Changing with the times

With Super Bowl in their sights, Bears need to try Griese

The plan was devised many months ago, and it made sense at the time. This season would be a learning experience for Rex Grossman, the Bears' quarterback of the future. Brian Griese was signed as an insurance policy in case Grossman should get hurt. If all went well, the only action Griese would see was mop-up duty.

At the time, no one knew the Bears would establish themselves as one of the league's top teams. But thanks to a charitable schedule, league-wide parity and a terrific defense, the Bears have become legitimate Super Bowl contenders. As a result, their quarterback plan no longer makes as much sense. Coach Lovie Smith's insistence on sticking with Grossman, no matter how poorly he's playing, already might have cost the Bears two wins. Come January, it could cost them a lot more.

There's no shame in playing badly against the Patriots' defense. Plenty of quarterbacks have. But Grossman looked lost for much of Sunday's game. Why did Smith insist on leaving him in until the end when he had a viable alternative in Griese?

I'm not promoting Griese, who hasn't played since Oct. 20 and has thrown eight passes all season, as a savior. He recently admitted that it's ''difficult to stay sharp'' as a backup.

''But I know what I do well, and I know what I need to work on,'' he added. ''After nine years in the league, I think I know who I am. So if I'm called upon, I feel confident.''

What Griese does best is make accurate throws and good decisions. With the Broncos in 2000, he led the league with a 102.9 passer rating. Before injuring his knee last season, he led the Buccaneers to a 5-1 start. If Bucs coach Jon Gruden had his way, Griese still would be with Tampa Bay.

Could Griese have come in cold and engineered a drive that would've given the Bears the lead over the Patriots and, in all likelihood, a victory? We'll never know. But ask yourself this: With Grossman having thrown two interceptions, was he the guy you wanted in there at the end? Do you think Griese would've thrown an interception on the first play of that all-important possession?

There's no reason to be down on Grossman for the long term. He has a great temperament, he's smart and his teammates like him. When he's on, he's very good. But the Bears have a lot at stake, and when Grossman is off, he can be very bad. How many errant passes will it take for Smith to make a quarterback substitution? How much fourth-quarter futility will it take for Smith to call Griese's number in crunch time of an important game?

Grossman's quarterback rating has been in a steady decline, from 103.83 in September, to 87.33 in October, to 61.88 in November. That's not a good trend. Statistics seldom tell the entire story, but in this case they present a compelling picture of how Grossman has played. Other teams have the book on him and the Bears' offense: Pressure Grossman, don't let him set up in the pocket. And the strategy is working. The Bears have scored 13 or fewer points in three of their last four games.

In Grossman's defense, Smith and offensive coordinator Ron Turner have not necessarily put him in the best position to succeed. How is Grossman, who's listed at 6-1, supposed to see the field when the line collapses around him in the face of defensive pressure, as it so often has? Why are the Bears so opposed to the shotgun? Wouldn't the formation at least enable Grossman, who's hardly elusive in the face of a pass rush, to buy some time?

It's true Grossman needs game experience to improve. I'm not suggesting Smith bench him for the rest of the season. But why leave him in games when he's playing poorly? On Sunday, he hurt his throwing hand during the first half when someone stepped on it. Wasn't that all the more reason to put in Griese?

I wonder what's stopping Smith from giving the Bears their best chance to win each game. Is he afraid of damaging Grossman's psyche? Doesn't a three-interception, one-fumble game accomplish that quite nicely? And who's to say a stint on the sideline wouldn't help Grossman? Who's to say he couldn't learn something from watching Griese?

Last we saw Griese, he was outplaying Grossman in preseason. Seeing that, many called for Griese to replace Grossman as the starter. I wasn't among them, believing the Bears needed to find out if Grossman really was their quarterback of the future. But that was months ago. The situation has changed. Now that the Bears have a chance to go deep in the playoffs, the future can wait.

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