Something Is Missing

My goodness. Three weeks into the NFL season and I am only just now getting around to writing about it. Shameful. Truth to tell, there has not been much for me to write about. My football-watching experience is severely limited by my current theatre obligations. Last night's debacle at Soldier Field was the first game I could watch live.

Sad to say, I am losing faith in Rex Grossman. I know, I was among his staunchest supporters during his darkest outings last season. I really believed he had the goods, and he just needed some experience and a healthy, productive off-season to make him one of the top quarterbacks in the league. It appears I was mistaken. After three games he has passed for exactly one touchdown while throwing six interceptions. His completion rating is barely over fifty percent, and he's already been sacked nine times. Certainly it isn't all his fault, but most of it is. Watching him against the Cowboys, whose starting QB Tony Romo has exactly as much NFL experience as Grossman does, it became apparent that Rex's ability to throw the ball a hundred miles doesn't amount to much when you get sacked twice just by tripping over people. Rex's QB rating is only a few points higher than kicker Robbie Gould's, who has thrown exactly one pass this year, on a trick play. It was incomplete.

Now, I can't focus all my frustration on Rex. There are other players on the team who are not carrying their weight. Bernard Berrian's dropped passes last night could have changed the momentum of the game. Safety Adam Archuleta had a hell of a time wrapping up on tackles. And we're getting burned by injuries left and right. There's plenty of blame to go around.

And there's some good stuff, too. Greg Olsen looked sharp in his first pro outing. Desmond Clark had a great catch during our one touchdown-scoring drive last night. Our defense in general is still a monster, but the strain of having to win the game on their own became apparent toward the end.

There is a trend in the NFL, that teams who lose the Super Bowl have awful follow-up seasons. So far the Bears are doing little to break that trend. During the game last night you could hear the crowd chanting for backup QB Brian Griese. The change might give a slight boost for a game or two, but it won't fix the fundamental problem. I'm starting to think there is something in the mentality of the organization that makes it difficult for a quarterback to find his stride here. The Bears have had forty starting quarterbacks in the last forty-seven years. There has to be a reason behind a statistic as ridiculous as that.

But at least I'm not gonna ask for my money back for Rex's jersey. We went to the Super Bowl with that guy. You can't take that away from him.