If Monday night proved one thing it confirmed the Bears’ commitment to quarterback Rex Grossman.
If it showed another, it reaffirmed they will share blame rather than burden any one player with it.
And if it established a third, it solidified the coaches’ take on how Grossman reacts to disaster.
Grossman’s attitude never got as low as his passer rating (10.7), which may be as important in his NFL development in the long run.
“It’s not like Rex is not high and low,” coach Lovie Smith said. “[But] Rex is a confident athlete. Even after the bad plays, it was always, `OK, guys, next play.’ It’s always about the next play and Rex Grossman is always about the next play and that’s all you can be as an athlete.”
Athletes also can serve as shields for struggling teammates, and in the wake of the dismal offensive performance in Monday night’s 23-21 victory over Arizona, the Bears were standing squarely by each other.
This arguably signifies a subtle shift from 2005, when just about every shortcoming on offense seemed to be laid, often unfairly, at the locker of rookie quarterback Kyle Orton.
Grossman wobbled from start to finish against the Cardinals. He missed an open receiver with his first pass and hit a Cardinal with his last one. The ones in between weren’t necessarily a whole lot better.
Nevertheless, backup Brian Griese was never a thought.
“I think you stick with Rex,” said receiver Muhsin Muhammad, one of the Bears who was seeing pass plays designed for him heading toward Arizona uniforms. “I know everybody has bad games, everybody, and he has five straight good ones before a bad one. But we came out with a win, so that means we have a good team. It isn’t about one player on this team.”
So, the coaches never considered relieving Grossman?
“Rex is our quarterback, he is a great quarterback and great quarterbacks have off nights,” offensive coordinator Ron Turner said.
Turner had warned the passing game was not in synch after the Bears had put up 40 points against Buffalo. He turned out to be a prophet, mincing no words about how poor Grossman played. But he also made it clear Grossman was not the only culprit. Two of Grossman’s four interceptions were traced, in part, to poor routes run by receivers.
Turner stood talking privately with Grossman after the game. He stood with him publicly Wednesday. If there is blame being dispensed, Turner will take his share.
“I told Rex afterwards, `You played bad; I coached bad,'” Turner said. “I told him, `I have to help you more, whether it’s preparing you during the week, calls during the game, whatever it is. When you play well, I like to think I’m part of that.’ And when he plays bad, I’m a big part of that too.”
Against a Cardinals defense ranked 29th against the run, the Bears passed on nine of the first 10 plays. In a first half in which three of the Cardinals’ four scores followed turnovers on passing plays, the Bears called 17 pass plays to six runs.
While Grossman had ample opportunity to spread blame around, he took it himself.
“It was a combination of missed reads and bad passes,” he said. “If I had read the defenses right, gone to the right guy and not predetermined that the corner[back] was going to jump off on this or that route, just gone out and reacted instead of thinking too much . . . but I didn’t throw real well either.”
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jmullin@tribune.com
