My Friends,

 

Before we get on to the business at hand, there’s news on the Illini mascot front. Out of Champaign comes word that the grandson of Sioux Chief Frank Fools Crow, who in 1982 presented the University of Illinois with the tribal regalia used by Chief Illiniwek, has joined with other members of his tribe’s executive committee to demand the return of the attire. I guess we all know what that would make him.

 

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''I feel like, for some reason, I have more hurdles to go through than most first-round quarterbacks have had as far as gaining respect.''

 

Rex Grossman, in Mike Mulligan’s Sun-Times column on January 17^th

 

So there you have it, folks. The reason Grossman has struggled at times is simple. Nobody told him he’s supposed to go over or around the hurdles and not through them. No wonder he gets tangled up periodically.

 

Bring on the Saints, the current darlings of NFC prognosticators as well as the sentimental favorite of a nation. The Bears have been faced with the NFC flavor of the week ever since Mike Brown went out, from the 6-2 Giants to the Cowboys with the up and coming Tony Romo to the resurgent Eagles on a six game winning streak. One by one each of these pretenders to the throne have fallen by the wayside until only New Orleans is left. Meanwhile, the Bears have gone about the business of putting up 14 wins while practically being asked to apologize for their record every step of the way.

 

The suspicion of the Bears is pervasive, not only around the NFL but in Chicago as well, where north of 6,000 tickets went unused for the divisional round of the playoffs. For some reason the frenzy is missing. When tickets became available late last week, alleged buyers refused to pay face value for them. Time was when people would be selling pints of blood to make the buy, but not this year, when doubt persists while the Bears pile up wins and edge closer to the Holy Grail by the week.

 

A lot of the skepticism revolves around the uneven play of Grossman and the defense after the loss of Brown and Tommie Harris. While Grossman has been up-and-down, he’s never failed to come through this season when it mattered, a fact that seems lost on the so-called “experts.” The Bears have only three losses this year, yet none of them have come in must-win situations. Grossman was lights out in the first Seattle game with a tiebreaker on the line, just as he was in the same situation against the Giants. While not outstanding last Sunday, Grossman was solid, hitting short passes to Cedric Benson, the medium depth to Rashied Davis and downfield to Bernard Berrian. If it seems like the only thing that will shut up the doubters is if Rex wins it all, I wouldn’t bet against him.

 

The key to the Bears offense will again be to establish a running game and control the clock with short passes, and it’s going to fall on the middle of the offensive line to make it work. If they can provide Grossman with a little time and a lane to throw the ball, the Bears won’t have to worry about what the Saints do on their turn.

 

But if they struggle, it comes down on the defense to show that they learned something during their abysmal performance in last year’s playoffs. The Saints offensive line averages 313 pounds across, so the rotation used by Ron Rivera will be important to the run defense late in the game. The key early will be whether the Bears front four can get pressure without having to blitz. That’ll determine whether Reggie Bush is a factor or an afterthought.

 

Special teams will also be crucial, specifically whether Devin Hester continues to put the ball on the ground. As good as Hester has been returning kicks this year, the Bears have been extremely lucky as well, only losing two of Hester’s eleven muffs or fumbles. A mistake by Hester in the return game could be devastating, giving up half a field to the Saints as well as a fresh set of downs. Hester shouldn’t worry about the big return on Sunday. His goal has to be to secure the ball at all costs.

 

As always with a late season game in Chicago, weather will play a role. Saints coach Sean Payton had his squad practice indoors all week instead of getting acclimated to the unusually chilly weather in the Big Easy. It’s also been mentioned that Drew Brees played his college ball at Purdue, so the conditions in Chicago supposedly won’t be a concern. But my focus is on the guys Brees will be throwing and handing off to. A quick look at the Saints roster reveals a bunch of mostly warm weather skill position players. Deuce McAllister played his college ball at Ole Miss, Reggie Bush at USC, Joe Horn at Itawamba, Mississippi Community College, Terrance Copper at East Carolina and Devery Henderson at LSU. Let those guys cool their heels on the sideline on a cold and snowy afternoon while the Bears engineer a couple 7-plus minute drives and you’ll take the air out of the Saints offense.

 

The 2 ½ point spread tells us that the Bears would be the underdog at a neutral site, which is all you need to know about how the world views our guys. They’ve been doubted all along, dating way back to The Sporting News’ preseason prediction of an 8-8 Bears team struggling to make the playoffs. But here they still are, getting ready to play hosts for a berth in Super Bowl XLI. The Halas trophy has been polished and will be on hand, with Ginny making her way down to the field from the skybox her kids wrested away from their more famously named cousins to present the trophy bearing their forgotten grandfather’s name to the coach of the winning team.

 

And while a country that loves its underdogs roots for New Orleans, isn’t it ironic that all of Chicago will be rooting against a native son named Payton?

 

LBF

1/19/2007