It's time to sack Rex

Maybe,if we really want to advance.I've been giving him the benefit of the doubt but he's breaking my heart.GO BEARS!!

Who made that play call on that last play?...Stupid!

The Bears are the most overrated team in the history of the NFL. Their defense is good, but nowhere near the greatest of all time. Rex is the biggest mistake that Lovie will make when the playoffs come around. Their only greatness comes when they play against the worst in the NFL--too bad a great record won't win the Superbowl. Accept it! They are an average team that has had too much luck on their side. . .luck ends!

He needs to sit and let it sink in that he isn't a "lock" for the starter job...That last pass was a gift and WHO called that play anyway...and, did you see Rex's technique???...My gosh, yank him...Can you imagine this offense with a good QB???...That's what hurts here...We had a chance at the end....WHY DID THEY CALL THAT PLAY????...unreal!!...We had time for several plays...I don't get it...

Hey Roman, you're looking just as much of a flip-flop as Mariotti is.You've been defending Rex Grossman by saying to leave him in but tell me why does a change need to be made now? Is it cause this loss drops the Bears to, oh my god, 9-2? 9-2 is still pretty damn good, but since all these bandwagoners got caught up in the hype, it doesn't look as nice as 11-0 or 10-1. With the last five games against bottom teams the Bears are still in great position and will take the division/NFC #1 seed. There's no question the Bears should've won tonight's game if not for the turnovers but they proved to you and the rest of the flip flops that they can beat the best of the AFC if not for the mistakes. Yes Grossman sucked tonight but he's still the guy at QB. And I give Lovie Smith all the credit for sticking by his QB and showing him confidence, despite all the genuises tellin him otherwise. And tell me, just how much of a difference would Griese make? Grossman is the QB, bottom line.

Roman responds: You're right, I have been defending him. But he's stunk in four of his last six games. That's enough. And it just looks like he's lost his confidence.

Well this was Grossman's big test, and he failed it miserably. Different team pressuring him, same result. He has had enough chances and is not "getting better" as many have posted on this blog. He is not a rookie, he is just a bad veteran. I hope this performance will silence some of the Rex apoligists.

If you want to see what a championship quarterback looks like, just look at Brady. I know that seems obvious given all his rings but look at this game. All of his "mistakes" did not kill drives or ultimately hurt his team's chances of winning - virtually all of Grossman's did.

You can stick with Grossman if you want, but the first playoff game will look just like this, and if the Bears play Dallas they will lose by at least two touchdowns.

huh? Is correct. The play calling was suspect. The Bears had plenty of time to score. Why the high-risk play?

I agree, REALLY stupid throw at the end,but Rex got us to 9-2.Let him start next week, but on a short leash.If he starts throwing it away again,Bring in Greise!

If anyone went into week 12 thinking this game was going to be pretty, he was a fool. Match-ups like these are supposed to be battles. But you aren’t supposed to be taking fire from your own teammates; this loss definitely falls on Rex. Last week I was concerned over the inconsistency he was bringing to the field. This week I’m convinced his errors are steadily becoming his constant.

I’m not quite ready to see Griese take the reins yet. Rex went up against one of the better QBs playing today. I’ll forgive him if he doesn’t stand quite as tall. But Rex needs to clean up his game before he hosts Minnesota next week or I’ll be shouting for Griese along with the rest of Chicago.

I knew the Grossman-flaming was coming eventually. Joe Buck didn't exactly help it when he said at the end of the game something about a QB controversy in Chicago. I'm glad Lovie doesn't let fans and talk radio run his team.

Rex came out looking good in the first half, beating the blitz (something it's been said he can't do) and throwing sharp over the middle (he usually does). Then there was that fumbled snap, and he didn't look the same after that. He started overthrowing guys, throwing wide to a wide-open Desmond Clark. His accuracy has never been the problem, it's his decision-making, and until that last interception, I thought he'd been making strides. If there was a time to play Griese it was right then in the second half, where Grossman's hand appeared to be affecting his throwing. His other picks were plays made by Patriots defenders, not mistakes by Rex. Might I remind everyone that Rex was playing the Patriots, who just happen to be the second-best defense in the league, behind only the Bears.

It also didn't help Rex's case that the Bears made few to no adjustments to the blitzing by the Pats, and he had no time to find anyone open. By contrast, Brady at times seemed to have all day to throw... yawning, stretching, answering his cell phone, etc. For a while, about 3 1/2 quarters, Brady had almost identical stats to Rex's. Who's calling to bench Brady?

Yeah there are times when I think Rex is all that. There are other times, like now, that I want to throw things at him.

I can't say that we are expecting too much from Rex.The guy is the starting QB on a team that should go to the SB.I hate to shove the guy aside but we might not get too far with him behind center.It's getting to the point where he is almost expected to implode.I love his upside but he is slowly taking the wind out of our sails.Just about everything we worried about in pre-season has been resolved but our QB position.This guy is even getting hurt just getting the ball from the center.I think we could have a special season but to be honest he's bringing it down.I'm sure even his biggest fans are hiding after this game.He is talented but that talent isn't even showing right now.Maybe the home crowd will ignite his fuse.If not it won't be wrong to put Griese in.This game was lost basically because of Rex.The D gave up a lot but they came through when it mattered.And think about it;they were short handed all night.Over 300 yards and only 17 points.Sometimes that is enough to win.I feel like we left 40 points on the field.I know that was an asinine statement back then but it sure is appropriate now.GO BEARS!!!

Jarrett... I'll attempt to answer your question about why the Bears went with a high-risk play at the end.

First of all I highly doubt Ron Turner called a bomb while the Pats were in something resembling a prevent defense. In that play, Rashied Davis runs that deep route to either draw a safety over to him and get someone open underneath, or to get into one-on-one coverage if that doesn't happen. In this case Rex saw his man one on one deep, and the chance to end everything right there. You ALWAYS take those odds, so the decision Rex made isn't the problem. But in the process something happened, either Rex over/underthrew it (I can't remember) or Davis just didn't run the route correctly (whatever he did obviously didn't help Rex)... had it been Berrian or Bradley deep like that, Samuel would have been roasted the score is 20-17, and we are not talking about Rex right now. However, Rex didn't have much touch on the deep ball the entire game and the Bears had called enough bombs that afternoon that the Pats were probably anticipating it, so the result is a game-clinching INT, and yet another annoying week of Grossman vs. Griese.

Heres the big question...Is Rex Grossman the qb of the future for Da Bears? If yes, then you leave him in there and let him learn. 9-2 is a pretty damn good record if you ask me

I am one of the first people to question the bears play calling all seaon but, that play at the end was NOT a bad call the play was wide open. Grossman should have thrown the ball to the inside where davis would have caught it for a HUGHE play instead grossman threw the ball to the outside and the defender made the play. It was not the call but another horrible throw by grossman. I usally will never blame one player for a loss but this time it fits Grossman IS the reason they lost to the pats. Plain and simple. No more excuses grosssman alone cost the bears this game. He had a chance to show he belonged with the big boys and blew it. I do not know if benching him will help but, with him back there the bears have no shot at winning the super bowl. He simply cannot make the big play when needed and cannot avoid costly mistakes.

Tom Brady wouldn't have been able to execute the idiotic game plans any better than Rex. The coaches are the problem not the QB! Wake up people!

Lovie strangenly been standing behind Grossman, the way Rex has played in last couple of times. He easily benches Mike Green, Chris Harris, Jonathan Quinn and others, but Rex remain untouchable it seems, makes you wonder if it's Angelo's call to have Grossman in there. Angelo better be carefull, read the face and lips of Thomas Jones after the last interception, his words weren't too kind, players know when it's time to bench someone. This loss falls square on Grossman. It's time for Lovie to make Rex accountable like every other player on the roster. Just remember, even if the Bears get to the SB with Grossman, the game is still on the road, the way he's been playing, if will be an EMBARASMENT for the Bears and Chicago.

What a dissapointment but not as bad as I thought it would be. Yes a loss is a loss and they did have a chance to win the game. Rember Defences win Championships. Don't forget about the Ravens and there Super Bowl. That team was mostly Defence. Leave Rex in there. He is still learning. I don't care in a sence he is still a rookie. Remember Ortin, he kept the Bears in there last year and not the best stats in the world either. I think he is still worried about taking a hit. Rex step into your throws. Take the hit and get back up for the next play. You have come back from some real bad injuries. As for Griese yes he is a great back up and starter but don't forget he was booed in Denver when he was young like Rex, and also has come back from one or two bad injuries. Tampa Bay blew his knee out. I like the fact we have Griese, and even though Rex gets me as mad as you he still has to take his hard knocks. We need not to forget not to long ago Chicago had 6 turnovers in the Arizona game and had no right winning that game but they did. Also Rex did enough to win at Minnesota another game they could of lost. This score was 17 Pats 13 Bears alot better than 35-0.

Romo - could you be more of wind sock? Grossman is just 1 of many issues. Brutal offensive game plan. Brutal coaching decisions starting and ending with Lovie's decision to kick a FG and STILL be down by 4!! Urlacher was bad and Hillenmeyer (again) was worse. Other than that, they were fine. Can you say "one and out" for the playoffs.

Roman responds: When did I say the Bears should stick with Grossman regardless of how bad he plays? I thought some of the calls for his head early were knee-jerk, but he's been given sufficient time now to prove he's capable of leading the way. I still think he deserved that chance, but four out of six bad games is enough.

I have backed Grossman from the begining and will not call for his head now. His picks were a combination of poor accuracy and great plays bt Samuel. The last play was just poor execution all around. First why is Davis running that route instead of Berrian or Bradley. Or a better question would be Where was Bradley all night? After playing great the past 2 games he is nowhere to be founf on the field especially in a game that looked like all we needed was a big play and he is a playmaker. I've never questioned the coaching of this team but sometimes it looks like they are all lost. Yes Grossman sucked but is Brian Griese the answer? What makes everyone so sure that he will do any better. You take Rex out he losses his confidence and then Griese goes out and throws picks also. Now what are you left with? This team will live and die with Rex. I think it is up to the coaches to put him in a position to succeed. Have your best players on the field to make the plays neccesary to win. If you can't get pressure on the QB with your D-line bring some blitzes. It's not like we don't have the personel. This blind faith in the defensive schemes is what cost us in the playoffs last year. Smith faced single coverage all game becasue of the fact that coaches wouldn't make the adjustments, which probably cost Rivera a head coaching job. If your D isn't working then change something. The differance in Brady and Rex was that Brady had all day to throw and everytime Rex was in the pocket he was running for his life. Another thing is this devotion to T. Jones. Benson was by far the best runner on the field. Granted Jones piked it up in the 2nd half but the coaches always talk about his pass protection and it isn't anything special. Benson ran over the Pats great run deffense in the first half and gets only 2 carries in the 2nd half. All in all I think the Bears showed that they could play with a SB contender and know that they can win against a team in the AFC. Griese is no better than Grossman so all of you Rex bashers need to give it a rest. I've had to endure Griese for the last 4 yrs and let me tell you first hand this guy sucks. If you want that type of offense then turn to Orton but Griese makes bonehead mistakes and has no arm. If you want a replay of last years offense then Griese is your man. If this game had been played with last years offense all of us would have known it was over as soon as the Pats took the lead but instead we are all disappointed becasue we couldn't come away in the end with the victory. Know we expect to come back in games and have the ball in our hands in the end to win the game. That is what Rex brings to the table. He can throw downfield and make big plays. Yes he has been terrible at times but he gives us the best chance to win. If it is a matter of lost confidence the coaches need to come up with a good gameplan that plays to Rex's abilities. Look at how Dallas moves the pocket for Romo becasue he can move a little bit and that plays into his abilities. Don't lose faith now fellow fans. We have home field almost wrapped up so we are in a better position than most of you are thinking we are. We lost to the Pats not the Lions so it isn't that bad.

just because the bears are 9-2 doesn't mean rex is untouchable(remember orton's 10 wins last year)But on the flip side i do remember a certain baltimore team winning a sb with a suspect qb.I doubt anybody here would take trent dilfer then rex grossman.I agree with a earlier comment though if rex has another poor game against the vikings its gotta be tough for lovie to keep him in.I also believe that the defense gave the offense every oppurtunity to win but rex blew it.Till next monday ya'll,PEACE!!

Denver changes Qb.
Dalls changes Qb. Bears DON'T change QB. Difference? Denver and Dallas coaches have SUPERBOWL rings. Need I say more?

Roman responds: I have no inside info here, but sometimes when a GM drafts a QB he becomes attached. It may not be Smith's call exclusively.

It's amazing how similar Dusty Baker & Lovie are in how they coach. Both stick with guys too long & end up coming up short.Both are too easy on guys when they continue to fail. Dusty is now unemployed. Hopefully Lovie will get wise & start Griese? Rex has proved he can't get it done.Bears have won games of late in spite of him. Pats & Dolphin game losses because of Rex's turnovers. Of course you can blame offensive line ,but bad judgement causes turnovers for most part. Bears won't go far with Rex the hex.All the Bear fans who think different? Just wait until Bears get a quick exit in playoffs (unless Lovie wakes up)..

although i live in indianapolis,i was born and raised in chicago,and i'm a die-hard bears fan..it's time to take the ball away from rex.

It was clear that the true Champions are the Pats...Why do all of the Bears wideouts always look for a flag on every play? I did not see one justified flag against the Pats defensive backs last night.

Has nobody noticed that Rex pats the ball right before every pass, thus delaying his release? Chad Hutchinson was run out of the NFL for doing this. Why does nobody point out this huge mechanical flaw?

Roman.....that's Funny. i think we all KNOW that Lovie is a robot coach with no HEART or ability 2 change the qb. I could say more but this is a family blog.

Come on guys, stop judging every throw -- the guy is 9-2, remember??!!?? Yes, it was a bad game, but we were moving the ball -- it wasn't 3 and outs all game. The Pats D is that good, period. I don't absolve Rex of some of the bad throws; 2 of the picks should have not been thrown (the 1st pick on the quick slant I had no problem with, as the blitz was coming and had it connected would have been a nice play).

