[CBFF] A wing and a prayer all Grossman can offer (Telander)

[Victor Waldron]

A wing and a prayer all Grossman can offer

August 20, 2006

BY RICK TELANDER SUN-TIMES COLUMNIST

All Bears fans ever have wanted -- besides another Walter Payton, a
few more Super Bowl victories and maybe a Butkus clone and a Ditka
statue -- is a great quarterback.

You can define a team by its defense, and Chicago almost always has.
You even can win a championship with defense, as the Bears did in
Super Bowl XX.

Indeed, the Bears' 24-3 preseason victory Friday against the San Diego
Chargers was fueled by defense and special teams.

But what a singular joy it would be to have a splendid -- dare we say,
Hall of Fame-caliber -- quarterback leading your offense, to see a
Roger Staubach, John Elway or Dan Marino taking charge year after
year.

That doesn't happen here.

Looking down from the press box at the melancholy postgame gloom of a
rainy Soldier Field, it occurred to this old scribe it might never
happen.

''Veteran rookie'' Rex Grossman, who has played in all of 10 NFL games
and started but eight, is the latest quarterback prayer for our
starved city.

And the prayer goes unanswered.

If we are to make any judgment about the fragile 25-year-old, who has
a grand total of 1,303 passing yards during his injury-studded Bears
career, we might have to make it soon.

Maybe now.

Another subpar performance

On Friday, Grossman looked utterly blah once again, stretching out the
wretched show he began Aug. 11 against the San Francisco 49ers.

''It was better,'' an optimistic Grossman said of his performance.
''It wasn't great, but it was better.''

Was it? No.

Grossman was 7-for-14 for 83 yards, no touchdowns and one interception
in one half. His 38.7 rating was the lowest of the five quarterbacks
who played in the game.

''We need to get more production from our offense'' was how coach
Lovie Smith choked it out.

Backup Brian Griese was fine, going 2-for-4 with a nine-yard touchdown
pass in his brief third-quarter appearance.

But Griese ain't the answer to the prayer, folks. He's a fine pickup,
but he's not supposed to be a savior.

''People really don't know what you have with me,'' Grossman said
before the game, acknowledging his own lack of dependability.

It seems not knowing might be better than knowing.

Grossman completed three of his first four passes for 33 yards, but he
was lucky.

One long pass should have been intercepted, but Bears receiver Bernard
Berrian played defensive back on the play and knocked it down. A swing
pass on third-and-17 went for a useless eight-yard gain.

Later, there was an incomplete pass to Rashied Davis that turned into
a plus because Chargers cornerback Antonio Cromartie taunted the
fallen Davis and got slapped with a penalty.

Grossman was sacked, but even that had a fortuitous outcome because
the hyper Cromartie was called for a hands-to-the-face penalty.

Please show us something

The one drive that actually could have meant something ended with
Grossman throwing into double coverage. The ball was intercepted by
Chargers safety Marlon McCree at the goal line.

''It was one of those things where I wish I could have had it back,''
Grossman said. ''I forced it, so basically just don't do it again.''

This all has happened before, you know -- the forced passes, the vows
to do better, the salvation by the Bears' defense and, of course, the
injuries.

In fact, after Grossman made it through the first half unscathed,
soggy fans breathed a muted sigh of relief. Last season, he only made
it to 11:38 of the second quarter of the second preseason game before
breaking his ankle.

But even injury-free, Grossman no longer seems like the guy who can
lead the Bears to the postseason success everybody says they deserve.
When he kneeled down to let the first half expire, a smattering of
boos rained down from the rainy stands.

Why not let Grossman play every down of every preseason game, Lovie,
to see if there's anything there?

Griese is 8-for-11 with three touchdown passes during the preseason.
Grossman is 10-for-25 with an interception.

But to surrender to the Griese solution, to name him the starter,
would mean the Bears are back on the old path -- defense, ho-hum
quarterback, prayer.

Grossman says the offense will click when all the starters are healthy
and on the field together.

But how does he know?

Sure, this is the preseason, but that interception at the goal line
was as depressing as a mudhole.

''We need to just finish drives,'' Grossman said of the offense he
purportedly leads.

Or finish our hopes.