Bears-Vikings, Round 2: What's Happening, now?
The Bears are gearing up for Round 2 with the Vikings this Sunday at Soldier Field. They stole the last one at the Metrodome, and some Vikings thought Mr. Grossman celebrated a little too hard after the winning touchdown pass. Grossman responded that he was simply fighting trash with trash and it's nothing to worry about. Whatever the case, this story along with the usual Kreutz/Williams dustup should add a little spice to the contest, as if Bears/Vikings needs any.
I gotta admit, I hate the Vikings a lot. Probably more than the Packers even. I hope Kreutz punches 'em in the mouth. Hard.
Let's move on.
Another story to get attention this week is the dwindling number of sacks by the Bears defensive line. Tommie Harris was hoping nobody would notice, you know with Grossman repeatedly crapping himself and all. But now that it's out in the open, he's going to use "this dis" as motivation this Sunday. Does Lovie Smith not motivate enough to the point where players have to read the papers to get fired up? Curious, to say the least. I agree with Mike Downey, by the way, when saying the criticisms of a 9-2 team are a bit ridiculous. The defense is first in points allowed, first in yards allowed, first in takeaways, and first in points off takeaways. To criticize the front four for not getting enough sacks is petty.
Today, Cedric Benson was on ESPN Radio 1000 complaining (mp3) about a lack of playing time, again. Saying something along the lines of, "the difference between college and the NFL is the best players are not always on the field." Sigh. Again, where's Lovie in all this? Is this the fifth time, or sixth time that Benson's complained about not getting the rock? I lost count. I'd like to see Benson more, too, but Thomas Jones ain't broke, so I don't blame the Bears for not fixing it. (Of course Mac, Jurko, & Harry were spot on in pointing out that Jones isn't exactly Matt Suhey blocking for Grossman back there.) Benson will get his shot next year, and Jones will be gone. You better live up to the hype, Texas boy. That's all I'll say.
Finally, I'm sick of all the stories calling for Griese. Both Brad Biggs and Richard Roeper, of all people, have provided a dose of reason on the issue. Griese is no savior. His career record as a starter is 36-33, in his last five years he has 70 TDs and 59 INTs, and he's never led a team to the playoffs. He's a solid backup and he looked good in the preseason against second string defenses. It's obvious that Grossman can't keep turning the ball over 3+ times per game, but it's not like Griese is Peyton Manning sitting on that bench. He's nice insurance in case Mr. Glass comes back, but Rex should be given every chance to play through his troubles. Well, not EVERY chance. I'm just saying I'd give him at least 6 more quarters to snap out of it. This Sunday against the Vikes and the first half next Monday against St. Louis. He continues with that deer-in-headlights look, then I'd give Griese a shot. I just wouldn't expect Griese to come riding in on a white horse.
Finally, time for a prediction. Will Grossman snap out of it? Will Benson whack Thomas Jones Tonya-Harding-style to get more playing time? Will this blog entry motivate Tommie Harris to start getting sacks again? Will Darren Sharper forget to cover Bernard Berrian because he's talking so much trash? Will the corpse of Brad Johnson throw three touchdown passes this week, as he did last week against Arizona? Kind of, no, yeah right, maybe, and definitely not.
Bears 17, Vikings 3