omac
11-22-2007, 01:50 PM
I saw these articles posted by dbears54 on the chicagobears.com forums; credit to him.
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/printedition/cs-haugh-onbears22nov22,1,7373759.story?coll=cs-sports-print
A couple of Hoosier hotshots
Like Grossman, Cutler has faced many critics, writes David Haugh
David Haugh
November 22, 2007
Turns out Bears coach Lovie Smith really did want to keep his starting quarterback against the Broncos a mystery. He didn't even tell Rex Grossman.
"He never really said anything, I just kind of assumed I would be starting," Grossman said Wednesday. "I went and talked to [offensive coordinator Ron] Turner and got the game plan as if I was starting and that's how I found out."
Nice to see communication on the Bears remains as spotty as the running game.
But more than anything, Smith's unspoken confirmation that Grossman will start Sunday opposite another former Indiana schoolboy star, Jay Cutler, indicated how quickly the Bears organization has reconsidered abandoning their first-round quarterback.
Brian Griese's left shoulder has healed well enough that Smith projected he will be the No. 2 quarterback again, if healthy.
But the suggestion of starting anybody but Grossman on Sunday seemed to strike Smith as odd as eating anything but turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.
"I talked to him a little bit but, yes, it's safe to say Rex is starting," Smith said.
Until the Bears mathematically have no shot at making the playoffs and have to take a look at Kyle Orton for 2008, going with Grossman makes the most sense.
The shallow pool of potential available quarterbacks next off-season even gives the Bears enough reason to keep the door open to re-signing Grossman if he continues his improved ways.
In the six quarters since returning from a forced five-game vacation, Grossman has displayed more command in completing 31 of 51 passes for 408 yards and one touchdown without an interception.
"Any time you're not playing and something's taken away from you, you appreciate it that much more," Grossman said. "I want to maintain a level of performance that people can expect and that's my No. 1 goal in my career right now. This week is another week to go out and play at a high level and stay at a version of that for the rest of my career."
The same goals could have come out of the mouth of Cutler, Sunday's counterpart facing similar expectations in Denver that Grossman has encountered in Chicago.
So far every day of Cutler's brief NFL career has not been a holiday for the native of Santa Claus, Ind., who has lost more pro starts (eight) than he has won (seven). But when Cutler plays as well as he did Monday night against the Titans in posting a 137.0 passer rating, it puts Broncos fans in a jolly mood.
"I really believe he'd play the game if he was playing for free, that's the kind of work ethic he has," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said of his franchise quarterback. "He understands that every time he plays a game, the won-loss record goes under his name."
Cutler got the "L" the last time he started opposite Grossman, when both were NFL-bound quarterbacks leading SEC teams. Grossman was a Florida junior and Cutler a Vanderbilt freshman on Nov. 9, 2002, when the Gators hung on for a 21-17 road victory.
"We had a lot of almosts that year," said Hunter Hillenmeyer, a Vanderbilt linebacker on that team. "Cutler beat out a good player to play his freshman season. He's an aggressive guy who will try to get the ball into tight spots. He's really a great player."
Both quarterbacks scored on 1-yard runs in that '02 matchup and Grossman completed 17 of 32 passes for 170 yards while Cutler was 10 of 26 for 94 yards with two interceptions. But he rushed for 81 yards on 16 carries. Not that Grossman remembered the meeting.
"I don't," he said. "I haven't [met him]."
Turner has made Cutler's acquaintance, though it's not an encounter the Bears necessarily want the Broncos quarterback to dwell on this week. It might provide an emotional oomph for the small-town kid who already has enough motivation having grown up a Bears fan in southern Indiana idolizing Jim Harbaugh.
Jack Cutler, Jay's father, was quoted as recently as before the 2006 NFL draft as calling Turner "dirty," because the family believed the former Illinois head coach withdrew a scholarship offer to his son in December 2001. That decision forced Cutler, who had turned down Purdue, Maryland and others because of his commitment to the Illini, to scramble down a road that eventually led to Vanderbilt.
Asked Wednesday about that episode, Turner had a laugh at his own expense recalling a different version.
"I don't know why, but for some reason we weren't too involved [recruiting Cutler] -- I guess that's why I'm here," Turner said. "It's one of those mistakes you make. I never offered him. We never pulled anything, no. It never got that far."
Regardless of the past, Turner calls Cutler "a great player," the prevailing thought in Denver after Monday night's masterpiece. Broncos safety John Lynch, one of two veteran teammates who urged Cutler to be more vocal, sees progress that goes beyond Cutler's 65.8 percent completion rate or 2,038 yards passing.
"He's not trying to be anything but who he is," Lynch said. "I think he has realized it's his time to take over this team."
In Chicago, they have resumed saying the same thing about another former Hoosier hotshot. Meet the new potential franchise quarterback, Bears' opponents, same as the old potential franchise quarterback.
"I think the scouting report [on Grossman] is he's a very talented football player who can get very hot if you allow him to," Lynch said. "He throws the deep ball extremely well and that was his best game of the year last week. He's hot right now and we have to be ready for a hot quarterback."
The Broncos aren't the only ones.
Hoosier franchise QB?
Indiana schoolboy star QBs Rex Grossman (Bloomington South) and Jay Cutler (Heritage Hills) were first-round draft picks expected to be the long-term answer at the position. In Denver, they believe Cutler has turned the corner. In Chicago, they thought the same thing about Grossman after his 15th NFL start. Here's a look at both quarterback's statistics at that point in their respective careers.
