Muhsin Muhammad has some brief advice for those worried about Rex Grossman.
“Just relax,” Muhammad said.
That’s funny, because that’s exactly what Grossman said he plans to do Friday night. That’s when the Bears open their home exhibition schedule against the Chargers and when Grossman tries to purge the memories of last Friday’s disaster against the 49ers.
Statistics can’t capture how out of character Grossman was, though the numbers were alarming enough–3 of 11 for 47 yards and a 44.9 passer rating. Grossman threw wildly on several plays, and he and his receivers experienced miscommunication on others.
Throw in two lost fumbles in Bears territory–one by Mark Bradley, one by Grossman that was returned for a touchdown–and a stellar performance by backup Brian Griese and, suddenly, Friday night is a big game.
Management insists there is no quarterback controversy, but if both performances are repeated, there might be calls for one.
“Rex just needs to play better,” coach Lovie Smith said. “It’s as simple as that.”
Grossman has been equally direct in assessing his performance, facing the fire much more effectively off the field than he did on it.
Most surprising, to Grossman and the coaching staff, was his wildness after a very accurate training camp. Quarterbacks coach Wade Wilson noted Grossman rarely misses open receivers, but he did so on each of his first two snaps against San Francisco.
“My mechanics were bad,” Grossman said. “And that’s not like me. I’m out here, and I work on my fundamentals. I broke down on a few plays, and I need to get back to basics. Don’t get too excited. Just go out and play like I know I can.”
Grossman suffered through a rough practice Sunday night in Bourbonnais, in which he was intercepted twice, but rallied with a solid week of workouts. The plan is for the first-team offense to play about a half against San Diego.
Grossman reminded all that he rallied from a horrible start in last January’s playoff loss to Carolina. That’s why he’s looking forward to taking more than 16 snaps Friday night.
“It’s definitely comforting knowing that you have a half to get things going and get into the flow of the game,” Grossman said. “That might’ve added some pressure, trying to get something going real quick. But I’m not really worried about what happened last week.”
Offensive coordinator Ron Turner opened with two straight pass plays against San Francisco, and then, facing a third-and-10, Grossman completed a pass to Bradley that would have been a first down if the receiver had not fumbled. With Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson sidelined, the Bears got nothing going on the ground against the 49ers, averaging only 1.8 yards per rush.
Look for more balance against San Diego, which also could aid Grossman.
“We need a lot better execution, and we have to protect the football,” Turner said. “When we have opportunities to make plays, we need to make them. We didn’t do that last week.”
Grossman missed on a lot of them.
“That wasn’t the way I play,” Grossman said. “That just wasn’t me. I need to transfer what I’ve been able to do on the practice field to the game field.
“As an offense in general, we’d like to put up 14 points or so and look like the team we were in Bourbonnais. I’m talking about myself mostly. I know I can play better.”
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Brian Griese or Rex Grossman? Or–gasp!–Kyle Orton? You tell us who you want to see starting for the Bears in the season opener, and we’ll publish the best arguments. E-mail us at redeyesports@tribune.com.
