Bears’ QB questions far from settled

By J.E.  |   Monday, March 06, 2006  |  Comments( 0 )

Chicago Bears
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The Chicago Bears have never been known as a passing team. Even in this modern age where more and more franchises are being built around marquee quarterbacks that can win games through the air, the Bears have stubbornly stuck to a predictable formula of running the football no matter where they are on the field, what down it is, or what the score is.

Opposing defenses know this, and are able to stack the line to shut down the Bears' one-dimensional attack. The results speak for themselves: the Bears ranked 29th in the league last year in total offense, averaging an anemic 256.3 yards and 16.3 points per game.

While no one can deny the importance of developing the running game, it's time for the Chicago coaching staff to realize that in order to have a successful offense, the quarterback has to be able to do more than simply relay the plays in the huddle and hand the ball off after the snap. But can the current QBs on the Bears roster actually handle any more than that?

Chicago started the 2005 campaign with rookie Kyle Orton under center. Orton was thrust into the starting role late in the preseason when incumbent Rex Grossman went down with an ankle injury. Orton started the first 14 games of the season for the Bears and helped the team to a 10-4 record in those starts. However, his level of play in those games left a lot to be desired -- even after making allowances for his inexperience. Orton completed 190 passes for 1,869 yards, 9 touchdowns, and 13 interceptions. His passer rating of 59.7 put him at the very bottom of the league in that category.

Although it was clear that the coaching staff was handcuffing Orton to a certain extent and didn't want to saddle him with burden of having to make big plays to win games, it was equally clear that Orton still had quite a ways to go in terms of development before he could be expected to lead the Bears as their long-term starter. For now, he is an adequate backup at best.

Orton's ineffectiveness made it relatively easy for head coach Lovie Smith to insert Grossman back into the lineup in the second half of Chicago's Week 15 matchup against the Atlanta Falcons. Grossman, a former first-round draft pick out of Florida, completed 9 of 16 passes in that game to lead the Bears to a 16-3 victory. After that game, most Chicago fans and quite a few sports columnists were ready to anoint Grossman as the team's newest savior. But a closer look at his stats shows that there's no real reason to believe that he can perform any better than Orton.

Since coming to the team in 2003, Grossman has only appeared in eight regular season games for the Bears. He missed 13 of 16 games in both the 2004 and 2005 campaigns due to injuries. This tendency of landing on the IR casts some serious doubt as to his durability over the long haul. In Grossman's eight regular-season NFL appearances, he has completed 105 passes for 1,303 yards, 4 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions. His career passer rating is a 68.8, which is not significantly higher than Orton's and certainly not what you want from a starting quarterback.

Grossman had a strong college career and was the runner-up in Heisman voting as a sophomore in 2001. There's no question that he had all the tools and potential to become a starter in the NFL when the Bears drafted him in 2003. But at some point, Grossman's lack of playing time in the pros has to become an issue when the Bears make personnel decisions. After all, Grossman will be a 4th-year veteran next year, but he has taken fewer snaps and has less game-time experience than Orton. In a big game, would Grossman really be any more effective than Orton? If you want to measure effectiveness by Chicago's loss to Carolina in the playoffs last season, the answer is no.

Chicago GM Jerry Angelo has stated on a couple of occasions that the Bears won't actively pursue a quarterback through free agency, but he hasn't ruled out the possibility of selecting one in the later rounds of the upcoming draft. Since it's not likely that a late-round QB pickup will come in and be ready to compete for the starting job, that means the Bears will probably open training camp with Grossman and Orton listed one and two on the depth chart, and veteran Jeff Blake as the third-stringer.

Although it's important to give players ample time to develop and show what they can do, Bears fans have to wonder how many more opportunities Grossman will get in Chicago. Because he will be entering his fourth season, there will be high expectations regarding his level of play even though he has only appeared in nine total career games. And needless to say, if Grossman gets injured again, it might be time for the Bears organization to think about cutting their losses.

Overall, the Chicago Bears are still very shaky at quarterback. They might be able to repeat as the NFC North champions, but that's largely because Detroit, Green Bay, and Minnesota are in even worse shape in one way or another. In order for the Bears to be able to make a significant improvement in their offensive output and win a postseason game, they're going to need a quarterback that can deliver consistent results. Unfortunately, neither Grossman nor Orton have given any indication that they're up to the task.
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