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Thank you! It's about damn time.
While Lovie Smith won't make the announcement official until later today, media everywhere are reporting that Brian Griese will take the field with the first team at practice on Wednesday because he is the Bears' new starting quarterback. Rex, you can grab a hat and clipboard right over there next to Kyle Orton.
Chicagoist is by no means under the impression that this solves our quarterback problems. In the offseason, the Bears will need to address the position long term. But for now, Brian Griese is the best shot the Bears have at trying to salvage this season and defend their NFC title.
The 32-year-old QB last started a game in 2005, when he started five games for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and led them to a 4-1 start before going down with an injury. The prior year, he started eleven games for the Bucs and had a 97.5 QB rating. For his career, he's got a rating that hovers around 85 — by no means a super star, but certainly competent.
The Bears don't need Griese to be a Pro Bowler. All they need is for him to run the offense and not make mistakes — exactly what Grossman hasn't been able to do. The offense has managed only two touchdowns in the first three games and has turned the ball over ten times. Grossman has passed for just one TD, but leads the NFL with six interceptions.
With the Bears defense as banged up as it is — two starters out for the year, and four more banged up — the offense cannot just sit back and wait for big plays to bail them out. They need to be able to score points and eat up the clock. Brian Griese should be able to do this better than Grossman.
Rex is no Tony Romo, and he's no Philip Rivers. But he's had more than enough time to develop into a quality QB, and all he's become is the latest failed Bears QB. We've known it for a while now. And finally, Lovie Smith and the rest of the Bears management realize it, too. If the Bears wanted to make the playoffs this year and to have any hopes of trying to win the Super Bowl, they needed to make this change and they needed to make it now. The move was inevitable.
Image via realgmfootball.com.
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When I saw this headline, I thought Griese? Isn't he an old man? Shows you how long it has been since I followed football. Is Brian related to Bob?
I have a question for people who know these things better than I... why is Orton not in the equation at all? I thought he did a decent job a couple years ago holding the offense together for the majority of the season?
It seems like putting time into developing him for the future would be a good idea. Could someone please explain?
We have bigger problems than replacing Rex right now. The running game has been lackluster, and we're losing defensive starters left and right.
I cheered when Rex came back from those injuries and took the field. He was amazing at Florida. I've been holding my breath on every offensive possession since then. Take us home, Griese.
Why couldn't we have gotten Westbrook?
in the immortal words of Jerry Seinfeld...Good luck with all that.
Orton is not a factor because the Bears are paying Griese more than Grossman and Orton make combined. He better get the job done.
Bob Griese is Brian's father. God, thank you Chicagoist, that article headline made me want to cry with joy. Like you said the QB position and offense isn't the only problem, but it's the main problem. If the offense can stay on the field and actually score touchdowns, that will give the defense less time on the field and more time to rest.
Praise the lord.
Orton is also not a factor because he has a hard time completing even 50% of his passes. Griese won't wow us with his deep ball, but he usually completes nearly 60% of his passes and has a much better TD/INT ratio than Orton.