Don’t count me amongst those that think the inconsistent play of Bears’ quarterback Rex Grossman doesn’t fall squarely on the shoulders of Ron Turner and no one else.It certainly is not Grossman’s fault. That’s obvious.
Some of the blame can be given to Ron Turner for poor play selection at times. But more of the blame can be given to him for turning Rex into the Bears’ answer to the Raven’s Kyle Boller, a once-promising QB who was never allowed to take the team on his shoulders and win.
The theory runs that with a terrific defense that can win games by themselves (like the Ravens and Bears have) you can’t afford a quarterback that will lose the game.
But what you really can’t afford is to neuter your quarterback, like Turner has neutered Rex, and then lose games any way.
The most under-rated stat in football is yards per attempt. Grossman’s yards-per-attempt has plummeted. Along with it went the best part of Grossman’s game which is stretching the field. In trying to manage Grossman, the Bears have managed only to negate all the upside out of his game.
It’s almost as if the team has forgotten about the 10 games in 2006 Grossman threw an 80+ quarterback rating, with an astounding 21 touchdowns against 2 interceptions. The Bears don’t make it to the Super Bowl without those games.
Turn the guy loose with his arm.
Now.
If there’s a team that can afford to have mistakes at the position of quarterback and still win, it’s the Bears.
If the Bears are going to have a prayer in the playoffs they need to take their lumps now allowing Grossman the time to make a few mistakes, rather than insisting he throw a perfect game and eke out a win by defense and special teams.
Grossman has the type of talent that can learn through hard-knocks. Grossman has the type of talent that can toss for 30+ touchdowns a year.
Ask yourself: what’s the Bears record with Grossman throwing for 30 TDs vs. 25 INTs?
What’s the Bears record with Grossman throwing for 15 TDs vs. 15 INTs?
Which team wins the Super Bowl?
The answer is obvious.
-John Ransom