King Kaufman's Sports Daily
Rex corrects, but all's not right with him or the Bears. Plus: America's new team. And: NBA's new old ball.
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Dec. 12, 2006 | I can't think who it was, but somebody wrote on Monday, "People will be feeling a lot better about Rex Grossman and Co. if they put a beating on the Rams Monday night. They probably will do that, and people probably shouldn't feel much better because of it."
They did do that, to the tune of 42-27, and people seem to be feeling a lot better about Grossman and the Chicago Bears, who had been looking a little shaky even while clinching the NFC North.
A sample headline: "Bears, Rex have answers for every question imaginable."
Oh really, State Journal-Register of Springfield, Ill.? How about for this one: How does the defense that's supposed to take this team to the Super Bowl as long as the offense is not horrible give up back-to-back 99- and 72-yard touchdown drives with the game still undecided?
And 27 points, without turning the ball over once, to, according to Football Outsiders' metrics, the 13th best offense in the league? The Rams are 14th in scoring even after putting up those 27 Monday.
Here's another one from the Journal-Register that tells the story a little better: "Rams cure what ails Grossman."
Grossman was "efficient and decisive," to use his own words, and did have a fine game. It came against one of the worst defenses in the league, but those games count too. I think Grossman is and will be a perfectly capable NFL quarterback, and maybe he did just need a good game against a softy to break out of his funk.
I'm feeling better about him than I was Monday morning, but I'm not ready to say all's well under center in Chicago. You can put your helmet down, Brian Griese, but don't wander too far from it just yet. I guess I'm with this headline in the suburban Chicago Daily Herald: "Grossman not so bad in win."
And I'm wondering if that banged-up Bears defense is enough to take the Bears, to use Barack Obama's words, "all the way, baby," even if Grossman plays well for the rest of the season.
Next page: The story of this game was Devin Hester. Plus: America's new team? And: The old NBA ball returns