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Rex might come out slinging
HAVE NO FEAR? | Cowboys' 'D' will present opportunities for passing game, and Grossman must take advantage
September 20, 2007
BY BRAD BIGGS bbiggs@suntimes.com
In the search for Good Rex, maybe it's the fear of Bad Rex that has the Bears' offense discombobulated.
So brace yourself for Cut It Loose Rex when the Dallas Cowboys visit Soldier Field on Sunday (7:15 p.m., Ch. 5, 780-AM). That's the Rex Grossman who doesn't want to play fearful of making mistakes and goes out and does just that. Coach Lovie Smith has made it clear he's fed up with turnovers and lack of production, and if the offense doesn't pitch in against the high-powered Cowboys, even the best of defensive performances might be for naught.
No one is more bothered by the problems than Grossman himself, and he talked in terms of a new beginning after his clumsy effort in a 20-10 victory over Kansas City. Where things go from here, only the football gods know, but backed into a corner last season after splitting practice reps with Brian Griese, Grossman came out firing.
He looks to be close to that position again, although Griese didn't come close to getting half the snaps Wednesday at Halas Hall. For the time being, the offensive struggles are being presented as an 11-man breakdown, with offensive coordinator Ron Turner delivering a stern lecture in the morning meeting.
''He basically told us we have to pick our [stuff] up,'' center Olin Kreutz said. ''It was the tone you'd expect after our two performances.''
Asked if he foresees change if the performance doesn't improve for the 30th-ranked Bears offense, Kreutz balked.
''I don't know what to expect,'' he said. ''We'll take it a game at a time.''
That's how it was around Halas Hall in the not-so-distant past, when the Bears were seemingly always seven days away from the next quarterback change. They changed starting quarterbacks 30 times in a 108-game span from Week 6 of 1999 to the start of last season.
Grossman will make his 19th consecutive regular-season start against Dallas, one short of Erik Kramer's stretch from 1995 into the beginning of '96. That should be big news, but instead there's hand-wringing over breakdowns by a unit that should be gaining steam -- if you believe all the cliches you're fed in the offseason about continuity and another year in the system.
''In the second half [against the Chiefs], things were not coming open easy,'' Grossman said. ''I was pressing to try to still make sure you're conservative and still making plays. That combination may have misguided some of my reads, and just trying not to make a mistake and then you make a mistake.
''Just play football and be smart. That's where I'm going to go from here on out.''
The Dallas defense has allowed 606 passing yards, but it's better than the statistics bear. The Cowboys played with large leads in victories over the Giants and Dolphins, and they're bringing Wade Phillips' aggressive 3-4 scheme that's certain to challenge Grossman. The stage couldn't be bigger, with Grossman in prime-time position to shape opinions both nationally and locally.
Widespread criticism of him last season began after the disastrous ''Monday Night Football'' outing at Arizona. That's when the Bears were tagged as the team that could get to the Super Bowl if it weren't for their quarterback. He was dreadful in prime time again in the finale against Green Bay, but he threw seven touchdown passes vs. one interception and posted passer ratings of 100.5 or better in night wins over the Seahawks, Giants and Rams.
''Rex Grossman has taken more criticism than any quarterback in the NFL,'' Smith offered when asked to comment from the periphery on Donovan McNabb's latest mess in Philadelphia.
Here's Grossman's chance to do something about it. Otherwise, an eager Griese is ready for his turn. For now, the Bears' backup has put a football field between himself and the offensive issues.
''I've got nothing to say,'' Griese said when approached.
Perhaps the problem with Grossman is that by drilling into his head that he cannot screw up, the Bears have lost the guy they once had who would make plays downfield. They can't come out of Sunday night's game blaming a two-deep zone and a flurry of good calls by the Cowboys for shutting them down. Dallas plays quarters and uses a lot of press coverage with one safety deep. Chances are going to be there.
''Rex is naturally an aggressive person, and we're trying hard as coaches not to take away that aggressiveness,'' Turner said. ''But there is a time to be aggressive and a time not to be. That's a matter of finding that balance. I want Rex to take his shots when they present them, and we're going to give him opportunities to take his shots.''
