Griese knows how to control a game
"If anybody considers Rex Grossman's career over, that's silly."
Tom Thayer
Q. What can Brian Griese do to get the offense going that Rex Grossman wasn't?
A. He manages the game differently, he sees the field differently and he's been involved in football since the day he was born. Whenever you have the same thing repetitively taught to you from your dad (Hall of Fame quarterback Bob Griese) on down through your coaches, you just see football differently.
Griese is also content with making it a game of first downs, controlling the time of possession, and he's a more controlled passer.
It's not like (he's) always looking to set up the deep ball because he doesn't have the reputation of a gunslinger. It's about game management and putting the athletes in the position where they can be at their best when they get the ball in their hands.
Q. What are Griese's strengths and weaknesses?
A. Weaknesses are probably going to be athleticism. He's not the fastest guy; he's not going to run away from defensive linemen and linebackers.
But his strengths are decision-making process as he approaches the line of scrimmage after hearing the play called, and seeing the defense present itself. He can make more of an educated decision on the ball distribution before he ever gets the snap.
Q. What does Grossman have to do to resurrect his career?
A. Continue preparing like a professional, like he always has.
I watched Steve Young go through the USFL and not be as successful as he became. I saw him go to Tampa Bay and not be the best teammate because he wasn't happy where he was. Then you saw him go to San Francisco and sit behind Joe Montana and learn from Bill Walsh and those guys, and then he became a Hall of Fame quarterback.
If anybody considers Rex Grossman's career over, that's silly. It's an opportunity for him to learn and become a better player by having an opportunity to be relaxed in his learning. It's not just learn and use; it's learn and then learn some more.
Q. Bernard Berrian has been the Bears' leading receiver in every game; why has Muhsin Muhammad been such a non-factor?
A. Why was Muhsin the main receiver before Berrian got here?
Q. He was a better player back then?
A. Not necessarily. It's more that Rex has a tendency to have a favorite receiver and then distribute the ball from there.
I believe with Griese at the helm, every receiver will have to take an equal responsibility in running their routes hard because they're all going to be an option.
All receivers know when they hear the play called in the huddle someone's going to be the first read, the second read and the third. Now they have to accept the responsibility that they all have an equal chance of getting the ball thrown to them, including Cedric Benson.
Some of the most profitable plays that they can call are throws to Benson in the swing area to give him a 1-on-1 matchup with a linebacker or even a defensive back, and you're going to get profitable plays from there.
There's more of an assurance that the ball is going to be evenly distributed, rather than 8 to Bernard Berrian, 2 to Moose and 1 to Desmond Clark and 1 to Greg Olsen.
Q. How do you assess Cedric Benson's season?
A. I would like to see more enthusiasm out of him, even if it's false enthusiasm. Make it up, clap some hands, slap some guy on the butt, jump up and down and smile. Because that becomes contagious, and then you get absorbed in it.
I think he's improving as a blocker, he's becoming smarter about the whole game from seeing the development of the holes and where they should be.
I don't think he's tapped his potential yet. I'm still waiting for Cedric to break that 65-yard run and show everybody how fast he is and how well he can run in the open field.