[CBFF] "Opinions": The Bear Quarterback Situation

[Tom Shannon]

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"Opinions": The Bear Quarterback Situation

by Tom Shannon

As training camp is nearly upon us, I'm sure the regular posters to this
blog will begin writing opinions about things they will be looking for in
the coming weeks.  I'd like to start in what I think is the logical place:
Quarterback.  I start at QB because if I had to pick one spot that will
determine the fate of the Chicago Bears this season, this would be it.
That's not entirely fair.  But the defense should demonstrate its usual
superior play and a healthy Bear team will therefore likely go as the
offense goes.  The performance of the QB will reflect that.



Most non-Bear fans will be surprised to hear that Rex Grossman's 2006 season
was not all that bad.  If you listen to the national media, they'll leave
you with the impression that Grossman stinks worse than a fetid pile of bog
slime.  He did, in fact, have seven games where his passer rating was above
100.

In fairness to the media, in the beginning of the year they were still
watching early favorites like the Washington Redskins and the Miami Dolphins
who did turn out to be strong, but only in the same sense as week old kitty
litter.  By the time they started watching the Bears, Grossman's best games
were largely behind him.  In Grossman's first full season as a starter it
took teams a while to identify and take advantage of his weaknesses.  When
they did, Grossman never adjusted.  It's no coincidence that QB coach Wade
Wilson was allowed to leave in the offseason.



Grossman has at least two problems that I identified last season. (I figure
there are at least three problems for every one that a rank amateur like me
who doesn't know his rear from a hole in the ground picks up.  Fortunately
there are no holes in the floor of my apartment so this must be my body
part.)  The first problem I see is easy to correct.  Grossman separates his
hands when he takes the snap.  This can lead fumbling the ball more times
than a lady of the evening at low tide.  Unfortunately, this weakness only
burned him a few times before the Super Bowl where it reared its ugly head
in the form of two fumbles, one of which he lost.  I'll be watching to see
if this was corrected in the offseason but I can't imagine that it wasn't.



The second problem is far more subtle.  Teams eventually started blitzing
and bringing pressure up the middle into Rex Grossman's face.  Like most
legitimate NFL QBs, when Grossman has a clean pocket he looks like a Pro
Bowler.  When he was unable to step up he was clearly uncomfortable and it
led to some bad performances.  After the season, the first thing I did was
blame the interior of the Bear offensive line for this problem.  In fact, I
thought more than any single part of the team, this one was most directly
responsible for the Super Bowl loss.  I don't think I was entirely wrong but
the Bears obviously disagreed as they did very little to change the line in
the offseason (maybe I'll post something later about that).



The Bears have stated that the real problem was with Grossman's "mechanics".
In thinking about it, they probably have a good point.  I heard at least one
retired NFL QB when talking about Grossman state that "you just aren't
always going to be allowed to step up into the pocket".  I think that what
the Bears new QB coach, Pep Hamilton, has tried to do in the offseason is to
teach Grossman to slide into space to the left or to the right when he gets
pressure in his face.  There won't be much blitzing in the preseason but I
think it's worth watching closely to see whether he actually does this and
whether it helps.



I believe that if the Bears lost Grossman and had a choice of any backup in
the league, they'd still choose their own, Brian Griese, to start.  As good
as Grossman has the potential to be, if he ever gets hurt and Griese gets
his chance to start, he may never relinquish the job.  There's not going to
be much to watch for during the preseason other than Griese tearing apart
second string defenses with short, sharp passes.



Third QB Kyle Orton is another fascinating player.  He won 10 games as a
starter in 2005 but the truth is that he was simply bewildered most of the
time.  The game was obviously a blur and he never had a chance to sit on the
sidelines, watch and let the game come to him.  He had that chance last year
and I'm looking forward to seeing if he's improved for it.  Unfortunately as
the third QB it is unlikely that we'll be able to judge him much in pressure
situations.  But if Griese spends another season on the bench, he's going to
press for the opportunity to leave and Orton may be called upon to step in
and take his place.



Overall in terms of their QB situation, the Bears are in far better shape
than I can ever remember.  True, given their recent history at the position,
that's not saying much.  But I still can't get over the fact that many draft
"experts" were surprised the Bears didn't draft a QB.  I put "experts" in
quotes because it's come to mean "everyone on TV with a half baked opinion".
And as we all know, opinions are like holes in the ground.  Or something
like that.