[CBFF] Job No. 1: Find franchise QB :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Bears - Sent Using Google Toolbar

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Job No. 1: Find franchise QB :: CHICAGO SUN-TIMES :: Bears

Job No. 1: Find franchise QB
 Smith would like Grossman back for another shot


January 1, 2008
BY BRAD BIGGS bbiggs at suntimes.com

The Bears embarked on their offseason adventure Monday without a
starting quarterback for 2008.

Bringing stability to the position isn't so much a New Year's
resolution as it is a quest spanning decades. The last time the Bears
were in this position, after the 2002 season, they signed free agent
Kordell Stewart, drafted Rex Grossman and wound up getting coach Dick
Jauron fired.

» Click to enlarge image
Kyle Orton has seen his stock rise and says he can win the quarterback
job if given the chance.
(Tom Cruze/Sun-Times)


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Lovie Smith has been on board since, and he has swapped out starters
10 times in four seasons, using Grossman, Jonathan Quinn, Craig
Krenzel, Chad Hutchinson, Kyle Orton, Grossman again, Orton again,
Grossman again, Brian Griese, Grossman again and Orton again. Dizzy
yet?

''It's always tough when you play three quarterbacks,'' Smith said.
''No matter what the reason.''

This was the second season in Smith's four years that he has used
three quarterbacks, and the sixth time in the last nine seasons for
the team. No matter how you define the Bears' offseason needs -- and
they are numerous -- the No. 1 issue remains quarterback.

''You look at the teams that consistently win, normally you're talking
about one guy at the position,'' Smith said. ''We don't have to look
very far; it's in our division, what the Packers have been able to do
with one guy. It makes it a lot easier.

''I look forward to the day where we have one established guy that we
can count on for years to come, and I think that's in our future.''

But there's no road map to quarterback security, and drafting 14th,
the Bears might be too late for top prospects Matt Ryan of Boston
College, Brian Brohm of Louisville and Andre Woodson of Kentucky.

There won't be a solution in free agency, either. Smith said he wants
Grossman, who will be an unrestricted free agent March 1, to return.
Griese and Orton remain under contract.

''We would like for Rex to come back,'' Smith said. ''Rex has won a
lot of games for us around here. You look at how he played at the end
of the season until he came up with that injury. He is playing good
football.''

The question -- if Grossman returns on a short-term, incentive-heavy
deal -- is will there finally be an open competition for the job,
something that hasn't existed since the 2001 battle among Jim Miller,
Shane Matthews and Cade McNown.

''I would like for all of our players to feel like they have to come
back and earn their position,'' Smith said.

Grossman left Halas Hall on Monday morning uncertain about his future.

''I can't,'' he said when asked to comment about free agency. ''I
don't want to, really.''

Orton stated his desire to compete -- and his belief he will win a QB
derby next summer -- after the Bears' 33-25 win over the New Orleans
Saints on Sunday completed a 7-9 season. Griese said he wanted to take
time to step back from the situation and survey it. No matter what
Smith says, it's unlikely both Grossman and Griese will be back.

''I understand the reasoning why Kyle had the opportunity to play, and
Kyle deserved an opportunity to play,'' said Griese, who had the best
stats of the three in seven starts.

''It was a disappointing year, a frustrating year. A lot of us didn't
have opportunities. You have to make the most of your opportunity, and
I don't know the situation and how everything is going to play out.''

Asked if he wanted to see competition for the job if he returned,
Griese said the decision isn't his.

''All you can ask for is that people are held accountable,'' Griese
said. ''Everybody has a job to do. Do your job, and you're held
accountable for your job.''

The job of those in charge is to find that franchise passer. Again.