I’ve had this theory popping around in my head for a few weeks now, pretty much ever since Kerry Wood’s return.
The theory revolves around this simple question: In a potential playoff game, who would you rather see on the mound to start the game if you are a Cubs fan: Jason Marquis or Kerry Wood? Keep in mind, Marquis is the No. 4, so he would likely make the appearance in a Game 4, which in a best-of-five would have to be a 2-1 situation. With your team either on the brink of winning the series or losing the series, would you rather trust Marquis or Wood to start the game?
Here me out.
It looks like Brian Griese is taking over as QB for the Bears after Rex Grossman struggled for the third straight week. This will keep Rex from tying the longest streak for games started by a Bears’ quarterback since Erik Kramer in the mid-90s. (Rex is at 19, Kramer started 20 straight). There are many reasons why Rex has struggled, not limited to Rex’s play. The offensive line probably wishes it had played better; Cedric Benson could be better at pass protection, receiving and not being so much of a diva. The receivers could be doing a better job of 1.) running the proper routes and 2.) not dropping so many passes. If those things all happened, Rex probably isn’t struggling as bad and he’s still the starter.
That said, the biggest reason why Rex was benched is his lack of ability to overcome these things. Since the team has an aging offensive line with very little depth, particularly on the outside, and a receiving corps that ranks closer to the bottom of the NFL than the top in terms of talent, the quarterback needs to create on his own without making game-changing mistakes. Grossman has shown he cannot do that. He’s done well when things are going right; when things aren’t going right, he’s struggled. Last year, things went right for the first five weeks or so and by the time the NFL had figured him out, the season was almost three-fourths over. A change at QB would have been ill-advised at that point. This year, just three games into the season, there is time to see if Brian Griese is the better option. As one of Rex’s few remaining supporters, even I can see this. With either QB, the Bears need to turn this around before the two-game deficit to Green Bay gets bigger.
I’m starting a new game featuring weekly NFL and college picks, but first, a thought about the Cubs.
Earlier this year, I highlighted to the Top 10 worst losses the Cubs have suffered over the past two seasons. I figured with the turnaround they’ve enjoyed, it’s only fair that I do a top 10 moments of 2007. Now, being as how the Cubs haven’t really done anything yet this year, I think it’s only fair that I include the good and the bad in this list. If they end up making the playoffs, perhaps a 10 best moments list will be in order. So as it is, this is simply the 10 most memorable moments so far in 2007.
Considering the Cubs can’t even beat Cincinnati, I really shouldn’t complain, but I’m calling shenanigans on Houston-Milwaukee for this whole, “we’re going to start three crappy rookies during the series” nonsense by the Astros.
A few meandering thoughts on Week 2’s win over the Chiefs:
Found a link to an amusing song poking fun at the Patriots’ current situation, which of course I’m going to link because I’ve really learned to become bitter toward both the Red Sox and the Pats. At this point, the only thing better than watching a Yankees’ fan mope about not winning is watching a Boston fan mope.
For those of you keeping up.
I realize there are only 16 games left, so a magic number of 17 is kind of silly to be excited about, but hey, it’s something.
A few thoughts after the Bears’ season-opening loss to San Diego:
You wouldn’t think the recent quarterback controversy in Jacksonville between recently-released Byron Leftwich and David Garrard correlates in any way to the Chicago Bears or Rex Grossman. But, in a way, it does.
You see, the Bears easily could have had either Leftwich or Garrard, or even both. In 2002, the Bears strongly considered drafting Garrard on the second day of the draft, having been impressed with his play at East Carolina, including the 2001 GMAC Bowl against Marshall and, you guessed it, Leftwich. However, with Florida stud defensive end Alex Brown hanging around for some reason early in round four, the Bears drafted him instead of Garrard, who went four picks later to the Jags. In a preseason game that summer, Dick Jauron admitted to the Bears’ interest in Garrard.
The next year, the Bears had the No. 4 and No. 35 picks in the draft, thanks to a supremely awful 2002 season. Byron Leftwich, a highly-touted prospect, was slated to go in the top 10 and possibly the top 5. The Bears were believed to be considering the Marshall grad, possibly trading down a couple of spots to do so in an effort to hoard more draft picks. Instead, Bears GM Jerry Angelo, as he had many times during the 2002-2004 drafts, eyed a Florida grad who was slated to fall until late in the first round - one Rex Grossman. The Bears made a trade with the Jets and most of you know what happened next - the Bears drafted Rexy and Michael Haynes in the first round, nabbing Charles Tillman with the No. 35 pick, a pick that could have used to select Osi Umenyiora had they not grabbed Haynes with that extra pick, although that’s pure speculation on my part, as I can’t remember if the Bears had interest in Umenyiora or not.
It’s interesting to imagine how much different the team would look now with Garrard and/or Leftwich and/or Umenyiora, no Peanut, no Rexy and no Michael Haynes experiment.
