Maybe Bears just don't have a quarterback

DETROIT -- Brian Griese looked like the Bears as a whole late Sunday afternoon.

The welts, scratches and bruises were big, long and red on his back, shoulder and arm.

He probably had Motor City tire marks on him, though they weren't as visible.

In his first start at quarterback for the Bears, Griese played the role of stand-in for Rex Grossman all too well.

"I'm a part of this team," Griese said after the Lions beat the Bears 37-27. "I'll look at myself and see what I can do better."

For starters, so to speak, not throwing 3 interceptions is recommended. So is a quarterback rating of better than 68.3.

To his credit, Bears head coach Lovie Smith didn't give us the spiel, "Brian is our quarterback." Nor did he say, "Rex is our quarterback." Nor did he say, "Hillary is our quarterback."

Smith might realize now that the Bears don't have a quarterback.

OK, maybe third-stringer Kyle Orton is the best option for this team after all. He can't do any worse, can he?

Seriously, folks, the Bears are in serious trouble. Their record is 1-3. Their defense is hemorrhaging injuries. And their offense can't protect the ball, move the ball or score the ball.

Kick returner Devin Hester might be The Eradicator, but not even he can't eradicate all the problems confronting this team.

Hester returned a kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown immediately after Griese threw an interception that Keith Smith returned for a TD.

But the Lions' long touchdown drives were too much to overcome. The Bears' offense had to match Detroit point for point and couldn't.

"We'll have to look at it," offensive coordinator Ron Turner said when asked whether Griese was an improvement over Grossman. "I just know we have to play better offensively."

This isn't all on whoever plays quarterback. The offensive line is looking older and more fragile and more inadequate by the day.

"(Griese) was under a lot of pressure," center Olin Kreutz said, "and that's on us."

So whoever runs the ball can't run it. Whoever throws it can't throw it. Whoever protects it can't protect it.

In this environment the quarterback sticks out like a sore thumb. Actually, he sticks out like he's throwing with a sore thumb.

"It wasn't good enough," Smith said of Griese's performance.

The Bears are trying to defend their National Conference title and getting minimal help from the offense generally and quarterback specifically.

General manager Jerry Angelo noted, sort of in passing during Super Bowl week in January, that a team needs a Hall of Fame quarterback to sustain success and maybe even become a dynasty.

The 49ers' Joe Montana, Patriots' Tom Brady and Colts' Peyton Manning come to mind.

Merely a very good quarterback might suffice for the Bears, considering how good Hester is and their defense can be when healthy.

So far this season the Bears haven't even had a very so-so quarterback. Consequently, they're already 3 games behind the Packers in the NFC North and 2 behind the Lions.

"The good part is it's early in the season," Griese said, "and we have a chance to control our destiny."

For now, judging by the looks of Griese on and off the field, the Bears are all beat up with nowhere to go.

mimrem@dailyherald.com