Enjoy the Dom, Kooch.

When will we ever learn? It happened last year during the regular season, when the Bears were saddled with Kyle Orton and an impotent offense while the defense was pummeling the likes of Carolina, Tampa and Atlanta. The comparisons with the ’85 Bears defense came loud and long back then, just like the references to the entire 1985 team were heard this year during the push to 7-0. It’s gotta stop, because with each passing week (year?) we get sucked deeper into the whirling vortex of Bear fandom, only to get slapped upside the head with a big dose of reality once we arrive at the scene of the inevitable train wreck.

It’s unlikely any team will ever be as dominating as the ’85 Bears, including the ’72 Dolphins, but what the hell was that? The Bears didn’t get any of the early breaks – Junior Manning getting flagged for hitting Joey Harrington as he released the ball to extend the ‘Fins first scoring drive was particularly confusing – but how can you expect to compete when you turn the ball over six times?

Devin Hester looked more like a circus juggler than the guy who leads the NFL in punt returns, Justin Gage played like he was auditioning for the role of Bobby Wade in The 2005 Bears Story, and Rex Grossman threw with all the touch of a blind man in an unfamiliar room. While it’s hard to accept, Hester I can understand, chalking it up to the mistakes of a rookie, but Gage has been here since 2003 and he’s never stepped up when his number’s been called, whether it’s been 87 or 12.

The potential we talked about when Gage was drafted as a two-sport star out of Missouri hasn’t panned out. He split his college time also playing basketball, and it was said he would only improve on the field once he dedicated himself to football training year-round. But his leaping ability and that 6’ 4” frame hasn’t helped him find or hold on to the ball. He popped up the first interception Grossman threw against the Bengals last year, as well as several other picked off passes, and his fumble at the start of the second half this afternoon was devastating. If Bernard Berrian is out, a hobbled Mark Bradley can forget to look for the ball just as well as Gage did today. Heck, I’d even give Hester a shot on offense before I’d give Gage a start. It’s time for Gage to see if Airese Currie needs a roommate.

As for Grossman, brace yourself for a weeklong onslaught of calls for Brian Griese to take over at quarterback. OK, Grossman had another lousy game, but there’s no way anybody in their right mind would contemplate replacing him. Next Sunday will be his 16th regular season start, and as hard as it is, we’re witnessing the growing pains associated with his development. While the Vikings and Cardinals filed the initial blueprint on how to attack the Bears offense – get a pass rush in Grossman’s face and hope he doesn’t find someone before the ends get there – and the Dolphins finally were able to finish the job, the next step for Rex (and Ron Turner) has to be to figure out a way to evade that rush. Maybe the answer is the quick slant, or a few more passes to the backs, or maybe it’s rolling Grossman out. They’re going to have to figure out something, because the Giants will be running film of today’s game backward and forward in their sleep as they ready themselves for our guys’ visit.

Next Sunday is only the biggest game of the season. Win, and the loss to the Dolphins is nothing more than a speed bump. Lose, and the Giants own the tiebreaker over the Bears and take over the top spot in the NFC.

No pressure.

LBF

11/5/2006