REX JAY GROSSMAN CUTLER 11-4 RECORD 7-8 253 COMPLETIONS 258 455 ATTEMPTS 406 55.6 COMP. % 63.5 3,152 YARDS 3,083 18-16 TD-INT 20-14
-- David Haugh
http://chicagosports.chicagotribune.com/sports/printedition/cs-haugh-onbears22nov22,1,7373759.story?coll=cs-sports-print
A couple of Hoosier hotshots
Like Grossman, Cutler has faced many critics, writes David Haugh
David Haugh
November 22, 2007
Turns out Bears coach Lovie Smith really did want to keep his starting quarterback against the Broncos a mystery. He didn't even tell Rex Grossman.
"He never really said anything, I just kind of assumed I would be starting," Grossman said Wednesday. "I went and talked to [offensive coordinator Ron] Turner and got the game plan as if I was starting and that's how I found out."
Nice to see communication on the Bears remains as spotty as the running game.
But more than anything, Smith's unspoken confirmation that Grossman will start Sunday opposite another former Indiana schoolboy star, Jay Cutler, indicated how quickly the Bears organization has reconsidered abandoning their first-round quarterback.
Brian Griese's left shoulder has healed well enough that Smith projected he will be the No. 2 quarterback again, if healthy.
But the suggestion of starting anybody but Grossman on Sunday seemed to strike Smith as odd as eating anything but turkey for Thanksgiving dinner.
"I talked to him a little bit but, yes, it's safe to say Rex is starting," Smith said.
Until the Bears mathematically have no shot at making the playoffs and have to take a look at Kyle Orton for 2008, going with Grossman makes the most sense.
The shallow pool of potential available quarterbacks next off-season even gives the Bears enough reason to keep the door open to re-signing Grossman if he continues his improved ways.
In the six quarters since returning from a forced five-game vacation, Grossman has displayed more command in completing 31 of 51 passes for 408 yards and one touchdown without an interception.
"Any time you're not playing and something's taken away from you, you appreciate it that much more," Grossman said. "I want to maintain a level of performance that people can expect and that's my No. 1 goal in my career right now. This week is another week to go out and play at a high level and stay at a version of that for the rest of my career."
The same goals could have come out of the mouth of Cutler, Sunday's counterpart facing similar expectations in Denver that Grossman has encountered in Chicago.
So far every day of Cutler's brief NFL career has not been a holiday for the native of Santa Claus, Ind., who has lost more pro starts (eight) than he has won (seven). But when Cutler plays as well as he did Monday night against the Titans in posting a 137.0 passer rating, it puts Broncos fans in a jolly mood.
"I really believe he'd play the game if he was playing for free, that's the kind of work ethic he has," Broncos coach Mike Shanahan said of his franchise quarterback. "He understands that every time he plays a game, the won-loss record goes under his name."
Cutler got the "L" the last time he started opposite Grossman, when both were NFL-bound quarterbacks leading SEC teams. Grossman was a Florida junior and Cutler a Vanderbilt freshman on Nov. 9, 2002, when the Gators hung on for a 21-17 road victory.
"We had a lot of almosts that year," said Hunter Hillenmeyer, a Vanderbilt linebacker on that team. "Cutler beat out a good player to play his freshman season. He's an aggressive guy who will try to get the ball into tight spots. He's really a great player."
Both quarterbacks scored on 1-yard runs in that '02 matchup and Grossman completed 17 of 32 passes for 170 yards while Cutler was 10 of 26 for 94 yards with two interceptions. But he rushed for 81 yards on 16 carries. Not that Grossman remembered the meeting.
"I don't," he said. "I haven't [met him]."
Turner has made Cutler's acquaintance, though it's not an encounter the Bears necessarily want the Broncos quarterback to dwell on this week. It might provide an emotional oomph for the small-town kid who already has enough motivation having grown up a Bears fan in southern Indiana idolizing Jim Harbaugh.
Jack Cutler, Jay's father, was quoted as recently as before the 2006 NFL draft as calling Turner "dirty," because the family believed the former Illinois head coach withdrew a scholarship offer to his son in December 2001. That decision forced Cutler, who had turned down Purdue, Maryland and others because of his commitment to the Illini, to scramble down a road that eventually led to Vanderbilt.
Asked Wednesday about that episode, Turner had a laugh at his own expense recalling a different version.
"I don't know why, but for some reason we weren't too involved [recruiting Cutler] -- I guess that's why I'm here," Turner said. "It's one of those mistakes you make. I never offered him. We never pulled anything, no. It never got that far."
Regardless of the past, Turner calls Cutler "a great player," the prevailing thought in Denver after Monday night's masterpiece. Broncos safety John Lynch, one of two veteran teammates who urged Cutler to be more vocal, sees progress that goes beyond Cutler's 65.8 percent completion rate or 2,038 yards passing.
"He's not trying to be anything but who he is," Lynch said. "I think he has realized it's his time to take over this team."
In Chicago, they have resumed saying the same thing about another former Hoosier hotshot. Meet the new potential franchise quarterback, Bears' opponents, same as the old potential franchise quarterback.
"I think the scouting report [on Grossman] is he's a very talented football player who can get very hot if you allow him to," Lynch said. "He throws the deep ball extremely well and that was his best game of the year last week. He's hot right now and we have to be ready for a hot quarterback."
The Broncos aren't the only ones.
Hoosier franchise QB?
Indiana schoolboy star QBs Rex Grossman (Bloomington South) and Jay Cutler (Heritage Hills) were first-round draft picks expected to be the long-term answer at the position. In Denver, they believe Cutler has turned the corner. In Chicago, they thought the same thing about Grossman after his 15th NFL start. Here's a look at both quarterback's statistics at that point in their respective careers.
REX JAY GROSSMAN CUTLER 11-4 RECORD 7-8 253 COMPLETIONS 258 455 ATTEMPTS 406 55.6 COMP. % 63.5 3,152 YARDS 3,083 18-16 TD-INT 20-14
-- David Haugh