Filed under: Bears | Tags: Bears, Jim McMahon, Kyle Orton, NFL Draft, Rex Grossman
When the 2008 NFL Draft took place, I watched it for one reason; I wanted to see who would be the next future quarterback for the Chicago Bears. Filling this void and having the opportunity to say we have our first good quarterback for the Bears ever since the punky QB known as Jim McMahon led the Bears to a Superbowl shuffle in 1985 was itch I couldn’t wait to scratch. But to my complete dismay, I watched as every team but the Bears grab a QB. For whatever reason, the position that fans and ownership agreed that we needed to address at some point during the draft was overlooked. It was as if ownership unplugged life support from our team. Sound a little extreme? Then maybe you haven’t heard of Rex Grossman.
http://www.vitter.com/craigsmusings/cartoons/rex_grossman_0001.jpg
Grossman was our 2003 first round draft pick. He spent his first two seasons either on the bench or injured and became our full-time starting quarterback in 2006. Although he enjoyed early success, the magic wore off quick and so did his welcome in Chicago. He isn’t afraid to throw the ball deep. And he isn’t afraid to throw the ball to other team. He is comfortable being cocky. Yet he makes everyone uncomfortable to watch him. When the 2006 season ended with a Superbowl loss, so did his contract. No one anticipated he would return, but he did.
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/c/ce/Rgrossmanstats2006.png
Lucky for Bears fans, good ol’ Kyle Orton beat him for the starting job in training camp. Orton had been sitting on the sidelines for years patiently waiting for his chance to show how much he had improved. And with expectations never lower for Bears fans, Orton managed to put together one fantastic season and put the Bears in first place. That was until last week when he went down with a high ankle sprain. Guess who is replacing him for the next 3-4 weeks until his ankle is healed. Wake me up in a month.
Filed under: Bears | Tags: Bears, Cubs, Falcons, heartbreak, Kyle Orton, Matt Ryan, Michael Jenkins, Rashied Davis
I can’t watch baseball anymore. Therefore, I have turned my attention to football. And although I thought my Bears would be doomed this season, they are actually playing some good football in a horrible division. And unlike the Cubs, it’s not everyday that a Bears game is televised. Sunday’s game versus the Falcons in Atlanta was. Therefore, I took full advantage of the opportunity and watched them play.
First off, let it be said it was a great game. I have to admit I wasn’t feeling too confident about getting the win when we got the ball down by a score of 19-13 with only 2:43 left in the game. But I watched an offense that has been bad for years put together a beautiful drive led by Kyle Orton. Orton managed to squeeze a ball past a swarm of Falcons to hit Rashied Davis for a touchdown with only 11 seconds to go. I celebrated thinking my team had pulled off a come from behind victory that you can only dream about. My cell phone blew up with text messages that read comments like… “Cubs who? Go Bears” and “This win will give them momentum for the rest of the season.” Then disaster struck.
We kicked a horrible punt that allowed the Falcons to get much closer to the endzone then they should have. Then we allowed Matt Ryan to throw a bomb down the field to Michael Jenkins with only 1 second left. And of course, their kicker sailed a 48-yarder through the uprights for yet another Chicago sports team slap in the face as the Falcons won 22-20. I laughed this one off until today when it was brought to my attention that the clock started a second late on that final throw setting up the field goal. Had it started when it should have there would have been no time for a field goal regardless if Jenkins made that catch or not. Talk about uncalled for. You be the judge. Watch them hike the ball and that 6 seconds not tick away.
