[CBFF] What to Do about Rex? A Strategy of Therapy

[Jerry Madsen]

Steve, you'll be happy to know that Hub Arkish is in complete
agreement with you.  I even heard Dan Bernstein express a similar
perspective and my first thought was, "I bet he reads our blog!"
Don't know if it's true, but you're not alone in your assessment of
things.

Jerry


On 12/4/06, Westmalle Dubbel van't Vat <westmalle at comcast.net> wrote:
> >From the CBFF blog (
> http://bloggeddrain.typepad.com/cbff/2006/12/what_to_do_abou.html):
>
> What to Do About Rex? A Strategy of QB Therapy
>
> By Steve Lake
>
> We are witnessing one of the most disappointing player meltdowns I have ever
> seen as a lifelong (37 year) Chicago Bear fan.  After a shaky pre-season,
> Rex Grossman started the regular season looking like All World.  He brought
> a deep play threat to the Bears offense that, in most games, still managed
> to move the chains.  And when they did, the Bears were putting up record
> numbers on offense, outscoring (of all teams) Peyton Manning and the Colts
> on that side of the ball.
>
> But then the Arizona game hit and so began a season of increasing discontent
> with Rex Grossman.  He looks like he is back in the preseason--or worse.  I
> won't rehearse the stats.  I won't review the reality.  We fans are all
> familiar it.  What to do with Rex? is the question on every Bear fan's mind.
>
> If I were to play armchair psychologist, I would say he is mentally in a
> rut, a funk.  Not sure if that is a psychoanalytic category, but it works
> for me.  He himself has attested as much this past week before the media.
> He said that his mistakes are all mental.  And it is clear, most of his
> mistakes are errors in judgment.  Yesterday against the Vikings it was
> mostly bad choices that resulted in a dreadful 36 yds passing/3 INT/1.3 QB
> rating stink bomb.  He said all week that he knows he has to protect the
> ball better, make better decisions. . .but 3 INTs later, he did no such
> thing.  I can only think he is beating himself and the result is plain to
> see.
>
> What's worse, Rex's troubles seem to be impacting the offense a whole.  It
> now appears to be out of sync.  Rex's vaunted leadership qualities are no
> use when the offense only gets 6 first downs the whole day.
>
> Something somewhere is not getting through to him.  And I fear Rex is
> mentally taking himself out of the game.  He hears the message but in the
> game, he is deeply entrenched in a game of his own, playing mental tricks on
> himself.  Again, I am not sure if this is a technical term found in the DSM,
> but Rex is playing like a delusional freak out there.
>
> Here's what this armchair psychologist prescribes:
>
> Let Rex watch from the sidelines for the next two weeks.  Then bring him
> back for Detroit and GB.  Announce that is the strategy, then let him
> mentally take a couple of weeks to get some perspective.
>
> The advantages of this strategy are several.
>
> First, it gives Rex time with the pressure of the game off his shoulders to
> clear his mind and to work on fundamentals.  I would be in favor of QB coach
> Wade Wilson being tasked to work solely with Rex the two weeks Griese
> starts.  Take him back to training camp, so to speak.  View film of games
> where he was 'on' and let him try to rediscover what he was doing right.  It
> is there, it just needs time outside the pressure, I believe, to resurface.
> Teach him patience--for the first time in his football life!
>
> Second, this strategy lets Griese see some significant playing time before
> the playoffs, lets him get in sync with the first team offense and Turner's
> system in some real time competition.  The games Griese would be playing are
> a road game in St. Louis on MNF and at home against his former team, the
> Bucs.  If he is serviceable, then you know you have him ready if Rex cannot
> pull it together to carry the offense through the playoffs.  The competition
> for Rex, knowing that his successor might just be on the field already and
> that he might lead the team to the promised land and not him, should really
> put some things into perspective for him.  Rex would learn that patience is
> not an option.  And given Griese's own style of play--a manager-of-the-game
> if there ever was one--should be a good model for Rex to observe, too.
>
> Third, Rex would be scheduled to return with two weeks to prep for the play
> offs against divisional foes.  Rex would return for the final road contest
> in Detroit and at home against GB.  Both teams may be looking for some
> payback from the early season licking the Bears put on them.  They'd love to
> rattle Rex's cage going into the playoffs.  That is the kind of competition
> he needs at that point: teams that on paper are bad and are out of the
> playoff race, but who are always dangerous as divisional rivals, playing
> with chips on their shoulders.
>
> Finally, there are some legitimate worries that the Bears have clinched so
> early that they will lack challenges to galvanize them for playoff
> competition.  Each of the final 4 opponents are worse than .500.  And if
> they win at least 3 of the last 4, they are probably headed for a first
> round bye.  But under the strategy I propose, the team has a drama--a
> story--they are living out these four final weeks.  It give not just Rex but
> the team something to play for, to prove.  Can we fix the broken offense in
> time? is the question they have to answer.  It is potentially the kind of
> challenge which makes SB champions.
>
> On the other hand, if in those last two games Rex still struggles and Griese
> has been at least a serviceable, manage-the-game alternative, then I think
> you have to make the call: Griese is our QB for the playoffs.
>
> --
> http://drlake.blogspot.com
>
>
>
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