Full Court Press

Orton or Griese may not be the answer but Matt Ryan at Boston College may be the future. He looks like a College version of Tom Brady. 6'5" 250 lbs and putting up great #'s against good teams. I'm telling you watch this guy. Whatever it takes for the Bears to get him DO IT!!!The way they are playing now, they are going to get a high pick. I think they waited way too long to change and the Defense suffered for it. They have more time on the Field than any other Defense in the NFL. Finally a change has been made, but is it too late?

You're going to have a lot of happy bloggers today Roman. Change had to be made, but now that it's done I feel a little sick to my stomach. This was the right move. There are 52 other guys that bust their butts every week that needed to see this happen. One good thing is that opposing teams don't have a lot of game film of Big BG, so a win this week is a decent prediction. And yes, of course this is going to destroy Rex's already fragile physche. Ok, so the booing worked. Now how are we going to get Donovan McNabb in a Bears uniform?

Bears should have grabbed Byron Leftwich when they had the chance. Atlanta got him soooooo cheap.

About f-ing time! This should have been done after the Miami game last year. Thanks for waiting until we hit rock bottom Lovie! We have wasted the last 10 months on Rex and my only fear is that Lovie/Angelo have irreversibly damaged this team due to their stubborn insistence on staying with Rex all this time.

Are we going to have 35-0 games from now on? Obviously, no. But those days have been over since the end of game 5 last year - most fans refused to believe it until now. What we have now is a professional NFL quarterback - nothing more, nothing less. There will be mistakes made, there will be some rust. We will not get 50 yard bombs to Berrian, but we may get 10 yard strikes to Moose that go for another 10-15 yards. There may be dinks and dunks, but there will be a higher completion percentage and higher time of possession. There will be accurate swing passes and screens, there will be a wider range of plays called.

Bottom line: the Bears at least now have a chance, where they had none before. I hereby officially raise my season prediction from 9-7 to 11-5.

Yeah, just read that....It's the progression (business ahead of athlete) I figured on...but...if Greise starts to struggle, I absolutely cannot see Grossman being called on in favor of Orton....doing the same thing and expecting different results is insane....Yeah, Orton might not get the reps this week, but he's been in this offense..that kid has the moxy...that goes a long way with me....and his teammates and coaches giving him props during training camp go the rest of that way I was talking about...

I'd also be surprised if AP doesn't start at RB over the fumbler....and I wonder what safeties will hit the field on Sunday

Still waiting with baited breath on the defensive injuries, tho...

ok, new look offense...and one step closer to my #18 jersey

Orton coming in at Lambert...winning the game....that's the spring board I'm lookin for....(and please, no spring board jokes)

You're going to have a lot of happy bloggers today Roman.

Posted by: Julie B. | September 25, 2007 05:52 PM

Julie B., let's wait two weeks down the schedule to see how happy they are. This is what happens when the owners have no other income to support them, and than paying out guaranteed contracts and have to stick with the person until every ounce of blood is drained from them.

I know this is a sport, but we are all human beings with feelings. Yes, I DUMPED ON REX, and deservedly so, but HOW MANY THINK EVEN REX FELT "Give the job to someone else and give me extra training?" But when paid millions of dollars and a screw-up, you don't get training, but eventually you will need a therapist for help when the career is over.

Majority of the owners today - of any sports league - owns a team as a hobby, and treat it as such. They will pour money into it like crazy. How many of you waste un-necessary money on a hobby?

The McCaskey's need to sell the team and take their riches, but for some odd reason, I DO NOT THINK they KNOW anything else to do! They actually remind me of the old athlete who do not know when to retire, and starts to look bad when trying to compete with diminished skills.

Brian Griese, you know what awaits you, LETS GO!! Go Bears!

