[CBFF] Let the Debate Begin

[Steve Behrens]

Watch WGN sports, and from the way Lovie was talking, I think Rex will be
starting. (WHY NOT go with the guy who went 2-0 vs Seattle last year?)

-Behr

On Nov 12, 2007 4:26 PM, Dwayne <dwayne at wctc.net> wrote:

> Thas pretty awesome of you to say, and shows what a great Bear fan you
> truely are!
>
> I am not sold Lovie has the smarts to start him next week. I am not sold
> Rex
> is the answer. I want him to be. But as I wrote earlier, the team seems
> sold
> on Rex, and they showed it Sunday. Even if this is a one game relief job,
> it
> shows that Rex has ability to be at least a #2 in this league.
>
> D
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Phil DeNomme" <pdenomme at gmail.com>
> To: <post at chicagobearsfanforum.com>
>  Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 10:34 AM
> Subject: Re: [CBFF] Let the Debate Begin
>
>
> > I will say, I'm glad for Rex.  It was nice seeing him jumping on the
> > sidelines excited.  It was almost a feeling a relief was coming off of
> him.
> > Maybe this was just the spark of confidence he needed.  I'm still
> skeptical
> > that he can put of the 'Good Rex' numbers again but I hope he can if
> he's
> > going to be the starter.
> >
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: cbff-bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com
> > [mailto:cbff-bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com] On Behalf Of Tom Shannon
> > Sent: Monday, November 12, 2007 8:26 AM
> > To: post at chicagobearsfanforum.com
> > Subject: [CBFF] Let the Debate Begin
> >
> > ChicagoSports.Com
> >
> > /sports/columnists/cs-071111haugh,1,6633115.column?coll=cs-columnists
> > Grossman feels teammates' love
> > Says emotion is nothing short of 'indescribable'
> > David Haugh
> > On the Bears
> >
> > November 12, 2007
> >
> > OAKLAND -- Into Charles Tillman's arms Rex Grossman jumped.
> >
> > Fair to say Grossman hadn't leaped like that in a while. Goodness knows
> his
> > spirits haven't been that high in at least two months.
> >
> > Then a smiling Brian Urlacher-imagine that-embraced Grossman. Cedric
> Benson
> > might have been next. Or was that John Tait swallowing Grossman's No. 8
> with
> > a giant Bear hug?
> >
> > The details of the emotional mosh pit the Bears' sideline turned into
> after
> > Grossman's 59-yard touchdown pass to Bernard Berrian saved a 17-6
> victory
> > over the Raiders at McAfee Coliseum remain sketchy. But the play
> unleashed
> > such glee that a giddy Grossman might have been spotted fist-bumping a
> team
> > doctor.
> >
> > "Indescribable," the Bears' embattled quarterback said afterward.
> >
> > Unforgettable.
> >
> > Naturally, Lovie Smith said he'd have to look at the videotape of
> Sunday's
> > comeback win before deciding between Grossman and the injured Brian
> Griese
> > as next week's starter. The 10-second clip from the sideline of the
> Bears
> > players' reaction to Grossman's TD pass provided all the video evidence
> > Smith needs.
> >
> > When every remaining game for the Bears is like a single-elimination
> > tournament for the NFC playoffs, every decision must be made with the
> > present taking precedent over the future or past. Neither Grossman's
> history
> > nor his uncertain future with the Bears matters when Smith evaluates who
> > gives his team the best chance to win its fifth game of the season next
> week
> > in Seattle.
> >
> > The Bears arrived here without much purpose or direction. If you dispute
> > that, just review the first 56 minutes 49 seconds of the Raiders game
> when
> > each team did its best in a converted baseball stadium to keep the other
> > within a three-run home run.
> >
> > But the Bears left with a familiar rallying cry.
> >
> > "Besides him and Cedric [Benson], I don't think there's been any two
> people
> > criticized more in probably the NFL," Berrian said of Grossman.
> >
> > That empathy for their quarterback was what bonded the 10 other men in
> the
> > huddle when Grossman entered after Griese left the game with 1:32 left
> in
> > the second quarter-a sack forced him to land awkwardly on his left
