[CBFF] Lloyd Knows the Truth Whether He Knows It or Not

[Phil DeNomme]

"All the Bears have really promised here is that there is going to be a
competition in camp.  The implication is that it will be an even
competition.  But in retrospect it shouldn't be a complete surprise that
it's probably not."

Shocking....

-----Original Message-----
From: cbff-bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com
[mailto:cbff-bounces at chicagobearsfanforum.com] On Behalf Of Tom Shannon
Sent: Tuesday, March 11, 2008 5:58 AM
To: post at chicagobearsfanforum.com
Subject: [CBFF] Lloyd Knows the Truth Whether He Knows It or Not

http://chicagobearsfanforum.com/blog/?p=211

Before it becomes totally irrelevant, I wanted to post a short note about
Brandon Lloyd's comments regarding the Bear quarterback situation. 

For those Bear fans who have been sleeping the last few days, Lloyd was
signed to play wide receiver for the Bears.  At his introductory press
conference he said his understanding was that Rex Grossman was the starting
quarterback.  For those who have been sleeping for more than a month, there
is supposed to be a competition in camp between Grossman and Kyle Orton for
the position.  (You are also in what is known as a "coma".  Everything is
just a dream so stop here and ignore the rest of this tripe.)

I read David Haugh's column
<http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/columnists/cs-080309-brandon
-lloyd-chicago-bears,1,4794692.column>  regarding Lloyd's comment with
interest yesterday.  His major point was that Lloyd was speaking out of
ignorance.  That he just assumed Grossman was the starter and his comments
should be ignored.  The column was a good one, being well thought out as
usual, and for the most part I'm sure he was right.  But I also wonder if it
didn't miss the major point.

At least to me, it isn't whether Lloyd was told about some secret conspiracy
to make sure Grossman starts that is the issue.  It's whether his instincts
didn't tell him that he was basically speaking the truth as the Bears saw
it.

I don't have much doubt that Lloyd talked to offensive coordinator Ron
Turner about the quarterback situation when he came here.  Lloyd's a wide
receiver.  If you're going to talk about anything to anyone, the quarterback
situation has to be on the list somewhere close to the top.  I don't care if
you're just a scrub signing to be on the practice squad, you're still going
to want to know about it.  I also don't' have much doubt that he did,
indeed, come away with the impression that Grossman was the starter.  As
Haugh wrote and said last night on Chicago Tribune Live
<http://chicago.comcastsportsnet.com/shows.asp> , I'm sure it was never
stated out right and I'm sure the natural prejudices he brought in from
outside the organization helped him come to that conclusion.  But I'm also
sure that nothing Turner said disabused him of the idea.

Grossman almost certainly is the starter.  All the Bears have really
promised here is that there is going to be a competition in camp.  The
implication is that it will be an even competition.  But in retrospect it
shouldn't be a complete surprise that it's probably not.  The organization
has always favored Grossman.  He's still their first round draft pick.  They
like him.  By all accounts the team likes him.  He's always going to be
given every chance to succeed.

I don't' have a single doubt that Orton will be given a chance to win the
job in camp.  I don't have a single doubt that the reps will be split evenly
and that the coaches will try to be as unbiased in their assessment as they
can.  If Orton is clearly and decidedly better than Grossman, he'll win.
But the probable truth is that if the competition is at all close, Grossman
will retain the job as starter.

When it's all said and done, the competition will be fair but it won't be
even because the players aren't beginning even.  Grossman is actually the
starter who must be beaten out.  And, on some level, Brandon Lloyd knows it.

_______________________________________________
CBFF Homepage and Blog:
http://chicagobearsfanforum.com