Roman, you remember all last season that I backed Grossman, even through his bad games. At this point, even I am objective enough to say that putting Griese in was the right move to make. However....as Johnn Madden put it on sunday, Griese is only a band-aid, he is not the long term solution. Initially, I believe Griese will "manage" the offense well, but if anybody expects the Bears to start putting up 40 points a game now, then they're smokin something.
There is enough blame to go around, offense AND defense. On offense, the running game has sucked, the offensive line has been shaky, the receivers are dropping touchdown passes (Berrian), and Ron Turner's play calling has been questionable. What happened to all that talk about the "explosive offense" during the preseason?
On defense, for the most part they've been doing their job, but give me a break, Tony homo used exactly two receivers to pass to on sunday: Terrell Owens and Jason Witten. You would think that would become predictable after a while, but you would still see Witten and Owens open right up the middle.

I can't wait to see when the Bears fans who chanted for Griese do the moment when he begins to stink it up? Anybody remember them Grossman chants in December 2005 at Soldier Field against Atlanta. Be careful what you wish for.....

Guess what Roman...Rex's confidence should already be at an all time low. And if this is confidence...dump him.

Now its time to look at our so-called back-up. Julie you shouldn't have to feel sick - none of us should! And if he plays like his buddy Wrecks...send him packin! The backup should be able to start! Not fill in, not help out in a pinch, not help the practice squad...S T A R T ! STARRRTT!! We should have TWO NFL READY quarterbacks! But the Bears love mediocrisy! Orton is probably the only one of those jokers playing at the level expected. Why in the world do we have to be the franchise without a good QB? You go to the Superbowl and your quarterback and running back let you down - and you do absolutely NOTHING about it in the offseason. Only in Chicago - do they EXPECT players to GROW in the offseason, as if the offseason was some kind of fertilizer! Go Griese! Pleeeeaaase perform!

I don't know how I feel about this. Although I agree a change had to be made. I've supported Rex throught these last couple of seasons but his play has been horrible since the season started. Throwing all those picks are unacceptable no matter how you look at it. Like Madden said, Brian Greise is just a Band-aid. Frankly I feel bad for Rex because under that fragile ego is some talent. He looked great during training camp. All the talk of the Bears offense supposed to light up the league must've got to their head. Rex played bad, but the offensive unit as a whole is playing bad. The line is not blocking(pass or run wise), Benard Berrian is dropping passes left and right, Moose can't get open, and Benson is not running with the same fire he was running with as a back-up last year. On top of that, he's developed the case of the fumbles. Now I really have to question the trade of Thomas Jones. I used to always see Thomas in Rex ear all last year. He did so many little things that goes unnoticed and I think the bears miss that. He was a great pass blocker for a back. Always their picking up the blitz. He wasn't that fast but he has great vision to find holes. And when the bears ran screen plays to him, the play always looked crisp from the start. Seems Benson ends up too close to the linemen or something because, I swear everytime they run a screen play this year rex can't complete it like he did last year. But I hope Brian can light a spark into this team (I doubt it). They need it bad. I really thought this team was going back to the Superbowl...Im changing my prediction to 7-9. They don't look good at all at this stand point. The Cowboys woop dat A** in their backyard and the bears just took it.

I would rather see Orton myself. He handled being thrown into the fire a lot better than Rex has and he only he lost them one game in 2005.
Why did they not pick up Leftwich if they do not believe in Orton?
By the way... if Benson does not have a real NFL game on Sunday then you can bench him as well and play Peterson and Wolfe.
The same goes for Moose now that I think about it. Has he ever even come to close to earning his money in Chicago?
I am done with the Bears babying these half asleep mopes.

Although I support Rex, I think he probably would benefit from a break. I hope the Bears give him one more shot later in the season to prove he can still post 100+ QB ratings (like nearly half his games last season). The Good Rex days may have been a fluke, but maybe they weren't. He may not have performed well lately, but I think he tried hard, which is all you can ask. Right now, people seem to hate Rex more than Michael Vick, which is a pretty sad statement.

i think it's a fair thing to say that, at this point, the bears are resigning themselves to more rebuilding at quarterback--griese's no spring chicken, nor is he known for his durability, and it doesn't seem like Orton's ever going to get a fair shot to run the team.

then again, as everyone who remembers me knows, I've never been a fan of number 14.

still, let's hope the Rex-periment has reached a definite conclusion.

