My Friends,

 

There was 1:12 left on the game clock when Hunter Hillenmeyer fell on Tarvaris Jackson’s fumble and ended the Vikings’ last chance for a score. As Rex Grossman led the Bears’ so-called offense out to run off the final seconds, a mob of players surrounded Tony Medlin at the south end of the Bears’ bench. They all had their hands out, begging, like the kids looking for autographs that some of these same guys walk past when they’re on their way to the locker room at training camp. Every one of them wanted something, but Tony wasn’t cutting loose.

 

Until the clock struck 0:00, when Tony opened up his goodie bag. No, he wasn’t distributing the best coats he had collected during Sunday’s annual Coat Drive. What Tony had were the navy blue caps that said “Chicago Bears 2006 NFC North Division Champions.”

 

After the way they played today, he should have made them wait another week. Just because.

 

Save for a seven minute period in the middle of the third quarter, the Bears played more like the teams they were humiliating earlier this season. A quick glance at the stat sheet and you wonder how they came away with a win: 107 total net yards gained, 20:39 time of possession, 192 rushing yards allowed. And that wasn’t the worst of it, as Tommie Harris was helped off the field on the first drive of the second half, unable to put any weight on his left leg before being wheeled to the Bears locker room for what looked like the last time this season, while Nathan Vasher also left with a hamstring injury.

 

With a quarterback rating lower than his three interceptions, Grossman had his worst day as a pro. He appeared clearly rattled in his postgame press conference, and although Lovie Smith remained adamant afterward that “Rex is our starter,” Grossman has to know that the Bears are done if he keeps playing like this.

 

To be fair, Vikings QB Brad Johnson hit bottom as well, bettering Grossman’s interception total by one. The brutally cold weather may not have been optimal for the passing game, but that doesn’t explain why Johnson’s two backups combined to go 10-13 for 105 yards and a touchdown while Smith stubbornly refused to give his struggling starter a break. On a day like this, who knows if Brian Griese would have been any better? One thing’s for sure; he couldn’t have been any worse.

 

Maybe Grossman’s play suffered due to being called out by Darren Sharper for his trash talking in Minnesota earlier this season. There were bright spots, though. While the offense was stumbling to those 107 yards, Cedric Benson did his part, averaging 6.7 on nine carries, and I’m sure the Sharper image being taken back on the team flight will be of Benson beating him to the pylon on his 24 yard fourth down touchdown run.

 

Those 107 yards of offense are slightly misleading, the Bears having picked up another 137 on returns. Devin Hester had another electrifying day, setting a Bears record with his third punt return for a touchdown this season. I’m just sorry I was in the massive line for our whopping six station washroom when it happened.

 

On the other side of the punting game Brad Maynard also had a monster effort, averaging a net of 41.7 while placing four inside the 20, one of which he banged out on the two that led directly to a safety on the next play.

 

A win’s a win, I guess, but as coach Smith is fond of saying, it’s not how you start, it’s how you finish, and the Bears are turning the wrong way at precisely the wrong time. They’re getting the injury bug just when it matters most, and their offense has hit the wall. But at 10-2 they’ll have the benefit of resting some of their banged-up guys with a couple more wins. Tommie Harris is likely done judging from the way he was carted away, but a month off will help Vasher and Todd Johnson get healthy for the playoffs.

 

The offense and Grossman could benefit from Ron Turner moving the focus of the passing game closer to the line of scrimmage and riding the running game even harder. I’d like to see a few more passes to the backs (the pass to McKie in the right flat today was sweet, especially with Benson in motion to the left) and a lot more Benson. He’s fresh, he runs downhill and he punishes people at the end of his runs. Use Thomas Jones in the Dennis Gentry role, or put them both in the same backfield once in a while, ala Lewis Tillman and Raymont Harris. Why the hell not? See how the defense would react. Why do I think Turner is holding back something just like this for when the games really count again?

 

As far as locking up home field advantage, two more wins should do it, especially if the Cowboys can beat the Saints next Sunday night. But if the Bears keep playing like they have the past two weeks, you can start planning what you’ll do with your playoff ticket refund, at least for that game on January 21st.

 

LBF

12/3/2006