For Grossman, the clock is ticking

Despite public opinion, there's no evidence at Halas Hall that Bears quarterback Rex Grossman is playing on borrowed time.

A third straight subpar performance, however, coming in today's nationally televised showdown (7 p.m., Channel 5) against the Dallas Cowboys could make his job security tenuous.

Last year, when the Bears suffered through Grossman's growing pains, it was easier to overlook his meltdown games because he began the season on fire. The Bears' quarterback had passer ratings above 98.0 in four of his first five games and five of his first seven.

It's a completely different story this season, though.

Two weeks into the 2006 season, Grossman led the NFL with a passer rating of 128.7, based on 5 TD passes and just 1 interception. This season he's No. 32 with a 55.1 passer rating, 3 interceptions and 1 TD. He also has been sacked six times this season, compared to one last season.

"We got some big plays last year that helped," Grossman said, trying to explain the difference. "We were just playing better, basically. I was playing a lot smarter and doing the things needed to score points. We need to get back to that and figure out what we need to do to make sure that happens."

Grossman needs to figure it out in a hurry if he wants to avoid losing his job to Brian Griese. At 32, Griese may not be the quarterback of the future, but he could be the safer choice to get the Bears back to the Super Bowl.

Grossman admitted last week that he's putting pressure on himself for the Bears, who have scored just 23 points. That put them tied for 28th in the league, and they rank 30th in total yards and 29th in passing yards.

"In the second half of the (Chiefs) game, things just weren't coming open easy, and I was pressing to try to (be) conservative and still make plays," he said. "That combination may have misguided some of my reads, and (in) trying not to make a mistake, you (end up making) a mistake. Just play football and be smart. That's where I am going to go from here on out. That should take me in the right direction."

While Grossman hasn't had anything close to the disastrous outings that offset his spectacular performances last season, the entire offense hasn't played as well as it did last season, even though the Bears believe they improved on that side of the ball.

"The expectation level is high," offensive coordinator Ron Turner said. "We came out of camp with a lot of confidence, (and) we still have a lot of confidence. We just need to put it together for four quarters.

"We've done some good things in spurts," Turner added. "It seems like when you do something good, though, something bad happens to hurt it. Usually, it's our own doing."

Grossman and his 3 interceptions aren't the entire problem, since the Bears also have lost 4 fumbles. But Grossman and the offensive line have been uncharacteristically susceptible to sacks this season, especially on blitzes. That has taken away the deep ball, something that has always been an important part of Grossman's repertoire. It won't come back until he gets better protection.

"Rex is naturally an aggressive person, and we're trying hard as coaches not to take away that aggressiveness," Turner said. "But there is a time to be aggressive and a time not to be. That's a matter of finding that balance. I want Rex to take his shots when they present them, and we're going to give him opportunities to take his shots.

"Unfortunately, in the first two games we haven't had those opportunities. When we don't have those opportunities, we need to be very, very efficient, which we haven't been."

Opponents have thrown a lot of Cover-2 defenses at the Bears, making deep balls impractical. Last week, because of blitz pressure, he was forced to disdain longer passes in favor of checking off to a running back or to getting rid of the ball immediately to a hot receiver on a shorter route. That isn't his forte, but sometimes it's the wiser option.

"I thought I did a pretty good job the first half (against the Chiefs)," said Grossman, who completed 13 of 20 passes for 120 yards, 1 TD and a passer rating of 97.9. "They played a lot of deep zones, and a couple of times they had us covered down the field."

But even when Grossman tried to hit Rashied Davis on an underneath route in the fourth quarter, linebacker Donnie Edwards jumped the route and came away with an interception.

"We just didn't have anywhere to go with the football," Grossman said. "In those situations, where there is a bad play going on, I need to be ultra-conservative and make sure I see all of the defenders on the field, so that if you do try to hit a checkdown, you see that linebacker squeezing on Rashied."

Mistakes like that were tolerated last season, Grossman's first as a starter, but more is expected this time around, starting immediately.

Walker might not play: Bears defensive tackle Darwin Walker was added to the injury report Saturday as questionable with a quad injury.

Walker moved into the starting lineup in Week 2 after the season-ending knee injury to Dusty Dvoracek. If Walker is unavailable tonight, Anthony Adams would start at nose tackle next to Tommie Harris, with only Antonio Garay in reserve, unless Neuqua Valley graduate Babatunde Oshinowo is promoted from the practice squad. Backup defensive end Israel Idonije could also take some snaps at tackle.