's forget for a minute that the Bears have the easiest schedule left in the NFL. Their visit to St. Louis (5-7) pits them against the most difficult opponent left on a schedule that concludes with Tampa Bay (3-9), Detroit (2-10) and Green Bay (4-8). Forget, too, that the Rams have the second-worst run defense in the NFL and invite any and all opposition to run roughshod over them. Forget what Grossman should do against a team the Bears are favored to beat by seven points on the road without their Pro Bowl defensive tackle.

The question remains: What are the Bears looking for from Grossman? And why can't a normal Monday morning quarterback or armchair coach see from home what the Bears apparently are seeing?

''It would be tough because you are not sure what he is asked to do,'' Turner said when asked what the average fan should be looking for. ''If he is throwing into a crowd, into a receiver with three guys around him, or throwing into double coverage, that is pretty obvious. But otherwise it is hard to tell.''

Receivers cut off routes, defenses take away plays and even the most adept of analysts can't always tell you where things break down.

''It's impossible, and the blame goes to the quarterback,'' Turner said. ''They look at it and say maybe the receiver turns the wrong way.''

Where does that leave us? You want to know if the Bears should pull Grossman? Look at the scoreboard. As long as the team is winning, it's hard to imagine a move to backup Brian Griese, even if he now is getting more repetitions in practice and calls for a change are overwhelming.

''Rex has played some really good football, that is what people are forgetting,'' Turner said. ''Last game, he didn't play very good. When we had the opportunity to make plays, he didn't hit them. And he made a couple of bad reads to get the interceptions to put us in a hole. We didn't play well, no question about it. But he also has played well during the year.''

Turner admits Grossman is thinking too much and the staff has to be careful about overcoaching him. The coordinator gave Grossman the same advice the player's father, Dan, gave to his son: Go out and play football, trust the system, trust yourself.

Turner went back and studied film from early in the year all the way through the Minnesota game. What he found was interesting. Grossman suffered paralysis from analysis against the Vikings. New England's Asante Samuel intercepted Grossman three times the week before, jumping routes for his first two picks.

Grossman was gun-shy about cornerback Antoine Winfield doing the same thing for Minnesota. The Bears ran a simple hitch designed to go to Muhsin Muhammad. Muhammad was open with Winfield playing off him. But Grossman knew Winfield liked to jump routes. He'd seen him do it on film. He opted not to throw and lost a near-certain completion.

''Rex Grossman is still a very, very young quarterback,'' Turner said. ''He has skills, abilities that are rare -- really rare. That is why we have been patient, and that's why we're letting him work through this thing. He can make some throws and he can do some things that not many people can do: arm strength and accuracy. He is extremely accurate, and he has the arm strength and the quickness of release, the instincts. ... He's young. He just has to learn what it is all about and learn all the different situations and understand what it is about when you have great defense and great special teams.''

The Bears still seem to hold one belief about Grossman.

''He's got abilities that can take us a long way,'' Turner said.

Mike Mulligan and Sun-Times reporter Brian Hanley host a daily show from 10 a.m.-noon on WSCR-AM (670).