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/566112,CST-SPT-bear20.article
HAVE NO FEAR? | Cowboys' 'D' will present opportunities for passing game, and Grossman must take advantage
September 20, 2007
BY BRAD BIGGS bbiggs@suntimes.com
In the search for Good Rex, maybe it's the fear of Bad Rex that has the Bears' offense discombobulated.
So brace yourself for Cut It Loose Rex when the Dallas Cowboys visit Soldier Field on Sunday (7:15 p.m., Ch. 5, 780-AM). That's the Rex Grossman who doesn't want to play fearful of making mistakes and goes out and does just that. Coach Lovie Smith has made it clear he's fed up with turnovers and lack of production, and if the offense doesn't pitch in against the high-powered Cowboys, even the best of defensive performances might be for naught.
No one is more bothered by the problems than Grossman himself, and he talked in terms of a new beginning after his clumsy effort in a 20-10 victory over Kansas City. Where things go from here, only the football gods know, but backed into a corner last season after splitting practice reps with Brian Griese, Grossman came out firing.
He looks to be close to that position again, although Griese didn't come close to getting half the snaps Wednesday at Halas Hall. For the time being, the offensive struggles are being presented as an 11-man breakdown, with offensive coordinator Ron Turner delivering a stern lecture in the morning meeting.
''He basically told us we have to pick our [stuff] up,'' center Olin Kreutz said. ''It was the tone you'd expect after our two performances.''
Asked if he foresees change if the performance doesn't improve for the 30th-ranked Bears offense, Kreutz balked.
''I don't know what to expect,'' he said. ''We'll take it a game at a time.''
That's how it was around Halas Hall in the not-so-distant past, when the Bears were seemingly always seven days away from the next quarterback change. They changed starting quarterbacks 30 times in a 108-game span from Week 6 of 1999 to the start of last season.
Grossman will make his 19th consecutive regular-season start against Dallas, one short of Erik Kramer's stretch from 1995 into the beginning of '96. That should be big news, but instead there's hand-wringing over breakdowns by a unit that should be gaining steam -- if you believe all the cliches you're fed in the offseason about continuity and another year in the system.
''In the second half [against the Chiefs], things were not coming open easy,'' Grossman said. ''I was pressing to try to still make sure you're conservative and still making plays. That combination may have misguided some of my reads, and just trying not to make a mistake and then you make a mistake.
''Just play football and be smart. That's where I'm going to go from here on out.''
The Dallas defense has allowed 606 passing yards, but it's better than the statistics bear. The Cowboys played with large leads in victories over the Giants and Dolphins, and they're bringing Wade Phillips' aggressive 3-4 scheme that's certain to challenge Grossman. The stage couldn't be bigger, with Grossman in prime-time position to shape opinions both nationally and locally.
Widespread criticism of him last season began after the disastrous ''Monday Night Football'' outing at Arizona. That's when the Bears were tagged as the team that could get to the Super Bowl if it weren't for their quarterback. He was dreadful in prime time again in the finale against Green Bay, but he threw seven touchdown passes vs. one interception and posted passer ratings of 100.5 or better in night wins over the Seahawks, Giants and Rams.
''Rex Grossman has taken more criticism than any quarterback in the NFL,'' Smith offered when asked to comment from the periphery on Donovan McNabb's latest mess in Philadelphia.
Here's Grossman's chance to do something about it. Otherwise, an eager Griese is ready for his turn. For now, the Bears' backup has put a football field between himself and the offensive issues.
''I've got nothing to say,'' Griese said when approached.
Perhaps the problem with Grossman is that by drilling into his head that he cannot screw up, the Bears have lost the guy they once had who would make plays downfield. They can't come out of Sunday night's game blaming a two-deep zone and a flurry of good calls by the Cowboys for shutting them down. Dallas plays quarters and uses a lot of press coverage with one safety deep. Chances are going to be there.
''Rex is naturally an aggressive person, and we're trying hard as coaches not to take away that aggressiveness,'' Turner said. ''But there is a time to be aggressive and a time not to be. That's a matter of finding that balance. I want Rex to take his shots when they present them, and we're going to give him opportunities to take his shots.''
http://www.suntimes.com/sports/football/bears/566112,CST-SPT-bear20.article