Let's not forget this: Griese is good, and more consistent. We need our best opportunity out there every play.

To Roman's point on 4 out of the last 6 being bad (actually 3 -- the Jets game was not bad, it was an Orton-esque game plan that led to a win and did not call for a great QB rating)...if Rex has a terrible game against Vikings, then the following week you can consider yanking him at halftime if he starts off bad. But to do so now is risky, especially if Griese comes in and fares the same way.

Finally, an Orton-esque game plan would have won yesterday. I normally am not a fan of that type of play calling, but when the D gets 5 turnovers and your QB needs to settle down, that is generally when the conservative offense will win for us. I place just as much blame on the staff for not reeling Rex in yesterday.

First of all if it isn't Rex with an an injury, now it's he can't handle being pressured by a defense.
There is no way that the Boars OOPS Bears will get past the first playoff game if Grossman is starting.
Put Griese in now so they have a chance of winning.
Also, nice article on Lovie Smith being the most under paid coach in the NFL. Give credit to Pam Oliver from Fox for exposing this in her piece yesterday. Now I know why there are so few Africian American coaches. The Bears are practicing discrimination to Mr. Smith by paying him next to nothing. Come on Halas family. Wake up and and pay the man what he is worth.Quit being the "Cheapsters of the Midway"

Grossman injured his hand on the fumble. We'll learn later this week that he is ailing. Lovie will call it a game time decision on his status. Greise will start against the Vikings. Grossman will miss 2-4 weeks.

The Bears are not winning the Super Bowl with Rex at qb this year. Not only is his decision making bad but now his accuracy is going down the drain!! We have a Super Bowl caliber team but Rex is holding us back!

Good coaches make decisions that benefit the team as a whole. The Cowboys benching Bledsoe in favor of Romo, the Broncos benching Plummer in favor of Cutler. Take note Lovie, its time to make a change. We have a team that could go all the way. The defence has played their hearts out. Give them a break and change quaterbacks. Or are you just that stubborn?

Can't argue that Rex cannot throw under pressure.
But is it just me and my imagination that he is under pressure in 75% of his attempts?
Can Griese do any better if the pocket caves like Clay Aikmen in a bar fight?
I say start Griese, as he'll need the starts to get into the rhythm in time for the playoffs, but someone needs to talk to the line about protection.

I'm trying to figure out if most of the blam eneeds to go on Rex or on Turner for what is happening right now. Obviously it is pretty obvious that Rex is struggling against the Blitz, so is it possible that Turner could put a few wrinkles into the offensive game plan to off set teams from lining up and blitzing 7 or 8 guys every play!! Hey Ron Turner how about a few roll out plays for Rex to get him away from the rush or how about a quick slant pass over the middle, when you know that area has to be wide open because teams are rushing all three of they're middle linebackers at Rex on almost every passing down. Why not throw out to a tight end on the side that Colvin is blitzing on every pass play? Still at that Rex has got to stop throwing a bomb on every other pass, he is getting way to predictable. I think that as long as Lovie is going to stick with Rex then they are going to need to make some adjustments on the offensive scheme to give him some better looks. This 5 step and 7 step drop with defenders blitzing on every play is not going to work. And the idiot that said the Cowboys would beat the Bears by 2 touchdowns give me a break. So the Cowboys beat up on bad teams and the Bears barely lose to one of the best teams in the NFL on the road and now Dallas is that much better than the Bears??? I hope that matchup happens in the playoffs. We'll see if pretty boy Romo is smiling after that.

Rex makes alot of bad throws, but atleast he gives a long ball chance. I haven't seen enough from Griese to say he can do that. Has there ever been a situation where a QB change has been made this late in the year and the team won the superbowl? Biggest mistake of the game was throwing to Rasheed Davis in that situation. No one should be thrown the deep ball accept Berrian or Muhammed so late in the game. As far as the other picks...Those were dumb, but I'm glad tht Rex has isn't afraid to make the occasional tight throw. Learn now, and hopefully he doesn't replicate the problems later. The Bears didnt deserve to win, alot of the times it was the defense getting thrown on all over the field and getting lucky with some late drive turnovers.

I ditto everything that has been said above ripping on Grossman. However, two Huge issues are being overlooked. One, Brady only looked good because our defensive line has sucked BIG TIME ever since the Giants game - we are getting absolutely no pressure on the QB like we were the first six games of the season. Two, I'd like to know why so many mislead individuals think Lovie is a genius. The writing was on the wall last post season when Lovie, the "Genius", said he wouldn't change his game plan at all against the Panthers if he had to do it all over again - Nope, he is very much in favor of Steve Smith padding his stats. Now fast forward to this season and it took him 11 games to figure out that Benson is a better goal-line running back than Jones (Just take a look at the amount of rushing touchdowns the Bears have compared to the rest of the league). Add in his stupid comments on Rex being his quarterback disregarding his play the last 4 out of 6 weeks. Then you can add his record on challenges and the list goes on and on. Actually I do know why Lovie is considered a genius by all the idiot so-called experts, and it one that noone will ever admit or argue with. I challenge anyone on this blog to name one time this season where Lovie made a game-time decision that won the game for the Bears.

They need to bench Rex GROSSman ASAP. We should have won this game, the defensive did everything and Rex justgave it back. The guy SUCKS, replace him and put Brian in, trust me, if we have GROSSman has a QB, we will never win a superbowl, get rd of him.

losing by 4 points on the road against the Patriots does not affect our standings in the NFC. the problems with Grossman are a combination of things. he deserves most of the blame, but it is the coaches who come up with the game plan. are we a passing team or a running team? Lovie says running team, Turner's calls say passing team. a pass happy offense combined with bad quarterback play is always a recipe for disaster. having a punishing running back who can take over a game would give a needed dimension to our offense. rein Rex in a bit, give Benson the ball 30 - 35 times. Jones is an excellent RB, but he is not a threat when the passing game is not working.

It's all Smith's fault unless he is just Angelo's puppet then its Angelo's fault. The people with the authority (including that delegated to others) have the responsibility, period! Persistent problems that are not successfully dealt with are the fault of those in charge.

I will remind everyone that Grossman is a good qp who has been compared to Brett Favre and I feel thats accurate. But, Favre had Holmgren to reign him in when he got wild. Ron Turner is not that kind of coach and his play calling suggests that he is more enamored with Rex's physical skills than what needs to be done with winning the game.

Face it, this is the age of "contract price means more than ability" Rex is going to play until he gets hurt. He got the big bucks so he will start. It's sad but true.

Home field doesn't mean squat (last year's playoff game against Panthers), if you don't have a QB/coaching staff make adjustments we better served watching the SB on TV. Anyways, Grossman is terrible, Jason Taylor is right, put some pressure on the guy and he makes bad decisions. Don't make excuses becuase this is his 19th career game...one word ROMO

All I can say is, the Bears are breaking my heart. I SO thought they were for real this year. Yes, they will get to the playoffs. Then they will lose the first game, leaving us all with the same bad taste in our mouths we've had so many times before. And yet, I keep coming back for more, year after year.

Very interesting comments by nearly all who have posted at this site following yesterday's debacle.

Me? I believe in giving the blame,
and the credit, when each is due,
to the proper individuals.

While I believe Grossman should, and does, receive a portion of the blame for the loss, more
(most) of the blame should go to
Ron (Stomach) Turner for giving
the offense a typically Turner-
esque offensive game plan, using
plays that he insisted on running for the entire game. Why, for example, would he continue to call for deep pass
plays when it became obvious early in the first quarter that the Pats were going to stake their survival in this game on
keeping the Bears from having success with their long passes?
Next, why did Smith and Turner
keep Grossman in the game after
his right hand was stepped on and it became evident that his
accuracy - never, ever pinpoint
accuracy anyway, was really off
after the injury? Where , oh where, is the Bears short and
medium length passing game?
Next, let me comment on Ron Rivera's defensive game plan:
Where was the pressure on Brady?
Where was the pressure on the
receivers? Brady had all day to
look around for the prime receiver, and the receivers found the Bears' DBs lining up
6 to 10 yards off the line on
every play. Maybe the Bears are
happy that they limited the Pats
to less than 100 yards rushing
for the entire game, but, man-oh-man, Brady carved them up
for nearly 300 yards passing.

Why the Bears hired Turner for
a second go-around after his
first stint with the team and
his abject failure as a head
coach at Illinois is beyond me,
and for my money, Rivera is
proving to be average as a def-
ensive coordinator. Smith, himself, has got to take the blame for whatever failures
this team has and will experience this year. Maybe
Bears' management is on to something when they have decided to wait until the end of the season before acting on an extension for Smith.

This year is starting to take on elements of 2000...
- Beating bad teams (all of the teams in their division)
- Beating teams missing key players (Giants)
- Defense/special teams making plays to win games
- Writers/analysts keep saying "but they're 9 and 2" as opposed to analyzing what is really wrong
- Bears' writers putting half of the team in the Pro Bowl (this is Mike Mulligan's annual ritual)

Now that winter approaches, it is fitting that the bi-Polar Bears should appear. Now that I have reached my late 40s, roller coaster rides don't hold the same attraction that they once did. I wonder how long before this team makes me feel the same way. biPolar indeed.

One thing for sure, If Rex stays as the starter, fans will experience nothing but mood swings from one extreme to the other.

I hate Wrecks, he is killing all his teammates spirit, thinking he needs to make a big play everytime he passes the ball. And Lovie ass must can't see, talking stupid and deciding to stick with this spirit breaking idiot. That's why jerry angelo hasn't upped his contract yet, keep saying that wrecks is his Quarterback while he's killing the whole city's spirit, and he'll never get the payday he wants.

You guys are a pack of retards with vision that doesn't go past the last game. Sure, Rex was the primary reason they lost that game, but there was plenty of blame to go around.

But the thing is,a franchise that is a perennial winner has stability at the QB position. Playing Griese is not going to bring that stability. Rex has the chance to be a very good QB and to win multiple SuperBowl's, with the way this team is put together. Remember this is first year starting. Very, very few QB's come in and play lights out their first year. Take the long view.

The crying has begun. I think a lot of fans just now figured out that the new trophy case may not be needed this season after all. And to think that all the boot kissing they did may have gone to waste.

Folks, Rex is still a baby in the league. Everyone has growing pains except QB's with the last names Montana and Brady. I am frustrated like everyone else but you have got to give the kid a chance to play through his struggles and hope he improves - quickly. The only other alternative is to bring in someone else, teach them the system, hope they avoid injury, and allow them to develop. QB like center in the NBA is a tough position to field. You only see a Montana, Brady, or Marino once every decade or so.

Besides, if Griese is so good, why is he a backup on his third team and not starting in a league chocked full of mediocre QB's?

I know we have the defense and what appears to be the running game to quite possibly take it to the house, but the long-term approach would be to let the kid play through it.

I am one of the few Bears fan's who are not jumping off the Rex Grossman bandwagon. I believe he is the best Bears QB on the roster...its the playcalling that is putting him in poor situations. Ron Turner is not allowing Grossman to develop properly. When you have a minute and a half to go fifty yards you dont call an "All Streaks" pattern to try and win the game, especially when it was apparent that Rex didn't have the touch on the deep ball. Secondly, for having two multi-million dollar RB's, the Bears sure dont run much. The first series last night was three straight passes with an INT...why not run the ball and take the pressure off Grossman. This occured in Arizona where Turner freaked out when the running game was being stopped early...he then has Grossman throwing almost every down...that is a recipe for disaster for a QB who hasn't seen much field time. Grossman is also a QB who needs time to read the field..so why not keep the backs and TE's in to help with blocking and blitz pickup? Why not have Grossman three step drop and get rid of the ball before the pressure gets to him? If you take the INT's Rex has thrown and remove the ones with poor blocking or play calling on blitzing downs...Grossman's INTs would be half. Not to mention Rex needs footwork help which you dont get with a blown ACL and broken ankle...apparently Turner and Wade Wilson dont have him practice that much. For those people who are talking about putting in Griese...remember how many playoff wins he got with Denver? Thats right, he is a turnover machine and sack-taker himself and he is not a leader in the huddle. The Bears either have to fix Rex and the playcalling or be prepared to spend mega bucks on a marquee QB. Last time I checked...that's not happening. Keep in mind, Rex has only 19 starts, is still winning games, and is not Kyle Orton under center. We are much more productive this year, we just need smarter playcalling. By the way, how good is Eli MANNING doing this year?

why waste the last 11+ gms of Rex and his progression. if you fans support him, rather than put all of this extra pressure i think there would be a different result.

support rex at rexgrossman.com

Whats with Lovie Smith and his love for Grossman. If an NFL QB is not performing at the level he should, he should be benched. We've waited too long for this QB,if Lovie doesnt win with gross,man, he should be fired. Put in Griese so we can go to the Superbowl, if not well be one and done in the playoffs again.

Rex's problem appears to be the offensive line. If he's getting suffocated in the pocket, with no time to get the ball away without throwing off of the back foot, why doesn't Ron Turner go to shotgun formation and give him some time? It's not as if we have so many cards up our sleeve that defenses are fooled - they know when we're going to pass. Even our playactions yesterday looked staged and were covered well by the NE secondary.

bers

Just some questions for those of you who think Grossman should still be starting:

How many more four turnover games is he allowed to have before you make a change?

Why, when Grossman has consistently played badly against good defenses (and some bad ones), do you think he will suddenly play much better in the playoffs than he has in the last six weeks?

Why have other good quarterbacks played better than Grossman with similar, or less, experience than Grossman (e.g. Palmer, Brady, Rivers, Romo, Brees)?

Why haven't the Bears been able to change their offensive scheme given the defenses that they are facing, is it because of Grossman's physical and mental limitations?

Why when the Bears blitz the other teams can effectively run short patterns in which their receivers get open and good quarterbacks get completions, and the Bears cannot - is it because Grossman cannot complete short passes in tight areas, only throw long bombs and hope for the best?

