Imrem: Barkley the Bears QB for now, not future
Begin the drumbeat for the Bears' new quarterback of the future.
As long as by "the future" we mean this week.
Step right up and come on down ... Matt Barkley!
Don't take that wrong. Barkley is no Peter Tom Willis. However, he just might be better than Henry Burris.
Barkley, the Bears' "next man up" at the position, did just enough Sunday to be interesting.
No, no, no, Barkley didn't beat the Tennessee Titans, who left Soldier Field with an uninspiring 27-21 victory.
What Barkley did do was prove the adage that the most popular athlete in town always is the fourth-string quarterback.
In order on the Bears' season depth chart have been the currently injured Jay Cutler, Brian Hoyer and even Connor Shaw, who was knocked out during the preseason.
Here are some observations on Barkley's performance:
• The four-year NFL veteran from USC played well enough to prevent me from pointing out that the Bears have no sense of humor.
If they did, they would have signed Tim Tebow just for laughs.
Look, at 2-9 the season is lost anyway so why not enjoy some yuks? Trust me, there wouldn't have been 11,086 no-shows for this game if Tebow had been announced as the Bears' starting quarterback.
• Speaking of laughs - to fend off tears, of course - how about all those drops of Barkley passes by Bears wide receivers?
Included was the potential game-winner in the end zone by Josh Bellamy on the Bears' final possession.
If the Bears' receiving corps comprised the law firm of Bellamy, Thompson, Wilson and Meredith, all of their cases would be dropped.
• Q. If not Barkley, who?
A. ABC - Anyone but Cutler.
• I exchanged emails with a sports writer whose expertise is basketball.
"I began watching the Bears game," he wrote, "because I thought Charles Barkley was starting at quarterback."
At that moment, that Barkley couldn't have done much worse than this Barkley was doing.
Then the Bears' Barkley picked up the pace to finish with 28 completions in 54 attempts for 316 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Not exactly Sir Charles great but the bar isn't very high for Bears QBs.
• Speaking of Henry Burris, he once compared himself to an all-time great quarterback.
Matt Barkley didn't do that but did sound like he expects to survive in the NFL for a long time.
Barkley said, "I know who I am and as a quarterback and what I'm capable of ... I'm not really fazed by situations ... just to be me ... don't try to morph into anyone else."
Except maybe Brett Favre.
• John Fox didn't sound as certain of who Matt Barkley is or is destined to be.
"He was better late than early," the Bears coach said. "All in all, for his first start with us he was pretty good."
• Whomever Matt Barkley is, he kept the Bears' dream alive for a heartbeat during their fourth quarter rally.
They win this game … they win their last five games including victories over Detroit, Minnesota and Green Bay … those division rivals lose out even when they play each other … and the Bears win the NFC North!
If, that is, my math is correct.
Hey, anything is possible after the Cubs won a World Series for the first time in 108 years.
OK, anything except maybe Matt Barkley being the Bears' QB of the future.
mimrem@dailyherald.com