In the aftermath, Rex Grossman had plenty of regrets but no excuses. He missed some opportunities and the Chicago Bears blew a big one in a 21-14 loss to unbeaten Tennessee on Sunday. Instead of stamping themselves as a contender, the Bears are trying to
In the aftermath, Rex Grossman had plenty of regrets but no excuses.
He missed some opportunities and the Chicago Bears blew a big one in a 21-14 loss to unbeaten Tennessee on Sunday. Instead of stamping themselves as a contender, the Bears are trying to shake off the loss in time for a game at Green Bay that could go a long way toward determining the NFC North champion.
“There were plays to be made that all of us probably wish we would have had back,” said Grossman, who threw for 173 yards in his first start this season.
One would be a deep pass in which he overthrew Devin Hester. There was another missed opportunity in the game’s closing minutes when the Bears got the ball on the Tennessee 41 but went nowhere.
Now, they’re heading to Green Bay with a lengthy list of questions.
One is the status of starting quarterback Kyle Orton, who beat Grossman in a preseason competition but sat out Sunday with a sprained right ankle. There are also questions about the defense, too, and the coaching staff’s ability to adjust during the game.
While holding the Titans to 20 yards rushing, the Bears again had issues defending the pass and pressuring the quarterback. They now have five sacks in the past four games after taking down Kerry Collins just once while he threw for 289 yards — a large chunk of them coming on slants.
“The slant,” coach Lovie Smith said. “I’ve heard a lot about the slant…Slants normally don’t beat you. From time to time, they’ll frustrate you a little bit.”
He dismissed the notion that the Bears don’t make adjustments, saying, “We change up always, alright? We do it all.”
He insisted, “Our scheme is good.” And if players are questioning it, that was news to Smith.
“No players are questioning our scheme, and we’re not going to change up the scheme,” he said.
The offense will have a different look once Orton returns. Injured during the win over Detroit the previous week, he hoped to be ready for Tennessee but was not able to go. Would he have played had Orton told Smith he was ready?
“A lot of ifs and what-ifs, right?” Smith said. “I try not to deal with a lot of those. I can’t wait until we get to the day where Kyle says he is ready.”
They got a good start from Grossman but little else in an uneven performance.
He was patient enough at times, looking for his second or third option but was also off target. And by the end of the game, Grossman was 20-for-37 with a touchdown, an interception and a 64.4 rating.
His best moment came on the Bears’ first possession — a 75-yard touchdown drive that ended with a neat 5-yard pass to Matt Forte. After two pump fakes, he delivered the ball just beyond the reach of Titans linebacker Keith Bulluck to give Chicago a 7-0 lead.
Forte leaped after the touchdown. Fans roared.
And had Grossman kept it up, he might have won them over — for a day, anyway.
“Matchups like that are what we’re looking for whether it’s a route like he ran or a slant or a go-route,” Grossman said.
The Bears could live without what happened after that. On the next possession, Grossman tried to thread a pass to Marty Booker on the left sideline, only to have Cortland Finnegan tip it and Chris Hope pick it off to give Tennessee the ball at the Chicago 25.
Although the Titans then fumbled the ball away at the goal line, that interception set the tone.
Titans punter Craig Hentrich buried the Bears inside the 20 five times, and the offense could not dig out. Not while collecting just 243 yards. And not while going 3-for-14 on third downs.
Bad field position limited the Bears’ use of the no-huddle offense, which might have negated some of the pressure from a defense that sacked Grossman twice. They didn’t even go to it until midway through the second quarter, although one reason was they were able to score that touchdown.
One play Grossman would love to do over came in the third quarter, when he saw an open Hester down the middle. The pass sailed long, wiping out a potential 67-yard touchdown.
“That was one of the plays that I was talking about with missed opportunities,” Grossman said.
Then, there was the final drive.
The Bears had 41 yards to go and over three minutes left, enough time to get to the end zone. A 9-yard pass to Greg Olsen wasn’t a bad start, but what happened from there was rather forgettable. AP
Copyright 2008 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
About Post Author