From the tone of my questions I think you know what my answers are, I am interested in yours. If Grossman had brought the Bears back when behind in the fourth quarter in the Arizona, Minnesota, Miami and New England games I wouldn't have these questions. But simple statistics show that Grossman plays his worst in the fourth quarter - a recipe for disaster in the playoffs.

Grossman is not a dink-and-dunk passer in a league that rewards quarterbacks that can complete a high percentage of short passes, and eat up the clock in order to win close games. Grossman plays great with a big lead, but falls short when high precision short passes are necessary. He just isn't that kind of quarterback, it's not his fault, he just isn't. The NFL is no longer a deep passing league. It is a "work your way down the field" league and Grossman just doesn't fit that mold.

While Brian Griese is no Grossman as far as downfield accuracy, he doesn't need to be, and the defenses that are played in the NFL today don't give up long bombs anymore - everyone plays the Tampa-2 defense (or some variation of it). What Griese gives you is accurate short passing, the ability to read defenses and call appropriate audibles, enough arm strength to at least hit Berrian/Bradley/Muhammad on crossing routes.

I wish Grossman were more successful but his skill set is more geared towards the college game and the NFL of the 70's and early 80's. Today it is a West Coast offense league in which the Tampa-2 is played to try and defeat it.

Wait .. what did Quincy Paden say? "Grossman has been compared to Brett Favre"? By whom? Idiots? Has he had 200 or so consecutive starts? No. Has he lit up he other team's defense the game after his father's death? No. Has he shown the ability to run out of the pocket and make plays on the run into double and triple coverage like Favre used to when Brett was Rex's age? No. Has he shown the ability to CONSISTENTLY bring his team back from deficits and win games against teams other than the garbage Cardinals? NO! Get over Grossman already! Bench him and give Griese the playing time he needs to develop for the playoffs, or don't complain when the Bears GREAT record gets them nothing but ONE and DONE in the playoffs again ... again.

And as for "genius" Lovie, he's got to be the WORST coach of the year in NFL history. “Coach of the Year� Lovie Smith couldn’t shut down WR Steve Smith who got 218 yards on 12 receptions (with two for touchdowns) in the playoff rematch - this after he already burned the Bear's the first time they played too for a career high. And there was already game tape out there of Dallas holding Smith to ONE catch for 18 yards too. Guess the COTY didnt watch THAT tape eh? And dont tell me it's Rivera's job to get/watch the game tape since he's the Defensive coordinator - Lovie is a defensive minded coach and responsibility starts with him! But what do you expect from a coach who puts ROASTED Peanut Tillman on Smith (after getting burned during the first game) rather than switch to Nathan Vasher during the playoff loss? Just like he won't switch from Grossman to Griese either. Smith SHOULD be the lowest paid coach in the league until he starts learning from his mistakes - mistakes that GOOD coaches don't make in he first place. But Bears fans love the guy because he gets them into the playoffs from the lowly NFC North - a divison so pathetic, every other team in it had to get new head coaches last year. That's an UNPRECEDENTED level of division suckiness!

TIP: Starting thinking with your HEADS and not your hearts Bears fans, or you'll continue to go nowhere in January.

Roman responds: John Madden was the first to compare Grossman to Favre, and Chris Collinsworth was the second.

I'm tired of people stating the Bears could have won if not for their turnovers. This stance completely discounts the Patriots' miscues. Now granted, most of them were forced turnovers the excellent Bear ball-hawkers created, but NFL caliber receivers and running backs are supposed to secure the ball better than did New England when Chicago stripped those balls loose. My point is that the Patriots played a flawed game, the Bears played an EQUALLY flawed game, and the Pats still one by a score. As a Pats fan, I like their chances better against any team in the NFC---to include Chicago---than the likes of Indianapolis, San Diego or even Kansas City. My gut never told me the Pats would lose that game at any point in the contest, by the way. My feeling is that the difference in QB play so favors New England that they're clearly the better team---albeit, not by very much---and proved it Sunday.

I've been calling for Griese all year long but didn't mind Grossman so far since Griese stands a chance of being injured playing the full season. I can't belive anybody hasn't seen that Grossman has been throwing off of his back foot all along not just the last couple of games. The reason he hasn't thrown more interseptions is that the defensive backs on the opposing teams were dropping them the first few games of the season. I don't know how many times I would say to myself "I can't believe that wasn't intersepted. However, Griese needs alot of playing time to get in the groove with the team as well so if he is not put in soon he might not be as effective as many may hope. What really needs to happen is something like last night with Grossman hurting his hand. Nothing damaging but something during a game the Bears are losing where Griese can come in and get the job done to show the coaches what they have to do. When they have brought Griese in this year they didn't let him work but rather play safe and run the clock out. Look at the Pre-season the effectivness and pass percentages. If Griese comes in it will look comparitively to Grossman replacing Orton last year. That probably won't happen. I believe Lovie is doing what he thinks upper management wants. Rex is THEIR Boy and he can't tell them they're wrong. I am however positioning myself as I did with the White Sox this year and have accepted their fate. Instead of hoping endlessly and having a knot in my stomach I'll just be wondering when they are out of it. Even if the defense saves their butts and they get to the SuperBowl, it will be the reverse of their last SuperBowl and they will be the ones publicly humiliated on a Worldwide scale.

Wait....terrible in 4 out of 6 games? Huh? What was the 4th? The Jets? He didn't have numbers, but I thought he played pretty well in that game.

Damn!! I should've known that a loss would bring out the second guessers. I said that we expected to win and really that's a bad thing.Take out a couple of wacky passes and a few boneheaded plays and you've got yourself a win and a SB. And you know what:maybe losing will keep some of you guys intertested. If winning is a foregone conclusion what more can we expect to hold our interest for the rest of the season. Lovie isn't going to make that change. I've said a million times that Rex is Angelo's meal ticket-his bonus baby.It's no different than at your job having to work with the boss's family member and no matter how bad they are they aren't going anywhere. The thing is if you succeed with them then you're better than anyone is going to give you credit for. I'm sure Lovie would like to make that change on his own, but how.The boss says it's going this way,guess what it's going that way. But I can't wait until Lovie leaves this team and we're stuck with the next coach. I like the comparisons to Dusty. The difference is Lovie is admired by his peers and owners who wish they had him. Name one team who isn't likely to fire their coach at the end of the season who wouldn't line him up for an interview? Lovie has a job waiting for him when he's no longer the coach here. Just because fickle know it alls can't take a loss now and then doesn't mean that irresponsible decisions will be made to keep them happy. Do you know what the GM and CEO on the BEARS want you to do? Sit there at the games, drink your beers and buy those over-priced concessions.They don't want you to tell them how to do their jobs. If the team suck and you don't show up then someone else will show up.Real fans can attend the games. The Bears haven't had too many post season games in the past 10 years .And no SB in 21 years and you guys are talking like it better happen this year. Why? Is this your last year to be a fan? Hey I want to win the SB as much as the next guy but I'm not going to blame anyone if it doesn't happen. I'm a fan and I like to be entertained by the Bears as much as anything but my life wouldn't end if Dallas and San Diego met in the SB. I'm a Bears fan and a Chicago team's fan for all the teams. I ain't a hockey fan but if they went to the Stanley Cup I'd root for them and wouldn't know a power play from a hat trick. Stop expecting every game to be about the SB. If it's going to happen it will. If it doesn't be mad but get over it.I still believe and I won't stop until the final gun. That said,GO BEARS!!!

The person to lead the Bears to the SuperBowl is waiting silently on the bench. No, his name is not Griese...it's Orton. He learned a great deal last year and has studied on the sidelines long enough. Let's see if he's matured and grown into a quarterback who can lead this team!

The Bears have no chance of winning the Super Bowl with Grossman at QB at this stage of his career. If the Bears want to develop him, they should just stick with him and sacrifice any chance of winning the championship this season. If the Bears want to go for it this year, they need to sit Grossman now and play Griese, who is much more composed and accurate under pressure.

The pundits were saying that the Bears would be swept in the East Coast swing. They won two of three. Grossman has not been impressive, but has won two of his last four, and amazingly enough, so has Tom Brady. Grossman is no Brady, but then again, maybe Tom Brady isn't anymore either.

Great point about Griese being on his third team. The second string quarterback is always the most popular guy on the team. The Bears will be ok in the playoffs (at least on the NFC side). Home games for both rounds.Chicago in January!! Then it's 1 game shot for the Bowl. Pats match up well as do the Chargers vs. Chicago but AFC playoffs much tougher so those 2 teams may not be there at the end.

For those of you who think Griese is the answer for protecting the football here are some numbers for each of their careers so far:

Rex Grossman
1.05 interceptions per game
.63 fumbles per game

Brian Griese
.99 interceptions per game
.56 fumbles per game

Not much difference. Griese is here because they offered him a sweet deal to hold a clipboard, not because he is Chicago's savior. My question for all you Rex haters out there is when Griese sucks also, do we go back to Rex or on to Orton?

Rex is the best quarterback on the roster and gives the offense the ability to stretch the field. Unfortunately for him his "learning on the job" year is a potential Super Bowl year and not the typical "who cares" season that most young quarterbacks get.

LOVIE NEEDS TO LEARN ABOUT A "BULLPEN" QB SYSTEM!

Lovie Smith is a great coach, albeit with one major fault (like other Bears brain trust in the past) -- his illogical, unyielding faith in one quarterback; this mammoth example being Rex Grossman, who is shaping up as da Bears' reincarnation of Doug Flutie. It is readily apparent that Rex sometimes has difficulty spreading the field and seeing over tall, rushing defensive linemen -- even though he has proven he can throw the deep pass when there isn't a tough pass rush on him. Yet, it just vexes me to no end -- as a lifelong Bears fan transplanted in L.A. (thank God for the USC Trojans in having some semblance of football here!) -- that Lovie is so wedded to a single-quarterback game plan week-in, week-out of this season.

Smith needs to treat the quarterback position like that of a pitcher in baseball: If his starter, Rex (in this case), is stinking up the place with two interceptions and a fumble in the first half of a game (like the Patriots and Dolphins contests), Lovie needs to go a RELIEVER, which is why the Bears are paying so much for an experienced, taller veteran QB named Brian Griese to stand on the sidelines. Simply put, a starting QB who is having some difficulties steering the offense, he needs to know in the back of his mind that there is the threat of replacement. This is like any starting job on the field, or in the regular work-day business world: You don't perform up to snuff, you will be replaced by someone who can do the job!

Now I do appreciate the confidence Lovie has placed in Rex, but it bordering on BLIND FAITH for the last month or so -- leading Rex to possibly become complacent and think he can get by with a "down game" every so often because he has NO FEAR of losing his starting job. After all, Lovie should surely be realizing that Rex has really been the ONLY weak link in the Bears' losses to Miami and New England (you could throw in the Arizona game as well if the D didn't save them) -- where he accounted for something like 7 or 8 turnovers in those two games alone. Seriously, I think any coach in their right mind would begin to wonder if Rex is showing signs of wilting under a half-decent pass rush -- sure he can take a hit, but his happy feet, throwing off his back foot, telegraphing his passes and occasional fumbles are indicative of a problem he has under REAL pressure.

If Lovie can't see that, than the Bears will probably be doomed to a "one-and-out" playoff loss scenario like last season. Even Kyle Orton was smarter and secured the ball better in the 10-1 record he accumulated last season -- before Rex took over! He may not have been a "big play" passer, but even Orton had much better field presence to realize when NOT to throw an ill-conceived, last-second pass under a tough pass rush!

So, here we are at a critical juncture of the Bears' season: A time when Griese and Orton should be given playing time -- either in the first- or second-half of ball games -- because Rex is way too unpredictable and costly to the Bears who are playing too well to let him screw things up. Seriously, the rest of the Bears offensive and the entire defensive and special teams are playing at an excellent, almost error-free, top-tier NFL level, but the painfully obvious WEAK LINK has been at QB with Gross-me-out-man. When he hurt his hand vs. the Pats Sunday, Lovie should have pulled him and when he didn't, Grossman should have opted out -- because he really proved to the be the only liability to the Bears on a night they could have easily won the game.

Alas, it may be the case where Lovie has locked into a mind-meld with the spirits of past Bears coaches, scouts and player personnel/draft executives: If you beamed them all down to Canton, Ohio, they wouldn't know where to spot an NFL Hall of Fame quarterback if their lives counted on it.

I don't mean to sound cynical or outright nasty, but the Bears have only had great QBs in short intervals (Jim McMahon, when not being an injured, pill-popping head case)and so long ago (like Sid Luckman). How long does my generation of Bear fans (in my mid-40s) and the ones before and after have to suffer such poor decision-making over who can be a true signal-calling offensive leader (i.e., Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Brett Favre, Carson Palmer, Ben Roetheliesberger, Matt Leinart, etc.). I'm sorry to sound insensitive, but I don't think Rex Grossman has what it takes to me mentioned in the same breath with them.

Here's to praying that Lovie and Ron Turner will come to their senses, and see the light. And it would also help that Ron Turner could learn how to place QBs in the shotgun position when the opposing pass rush is too tough! Again, I'm praying and that's all one can do!

Here's to a potentially winning '06-'07 campaign for the Monsters of the Midway!