I sure hope this was the disease and not the symptom we just treated!

well, the garbage receivers and O'line don't deserve their best quarterback. Once again Lovie has stood tall for Rex. He will no longer have to go out there and be the fall guy for receivers who
give up on routes,drop passes and can't block. He will no longer be humiliated by an overated offensive line that has the consistency of the Cubs in September. That's of course assuming this 'rumor' is true. It sure would be awesome for Lovie to say "Rex is our starter" one more time-just to prove to you knuckleheads that you cant get something just by wishing for it hard enough.

I'm still a little worried, seeing as Griese moves in the pocket only a tad better than Rex, but I trust his decision making and ball control abilities. The offensive line needs to look in the mirror if we're going to save the season because we have some injuries we need to wait on.

Now if we could get Turner to watch all the other offensive coordinators on Sunday he may finally get out of the Stone Age.

Is 'BEER RAISING', an anagram of 'BRIAN GRIESE", something fans will be doing if the Bears perform a Rexorcism at quarterback?

Rex Grossman shouldn't be blamed him for all the Bears offensive problems. But, continuing to play him after his repeated mistakes and pulling other players making mistakes has led to 'descension in the ranks'. Plus, Grossman's mistakes have led to the defense being on the field more and has helped lead to more defensive injuries because of opponents wearing them down.

A ball-controlled, 'nickel and dime', and 'clock-milking' offense under Griese will help the entire team; an offense Grossman was good at leading a VERY few times, but, one he never learned to understand.

Grossman shouldn't be blamed for:

- Ron Turner's poor play-calling and lack of a grasp of his player's abilities

- dropped passes

- running back's fumbling

- poor line play with the line looking old and slow

- a decision to play Greg Olsen too long in the final pre-season game

- poor blitz pickup by the line and backs

But, Grossman's play has led to a 'lack of rhythm' for the offensive due mainly to his inability to correct his fundamental mistakes, read a defense, move in the pocket, bad reads and forcing the ball, and keeping his hips closed on passes before he threw the ball.

Grossman probably could have continued with all his mistakes, except opening his hips too early on pass attempts. 'Opening his hips' too early, instead of staying square and moving his feet in the pocket, led to defenders jumping on passes and limited the passing routes to one area of the field.

In fact, all three INTs in the Dallas game were a direct result of Grossman opening his hips too early and pre-determing his receiver before looking for a 'checkdown' receiver or scrambling for yards. Though, I thought Grossman's ability to run for a first down was a sign of more good things to come, but, I was wrong as he went into the 'Bad Rex Tank' once again.

I agree that it's the right move, but I'm not so sure that it's a solution. As a person I don't like very much put it, Griese is just a "band-aid".

I love how everyone is already calling for Orton...now...and Griese hasnt even taken 1 snap. What a joke!

To quote the football coach of Oklahoma State...."you make me wanna puke"

even after the SB debacle I, along with many others, still fiqured ok this was his first full year as a starter and the pressure got to him he'll come back next year and be fine. well 3 games into the season he not only hasn't shown any improvement he seems to have gotten worse. regardless of Ron Turner's dismal play calling Rex continually failed to execute plays, telegraphed almost every pass and even failed to see or react to a blitzing safety coming at him (not from the blind side but directly in his vision). if and when BG starts to struggle I can't see bringing Rex back in. give the ball to Orton, Rex just doesn't fit in Chicago.

Hey...after Greise...and Orton...can we give Chris Chandler another shot??

If you're going to make a change, then why not switch to Orton? He has more upside potential than Griese.

The change to Griese again supports my theory that Lovie and Ron T. are playing not to lose, rather than playing to win. Look for perhaps the most boring games to watch in the coming weeks as we watch Griese try not to lose games.

One question:

Why does Lovie bench Benson after a questionnable fumble, while Rex gets oppty after oppty? If Benson gets benched for his fumble in the game with the Cowboys, why didn't Berrian get benched for his dropped ball that was surely a touchdown? Why doesn't Muhammad get benched for his numerous drops and questionnable route patterns? Why didn't Hester get benched after botching not one, but two returns?