> shoulder.
> >
> > Despite the two-day beard stubble that suggested otherwise, Grossman was
> > ready for the call. He had taken increased snaps at practice and enjoyed
> one
> > of his best weeks of preparation since his demotion.
> >
> > "I didn't think he was rusty or anything," offensive coordinator Ron
> Turner
> > said.
> >
> > Except for when Grossman elicited groans all over Chicago by fumbling
> his
> > first game snap in 49 days, he played with the poise of a guy who had
> little
> > to lose. And what could they do anyway, take his job away?
> >
> > On the key play that might have put Grossman back in position for a
> contract
> > drive, Berrian put on a nifty hesitation move to beat Raiders cornerback
> > Chris Carr, who was playing the outside position for the first time
> because
> > of injuries to the starting cornerbacks. Knowing that, "you're
> definitely
> > going to test him and go after him," Turner said.
> >
> > So test him Grossman did, and the Bears' downfield passing game returned
> > after a three-week respite.
> >
> > "He came in, took charge in the huddle and was Rex," fullback Jason
> McKie
> > said. "He's led us to victories before, so nobody was worried he
> couldn't
> do
> > it again."
> >
> > Grossman finished 7 of 14 for 142 yards and one touchdown for a passer
> > rating of 109.8. Griese was 10 of 14 for 97 yards with a passer rating
> of
> > 90.5.
> >
> > Those numbers are close enough that they shouldn't have anything to do
> with
> > Smith's decision. This is a call Smith should make going by his gut, not
> by
> > the book.
> >
> > Granted, Griese still might give the Bears the best chance to win over
> the
> > long haul and make fewer mistakes and stabilize the position and all
> those
> > things that fill up hours of sports-talk radio. But starting Grossman
> will
> > give the Bears the chance to make Sunday's flawed victory over a bad
> Raiders
> > team actually mean something.
> >
> > A 4-5 team full of guys looking for something on which to base their "I
> > BELIEVE!!!" T-shirts cannot afford to throw away the good karma that
> boarded
> > their flight home to Chicago. Imagine the letdown in the locker room
> > Wednesday if Smith calls the Bears together to inform them Grossman will
> > remain the backup.
> >
> > Goodbye, momentum. Hello, deflation?
> >
> > Sure, Grossman's dropped snap, delay-of-game penalty and an ill-advised
> > slant pass that should have been intercepted were signs the Bears still
> > might not have found a quarterback for the rest of the season. But at
> least
> > for another big week, they found a cause.
> >
> > "To see him come in and handle the adversity was huge," Alex Brown said.
> > "You felt good for him and for us."
> >
> > When reporters were let into the Bears' locker room, a couple of players
> > loudly urged Grossman not to answer questions because those reporters
> > eventually would turn on him again. "They're just going to stab you in
> the
> > back, Rex," one shouted.
> >
> > There will be no stabbing Grossman's back and hopefully not much patting
> of
> > it either this week. We admittedly showed little restraint after
> Griese's
> > first four games put him on a Bears single-season record pace. There
> should
> > be no similar hyperbole over Grossman's heroics this week.
> >
> > This was one struggling football team finding a way to beat another.
> This
> > was a game that nearly fell into the Black Hole of NFL irrelevance. This
> was
> > a good guy finishing first for a change.
> >
> > "It was a great feeling to be able to come in and pull one out,"
> Grossman
> > said.
> >
> > The only feeling Grossman didn't enjoy came during his post-game press
> > conference-"the one bad thing about playing again," he said with a
> smirk.
> >
> > After 2:10 of answering questions with uncharacteristic brevity,
> Grossman
> > rapped his knuckles on the lectern and politely ended the session.
> >
> > "All right?"' he asked.
> >
> > All was right indeed, at least for one night.
> >
> > --
> >
> >
> >
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