Cheers,
Michael Freeman
Redondo Beach, CA

Grossman is not getting "flamed",as has been said on this sight.He has been HORRIBLE.As far as them being 9-2:they were 8-3 at this point last year with KYL ORTON(My Lord)At least he didn't give away games.A team with a great defense and running just need a functional QB--see Baltimore in 2000,Trent Dilfer---A QB who won't throw away games.Sad to say,it appears Rex can't fit that bill.

it hasnt been 24 hours and it looks like everyone wants to run "gross" out of town on a rail. dont waste the energy he isnt worth it. he should be cut from the bears right now. make him pay a fine equal to the rest of his contract for ruining papa bears team. that kind of play isnt even close to want george envisioned 87 years ago. even frank concannon looked better throwing ints. bobby douglas was even better then "gross". it's time to realize that the bears need a qb change right now. if you cant throw the ball to where clarck can at least get a hand on it you shouldnt be in the league, let alone a qb. ive been a supporter of "gross" since he was drafted, and up till now i was all for sticking with him all the way. lets face it he doesnt even have the mechanics to take a snap. no one that has played qb for more then one snap knows you keep your palms together to take the snap. that was just lazy on his part. the ints, one, okay bad mistake. but three the same way, uh huh. fortunatly that dissaster at qb isnt enough to get me to jump off the bear wagon. but it is enough to make want to hurl at the thought of another game with "gross" in a bear uniform.

this is another reason i would'nt make the compaison between "gross" and mcmann.

do what verginia did with little mikey, and lets get on with the rest of the season and take the super bowl.

Guys, I hate to tell you but the days of nuturing a player along for several years, esp. a QB, and then finally gaining experience and winning a SB are over. With high salaries/free-agencies causing players to move around faster than a speeding bullet from year to year, a team needs to win when they have the chance. The Bears have an excellent Defense right now and a very good running game, with an experienced offensive line. The receivers seem good as well, so what is needed is a quarterback who can make good choices now, not in another couple years after he has more starts. Lets wait until the season is over, and re-evaluate.

My two cents, thanks for reading! Best to all

I think having a game manager in wouldn't be a bad thing.JohnF said it best that it isn't necessary to have a bomber in at QB. That was the best assessment I've seen in all these blogs that keep adding up like summer-time gas prices. I think in our heart of hearts we want Rex to do well because he is OURS.Drafted and waited on. Maybe the wait should start after this season.I can't be sure. It's good to have the speed to stretch the field and a QB to cover it but look;that ain't happening with Rex right now.I would have loved to have been wrong but correctly any one of these players would have been replaced if they showed this much inconsistency. I want to do right by our future but it is right now. I think he'll be great in the future once he get through the rough times.But I think they are just going to get rougher for him.There is no guarantee that he is going to come back from this, maybe not this year. Unless he's delusional he knows that this sits squarely on his shoulders.I'm worried what's between his shoulders namely his head being screwed up. Will this guy's next door neighbor or the guy at the meat counter at the Jewel tell him what he wants to hear or will they tell him he sucks and he really start to believe it? The guy is human and deep down he has to be losing sleep and blaming himself.Will he try to do too much or is he tapped out? I won't touch that question with a ten foot pole.Because it's not up to me to get in his head.Whoever could.Good luck.Give him one and a half games to get better and at the half of that game make the best decision for the team. GO BEARS!!!!

is everyone forgetting that it's actually good for him to struggle a little bit at this point ==> when he has a month to work it out and get in playoff ready mode? 19 total starts, the kid is gonna have a few bad days at the office. But come starts 25+ (playoff time), he will have had a chance to get better.

The keys:
1. Reign him in for a quarter or 2 when he's not on like yesterday. Revert to Orton-like play calling when he's off for a while in the game, to settle him down and get him some confidence for later in the game.

2. Support this guy Chicago. He is the best QB on the team, and he's our guy for this season and beyond. Lovie has made that clear, so don't burn him out. There are only a handful of Brady/Favre/Mannings that come around, so don't expect that from this kid.

Put it this way: if Griese were to play and have a bad day, it's probably not as bad as Rex's bad day. But it's still bad. If Griese were to play and have a good game, it's not as good as if Rex played and had a good game. Griese has a higher floor, lower ceiling. Give me the potential star in Grossman.

Rex Grossman has to be sat down.It seems everyone can see Rex can't deliver but Lovie!How many turnovers does Rex have to make to get it through Lovie's skull that he stinks ?? It's a shame to blow a promising season behind Rex's carelessness. The club is 9-2 but could easily be 10-1 or 11-0 with a solid QB . The chances of Rex getting Bears far in playoffs is remote at best.

Brian Griese is a former pro-bowler with the elite Denver Broncos and has the 5th best qb rating among active qbs. Grossman, if nature were to take its course, should have the job of Official Carrier of Brian Griese's Jock Strap. Being from Denver, it's hard to watch a team like Chicago, a flounderer in many regards. Your best bet is to put in the genius Griese, a bonafide qb, and let the chips fall where they may. Presently, Chicago's use of Wrecks is nothing short of embarrassing and we're all laughing at you.

simply design a better gameplan for Rex and he will perform better...they knew we would be pressured heavily, yet where were the little dump-off passes to safety valve, running backs, or screen passes. All Rex did was heave the ball down field and hope. The one time we tried a screen pass it was called back for a false start, and the play was set up brialliantly. The announcer said he might have gone all the way. Yet we never saw that play again. I just don't get the play-calling. As Hayden Fry used to say, "you have to scratch where it itches". Short passed, little dinks and dunks, until they back off on the pressure, then go with the play action. As well as we ran the ball, we should have scored more.

Will someone ask clue-less Lovie and Ron Tuner and Ron Rivera, when the hell are they going to make changes to their respective game plans to actually try and win a game?
Can't throw down field, lets keep doing it, don't try to blitze, nah that wont work.
Rex sucked, again, but so did the coaching staff, top to bottom.

What the Bears need at qb is consistency. They do not need a guy that can throw the deep ball or make big plays. really they dont. It is nice to have and fun to watch. Grossman can be exciting. But if he is going to take chances then get picked off 3 or 4 times a game, then he becomes a liabilty. Yeah he might look better than Dilfer, but remember Dilfer, as mediocre as he was, didnt throw so many interceptions in multiple games, to cost their team games. Grossman needs to learn to manage the game. The Bears window of opportunity might very well be a narrow one. I dont know if they can wait for Grossman to become accurate again. I would hope he would have learned something by know, especially with the way he played in Minnesota early in the season. I would see how he plays against Minnesota. They have a pretty good defense, this will be a good test. If he stinks it up again, put in Griese.
Grossman is getting to a point where you cannot keep on using inexperience as an excuse. Look at all the good qbs in the league today, usually after 10 starts their completion percentage, and rating is higher by this point. He may turn it around. I guess we will see.
Another thing , how do you attack an offensive coordinator when the qb is given nice opportunities to complete a pass (watch that last play again if you tivo-ed it) but has totally lost his accuracy. I see no problem with the play calling. Just a mediocre qb

People get with the program!!!! The Bear's problems are not just some bad plays by Rex, it is the coaching staff pure and simple. The Bears have tremendous athletes on Defense which overcomes the bad coaching on that side of the ball. Really, how many Teams run the Cover 2 Defense but aren't effective with it. Urlacher makes everyone better but with Rivera's horrible coaching even he can't make the defense effective on every down hence the few big plays that kill them each game. Where were the Defensive adjustments at Half Time? Why didn't they adjust to the Patriots repeatedly going to Ben Watson? Why leave Hillenmeyer on the field in passing downs? Why do the Bear's corners consistently line up 10 yards+ off the receiver on 3rd and 5-9 yards to go? Has anyone ever seen a Safety Blitz in Chicago? Where are the adjustments in the last 6 games to revive the Pass Rush? If other Teams can consistently get to Grossman with less Talent upfront and at Linebacker, why can't the Bears run some stunts and blitz to get the other quarterback on the run? Does anyone doubt that Briggs or Urlacher could run down any quarterback in the league? Remember Urlacher a couple of years ago chasing down Michael Vick from behind or tackling him with one hand? The problem is coahing pure and simple. How does Bear's managemnt expect to win with coaches such as Ron Turner who was something like 13-40 at Illinois. Who did he ever develop at Quarterback or what offense did he ever run? The Titans hired Norm Chow, from USC, a SUCCESSFUL coach and look how Vince Young is responding. Why wouldn't the Bears hire a proven Offensive Coordinator? Maybe one who could teach someone how to use the Shotgun to defeat Blitzs or to throw quick slants to slow the pass rush or even run EFFECTIVE, well disguised Play action passed when their Team is running for 150 yards+ on the #2 Run defense in the league. How in the world can a football team hire Wade Wilson, who was a miserable failure in every aspect of his career as a quarterback and expect him to TEACH someone how to be a great one? Why not hire Bob Avellini, or Steve Fuller or better yet Cade McNown to teach Grossman? They were all at least as good as Wade Wilson. Why not spend whatever it takes to hire Tom Moore from the Colts? He molded Peyton Manning. Coaches make a difference!!!! Can you imagine what Bill Walsh or Parcells or Mike Shanahan would do with this Defense and the offensive talent the Bears have?
It is so clear that the Bears will never go deep into the playoffs with this coaching staff. They have talent at every position but are going to flop after the regular season. It doesn't even matter that they'll win the division and have home field in the Playoffs, whichever Team is hot at playoff time will crush them, not to mention what some of the so-called "Teams with losing records" they have to face the rest of the way will do to them. Any bets on the fact that the Bears will lose to St. Louis, Green Bay and maybe even Minnesota next week to finish 11-5 and limp into the Playoffs? Season Over, let's focus on which good coaches we can hire for 2007!!!! PS. I love Thomas Jones but Benson clearly has another gear. Maybe the new Offensive Coordinator can find a way to use them both effectively in 2007.

I have to admit, I wish I could say I was surprised to see everyone coming out to lay into Rex for yet another week. I can't help but wonder where all of you were 13 months ago.

With that said, even I'm surprised that you, Roman, could change your mind so quickly. Are you really that surprised with Rex's performance? He's been what I (at least) have been saying from day one: a mistake-prone, mediocre quarterback.

Roman responds: I don't think it's quickly. It's 11 games in.
So let's play the blame game for a second: Ron Turner? Eh...easy target, but really--how much are you going to blame the coaching staff? There was, actually, a pretty appropriate balance of runs and passes--if you must pick on something, try the overemphasis on Thomas Jones early on when Cedric Benson was clearly more effective (sure, Jones finished with more yards--but Benson actually hit the hole and ran some folks over). But Jones turned it on later, so that comes out in the wash.

Rivera? Try again. The Bears gave up a fair chunk of passing yards, to be sure--but they gave up one passing touchdown, one rushing touchdown, and a field goal. They also caused a bunch of turnovers, which the offense had the unfortunate occasion to reciprocate.

Lovie Smith? Laughable. Holding Tom Brady to 17 points is commendable.

I'm sick of all this prattle--blah-blah-blah, Bears are overrated, blah-blah-blah--let's wait until the Bears are 9-7 before we start talking "overrated," okay? Do you mean to tell me there's a team in the NFC that has a demonstrated capacity to beat the Bears? The Saints, maybe--but only maybe. Dallas? Do you mean to tell me the mighty Tony Romo is going to come in and counter the Bears' D? Give me a break.

While I am reluctant to make such obnoxiously presumptuous statements, really--let's get real, people. What the Bears need isn't new coaches or even a new quarterback. (Sorry, Roman--I still got love for you, though.) They need their legions of fairweather armchair quarterbacks to shut the heck up and start supporting their team, regardless of what the score is.

I'm gonna echo Roman himself from last week--Brian Griese? Puh-leeze. Even if Griese could have beaten New England--what then? Do we give up on Rex now? If we do, that's it--the experiment is done. I don't think Rex can get the job done--but neither can Griese, and no one's gonna let Orton under center this year. So I say stick with Rex. He's been able to stay healthy, which is more than I expected from him this year. Maybe he can turn it around, maybe he can't.

Only in Chicago is the back up QB always the most popular player. Griese is on his fourth team in a nine year career. Third team in four years. He is now a capable journeyman, but nothing more. Rex with all his growing pains not only gives us the best chance to win now, but for years to come. You don't pull franchise QB's when they hit a bad spot, you fix the game plan. Benson was busting up the Pat's, they looked like they were getting run over. Instead of keeping it up until they showed they could stop it, we go back to Jones and forcing the ball down field. Turner wanted to throw on New England's banged up secondary and decided to go back to his original game plan. Which made some sense, but we ran the ball on them well and went away from it. We just needed to settle down and take control. Jones got back in the game because of the coaches view he will pick up the blitz better than Benson. Which was a big mistake in my opinion.

In some of Rex's other subpar games he had bad mechanic's. Last night he just was inaccurate, especially after the hand injury. Despite other comments on this blog I feel this to be rather isolated. When he has time he has put the ball on the money,long, short and that skinny post to Mohammed is a great throw. Teams have combated that with the constant blitz. That's when we have seen bad Rex with the off the back foot throws. That can be fixed. Most of the Rex bashers on this board went away after the first 5 games. Now they are all back in gleeful back up QB mode.....Please! And for the Orton people out there, the Bears won inspite of him not because.

After all said and done we lose by 4 points to a perenial super-bowl favorite. We miss a field goal on a penalty and then a block. they make a field goal on a second attempt after a misguided time out. A six point swing, but we lose and it is all Rex's turnovers. Both teams were brutal in tthe red zone. This loss may wake up our defensive and offensive coordinators. We never put a hand on Brady. A guy with his skill set needs to fear something. Rushing just four cost us. Enough said, back to the easy part of our schedule. Relax out there, the bears and Rex will re-establish.

Knowledge is a good thing, so here is some....Tom Brady threw 3 interceptions versus the Jets this month and because of that the Patriots lost. He threw two interceptions versus the Bears and only becuase his defense came through for him, he still won. In both games, he wasn't under the sack presure Rex was. I didn't hear the Boston writers or Patriot fans screaming for him to be benched. But this is Chicago, where people love Democrats and love to burry their own "team" and cry for change. In both politics and sports, be careful what you ask for, you may just get it!

People,people...1.to all you Greise fans he's never played in a playoff game! Rex's Put up 21 in his only Playoff game And The Defense gets torched.2. you want to harp on the int. fine these are the guys that have more Td. Brady(20),Carson Palmer,P.Manning and Brees pretty good company!3. let him grow, Early he was plagued by poor decisions,The Patriot game was bad Throws. He will get better. And throwing 3int. against the Patriots isn't odd even for better Qb's(McNabb,Big Ben,P.Manning) and a host of others Qb's.4. How can you guys question the play calling? They Ran For 153yds on a team giving up 90 per.5. Be grateful 9-2, or do you want Wannsted,Jaron,Shoops,an Qb's like Miller,Huthincin, and McNown back! These are good times people.