Benson may not be the answer as the Bears primary back, but you can't bench him for a fumble that was ripped out of his hands in the middle of a scrum and had to be reviewed. If that's your criteria for bench-sitting, then Lovie's got some problems because he doesn't dole out his punishment equally or fairly. Plus he is going to turn every receiver and running back into someone who is playing not to fumble (ie the not to lose mentality that infects this team), not to have a "negative" play and not to win.

Benson is far from being a chronic fumbler. He provides the best option as the Bears primary running back but he needs to know that come hell or highwater, he is the Bears #1 back -- similar to the confidence Lovie and the Bears showed Rex.

Most players just want to be treated fairly. Right now, Benson is getting the short end of the stick, especially if he gets demoted. After all the fumbles, the interceptions, the poor choices that Rex made while still being Lovie's quarterback of choice, Benson deserves an oppty to stay on the field.

Vince Evans 1980-1982
Steve Fuller 1984-1986
Doug Flutie 1986
Jim McMahon 1982-1986 Super Bowl XX
Mike Tomczak 1986-1990
Jim Harbaugh 1989-1993
Peter Tom Willis 1992
Steve Walsh 1994
Erik Kramer 1994-1995, 1997-1999
Rick Mirer 1997
Moses Moreno 1998
Dave Krieg 1996
Shane Matthews 1999-2001
Cade McNown 1999-2000
Jim Miller 2001-2002
Chris Chandler 2002-2003 (never listed as an official starter)
Henry Burris 2002
Kordell Stewart 2003
Chad Hutchinson 2004
Jonathan Quinn 2004
Craig Krenzel 2004
Kyle Orton 2005
Rex Grossman 2006 - 2007
Brian Griese Game 4,5
Kyle Orton Game 6,7,8
Rex Grossman Game 9
Brian Griese Game 10
Kyle Orton Game 11-14
Rex Grossman Game 15
Kordell Stewart Game 16 all of Playoffs and -Superbowl Champ!

Oh boy...we are going to have to score a lot of points....hope everyone has read our injury report on the defense...Rex...offense giving up..defense tired of being on the field...Rex

We're gonna need to score...Orton has the arm

You don't take a band-aid off slowly....you rip it off

Like I said, Lambert field...

Bears fan but.....I used the word "today" intentionally.

Hitman.....Lambert? What's that? Do you mean Lambeau? Just when you were starting to rack up the points, now I have to dock you at least 5 for that one.

I agree the Bears needed to make a change but Grossman was doomed from the start of this season. The Bears took away Grossman's strong point, the deep ball and installed such a conservative offense that even Tony Romo commented that he sympathized with Grossman, you can't play this game with an offense at half speed. In hindsight, they should have let Rex fire away like last season and see if he matured enough to limit his mistakes and not fall apart after making one turnover. It didn't take long for opposing defenses to figure out what was coming, Benson up the middle and 10 yard sideline patterns.
I'd much rather see what Orton oould do instead of Griese. Griese is a known factor, he should give the Bears average play at QB. Orton has more upside. I think he would give more life to the offense.

To all of you "why didn't we throw downfield more" people - we did....Rex threw a pick in SD, he threw another near the goal line on Sunday....so why would you keep trying to throw deep, get intercepted, and kill drive after drive. If you want to do that, just punt on first down so at least you will have guys down there to cover the kick. Stop thinking about the first five games from last year - they were a mirage - they will never happen again. Just accept the fact that the Grossman of today is who he is, not the first five games of last year.

In Ron Turner's defense, anyone that can make Eric Kramer and Curtis Conway offensive threats is a genius! The reason the offense wasn't "opened up" is because Grossman was playing quarterback and whenever we "opened it up" the Bears offense imploded due to Grossman's ineptitude. For crying out loud, would you keep beating your head against a wall, hoping you'll eventually break through? That's the equivalent to throwing deep when you have Grossman at QB.

