So Brian Griese would have beaten the Dolphins Sunday? I don't think so.
It's funny how when Rex Grossman throws off his back foot during wins, he's compared favorably to Brett Favre. But when he does it during a loss, it's time to warm up Griese.
Look, Grossman's pass that was intercepted by Jason Taylor and returned for six was horrendous. But there were other incompletions when it looked like the receiver (Justin Gage) ran the wrong route.
And what was Griese going to do with Taylor wrapped around him?
Grossman is the quarterback, and I credit the Bears for not wavering in that stance. For five games, Grossman was among the best quarterbacks in the league. He's still relatively inexperienced and the bet here is he'll improve.
And what if the Bears do make the change? What do you do when Griese struggles, bring back Grossman? That won't work.
Besides, would Griese have stopped Ronnie Brown or prevented Devin Hester from fumbling?
That was a team loss.
The root cause of all of the problems is poor coaching. Fix that first and everything will fall into place.
Roman, normally I hate it when people belabor obvious points, but you're right in that this one bears repeating. As much as people want to look at how green the grass is in Brian Griese's statistical heaven (and what a dubious paradise it is)--let's be real. If Griese'd played the second half, he'd have played marginally better at least.
Almost every single point Roman makes in his post is absolutely correct. Are Bears fans so win-now that they're willing to toss once-golden boy Grossman to the wolves on the off chance that Brian Griese could lead them to Super Bowl victory? I mean, even assuming that happens (which it won't)--what happens when Griese completely falls on his behind next season after teams prepare for him? Rex's confidence would be toast--(assuming he wouldn't be gone in the offseason) and, while it would be great for me to see a properly-seasoned Kyle Orton under center, even I'm not willing to accept those question marks quite yet.
Make up your minds, fans. It was fan pressure that put Grossman in the starting spot anyway--this above anything else should be a good "be careful what you wish for" tale. Do you really want a promising young-ish quarterback yanked after two admittedly-bad performances in favor of a journeyman who is on the downslope of his career? I mean, I suppose that would give more fodder to the people who are convinced that a coach with a 23-17 record, an NFC title achieved with no offense and a starting quarterback who has been injured for most of his tenure is somehow "bad."
Because, you know, developing one of the top passing offenses in the league around an injury-prone quarterback, an over-the-hill possession receiver, an oft-injured burner, an arena league-turned-cornerback-turned-slot receiver and a heretofore-underachieving tight end is complete chance. Because having one of the most intimidating, high-scoring DEFENSES in the league working on two years in a row now is complete luck.
I don't think Rex is as good as people think he is--but he's put something together this season for the most part. God forbid we actually give the guy time to learn from adversity. This is one stinkin' game, folks. The true test of Lovie & crew comes now.
I think you basically answered your own question,Roman.Your assesments were on the money and I don't think anyone could add to that,but only take away.This team is just a little short on talent.Now, they need to show heart.GO BEARS!!
Living in the Tampa area, I saw Brian Griese close up the last few years. He is to this Bear team what Steve Fuller was to the 1985 team - perhaps a slight upgrade.
Last Sunday with the team 7-0, you really didn't want to yank Rex Grossman out for Griese. The team was undefeated at that point.
My feeling is that with Grossman as the QB, the Bears have a chance to win the SuperBowl. With Griese starting, they don't.
Ron Turner and Lovie need to alter the game plan as dictated by the situation, and they didn't do that Sunday.
Perhaps the ultimate question to ask is not whether the Bears can win with the players they have - but whether they can win with the coaches they have.
Yeah, that's pretty much like what I said on your blog ( Humble pie
How can Rex Grossman look so good in some games and so bad in games like Sunday?). I was saying that it pretty much doesn't matter who was at QB on last Sunday or pretty much any Sunday if you have NO go to receivers with Berrian Hurt. Thomas Jones has no patience to hit the holes and Justin Gage should be regulated to practice squad only.
Stick with Rex, with Griese you will resurrect the hex of tex-mex.
Roman, I believe it's of utmost importance for the Bears to get homefield for the playoffs. Rex is and should be the starting qb. But shouldn't the team prepare these guys by explaining, "Should we get in a position where we aren't getting the play we expect from a positional player during the course of a game, you may be replaced temporarily.".
Are we dealing with high strung racehorses or rational humans (whether they're athletes or not)? If you can't even take a modicum of evaluation and grading without responding like an infant and pout, damn, go get a real job.
I know that it's hopelessly impossible to expect professional athletes to act and think rationally and humbly like us ham an eggers, but thats why the good Lord has given us imaginations to fantasize with.
So to sum it up, don't replace Rex every time he screws up. But when he starts really endangering a crucial game, shouldn't we find out if Griese CAN save it if given a chance?
How can people still think Rex deserves to start? Last year the 10 game winner wasn't the answer and niether is it this year.
You WILL NOT win in the playoffs with this type of QB play--or that of the last 7 weeks.
Oh, he did great for 3 weeks...until teams got film on him like they do every other benchstar in the NFL. Sit him 1 game like Kubiak did Carr this year and show him what you want. But you better play Orton, because Griese is too much better and we don't want to hurt Rex's feelings. 10-2, how aobut taking away all of those turnovers--what would they be now? 6-6?
That is why they should have sat him for a game early in the season. He seems to be taking the "Defense can win it so it doesn't matter if I screw up trying to be super" tact instead of letting the game come to hime and taking what they give him. And if I hear 1 more--can't blame him for the deflected INT....look at the film and notice the WR had a guy on his back and another DB closing in front of him. At least Rex can rationalize the bad throw, but we don't have to. He will be good, but they won't win in the playoffs with him this year.