Romo - it was YOU 2 weeks ago who said you can't play musical QBs. Yes, Grossman was bad yesterday but 4 out of 6?? Against the Jets the gameplan was for a running game - he had 1 TD and no picks...that's awful? You're listening to too much radio. The Bears coaching decisions have been brutal over the last several weeks. There's been no pass rush and outside of Briggs, the D has been average. They still have no number 1 receivers and the O line is allowing Grossman to get chased around. The need to run the ball but for some reason, Turner thinks he can air it out whenever they want despite their lack of receivers of consistent protection.

Roman responds: Musical QBs is when you keep switching. I wanted to give Rex a valid shot and if he fails put in Griese. I think that time is now. If Rex keeps playing like this, it's going to happen anyway. And Rex looks like he's lost his confidence.

Folks! Folks! Folks! What's up with all the hate? When the o-line was keeping Rex clean and he wasn't in 9 hit 18 hurries type games he put up very good numbers and had the Chicago faithful in bliss. Don't you think it rather strange that the Bears have only had one game this season when they both passed and ran the ball effectively? I think that the offensive line has been 1-dimensional this season. They either pass block real well (1st five games) or they run block real well (last 5-6 gms). When TRex was sitting back in the pocket passing for over 200 yds, 3 TD's and a QB rating of 100+ you bandwagon dogs were cheering his name. Bernard Berrian only became a 'feared' deep threat this season. He's not throwing to himself. Get off of Rex. Why hasn't anyone questioned the receiving corps. 2 first year starters in Berrian and Bradley and a first year NFL offensive starter in Davis. Moose is the only receiver with NFL experience. Most fans assume that these guys are always in the right place and have no bearing on the success of a QB. Wrong folks. If the line isn't blocking or the defense lines up with a better scheme, the receivers have to help out the QB by breaking the route. With experience QB's and receivers are on the same page and know what to do when this happens. Young receivers and a young QB need time to work this out. Have faith Bear fans. You've seen it when Rex has time to throw the football he's a very good passer. With more experience and better protection he will be just fine this year and in the future. Some fans are just 'panick mongers'.

Angelo's hands are all over this. They are going to risk the season on Grossman's abilities. If he turns it around, they will sign him to a lucrative deal. If he continues down this path, they will cut him loose. If that happens, Lovie gets some of the blame reducing the value of his next contract big time. I think Angelo is more worried about his position with the team. Does anyone know if he even considered the former and future pro-bowler Drew Bress when he was a FREE AGENT this winter, or is Drew too short at about 6'1"?

Enough of this baby stuff on Rex now. Do we remember who played better in the preseason, but still Rex was annointed as "our quarterback." Where was the open competition? Rex is a baby and it is time for some tough love, Lovie. It's time to tell him to play better and stop making bonehead decisions, our to sit down. If we don't make it far into the playoffs it will only be because of this staff's stubborness and they will go down in flames with "our quarterback."

I just want to say I am a diehard Bears fans and always will be! Rex has the worst throwing mechanics and the quaterback coach should be pulled too if they can't fix the broken Rex. The offensive line (Mr.John Tait) cannot hold of the average defensive end not to mention a great defensive end. The moose receiver is not earning his pay. They need Bradley in all the time as a starter. The running game was on and I feel we could have easily got another touchdown if we would have used the clock!

I am a Bears fan living in Denver. Griese was a Bronco. Griese got cut.
You want Griese to have a shot? Be careful what you wish for.

This is the first time I can ever remember people wanting to replace a quarterback so they can have a more dull offense. Dont you usually replace a qb to jump start your offense? Last year at this time wasn't everybody complaining about our lack of offense? Over his career Griese is no better at protecting the football and he doesn't provide the downfield threat that Rex does. I am still behind Rex.

Unbelievable, that there are so many unbelievers. Sheesh! Rex is our King! He will get us our ring! Don`t worry, just let it happen. Even the ~85 Bears lost to Miami. Nobody is perfect. Adjustments will be made, Rex will grow beyond his difficulties, and he has the time to do that. I have seen Griese play both good, and bad, football. The idea of inserting him in the 4th quarter is totally ludicrous. What matters RIGHT NOW, is home field advantage, and I don`t see us losing that, I just don`t. Just remember, Rex won a National Championship, and put up monster stats doing so. We will see that eventually. You nebobs of negativity are talking as if he was Ryan Leaf. We`re 9-2 for Pete`s sake. Get yer heads outta yer rear ends, and give your team and QB some positive support! Can I get an AMEN??????

In 1970 Terry Bradshaw's passing percentage was 38.1%. He threw 24 interceptions and 6 TDS. Pittsburgh stayed with him. In 1993 Brett Farve's passing rating was 72.2, lower than Grossman's. Troy Aikman's passing rating in 1990 was 66.6 he threw 18 interceptions and 11 tds. Great quaterbacks are not always made overnight. For those who want to throw him to the dogs do something productive with your time. RESEARCH!!!

loved the comment: "maybe Tom Brady isn t Tom Brady anymore"
yeah you wish.....
Ask Urlacher !

Perhaps the coaches, Ron Turner in particular, should be bearing in mind that Rex has had eighteen starts in his career. While not a rookie, he's hardly an established veteran. When riding to a five and oh record he looked spectacular. What we saw then were his potentialities and what we're watching now are his growing pains. Ron Turner needs to be aware of where Rex's progress stands and call plays that nurture his confidence. For perspective, fans should evaluate Eli Manning or Michael Vick. Neither would be said to be shining and yet neither of their teams are panicking. Maybe that's because the Bears have the best second string quarterback in the league. It is a Chicago truism that the most popular man in town is always the Bears second string quarterback.

I've read a lot about Rex's bad mechanics. Who should be the first to recognize that? The coaches. Who should make sure that gets fixed? The coaches. Whose fault is it if it keeps happening? The coaches. Why do teams have coaches? To teach the players how to play correctly in order to successfully execute their plan. Who is doing the worst job of all? The coaches. You can use this as a template. Just replace "Rex's bad mechanics" with any of the following: poor run D, awful play calling, poor or no adjustments, unprepared to play well or any other persistent problem.

I'm surprised that the Bears have the record they do. Realistically, they should be 6-4. Dumb luck -not great play gave the Bears the impressive record they have today. The QB change must be made when (not "if") Rex has his next round of interceptions and generally poor execution. As I have said twice on this blog --the Bears just ain't that good! They're decent but certainly not a Super Bowl caliber team. I still think they're going to lose to Minnesota, St. Louis and Tampa Bay. By then we should see Griese at QB. Let's hope it's sooner!

Let me ask the naysayers this one question. Would you be able to play in the NFL for one of the most historic teams in the NFL and be perfect everytime? If one of you says yes, then wake up from la-la-land. Rex Grossman has had four bad games. After each one he has bounced back. What does that make him a huamn being. We all make mistakes. Instead of yelling and critizing, get behind him like his teammates and cheer him on Sunday. He is one of many who has made the Bears 9-2. Shut up or get off the Bears bandwagon.

For all of you who want to bench Rex I have one thing to say Mike Tomczak. That was the back-up QB Bears fans thought would take us to the next Super Bowl back in the mid to late 80's.
Rex is the future and not an aging Brian Griese.

AMEN William!

The Patriots actually tried to give the game to the Bears but i guess they dont take charity...no seriously rex was a little banged up and shaken up ,the last pass play call was asinine though.To the same area where the guy already picked off two passes?it was overthrown also by Rex ,game could have went either way ,we lost game won fight .even though banged them up pretty badly but I would have prefered a "W"versus Patriots respect...9-2 not too bad...still Goooooooo BEARSSSSSS!

Defenders of Grossman have to make a choice: do you want him to "develop" (which in my opinion he has had 3+ years to do) and attempt to overcome his shortcomings this year, or do you want to win a Superbowl this year?

You cannot have both!

Grossman's play is too up and down to expect success this year in the playoffs. Perhaps by next year or the year after he will develop some consistency, but not this year - as has been proved over these last 6 weeks.

The problem with sticking with him now and not going to a more experienced player like Griese, you give up what may be your best chance to win a title. By the time Grossman "figures it out", a substantial number of the players on the team right now will be gone. The vast majority of the current starters are only signed through 2007.

I have not said that Grossman cannot, under any circumstances, get better in the future (although I think he has had plenty of time). But the Bears window of opportunity is very small. You have a weak NFC this year and this may not be the case next year.

That is why I think Griese is the best quarterback for the team - right now - maybe not in the future.

Last week we saw what a championship quarterback looks like. He doesn't hurt his team with game changing mistakes, he reads defenses correctly, he moves in the pocket, he takes advantage of what the defense gives him and doesn't force plays. Grossman did none of these.

Even if the Bears go 3-2 the rest of the way and have home field advantage, do you REALLY think they can beat the Cowboys, or the Saints, or the Seahawks given the way those teams are playing now versus the way the Bears (especially at quarterback) are playing now? If you do you are in for a rude awakening come playoff time.

...during preseason: griese griese griese....first coupla games rex is mvp mvp mvp....arizona...griese....
rex has only played about 20 games his whole career...hes about a 2nd year player...not a veteran, every qb has some bad games: rex mainly arizona, miami, and n.e...but he will bounce back.....the bears just need to sit down and tell rex STOP PANICKING WHEN THERES NO RECEIVER OPEN AND JUST DUMP IT OFF TO THE RB OR THROW IT OUT AND LIVE TO SEE ANOTHER DAY...HE JUST NEEDS TO GET IT IN HIS HEAD THAT EVERY THROW DOESNT HAVE TO BE A 59 yard pass to berrian or bradley...they need to take some pages out of kyle ortons playbook and move a little closer to a managing game for rex...the bears have never been a great passing team and i dont think it will start now with rex, perhaps next year after he gets some experience but realistically at home the defense has never suffered a LARGE LAPSE of being run over or lit up...ever this season...scores by other teams are usually caused by turnovers while backed up or rex ints...if they run the ball more, which they are moving closer too...and start passing the ball more efficiently (i.e. slants, hitches, not god damn FLYS EVER PLAY) they will be just fine and that defense is as good as any once manning is back...

keys:
run more...even if u have to punt its ok u got the god damn number 1 def
pass less...not every throw is a td
better play selection: less hail f-in marries more slants short passes
(the long passes will be there just not every play)

unless a major injury occurs...and rex learns from these mistakes...

welcome to miami chicago fans

Like I've said before if we were not expecting to go to the SB we wouldn't be so pissed about Rex. But the panic mode is in full effect because it just seems like he's taking the SB away. That is not promised. I'm a little shell-shocked like everyone else but we are still 9-2. If someone had said we'd be 9-2 back before the season started we all would be impressed. But because someone said SB we are all waiting for this team to be more champion-like. Every year someone goes to the SB and look so different than they played all year. Pittsburg didn't look great until the final score of the AFC championship game. Some people feel they weren't worthy and that they stole a few games off of officiating errors. Either way no one expected them to go to the SB.They did and won it all. Everyone expected Indy to go through last season and win the SB trophy.That didn't happen.And everyone blamed what got them through the season for them not advancing.Everyone has the answers in hindsight. You can't just expect your team to make the SB and that become a reality all the time. You can ask too much of this team but what will be will be. Nothing is promised. We all have the answers but in reality who is listening? And why should anyone listen when not one person on these blogs is an NFL coach in any capacity. I don't think any one of us even qualifies as a waterboy but that won't stop us from spouting out the answers. Tell you what ask two of your best friends if you have the correct answers as to what ails the BEARS and if both of them agree with you either they don't want to walk the rest of the way home or they owe you money and don't want you the ask for it right now. Honestly all the arm chair QBs have all the answers but that's what Mondays are for.It's Tuesday and I'm just not that pissed about the game any longer.Roman what do you get if you're the 100th person to blog on this thread? I've never seen so many ticked off or beside themselves at any point this season.GO BEARS!!