Brian is our quarterback. Brian is our quarterback. Brian is our quarterback. Brian is our quarterback. Brian is our quarterback. Brian is our quarterback. Brian is our quarterback. Brian is our quarterback. Brian is our quarterback. Brian is our quarterback. Brian is our quarterback. Brian is our quarterback. Brian is our quarterback. Brian is our quarterback. Brian is our quarterback.

Just doesn't have the same ring to it. Now repeat after me, "Donovan is our quarterback." Whattya think? Sounds pretty good, eh? That's it - I'm starting a new chant, straight from section 105. Who's with me?

BTW Roman, there was an online article (Len Pasquarelli, espn.com on Monday) that reported the fans were shouting "Let's Go Cubs" at the Bears game on Sunday night. I didn't hear that. Did you?

Change had to be made because even Grossman fringe supporters are turning on him. I still think he needed another two games, but, the overall team play is just way too awful and a lot of it will be blamed on Rex. One question though, why is no one on the theory that Smith used to say...all we really need is 17-20 points, our whole defense looks suspect now, very suspect.

To the REAL Bears fans who have their wish, one question....after Griese stinks it up, and he will stink it up sooner or later, will you preach....to the REAL Bears fans need patience or say the....REAL Bears fans need to support Orton. Then Orton sucks which will come sooner rather than later, and the next post is the....REAL Bears fans(???), what support Grossman again.

This all just sucks, I hope we get a very good mobile QB, like McNabb, a great RB, a primetime receiver, and try to win this thing once and for all. Every poster who is angry about our situation here is a REAL Bears fan, whether they agree with your post or not, still hurts to lose like we did Monday though.

Guess I'm not a REAL Bears fan cuz I started washing dishes in the 4th quarter instead of after the game, couldn't stand to see them lose so I am a mental midget.

I pretty much agree with Jermaine and made some of the same points in an earlier blog. I would add that I think Berrian is responsible for Rex being benched. Had he caught a first quarter pass against the Cowboys ( one right in his hands and dropped ) and also caught the one that probably would have gone for a touchdown late in the game, I think Rex would have started to see how he could do in a Central Division game. I wish Griese well but honestly do not think switching to him was a good move. I sincerely hope I'm wrong.

Dear Lovie:

I just wanted to say thanks for sticking with Rex to the point that the defense had to play so hard to overcome his mistakes that most of them are injured now.

Sincerely,
JohnF

P.S. I'm so glad we have you and Angelo for the next five years.

JohnF thinks Ron Turner is a genius? The Bears offense has scored how many TD's this season? The only drive the Bears had Sunday was Grossman throwing deep over the middle to Desmond Clark and then another pass over the middle to Greg Olsen. Those 10 yard sideline passes are high risk and it was proven Sunday. The interception against San Diego was the receiver quitting his route, just like Muhammad did Sunday. Berian also dropped what should have been a 35 yard TD. At least last season the offense was scoring some points when Grossman could hit the long pass. You have to let a QB play to his strengths.

Well Julie..It will always be Lambert field to me...and ya know..I'm gonna let someone else explain it to ya....Roman?

Besides the fact I'm really not a fan of the Turdell Middletons...

Moose the Loose (as in loose hands that can't hold on to the ball) needs to be cut. He can't get open and can't hold on to the ball. Notice how he'll never take the blame...he'll always blame it on someone else...just like he did in Carolina. Mark Bradley should be starting in front of Muhammed.

Yeah, Berrian has not played well at all this season so far. I pridicted that he would "blow up" thi year. The only thing that has blown up regarding him is his hands. It doesn't matter who is the QB, with all the drop passes, and fumbles, that contributes greatly to a sputtering offense. People dumping on Ron Turner doesn't really make much sense to me. Had some ofthose passes were caught, or not intercepted, we'd be blogging on a complete different headline right now. Yeah Rex played bad, but do you know how frustrating it is for you to get a drive going and then someone fumbles? Or you have someone wide open and they drop an easy pass? Those are all drive/momentum/rhythm killers. Rex is a rhythm QB. When he's on he's on. But when he's off he is waaay off! At least Brian Greise will be more consistant I think. But I think the Recievers need to step up big time. Stopping short on routs resulting in ints is unacceptable. Both Moose and Berrian did it this year. I think Bradley needs to play more. But we'll see how the season unfolds

Here are two posts I had two years ago on my blog, "Open Your Eyes"...

