Personal foul, on the media

As the defending NFC champion and odds-on favorite to repeat as the conference representative the Super Bowl, the Bears will be under the spotlight more than any other team.

And no player on Lovie Smith's team will be more scrutinized than quarterback Rex Grossman.

He was -- unfairly -- characterized by some in the national media as the "weak link" on last year's Super Bowl team. This year, a popular assumption is that the fifth-year quarterback, in his second year as the full-time starter, holds the key to the Bears' chances of taking the final step in their quest for the holy grail.

That may or may not be true. But starting with Sunday's season opener against the Chargers in San Diego, Grossman is looking forward to the challenge.

"I'm a year older, smarter, stronger and more experienced," he said, "and I've been able to work on some of the things that I wasn't as good at last year. Hopefully that all adds up to a better quarterback."

Ask Grossman what he's focused on improving, and he doesn't think long before answering.

"Consistency of good mechanics," he said. "It's not like I didn't have good mechanics last year; it's just not letting those slip."

When that happened, Grossman's performance plummeted. He raised expectations to unrealistic levels by posting passer ratings of 98 or higher in four of the Bears' first five games, leaving him nowhere to go but down. When he suffered the inevitable growing pains of a quarterback in his first year as "the man," his earlier success made the failures even more prominent -- at least to those on the outside.

But, according to Grossman, expectations for him in the locker room and within the organization remained constant.

"I think expectations were the same for me: Go out and execute the game plan the way coaches ask us to and help us win games," he said. "That never changed from Halas Hall."

But what about outside expectations?

"It's hard for me to talk about that," he said.

Of course, he heard the criticisms after his five nightmare games in 2006 (in Games 6, 8, 11, 12 and 16), when he was intercepted 16 times while throwing just 1 touchdown pass. But he's understood for a long time that a lot of that comes with the position.

"I just think that it's easier to place blame," he said of the quarterback position.

Despite all the flak last season, Grossman never made himself inaccessible, ducked out or begged off, even though many in his shoes would have.

"It's a real fickle criticism because one week they hate you and the next week they love you," he said. "But it's not about that. It's about being honest, about answering questions honestly about what you thought happened, and then people can say what they want to say. It doesn't affect my preparation or opinion about our team or myself."

Grossman and his teammates have stated repeatedly what their goal is for this season, and it doesn't leave any wiggle room for failure.

"I think it would be a disappointment if we don't win the Super Bowl," he said. "That's all there is. If you don't win the Super Bowl, you're going to be disappointed, and if you don't have that attitude, you don't have a good team."

The Bears have that, even more so than last season, at least on paper. With that comes added pressure, especially when you play the most important position on a football team, and especially when you're under the microscope to begin with. But the 22nd overall pick in the 2003 draft is fine with the situation that last year's team success has put himself and his teammates in.

"I think it's good that we've created some high expectations and some excitement," he said. "But the thing that we're excited about is that you look across to the guy next to you, or on the other side of the ball, and you see great players at every position.

"We know we have a great team and great team chemistry, and that's what's exciting about going into the year."

This year the 26-year-old has the added pressure of being in the final year of his original contract.

If he shows the consistency, accuracy and leadership that marked his seven best performances in 2006, when he threw 18 touchdown passes and was picked off just once, he will be rewarded by the Bears with a lucrative, long-term contract. If he revisits the meltdown games of 2006, he'll be unwelcome not only in Chicago but elsewhere around the NFL.

"I don't think about it much," Grossman said, "especially since training camp started. When you're in it and playing the game, it's just about the game. You think about it in the off-season, but once the season started, it takes all your focus to do your job."