NO, IT'S NOT TIME TO BENCH REX AND I DONT THINK HE SHOULDNT BE BENCH AT ALL. FIRST OF ALL,THE BEARS OF THIS YEARS ARENT AS GREAT AS THE 1985 BEARS ALRIGHT. SECOND OF ALL, THE BEARS OF THIS YEAR CAN GO ALL THE WAY TO THE SUPER BOWL, THEY CAN, BUT WHAT THEY NEED TO DO IS TO START REGROUPING THEMSELVES AND FIND OUT WHAT WAS THE PROBLEM THEY HAD WITH THE PATRIOTS. OF COURSE I THINK THEY WERE OVER HYPED WITH THEIR RECORD THIS YEAR, AND LSITENING TO PEOPLE WHAT THEY ARE SAYING HOW GOOD THEY ARE. THEY NEED TO STEP BACK AWAY FROM THEM PEOPLE AND START DOING WHAT THEY DO BETTER,FOCUS AND PENTRATE ON THEIR OFFENSE AND DEFENSE. THEIR DEFENSE WAS MARVELOUS AGINST THE PATRIOTS, VERY GOOOD, BUT THEY LOST ANYWAY. THEY DIDNT EVEN ALLOW ALOT OF POINTS AT ALL. NOW ABOUT REX, I THINK HE NEED TO GET WITH HIS RECIEVERS AND PRACTICES THEIR ROUTES AND AS FAR AS THE RUNNING GAME THAT THE RUNNING BACK ARE DOING, I THINK THE OFFENSIVE LINE NEED SOME MORE IMPROVMENTS, MAYBE SOME MORE OF THE NEW PLAYS AND WORK HARD ON THAT AND DOING IT BETTER SO THE RUNNING GAME FOIR THE RUNNING BACKS CAN BE EASY AND SMOOTH. THE PATRIOT HAVE BEEN PLAYING SOME OF THE BETTER DEFENSIVE GAME IN AWHILE AND THEY HAVE BEEN PLAYING IT FOR A LONG TIME. NOW REX,ISNT TO BE BLAME FOR THE LOST, IT'S THE WHOLE BEARS TEAM TO BE BLAME FOR, AND I AM NOT SADDEN FOR IT BUT I THINK IT WAS A GOOD LOST AND IT MAY BE A WAKE UP CALL FOR THEM AFTER WINNING MANY GAMES EARLIER IN THE SEASON AND THEY MAY HAVE FELT THAT THEY CANBEAT EVERYONE AND THAT MIGHT BE THE PROBLEM. SO GET WITH THE GAME PLAN AND REGROUP TOGETHER AND THEY WILL BE ALL FINE. REMEMBER, THE OFFENSIVE LINE MEN,THE RUNNING BACKS, THE QUARTERBACK,THE RECIEVERS AND THE TIGHT ENDS, THEY HAVE GOT TO GET TOGETHER AND DO WHAT THEY CANDO BETTER, I HOPE THEY CAN GET SOME OF THE NEW PLAYS AND GET BETTER WITH IT. AS FOR THE DEFENSIVE SIDE,I THINK THEY ARE DOING A BETTER JOB BUT THEY ALLOW THE PATRIOTS TO GET MORE POINTS THAN WHAT THE TEAM(BEARS) GOT AND THAT'S UNACCEPTABLE. NOW I KNOW THE BEARS ARE A BETTER TEAM THAN THE PATRIOTS, THEY REALLY ARE. SO I WOULD EXPECT THE BETTER EFFORT FROM THEM TEAM IN THE LONG RUN, UNTIL THEY MEET THE COLTS IN THE SUPER BOWL. PLEASE WATCH WHAT THE COLTS HAVE BEEN DOING ALL YEAR, THEY CLEBRATED ON EVERY PLAYS THAT THEY GO THROUGH WHETHER IF THEY ARE ON OFFENSE OR DEFENSE, THEY STILL PLAY BETTER, THIS IS WHAT THE BEARS HAD DONE EARLIER IN THE SEASON, NOW GET TO REGROUPING AND U ALLL WILL BE CELEBRATING ALLL THE WAY, AND IF THIS IS THE WAY, GET ME A SUPER BOWL TICKET! IT SHOULD BE A LIFT AFTER READING THIS COMMENT.

I don't blame mini rex for being bad, he can't help it he is little. I blame angelo, who while having a do nothing position with tampa bay actually did a study of quarterback characteristics for success, guess he missed a few factors like stature; not just height but reach, sight, resiliance and strength. Mini Rex, "i hurt my little hand when i missed the snap and dropped the big ball" has the stature needed to play in europe or cfl. Angelo should lose his job after trading bears draft pick for michael haynes and mini rex. that's why lovie can't pull rex, it would make angelo look bad. And lovie is a first time head coach so he not only has no experience, but he wants a new contract from angelo.
Most teams the ownership, or team president, would step in, fire angelo and smith, but with the bears that is not going to happen since the president is also first timer in job, like angelo and lovie and rex. His goal is to get to the playoffs and since that is still fairly likely, he is probably happy. And the owners, as long as they can draw salaries for as many family members as possible in jobs with the team, they don't seem to care. Its not like they hire well qualified experienced professionals for team jobs, its like a contest to see who can last the longest without knowing what they are doing. Any time the bears have to play a team that is talented, well coached, well managed and accountable to ownership the bears will lose just about every time. Its disappointing because bear fans care deeply and can see the potential and really want to win. But the hierarchy of the bears, michael, ted, jerry, lovie and rex cares more about their jobs than winning, and they don't care for their fans except for the money they get from them. This bunch has just about 0 chance of realistically winning a super bowl, no matter how much potential the team has or how badly the fans might hope for it. Is this how you build a winning team, no, this is how you build an embarrassment.

the bears are overrated? They have been beating teams by an average of 2 touchdowns or more. And have you seen what Buffalo, san fran have done since they played the bears? how about a team they lost too, miami. Both these losses and the near loss of minnesota and arizona were due to one particular position having a difficulty securing the football.
And as far as they should be 6 and 4 is like Arizona fans saying they should be 6 and 4. Every team has some games they should have won or lost. look at the great chargers. they SHOULD have lost to the Raiders. Well they didnt they won. a win is a win. And most of the bears season has been wins in overwhelming fashion.
All that really matters is the big one the superbowl. And they SHOULD get there...
Also no comparing Rex to Bradshaw.. I know you are talking about rookie seasons but please. This is time for Rex to prove he can lead this team to the promise land. If he falters again this week, i say pull him. Then he can be the most beloved bear again.we can write about how we want grossman back in there !

Rex Grossman has been a great asset to the team. For all fairweather fans that get impulsed by a winning Chicago team I have news for you. Lets not forget some of the badass things Rex has done for the Bears. He is an exceptionally good QB and there is no denying that. Even though Grossman choked miserably as true Chicago fans we should still stand by him. Have a little faith he is still a rookie and give it time. I think he is going to pull through. No matter what the Bears are always #1 in my book becuase they rock! I stand by my team, and my team's QB.

Rex didn't play so bad, for a lil fellar. Just too bad the over rated center can't do a shotgun snap; or the o line can't move the pocket; or rex can't roll out; or after 2 years the o line still can't run a screen pass better than a junior college team; or they can't pass the ball to a back in the flat besides the play to the slow fullback that everyone has seen now how many times; or they can't fool anyone with a simple draw play; or they can't get the snap count right, let alone a silent snap count; or their genius center calls the blocking scheme and then lets someone run untouched right up the middle and hopes the back can somehow jump in front of rex and get a block on them; or the wide outs never seem to read the blitz and run a hot route to give rex a quick pass that gains more than a yard; or the tight ends or a wide out actually get open underneath the coverage; or the tight end that only ever blocks can keep from jumping offsides in the red zone; or they actually have a no huddle offense; or they actually have a two minute offense; or they have a go to wide receiver that doesn't disappear when you need them; or they don't keep using the back that pulls up or goes out of bounds just shy of the 1'st down marker to avoid taking a hit and getting the first down, or they finally play the back that has shown the willingness to stick his head in there and knock a db out of the way for that extra yard or two; or the bears coach acts like he understands the game situation and the time on the clock and such. The bears maybe won't have to play anyone really good or really well coached until after they are champions of the nfc north and they have had a parade in the hallways of mckasky hall. Well, maybe they should just try changing quarterbacks for awhile, that might be simplest for them. They do have a lot of talent just aren't that well coached and not even close to being a great team.

Message to Lovie: You have a great defense and your players believe in you; but a change at QB maybe necessary to improve your chances of reaching the superbowl. I'm from Wisconsin and the Packers are going to be waiting the superbowl just like me. You only get a few opportunites to have a great team that is healthy; I would hate to see our division champions eliminated and embarrassed in their first playoff game.

Last year you had a weak QB and were eliminated; this year the QB in better--but I have not seen the leadership required to lead the team on a game winning drive at the end of the game. I fear that if you keep making the 'same' decision, to play weak QB's, you are going to get the same result---immediate elimination.

I would like to see our division champions in the Superbowl!

I don't know what's worse, the whining of the Rex-bashers or their inability to spell common words ("HUGHE"? "EMBARASMENT"? "Defence"? What do those words mean?) And as far as using Brady as a comparison to make the point that Rex isn't the one to get us to the Bowl, that's a dumb comparison; Brady's (arguably) the best QB in the league and there really are only a handful of QBs that can be grouped with him, yet somehow teams with lesser QBs still seem to make it to the Bowl (hello, Seattle).

Roman, how about this for an argument. Every season beginning with 2003 it's fair to say that the Indianapolis Colts have been legit Super Bowl contenders right? And in those seasons Peyton Manning has had as many great years that any of the great QBs in football history have ever had right? Now how many Super Bowl Rings does Manning have? Zero. He's proof that as a QB you can put up great numbers and play flawless REGULAR SEASON football year in, year out but it doesn't mean squat if you can't play like that in the POSTSEASON, which he can't do every time he's in the playoffs. Let's say Grossman didn't have any bad games right now, had 30 TDs, only 5-6 INTs and played like that for the rest of the season. How good would those numbers look if the Bears still loss in their playoff opener? Bottom line: Performance in the Regular season is over-rated. It's what you do in playoff time.

Dam people, realize this is the best team the bears have had in at least 18 years and all i hear is negativity.How about some love and positve points? Our running game has gotten better every week.Our D has only given up 300 yards total offense once all year.Unless we have a total meltdown we will have home field throughout.We actually have NFL quality recievers for the first time since booker.I know a lot of other teams can boast all these points but when is the last time you can say those things about the bears. p.s. AMEN WILLIAM

You guys aren't thinking this through. We don't need Rex to win games for us in the playoffs. Besides, quit thinking that Rex will be the reason we'd win the Superbowl. It's always the Bears way to play hard hitting defense and run the football down your throat.

I think the play calling in the second half wasn't great at all. Once Seau was gone, the middle became a sieve. On obvious passing downs, the huge Wilfork was taken out and the Pats sent in Troy Brown as part of their nickle package. If I see that formation, I'd handoff and dare the Pats to stop the run.

Now going back to Rex - if the Bears QB is not to lose the game, then Rex is still the guy. Why? Brian Griese is a more experienced version of Kyle Orton. If you put Griese in there, the defense will put 8-9 guys in the box to stop the run. With Rex in there, he's crazy and reckless enough to throw down the field. That means the safeties play off the line unless they plan on blitzing. Relax, Rex is no Bob Avellini or Mike Phipps. We need Rex in there because he helps the running game. Run Jones and Benson and if you need to pass, don't settle for dinks, stretch the defense. You may get a couple of pass interference calls like we did against the Pats. Or you may start actually completing it.

One last thought - the last pass may have been the WR's fault. All game, Rex was under throwing the ball. On this pass, the WR didn't run the right route (assuming it was a post). He ran the route as if expecting the ball to be underthrown. You've got to run the route you're supposed to. You may not have liked the results, but Rex read the defense correctly. He did not throw into double coverage. So let him work through his rut. He's got a month to prepare for the playoffs.

If the Bears are going to stick with Rex Grossman, I believe the Bears need to do is have Ron Turner rein him in and make him work in a ball-controlled offense which will utilize plays that work for him.

An offense that: sets up play-action and the vertical game, allows him to throw to the least dangerous receiver, nickle & dime down the field which burns clock, utilizes his down the field throws OCCASIONALLY. I see nothing wrong with gaining 3-4 yards on 1st & 2nd down and leaving the Bears in 3rd and short situations, which can allow the Bears to pass or run for short yardage to get the 1st down.

In this offense the Bears can expect to have good field position and pin their opponents down and allow the rested defense to 'tee-off' on them. And, create more turnovers and shorten the field for the offense. In the playoffs at Soldier Field, it will be highly unlikely the long pass will be successful because of the wind and the weather.

Why worry? We Bears fans have nothing to worry about. No matter what happens, we're going to clinch the division. We've got plenty of time. If I were Lovie, I'd be playing all three quarterbacks against the Vikings; Grossman, Griese and Orton. We may not have one rock solid quarterback but we do have three good ones.

This is ridiculous. Talk radio and paranoia have set in, and you windblown fans are ready to crucify the kid -- despite his leading us to a 9-2 record!!! A few bad games, yes, and he needs to improve, definitely. But he has the ability to be awesome -- need I remind you what he was an MVP candidate up until about 5 or6 weeks ago??

Great post by someone saying they can't believe fans are calling for a more dull QB and offense, that changes usually are put in to jumpstart an offense. That could not be more on point -- why regress the offense; it makes no sense. Fix the little things with Rex (the over aggressive habits, the broken down mechanics when pressure hits, the play calling to settle him down), and you will see above average to star play from this kid.

Finally, if anyone out there could honestly say they would not have taken Rex's numbers so far as season totals for this year from a Bears QB, you are outright lying or delusional. 18 TDs -- when's the last time we saw that from a Bears QB? He's on pace for mid 20s for TDs and upper teens for INTs, with a rating around 80. That is better than anything we've had around here since Kramer. And that rates with Pro Bowl numbers put up recently by Bulger, Hasselback, and a few others in the last few years. Come on people -- stop being paranoid fools!!

Rex will settle down and get this right by playoff time, if the coaching staff adjusts it's work with him and the play calls when he doesn't have it for a given game. It's that simple.

REX NEEDS TO RUN

Scrambling once in a while will prevent denfenses from pressuring him all the time. I know he is worried about injury, but defenses cheat by stacking the line, running once in a while will keep them honest. Most of his turnovers are because he is pressured and doesn't move around in the pocket; Bledsoe had the same problem in Dallas, which is part of the reason Romo was put in. Romo moves around well in the pocket. Enough about Rex's mechanics, his TO's are a result of forcing the throw under pressure.

THIS IS BRIAN GRIESE! He is NO WHERE near the same caliber QB as his father was! If he was that great, he would never have been signed as a BACKUP!

Let him stay there until Rex actually cannot play. You stick with Rex now, chances are he'll work out of his funk. The Bears as a whole are probably not ready for a Super Bowl, but sticking with Grossman allows you to keep moving in that direction.

This is getting ridiculous. Brian Grease was a cast-off from a losing Tampa Bay Bucs team. How is everyone so positive about Griese's "poise and control under pressure?" We haven't seen him in any meaningful regular season time this year. I feel like throwing up from reading the asinine comments on here. How could there possibly be this many complaints about a 9-2 football team? I didn't realize this was as much of a self-hating sports town as Philly is -it makes me wonder how many of these whiners are Cubs fans.

Mariotti was right on the money about the potential off-season trade for Drew Brees. There would've been no QB controversy had the Bears relinquished Grossman to be the backup to the QB who is having a potential NFL career year in total yards.

