If the Bears’ offense scores more touchdowns against Detroit than it has in the three previous games, it likely will have more to do with improvement by the 10 other people in the huddle than the new guy playing quarterback.
Brian Griese indeed will replace Rex Grossman when practice resumes Wednesday, but the difference in the two quarterbacks on the field Sunday will be more subtle than dramatic.
This isn’t the locker-room favorite triumphantly coming off the bench to make an emotional rescue, as Grossman did in 2005 when he replaced Kyle Orton at halftime of the Atlanta game. That was like a scene out of a movie.
This is a hard-to-read teammate taking over an underachieving offense and being asked simply to put the ball where it needs to be and keep it out of the defense’s hands.
This is an ailing Bears team cashing in its quarterback insurance policy, and there’s nothing romantic about that. There is nothing sexy about benching Rexy.
It’s just that after 11 turnovers in 12 quarters, the Bears are betting boring is better.
Griese offers a more efficient alternative in that his strengths lie in accuracy and decision-making, two qualities that ultimately unraveled Grossman.
Griese, a 10-year veteran, hasn’t started a game in two seasons and hasn’t taken over a team for the bulk of a schedule since 2004, when he started 10 games for Tampa Bay. That stretch represents the best body of work to examine for evidence as to the type of quarterback the Bears will be getting.
Of all of Griese’s tendencies from that 10-game stint in ’04, the most encouraging is a 104.6 passer rating on third downs — his highest on any down, according to STATS. For a Bears team converting just 30.6 percent of third downs in a three-game stretch in which Grossman was the NFL’s lowest-rated starting quarterback on third down, that signifies hope … if Griese can still make the clutch throw into tight spots.
The Bears believe Griese can because he built his reputation successfully throwing short, quick passes that one NFL scout believes makes him a better fit for the West Coast offense than Grossman. Indeed, Griese in 2004 completed 77 percent of his passes that traveled 10 or fewer yards, which probably means Bears receivers can expect more slants, quick outs and swing passes.
Perhaps offensive coordinator Ron Turner will mesh with a solid but unspectacular journeyman veteran the way he maximized the talent of similar quarterbacks such as Erik Kramer and Steve Walsh during his first tour in Chicago.
Overall, Griese has thrown 1,586 more passes and started 46 more regular-season games in his career than Grossman. Right now the Bears gladly will take Griese’s experience over Grossman’s potential explosiveness that has been too self-destructive.
The Bears’ offense needs stability as desperately as it needs a spark. It lacks an identity, yes, but mostly it lacks the rhythm from which confidence grows.
An offense that occasionally hits the big play, as the Bears did last season, can get away with being out of sync at times because the ability to strike quickly covers many a quarterback’s sins. But those big plays have been missing from the offense and that spelled Grossman’s demise as much as the bad interception-touchdown pass ratio.
At this point a year ago, Bears wide receivers had six catches of 24 or more yards. Through three games this season, they have none. Bernard Berrian had two touchdown catches longer than 40 yards through three games last year. His longest catch this season has been 21 yards without a score.
It’s as if the Bears left their instructions on how to stretch a football field in a dorm room at Olivet Nazarene.
Grossman hasn’t thrown the ball well, but Turner didn’t do him any favors in limiting a quarterback who needs to open it up to be most effective. Neither did an offensive line that allowed Grossman to be sacked nine times in the first three games compared with two at the same point a year ago.
It’s not just a tougher early schedule this year. Something else seems to be missing on a unit where the only missing starter from 2006 is Thomas Jones.
To that end, maybe Grossman won’t be the only backfield member in a new role and Cedric Benson will start to feel more heat from Adrian Peterson, as the fourth quarter against the Cowboys suggested. As much as it might hurt the front office to see two recent first-round draft picks on the sidelines Sunday, starting the game with the disappointing Benson alongside Grossman on the bench would go a long way toward reminding everybody of the sense of urgency enveloping Halas Hall.
Potential changes on the field, in play-calling, figure to be more minor than major. Running the ball remains the top priority and a big mystery. A renewed emphasis on the short, quick passing game presents an ideal time for the Bears to let Mark Bradley out of the doghouse and back onto the field. No Bears receiver is a bigger threat gaining yards after the catch than Bradley.
Expect tight ends Desmond Clark and Greg Olsen to be on the field together more than they were against the Cowboys to give Griese big, dependable targets in the intermediate zones.
Defenses likely will crowd the box even more until Griese makes them respect the deep ball, so taking an early shot downfield Sunday might loosen things up.
The Bears made this move so their quarterback would stop being the story and start being a sidebar. It would be progress if Griese makes a living in the middle ground that always fenced Grossman out.
Pressure to change quarterbacks always comes with the assumption that the replacement will improve the situation. But making a change never guarantees it will. The switch to Griese, though necessary, is no different.
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dhaugh@tribune.com
MORE INSIDE
*Kitna believes Lions are on a mission. PAGE 6
*Archuleta has broken hand but expects to play. PAGE 6
SUNDAY: at Lions, noon, WFLD-Ch. 32
