Grossman needs the answer fast
No time to learn any more lessons on turning it around
Rex Grossman was standing by his locker late last week, considering a question about the end of the regular season and the significance of being the first Bears quarterback in a decade to start all 16 games, when he got a faraway look in his eye. He'd been asked a minute before about his strange feast-or-famine performances this season and still had that in mind.
''Hopefully, I can finish off this season putting together four good games,'' Grossman said. ''But next year, starting with a clean slate and everything, I am really excited about that. Nothing takes the place of experience. Maybe I had to go through this to get to the other side of playing well.
''Hopefully, I can finish off this season putting together four good games,'' Grossman said. ''But next year, starting with a clean slate and everything, I am really excited about that. Nothing takes the place of experience. Maybe I had to go through this to get to the other side of playing well.
''I'm not relaxing now. I don't mean to say I am out of the woods. But I definitely feel like I learned something by playing as bad as I did and then trying to figure something out and playing well.''
''I'm not relaxing now. I don't mean to say I am out of the woods. But I definitely feel like I learned something by playing as bad as I did and then trying to figure something out and playing well.''
One of the things Grossman hopes he has learned in his first full year as a starter is how to get out of a slump in a hurry and not prolong the agony like he did during a late stretch this season.
The uneven performances at quarterback, as much as the disintegrating dominance of the defense, give a sense of dread more than anticipation to the thought of the Bears beginning playoff preparations in earnest today. Bears coach Lovie Smith says the team will be in ''training camp mode'' in practice this week going ''good-against-good,'' which presumably means first-team offense against first-team defense for three straight days.
The road to improvement starts with protecting the football, something Grossman had done for three straight games before blowing up again with three interceptions, two of which were returned for touchdowns, in the season finale against Green Bay.
It's amazing how turnovers come in bunches with Grossman. He has kept a clean slate with no interception in half his starts (eight games) this season. He has thrown just one interception in a game on two occasions. He had two interceptions in one game. But in five games he has thrown at least three interceptions, including a season-high four in a victory at Arizona.
The end result is 20 interceptions on the season, the most by a Bears quarterback since Vince Evans threw 20 in 1981. You have to go back to 1966 when Rudy Bukich threw 21 to find a Bears quarterback with more picks in a season.
Of course, that's one of the problems with the Bears: They're late to the party with the forward pass. Grossman also has thrown for 23 touchdowns, which is the most by a Bears quarterback since Erik Kramer set the single-season team record with 29 in 1995. In fact, you can understand why Smith wants to stick with Grossman at all costs when you consider that his 23 touchdown passes are more than the combined 20 the team managed in Smith's first two seasons: 11 last year with a combination of Kyle Orton (nine), Grossman (one) and Jeff Blake (one); and nine the year before with Chad Hutchinson (four), Craig Krenzel (three), Jonathan Quinn (one) and Grossman (one).
Having a threat in the vertical passing game is essential for the Bears, but Grossman's penchant to go south in a hurry demands an alternative plan if he starts poorly in the playoff game. Do you allow him one interception before going with Brian Griese? Do you allow him two and pull the plug knowing the third one then is imminent?
The simple truth is the Bears don't need greatness from their quarterback to win. But the way the defense has played of late, they need a good to very good performance.
''We have to win as a team,'' a dejected general manager Jerry Angelo said as he left Sunday night's game. ''No one side of the ball is going to carry another. We know that. It's been that way.''
It certainly has been that way. The Bears finish the season ranked fifth on defense in the NFL but first in the NFC. Their offense ranked No. 15 in the NFL. That's a respectable place and certainly within the margin the team thought it needed to be for a legitimate Super Bowl run. But that was when the defense was rolling over opponents and producing big plays every week.
Now, Grossman has to do his part, and above all else, protect the football. He nearly was benched after producing a 1.3 passer rating in a home victory over Minnesota. Grossman went to St. Louis the following week knowing a bad performance would cost him his job. He responded and carried himself with great aplomb through the process. Now he's in the same spot again.
''That was no one's fault other than mine,'' Grossman said of his near benching. ''I never took it as anything else. It wasn't like it happened to me. It was more like I understand I am not playing well and obviously if it keeps going they are going to have to do something about it. The good thing is no one ever lost confidence in me. I never lost confidence in myself. I just needed to figure out why, and hopefully I have done that.''
Hopefully, he can figure it out again.
"I've spent three good years here and five in Philadelphia behind what I think are two of the best head coaches in the league, and with great organizations that handle things right,'' Rivera said. "Hopefully, I have learned enough from them that people will look at me.''
Rivera has an excellent resume that includes a long playing career and exposure to innovative coaches such as Buddy Ryan and Jim Johnson. He also interviewed with St. Louis, where he was a finalist, and Green Bay last season.
"It gives you a little insight into what to expect and it kind of gives you a lift in terms of knowing people want you because you are doing things the right way,'' Rivera said.
"It's disappointing, obviously, disappointing with the offense,'' Bears general manager Jerry Angelo said. "We're not going to put a whole lot into it because we know what we have to do and we certainly can't play like that. I'm not taking that as a sign of what's to come. It's just disappointing and obviously you don't want to put a taste like that in your mouth to end it.''
"Honestly, the goal this year was to get past what we did last year,'' Ogunleye said. "It was just kind of like get through the regular season and get back to where we left off with just a bitter taste in our mouths. Hopefully, in the next couple of days we'll be reminded of that.''
Ogunleye says he has a plan on how to get himself ready for the playoffs.
"I might watch the Carolina game again just to remind myself of how bad I felt after that game,'' he said.
| Game | Att-Cmp | Yds | Sacks | TD | INT | Rating |
| 1. at Cardinals | 14-37 | 148 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 10.7 |
| Next Game: Win vs. 49ers -- Grossman bounced back with a strong game, completing 23 of 29 passes and tossing three TDs, zero INTs. | ||||||
| 2. vs. Dolphins | 18-42 | 210 | 3 | 1 | 3 | 36.8 |
| Next Game: Win vs. Giants -- Threw an early INT that set up a Giants TD, but he regrouped and finished with three touchdown passes. | ||||||
| 3. at Patriots | 15-34 | 176 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 23.7 |
| Next Game: Win vs. Vikings -- Division clincher, but the defense and special teams excelled as Grossman played poorly. | ||||||
| 4. vs. Vikings | 6-19 | 34 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 1.3 |
| Next Game: Win vs. Rams -- Grossman had a solid game with two touchdown passes and a turnover-free peformance. | ||||||