Part of the blame also goes to Ron Turner as well. The game plan that worked to perfection in the season opener in Green Bay as well as Buffalo, and San Fran bombed against the Vikings, Cardinals, the Dolphins, and now the Patriots. Having a full understanding of his depleted secondary and Ron Turners play-calling tendencies, Bill Belicheck obviously had his secondary looking for the deep ball. Rex was pretty consistent when hitting the intermidiate routes, which is the reason the Bears got into scoring position. It is also the reason why running routes were consistantly open in the second half. The Patriots however, tightened things up in the red zone. The Bears should have executed what the Cardinals did to them(and made Matt Leinart look prematurely like a star) and went to a West Coast scheme. This would've kept the ball moving and given ample time for the defense to rest and be even more effective.

Jermaine where are you man? It's been a few days. You always chime in about now. I want to see what I'm missing in regards to you always seeing the light through the darkness. Everyone else has given his two cents. I myself am hedging either way. I also give the other William an AMEN!! Some you guys are WAY out of line.GO BEARS!!!

I can't believe one guy in this blog called the Bears the most overrated team in the history of the NFL. They are ranked #1 in overall Team Defense in the entire NFL. They have given up the fewest amount of points in the NFL. They are #2 against the Pass. Their defense has the most turnovers in the league. Etc, etc, etc...

Grossman has had troubles of late. But, if they can just teach this guy not to turn the ball over, we can win the Superbowl! Trent Dilfer won a Superbowl with a tremendous defense behind him. It was because he didn't make stupid mistakes. If we can avoid these mistakes, our defense can carry us.

Most overrated team in the history of the NFL???

Now, you can say all of this is against sub-par teams, but you can only play the people on your schedule. We went into the Meadowlands and swept the NY teams! If you told me in pre-season the Bears would be 9-2 at this point in the season, I would've laughed you out of the room. Well, here they are. Homefield throughout the playoffs?? Sign me up!!

GO BEARS!!!!

U guys are living in FANTASY land. I keep seeing these silly comparisons of Wrecks Grossman to REAL NFL QBs like Farve and company after 18 games. One question, did ANYONE see Farve in the Superbowl after 18 games? I thought NOT.

‘Twas the Night Before the Playoffs…

We can’t seem to win the crucial big game,
Because our game plans are always so lame.

Our only chance is to have lots of luck,
Or play a team that really does suck.

We’re only as good as the middle of the pack,
We can’t stop the run, pressure or sack.

We do have the talent to go all the way,
But our coaches can’t get the players to play.

Our fans and our media our horns they sure toot,
They adore us and praise us and lick on our boot.

We have a good record, we are in first place,
But we’ll choke in the playoffs with tears on our face.

We had all the cards but played them so bad,
But our coach is a genius, for this we’re so glad.

Just having some fun!

Predictions for the rest of the season:

Bears
Minnetosa - L
@ St. Louis - L
Tampa Bay - W
@ Detroit - W
Green Bay - L

Bears Finish 11-5

Dallas
@ Giants - W
New Orleans - W
@ Atlanta - W
Philedelphia - W
Detroit - W

Dallas finishes 12-4

There goes your home field advantage........

Rex is too damn small and SHORT to be an NFL QB.

The only guys of his size that were able to compete in the NFL had varying degrees of the additional elements of speed, escapability, and elusiveness (i.e. Doug Flutie, Jeff Garcia - even Jeff Fiedler for a few years).

RoadRexx simply cannot see over the line, PLUS he has a three-quarter arm angle throw which FURTHER lowers his initial release height.

Did anyone see how HIGH Tom Brady's release point is? Practically two-to-three feet above his head!

I am sure Rex will be a great coach someday, but we need to plug somebody in who is not a little-handed shrimp.

P.S.: I am only 5'8" myself, so there is no bias.

The future is now. Minnesota gave Rex fits in September, so let's see how he responds on Sunday. If it's another bust, Lovie must make the switch to Griese. At least he'd have four games to get ready for the playoffs. I hate to agree with Mariotti, but the Bears are ready to win now, not wait forever on their "work in progress".

Bob A.

I think the biggest problem i have with Rex is he can't or won't scramble. Brady saved his team by running when he had to and took Urlacher out of his shoes with a move. If Rex could make a run now and then we may be able to keep defenses honest. But he stays there and then when a rush comes, wets his pants and the ball becomes a hot potato and he dumps it off his back foot...Can he scramble????????

Just run the damn ball and let the defense win the games!

I think the Bears need to stick with Rex. He played well until he hurt his hand on the fumble exchange. Maybe the Bears should have put Griese in from that point, but c'on guys, are we gonna panic every time the bears don't dominate a game or lose? Niether team played a good game offensively. You know why? because, there were 2 great defenses playing. The patriots just made a few more plays. We're 9-2 guys, it's not the end of the world...

The next time Grossman starts throwing the ball all over the field, yank him for the rest of the game. Let Griese come in to finish the game, like a relief pitcher.
Then, Grossman has time to think about his mistakes and maybe he won't be so quick to try to make impossible plays the next time around. Once the game is over, Smith just has to say Grossman will start the next week -- that he was playing poorly and in that game, a change was needed.

One more thing...
It's no wonder the Bears can't keep a good QB around here. The media and fans are too negative around here. I really don't understand it. It's a good thing the coaches and the players really don't pay attention to these blogs and articles. I know we are all hungry for that SB win, but dang, can we get through the regular season first? Can we stop judging everying throw Rex make, or every call move Lovie Smith makes? I can't believe it!

You Rex haters are sad. I can tell you are all from Chicago...all the negativity...probably lingers from the Cubs. But get a clue and open your eyes. Rex is good and the Bears are very good.

hey JohnF
how we be losing to minnesota at home???
since we last played em theyre nothing...theyve only beaten the cards
st. louis aint any better
and green bay at home in december i dont even want to talk about it

lets look at dallas
trust me theres enough film on romo for teams to start disrupting his timing...hes not gonna throw for more than 2 or at most 3 against detroit for the rest of the season...new orleans is a tought game for them cuz they playin well...i think they'll lose at giants and watch atl give em a run for their money....

PRed:

CHitown 14-2
dallas: 10-6 at best....

Romo has played tampa and the colts def Oooohhh...rex has played miami, n.e. i wanna see what romo does in the playoffs if he has to come in to chicago in january....

Jeff .. you need a dose of reality buddy! The Bears "ranked #1 in overall Team Defense in the entire NFL. They have given up the fewest amount of points in the NFL. blah blah blah ..." It sure helps (like last year) when you play the armpits of the NFL like the Lions, Packers, Cardinals, etc eh? The Bears opponent's win percentage is .454. - not even .500! What part of "quality of competition" do you Bears fans screaming "print up those SB tickets cuz we beat the Packers and Lions" not get? The best team you beat was Seattle, yet you guys choked vs Miami and got lucky vs the Cards - any OTHER team would have beat you that night. And you know it.

You say "you can only play the people on your schedule", well, you can also BEAT the GREAT ones and convincingly beat the horrible ones too - unlike the Bears performance vs the Cards and Fins. And face it, you were GIVEN 7 extra points vs the Pats on a bogus pass interference call on yet another underthrown ball by Rex! The score should have been 17-6 without help from that call. Doesnt sound quite so close now does it? Want MORE reality? Trent Dilfer didnt make the mistakes Grossman is making and Dilfer also knew how to manage a game. And BOTH those NY teams that you're bragging about having beat (for some reason) are a phenominal 6-5 - barely over 500.

If you think your inconsistent 9-2 Bears are going to go anywhere with the Bears playing like they did vs the Cards and Fins and Pats, and with Rex playing like he has more often than not lately, you're crazy! You're in for a repeat of 01 and 05 ... cuz all your "ratings" and your win-loss record won't mean squat! And if you think that a playoff-caliber team like the Pats cant or wont play even better come the playoffs, take a look at what the Panthers did to you last year when it mattered.

Here is something to think of; Rex Grossman, as it seems, could be the most hated man in Chicago since Cade Mcnown. I mean lets be real...Cade McFreakingNown! Thats what you all are making it seem like dispite his 19-5 record as a Bear Starter. We even got Mg posting like a mad man on the Rex Grossman Bashing bandwagon. Maybe that's why we can never keep a good QB in Chicago, because everytime our QB has a bad game, the fans and media rips the guy a new one. I mean you would think Cade Mcnown was back there throwing, and we were 5-6 at this point the way some of you guys ranting. I totally disagree with benching Rex. Rex grossman did not lose that game by himself! We're not in the huddle, we really don't know why those picks were thrown against a very tough New England defense...in New England! Shame on the local press and us fans for scrutinizing a team geared to get to the SB, and is in great position for home field advantage. I didn't see you half you guys posting on this blog when the Bears were wipping teams 41-7.Some of you don't have nothing to say, until the Bear (especially Rex) has a bad game. Now all of a sudden, we need to bench Rex after the kid has led his team this far. In my humble oppinion, we should help these guys get their swagger back. Shoot, Rex isn't the only player on the team in a slump. The D-line hasn't been as dominant the last four games either. You'd think people would be happy the team went 2-1 on a difficult 3 game road trip. Oh I see, the Bears only Beat the Giants because they were injured. Or they beat the Jets because the Jets are inconsistant... I'm tired of people making up excuses why my team is winning, and blasting them because of the 2 losses. The whole thing is mind boggling to me

If you haven't found out yet: Rex was suppose to throw to Moose near the sideline he elected to throw it deep. You can't blame coaching for a BRASH QB to go for it against their advice. Yeah, you'll say coaching should reel him in and you'll be half right. So no one called the play he improvised. Also Sharper the safety in Minnesota said that after Rex throw his game winning TD he trashed talk. Now it's up to him to back up his words against a foe with a memory. If Rex fails this test I don't know what more you can say. He knows that Minnesota will be gunning for him and if he can't put them away....Sharper also remarked that Rex is either going to put up or drag down our season. I see that Rex is going to have them in his head. We'll see how he responds. This is against a division opponent at home for the crown and if he doesn't play in superior fashion he can't keep dividing our loyalties. We will have to go in another direction. WE played better than we give them credit for against New England. We played an elite AFC team at home and- really short handed where it mattered most- had just 17 scored against us. We had to have a LB cover receivers on 3rd downs when they usually come out and still only gave up 17. I know that's not the issue but it's something to remember. We did better than we expected without Manning and Johnson and yet we seem to expect to win. We put in a good showing and they really gave us nothing to hang our heads over. There doesn't seem to be any silver linings or moral victories for this team and there should be. It was good to see so many bloggers respond to this team it's just a shame they had to be so negative. It's rough being the son of 85 BEARS it seem. Everyone expect the son to be Just like the dad.GO BEARS!!!

I'm not going to comment on Rex. He's got another chance so let's see what he can do this weekend.

I just find it amusing that Da Bears have so many haters posting on this blog. Your bitterness shines through. Thanks for making us feel so important. See you in the playoffs.

Funny how some idiot from Denver talks about laughing at the Bears and calls his Broncos elite. The Broncs haven't been elite since Elway left town. Your so called Bonafide QB was booed out of Denver. Also I wouldn't be laughing to hard if I were you because Jake the flake is losing his job along with the Broncos chances. By the way how's your D looking now? If your not a Bears fan or fans from teams we actually play there is no need to make nonsense comments because you only make yourself look bad

I am not a "Rex hater", I am a Rex realist. His game is not suited to today's NFL. He cannot complete short passes with accuracy, especially under pressure. He usually can complete deep passes with time, but the days of seven step drops are over. He would be a great quarterback for the Raiders and Chargers, in the 1970's.

The quarterbacks that succeed today play like Brady, Rivers, Romo, Brees, Manning - guys that can consistently complete shorts passes with accuracy under pressure. It's not Grossman's fault, he just isn't that kind of quarterback.

Comparisons to Brett Favre are fine, maybe Grossman will eventually be a Favre-type quarterback. But that kind of quarterback play won't work today given the way defenses are structured.

Grossman is not a bad quarterback, he is just the wrong quarterback for the times. He has had 6 weeks to adjust his game, and he just can't do it, he can only play a certain way. This is why most quarterbacks from passing prgrams in college fail in today's NFL. You do not have 4-5 seconds to find a receiver and go deep. You have 3-4 seconds to make a decision, throw a short accurate pass, and work your way down the field.

All this, "Just wait for the playoffs, baby!" is crazy! The time is now, the Bears are ready to make a playoff push this year. And Grossman's game changing mistakes have, and will, cost the Bears wins. Especially in the playoffs.

Does anybody REALLY think that Brian Griese can take this team to the Super Bowl? Right now that would be the only reason to make a change. He's playing for his third team in four years and is a backup for a reason. And comparing him to other quarterbacks is useless -- would the Bears have a better chance winning with Brees, whose team is 7-4? Philip Rivers has Tomlinson to help him in the backfield, if we had a back like that we'd be an untouchable 11-0. As far as Romo goes, his first few starts look the same as Rex's first four regular-season games this year. He's the man now, but what about when the league adjusts to him? I think he's going to be a great QB, but it's asinine to think he won't struggle sometime soon, too.

Rex has made some stupid plays, but it's not just him. When he has time to stand back and throw he does well, and that comes back on the coaching and the o-line. The league is about adjustments from the coaching staff on down. Right now this team has to start making some in regards to the passing game.

If Griese is the answer, I'd hate to see the question.

You guys really want Brian Griese? Did any of you actually watch Griese play? If you think Rex handles pressure bad, wait until Griese takes a shot or two and starts noodle arming it in a way that would even make Chad Pennington shake his head in disbelief. We're 11 games into the season and the Bears just lost their first road game. Just relax.

By the way, some posts here have said, "How do you know all those interceptions in the Patriots game are Rex's fault?" If you want to know, here is Wade Wilson's (Bears quarterback coach) analysis:

Interception #1:

After review, Wilson said the first two picks, also by Samuel, were the product of poor decisions. Samuel jumped a slant route by Bernard Berrian for the first one. ''Definitely a poor decision,'' Wilson said. ''The guy was real hard inside, and that was something we stressed earlier in the week, so he shouldn't have been working that side at all.''

