Taking a Ride on the QB Carousel

Greetings Bears Nation! Having recently joined the ranks of the veritable pundits that make up the world’s blogging community, I feel a sense of accomplishment that my opinions about the Bears organization will no longer be limited to the ears of drunkards staggering down North Clark at three in the morning on a Tuesday, infinitely more concerned with moaning about the crushing lakefront chill than with another round of “Good Rex vs. Bad Rex”.

And what a time to start! There’s nothing more exciting than the offseason – every team is back in the race, the slate is wiped clean, the baggage of last year has been left behind (well, except the emotional kind).  The question remains: Can the ’08 Bears enter the realm of teams that won a Super Bowl two years after losing one? Only three clubs have ever accomplished this feat – the ’70 Colts, ’73 Dolphins, and ’77 Cowboys – and, of course, those were all in an era when the term salary cap didn’t exist and dominant teams remained, well, dominant for longer periods of time. So was the run of ’06 a fluke? Or is this team ready to take back control of the perpetual mediocrity machine known as the NFC?

The league is already buzzing with the high number of cuts and overhauls underway by various clubs. It seems every team has made the sidebar on ESPN.com at least once in the last few weeks with the cutting of an aging veteran or the re-signing of an established star. We’re talking relatively well-known names here, folks – Ty Law, Jevon Kearse, the receiver formerly known as Brandon Lloyd (at least what’s left of him), the A-Train, former OROY Mike Anderson, that guy who went to all those Super Bowls with the Pats (What was his name? David Something-or-other? Gibbens? Gibbons? Givens?), Rosie Colvin, Justin McCareins, Eddie Kennison, Kendrell Bell, half of the Atlanta Falcons… you get the picture. The Bears have done their share of work, too, cutting Muhsin Muhammad, Fred Miller, and Darwin Walker and saving around $15 million in cap space in the process.

Now, there are lots of positions the Bears need to address this offseason, especially on offense (I’m talking QB, RB, WR, OL). Of course, the most pressing position in need is – wait for it – quarterback! When has this never been an issue for the Bears? And is there anyway of finding out if Sid Luckman has any grandchildren we can sign immediately? As of now, Lovie’s happy riding the carousel for another year with Grossman and Orton. Normally I would completely deride this decision, but given the status of free agent quarterbacks (One-year starter Derek Anderson’s the best out there? Really? Didn’t defenses have him figured out by like Week 10?), there is absolutely no question the Bears are better off rolling the dice with Grossman and Orton than by plugging a mid-round draft pick under center. Sure, there will be some ups and plenty of downs (that’s what a combined 63 career turnovers will do to your stock), but the important thing remains this: These guys can win. They may not be in-your-face, let’s-see-if-we-can-run-up-the-score-like-Belichick wins, or flashy 300+ yards-4 TD-0 Int. wins, but more like I-don’t-care-how-I-play-as-long-as-we-get-the-W wins. I believe the proper term for the NFL of the aughts is “Game Manager,” someone who limits his mistakes and keeps his team from losing. They just need to remember that if you cut down on turnovers, you cut down on losses. It’s such a simple mantra, yet you’d be surprised how many signal callers throw it by the wayside (Read: Favre in the NFC Championship Game). And who knows? Maybe if Grossman finally sets aside some free time to practice snaps with Kreutz, the press will stop making fun of his small hands. Throw in a few big plays over the year and we’re back in the playoffs. That’s arguably how we got to XLI and why we narrowly missed the playoffs last year. If you get average production from all three facets of the team, the occasional big play will give what would normally be a .500 team a few extra numbers in the W column, enough to make the playoffs in the NFC, for sure. That’s one of the main reasons the Bears need to work hard to retain Berrian – but that’s a whole other post in itself. At least we have two quality TEs who can provide a pretty big safety net for these guys. God only knows what goes on in Rex’s head when his primary receiver is completely buried in opposing coverage. But seriously, with Grossman and Orton, you get guys who have gone 19-11 and 12-6 as starters in their careers, respectively, and a comforting sense of “Hey, we’ve had these guys for a while, we know what we’re getting, we’re by no means overpaying them,” that can help some very important people sleep soundly at night.

I’ll be back with another post in a few days once free agency gets underway and the movers and shakers of the league start doing what they do best. Thanks to all who took the time to read this far!