Does anyone see any similarities and tendencies with the 2007 Bears?

Thursday, September 15, 2005
Olin Not Rollin' for Bears)
I believe if the Bears are going to be successful on offense, they need to start improving from the middle of the line and work out, not the opposite. Instead of worrying about the play of tackles Fred Miller and John Tait, Harry Hiestand should first focus on Olin Kreutz. While, Kreutz may have been to the Pro-Bowl in the past, his play is starting to become Dan Jiggett-ish.

Kreutz is continually being pushed back into the backfield by mammoth defensive tackles and needs help on every run play from the Reuben Brown or Terrence Metcalf. Kreutz is big problem is that he doesn't step to the man he's going to block. He snaps the ball, waits for the defensive tackle to engage him, and then tries to use only his upper body; most often he fails to block his man this way.

If he has to block on the run by himself, Kreutz's man is most often the guy making the tackle or moving the line of scrimmage two yards back. And, when he has to slide off on a linebacker or safety after working a combination block with a guard, he rarely gets there and ends up standing around. (A good way to see if a offensive lineman is blocking his man is for his name and number to not be read. You can read his on practically every play)

On pass plays, he constantly turns his shoulders creating creases in the protection and does a terrible job picking up stunts and blitzes. In the Washington game, his man was responsible for flattening Kyle Orton three occasions.

Unless, Kreutz gets help or improves, I would roll Kyle Orton out every play and forget about doing anything up the middle on run plays.

(2007 NAMES PLUGGED-IN NEXT TO 2005 NAMES)
Monday, August 29, 2005
NOT ALL CHAD'S FAULT

Before the injury to Rex Grossman, the Bears had a good shot of winning 10 games and possibly the playoffs. Now, they'll be hard pressed not to finish last in their division, regardless if the quarterback is Kyle Orton, Jeff Blake, or Kurt Kittner.(Brian Griese, Rex Grossman, or Kyle Orton)

However, the Bears are way ahead of schedule of last season in putting the blame on someone for their offensive woes. Last year, it was Terry Shea (Wade Wilson) and Jonathan Quinn (Rex Grossman). And, this year, it's Chad Hutchinson (only Rex Grossman).

Hutchinson (Grossman) has problems with holding onto to the ball too long, finding a secondary receiver and throwing into double coverage, tipping off his throws, and throwing on the run. But, he shouldn't be held responsible for the whole offense. And, I hope Orton (Griese) can overcome the inept play of his teammates better than Hutchinson (Grossman) and make something out of nothing.

If I was Chad Hutchinson (Rex Grossman), I would accept his share of blame for his play and give out some credit to others as well, including:

Jerry Angelo, for not bringing in another veteran quarterback earlier to compete for the backup spot. (NOT VALID IN 2007)

Ron Turner's play-calling. I would think he found it hard to find a receiver when only three receivers would go out for passes against 7 defenders and as Turner continued to call long developing pass plays when the line wasn't giving him time to throw.(VALID IN 2007)

Offensive Linemen, for letting the defense get to the pocket before him, forgetting their assignments, false starts, and missing blitzes.(VALID IN 2007 minus false starts and ad not getting a run game together)

Wide Receivers, for not getting to their routes faster, dropping balls in their hands, and not coming back to help him when he was under pressure.(VALID IN 2007)

Tight Ends, for being held up by linebackers on pass plays, loafing through their routes, and allowing pressure to get to him on pass plays.(VALID IN 2007)

Running Backs, for deflecting passes into defender's hands, missing blocks on pass protection, and failing to get out on pass plays fast enough to the flats to give him another option when other receivers weren't open.(VALID IN 2007, include fumbles and blitz pickup, but, minus pass deflections)

Special Teams, for getting a penalty on most of the returns and pinning the Bears back inside