Interception #2

The second interception was on a pass down the middle to tight end Desmond Clark. Grossman was supposed to throw it on seven steps and instead made the pass on five. ''The timing was off,'' Wilson said. ''The safety shaded over to the other side, so we were going to try to get [Clark] the ball. Dez was bending toward the middle, and Rex left the ball outside. 'The other thing is he pumped. He did that on five steps and he should have gone seven, so when he hit five, he makes the throw and Dez isn't into his route yet. So if he had taken the other two steps, now the corner doesn't have the chance to break on it as much.''

Interception #3

The Bears were in business at their 22-yard line, down four with less than two minutes to play. If they got man coverage on the outside with Rashied Davis, they liked him on a deep post route. ''It looked good from the sideline,'' Wilson said. ''I said, 'Man, we've got a shot.''The safety went with Muhsin Muhammad on an inside slant, leaving Davis one-on-one with Asante Samuel. He had a step on Samuel, and had Rex Grossman's pass led Davis, all the talk this week about the quarterback struggles might be 180 degrees in the other direction. Instead, it was the only poorly thrown ball of Grossman's three interceptions.

So let's summarize: a poor decision, poor footwork, and a bad throw. That pretty much summarizes Grossman's last 6 games in a nutshell. All this from a guy who has 3+ years of experience in the NFL. Not "rookie" mistakes, bad quarterbacking.

Stick with Rex as the starter unless he is injured. The lack of quality coaching is and always has been the main problem. Too bad another first round loss is coming unless changes are made and I don't mean a different starting QB. If I were the coach I would have been playing Griese in spot duty all season when it made sense to do so. There have been many of those opportunities so far this season. It helps keep your backup ready and gives a young starter a chance to watch and learn a little bit.

Lovie pulls Grossman, brings in Griese On the way to the huddle Greise trips on a pigeon and breaks his toe. It all about mechanics.

I don't know when it was evident that Rex should have been taken out to give Griese game experience. Griese doesn't even get practice with the BEARS unless it's 7 on 7 drills. Orton even get work on the scout team and that's where the 2nd string quarterback gets work. They are not worried about backup. They're giving Rex every opportunity to learn and he wouldn't have learned much on the sideline. Back up is not our problem. If they had been substituting during the games you guys would have been saying that they were messing him up that way. Come on be realistic,the only one that is messing this up is Rex. I'm pretty damn sure that coaching is trying to break him of his mistakes.Don't think because you see something that they don't. They have better film and clearer video than you have and they spend hours breaking it down. These guys know who is blowing assignments and looking bad. From the vantage point of your Panasonic big screen you don't see what they see. Have you ever wondered why some guys get taken out when you think they're better than the one that replaced them? It's the blown assignments. Some are not that glaring. They know which receiver went left when he should have gone right. Which one break off his route when he should have kept going and who comes back to the ball when the Qb is in trouble. Don't think the coaches are oblivious to what is going on. Panasonic HDTV is not a coaching tool. As much as Benson is another Angelo bonus baby if he was making Rex look better he'd be out there more. You may have kids but you always like one a little more. I'll say until my throat dry up that Lovie needs to succeed way more than Angelo. He would make decisions that make him look good. Unless he's overruled by his boss. After that you work with whomever they give you. Lowest paid coach in the NFL and some of you guys think he deserve that. I don't know what he's done to have so many doubters but the last two coaches we had didn't have us poised like this,EVER. 2002 ,EVERYONE knew we were lucky and overachievers. This team is talented and full of very good players. We had some then but it's the coaching that has taken advantage of the talent. You can't keep blaming coaching about losses. Sometimes you lose with your best game plan. Losing isn't the end of the world. If you let it it would be. Name any one of these new coaches in the NFL the last three years who is better than Lovie? I have time-give me one. Things happen that are not in all their control.Some of you guys just want to bitch and moan because that makes your day. You were not to be found when all was well. But I bet if we win the next 5 in a row you'll disappear and leave the regulars to do what they do all the time win or lose. I'll see you after the next loss. I have much faith in these guys.We'll get it together.That said,GO BEARS!!!

the Bears are going to win out. NOT lose again. Grossman, Greise, Orton...it doesn't matter who QBs. Urlacher..Briggs..Harris..Brown..Tillman..Vasher..and company, will not allow it. Urlacher gets his ring THIS year. Arizona lost, should they have won? maybe, but they didn't. Miami won because of one thing...not just turnovers, but where they got the turnovers, deep in bears territory. Props to them for scoring off of them. If bears play Miami 10 times..they go 9-1! and lets not forget that in the NFL, the best team on the field doesn't always win. And New England can thank the refs AGAIN, for another win. The Bears beat the Patriots...they lost to the refs. So feel good about this 06 Bears team. Guys and girls, there goin to the Superbowl. relax..chill.. enjoy. I personally can't wait to see which nfl darling team gets to come into Chicago to try and upset the Urlacher led Bears. The media non-experts change their tune on a week to week basis on who's the best team. They ALL had the Giants beating the Bears. oops Now Dallas seems to be thier pick. You gotta love it! Oh yeah, lets not forget the feelgood pick Saints. And watch out...here come the Seahawks. lol When Romo has a bad game(and he will) and Seattle loses again, the only team they can jump on will be the -----------DA BEARS-----------!
And when they pick the AFC team to beat the Bears in the Superbowl. We can all sit back and injoy them being wrong AGAIN. Because they will pick the AFC to win and for some strange reason they will all still be employed for next year. I predict another great game out of Sexy Rexy this week. 4 TD passes....351yds passing and a rushing TD. NO PICKS. and the D will be its usual self. ITS A GREAT TIME TO BE A BEARS FAN!!!!!!!

LETS REMEMBER WHO THE COACHES ARE OTHER THE LOVIE. IF THESE GUYS WOULD WORK A GAME PLAN TO ALLOW REX TO PLAY THE WAY HE CAN WHICH IS VERY EXICTING AND HE LOOKS TO HAVE GOOD ARM STRENGTH AND A LOT OF PEOPLE WITH MORE KNOLEDGE THAN ME THINK HE WILL BE A GOOD QUATERBACK LETS NOT HAVE ANOTHER FLUTIE VERSES MCMAHON DEAL . DOUGH WAS PLAYING LONG AFTER JIMBO LEFT THE GAME AND I CAN SAY I HAVE ALWAYS LIKE BRIAN GRESIE TOO.

so the bears are the most overrated team someone said... thats right they are overrated but they league the league in defense and the offense puts up almost 30 points a game but they are overrated? People kill me when they make comments and do not look at stats. Yes Rex is struggling in close games but the thing about rex is he has played bad in a total of three games arizona, miami, new england. My suggestion is run the ball more get ced involved but you are dumb if someone says the bears are overrated? HOW?

William R. Donald,

Each time I come on here and read the posts yours is always the voice of reason. This is my team, just like most of you. I see things that bother me with but I will stick by the players and coaches. I have faith in these players because just like all of you have watched them progress and have very good games. I have faith that the coaches will work out the kinks with Rex and formulate a gameplan that works with his abilities. Whether the Rex-bashers like it or not this guy has "special" written all over him. He has the IT that you look for in a QB. He just needs to settle down and not go for it all on every play. This team will most likely represent the NFC in the SB, so if you are all true fans have faith in this team to do what we all want and know they can do.

Wow John F. do you think the QB coach Wade Wilson should maybe work on Rex's mechanics with him if he thinks that is the problem? That is what he is paid to do. Maybe he can go have a chat with the O-line coach and get his QB some time to make the 7-step drop that was neccesary for the throw to Clark. When Rex has time he picks apart secondaries if he doesn't he makes mistakes and is rushed to make the throws. He made some good throws when he was pressured. What makes you or anyone else think Griese can do better? Don't give me stats from preseason or from Denver, which he only had one good year. Didn't he have a hall of fame RB and TE in Davis and Sharpe? Hmmm... I wonder why he did so well. WHen he didn't have top quality players around him to make him better he sucked. I don't understand why all these people think Griese is the answer.

We all know coaching is not the problem with the Bears. Some people are just trying to dig something up to blame Lovie for. For whatever reason, some fans just haven't warmed up to him...winning record and all. I guess they want a running, rantin, madman for a coach like Ditka. Im not saying Lovie is a genius or anything like that, but the players respond to him. They all look up to him and respect him almost like a father. Last year's playoff lost against the panthers, the defense was on the bench cursing each other out, pointing fingers and was a mess. Lovie came over and gathered them together, and told them, very calmly, " Look we need to calm down, stop pointing fingers, play together so we can come back and win this football game!" Not one player on the defense was looking away. He had their undivided attention. When he was done they all responded "yes sir!" and they played better from that point. They still lost, but he is a leader. There is no denying that.

Why does everyone think because he wasn't a great QB that he couldn't be a good or decent coach. Name one coach who was ever a great QB? Once they're no longer successful QBs the last thing they become are coaches. Maybe announcers but never coaches. None of the greats became great coaches. Who Bart Star? Sometimes a guy learn holding that clip board for half of his career. Why didn't Montana,Staubach,Young,Marino,Kelly,Esiason,Bradshaw or Elway ever become coaches? Because what they had really couldn't be taught. Only enhanced by coaching. Don't down them because they were failed QBs. Sometimes they just fail to achieve on the field what they've learned. GO BEARS!!!

When we win the division it will be the 2nd in a row. The last two times we've won our division is 1990 with Ditka and 2001 with Jaroun who only won one division in 5 years here. It's things like that that we fail to appreciate. Wannestaedt never won the division in the six tears he had here. Some coaches are in over their heads and some get you places and you fail to realize how hard it really is to get there. This is 2 times in 3 years we've been in it. Since 1990 and before Lovie got here we had 3 playoff games. Wannestaedt was 1-1 in one season(94).3 total games in 14 years. Wow,we've had a dynasty around here. Please quit complaining and wake up and appreciate this success!!! GO BEARS!!!

Coaching IS the problem. Why did they get so out of control to begin with? Why was the plan sooo bad? Why did they play sooo poorly? The answer to each question is poor coaching. Not just average coaching, POOR coaching. Who is the head coach? Lovie.

This will be the 2nd division title we've won in a row.The last time we won a division title was 2001 and before that 1990. That's a whole lot of years of not winning our division. Wannestaedt never won the division. Jaroun only won once. Between those two there was only one division title. They had 11 years between them. And Lovie did it twice in 3 years. Why is he so bad when we are winning more than in recent memory? GO BEARS!!!

Some of you guys want to beat a dead dog about Lovie and That's cool. I'm not surprised when that happens.The funny thing is if you guys ever gave our coach(s) a thumbs up I'd be totally surprised. I would actually give YOU credit for being astute instead of obtuse like you always are. Some of you have found coaching errors in EVERY game we played this year. WOOOOOW. How do you do it? It's a wonder we actually won any games the way you tell.GO BEARS!!!

Wrecks Grossman has NO business playing in the NFL. He is a stiff with a strong arm. I'd rather have the Bears hike the ball into an empty backfield than giving this clown the ball. He will cost the Bears a trip 2 the Superbowl this year. No question about it.

Rex was gross against Minnesota, luckily the Bears defense won the game! How much longer will da Bears wait to lose?

Rick...I have a dose of reality. That Bears D is ranked #1 overall in the NFL. Look it up on NFL.com. Check out all the D stats there. You'll see...

You talk about the Pats game not being close, well if Lovie doesn't call the time-out when the kicker misses the FG and Boone doesn't false start on Gould's FG the Bears win. So, I can play the "what-if" game too.

Yes, I agree the NFC in general is weak. And, the NFC North is the weakest division in the NFC. But, we didn't make the schedule. And, we have beaten some quality teams. The Jets seem pretty good now. Seattle, without Alexander, was still a good team. We were expected to lose against the Giants. Remember, we were the underdogs that game. The Jets had beaten the Pats the week before, so they weren't that bad of a team. And, we crushed a lot the teams we were supposed. Ok, so we've lost two games this year. And probably should've lost the Arizona game (good teams find ways to win, bad teams find ways to lose, blah, blah, blah). But, from my recollection it's been 24 years since someone went undefeated...

Thanks for also proving my point about Dilfer. If Grossman can stop throwing interceptions and manage the game, we can win the NFC and make the Superbowl. I didn't say we would win it all.

Well, we have the NFC North Division title. Now, we take homefield throughout, settle Rex down and go get us the NFC.

Stop the negativity. We are 10-2!! We have 4 weeks to fix the Grossman problem.

GO BEARS!!

The Bears will stick with Rex until they lose in the playoffs. Then they will start the season next year with the same exact process as this year. Unreal. It's like a BAD rerun of a tv show.

Mg, I wish I could say your prognosis is right, but I'm afraid it could be worse because next year we may lose Lance Briggs (the best player on that defense in my opinion) and Mike Brown.

Everything about the Bears is super bowl ready: the d-line is good, maybe not as good as we thought but still well above average. The linebackers are the best in the league and the secondary is good too. The offensive line is solid, the receivers have actually turned into a strength with both Berrian and Bradley providing playmaking ability, and the running backs are getting better with Benson showing he might be the future. Yet the the Bears organization, specifically Lovie and Angelo, are wasting all of that by sticking with Rex. How can it be so painfully obvious to everyone but them that the Bears are in for another first round exit with Rex at the helm? The NFC will never be more winnable, and we stand to lose talent after the season. Make the change!! Dump Rex!!

Let's give Brian a shot! Rex has had his chance, the division is locked up and it's the biggest glaring weakness on this otherwise outstanding team. Go Brian! Go Bears! Woooohooo! (Still celebrating the division win...)

And after reading the interview with Dick Butkus over the weekend, I think he's a perfect choice for defensive line coach (no offense, Don Johnson). I grew up watching Butkus-era football and I loved the no-holds-barred way they played. Their motto: KILL 'EM!!!!