Blame Ron Turner

Note: I wrote this  column for my sports reporting class earlier today, so it's a little more professional (I guess) then the usual tomfoolery you get from this site.

    Believe it or not, Rex Grossman wasn't always such a scrub. It may seem like light years ago now, but there was a period of time, oh about 12 months ago, when Grossman looked to be Chicago's first competent passer since Sid Luckman made his NFL debut in 1939. It was a time when a Grossman bomb to Bernard Berrian looked as certain as a David Boston steroids raid, or a Colorado Rockies victory- it was the beginning of last season, and the Chicago Bears were rolling.

    Starting out 2006 7-0, the Bears were an unstoppable force, led by their Florida quarterback who looked like Jimmy Mac reincarnated. Sure their were some lows mixed in with the incredible highs for Grossman during that seven game stretch, most notably the immortal Arizona game on Monday night, but their wasn't a soul in Chicago who didn't trust Rex's right arm.

    He was magnificent over those first seven games, matching up statistically with the likes of Payton Manning and Tom Brady. Through the first seven games of 2007, Grossman had amassed 1,639 passing yards with 13 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Remember, he threw four picks and zero touchdowns in the victory over the Cardinals- imagine how good those numbers would look if we drop that game?

    Ah, those were the days. Now, Grossman's name if in the same category as Cade McNown, Tim Couch, Andre Ware, and Jim Druckenmiller- that of a first round draft bust. How did we get here, from the initial highs of the 2006 season to seeing Rex as public enemy number one in Chicago?

    One man has to take responsibility for Rex's downfall, and astute coaching isn't exactly hereditary in his family genes. Ron Turner, the Bears offensive coordinator, has done more to screw up Grossman then any Chicago quarterback in recent memory.

    The difference between Rex and, say Shane Mathews and Jonathon Quinn? Talent, Grossman has it, those clowns never did. But somehow, from the second half of the 2006 season to the third week of this abysmal season, Turner managed to mess up the most talented quarterback this town has maybe ever seen.

    It started in the Jets game last year, when Turner officially pulled the reigns in on Rex. You could say he had good reason, too- the Bears defense was such a juggernaut it could be argued that a quarterback needed only not to screw things up- but in the process Grossman's career was destroyed. The Bears squeaked by the Jets in New York that Sunday, but Grossman's hands were tied. He averaged only 5.4 yards per pass, and seemingly never threw the ball in the air over eight yards. It was the beginning of the end for Rex, a quarterback that relies on the deep ball. The "Kyle Orton game plan", aka "The guy with no talent game plan", was in place, and Turner's offense has yet to abandon it to this day.

    Think about how idiotic it is to turn Rex into a game manager. Anyone who has ever seen him play an entire game would undoubtedly tell you this idea is very moronic.  Rex isn't Trent Dilfer, even if that's the type of quarterback your football team needs, you can't turn a cannon-armed gunslinger like Rex into that. Wait, Rex Grossman isn't great at checking down and throwing the six-yard slant? Jeez, who would have known? Grossman thrives off the deep pass, and when that part of his game was cut off, the demise of his career began. This is all Ron Turner's fault.

    "Ron Turner ruined the University of Illinois football team when he was their head coach, and now's ruining the Bears," said Mike Kalimuthu, 20, a Bears' fan from Chicago. "He's obsessed with running short out-patterns on third and long situations, and is afraid to throw deep."

    Turner continues to spread havoc on the Bears offense, even with Grossman on the bench in favor of Brian Griese. Never mind that Rex would have never been demoted in the first place if Turner called plays that fit his strengths, like he did in the first part of last season. Basically the only way the Bears score in 2007 if when a quick, little man named Devin Hester does something spectacular. Turner, for whatever reason, hasn't been able to find a way to put this get the ball in Hester's hands on offense all season. Hester has one offensive catch this year- it was an 81-yard touchdown reception that tied up last week's game versus the Vikings in the fourth quarter.

    "Ron Turner is a joke," says Bears fan Kevin Albert, 22, a Chicago resident. "This offense won't get going the entire year until he starts throwing deep again."

    With Grossman on the bench, and Griese behind center, it might already be too late.