Developing the quarterback is at least as important as finding one. Jim McMahon was found fully developed, at least in the football sense.
Arriving from Brigham Young, McMahon knew more about the passing game than the Bears’ coaches at the time. BYU’s passing offense was more sophisticated than the Bears’ offense, which was only two-dimensional–handoff to Walter Payton right and handoff to Walter Payton left. A defensive back from the 1950s, Ed Hughes, was the coordinator.
In seven years with the Bears, McMahon threw 67 touchdown passes. In four years at BYU, he threw 84. So McMahon regressed as a Bear. He was dumbed down, debriefed, underdeveloped as a pro. He often wondered, still does, what he might have accomplished if he had played for Bill Walsh or Mike Holmgren or Mike Shanahan his entire career. Of course, Mike Ditka wonders what it would have been like to have a healthy quarterback for a whole season, too. Result: one championship, more than one regret.
So now comes Rex Grossman, who also understands why a football is shaped as such. He played at Florida under Steve Spurrier, who never saw a pass he didn’t like.
Developing Grossman into a confident, effective pro while he gets beat up, confused, criticized and booed is the Bears’ latest challenge. After the initial cheering, Grossman will endure adversity. They all do. The task for the Bears is to guide him through tough times so his potential can be realized.
It is a difficult assignment for any NFL team to develop the most important position on the field; the Bears have failed miserably at it for more than half a century. Of course, the last time they succeeded–alas, the only time–it was spectacular. They not only developed Sid Luckman, they developed and perfected the T-formation right along with him, changing the entire sport.
It’s time the football gods recognize others have caught up to the head start and allow the Bears back into the game they helped invent.
Easing Grossman into the lineup as a rookie is the right way to start. Minnesota’s Daunte Culpepper didn’t throw a pass as a rookie, but looked good enough in practices for coach Denny Green to anoint him No. 1 as a sophomore. That could have been Culpepper in a Bear uniform in Soldier Field Sunday and if it were, this story could end right now.
Philadelphia’s Donovan McNabb started six games as a rookie, then 16. Atlanta’s Michael Vick started two games as a rookie before taking the league by storm his second season. The New York Jets’ Chad Pennington didn’t start a game in his first two years and is now among league leaders. Tennessee’s Steve McNair started twice as a rookie and only four times his second year before getting the job fulltime.
The common denominator, besides being first-round draft choices, is all had some degree of coaching continuity. Minnesota’s Mike Tice was offensive line coach under Green, quite familiar with Culpepper. McNabb has enjoyed the same head coach, Andy Reid, and same offensive coordinator, Brad Childress. Vick had Dan Reeves, an offensive coach who had experience with John Elway. Pennington went through a coaching switch after his rookie season, which may have delayed him a year, but has worked under the same coaches since. McNair has worked only for head coach Jeff Fisher.
The Bears tried to develop Cade McNown in 1999-2000. McNown quickly went the way of Akili Smith, David Klingler, Todd Marinovich, Jim Druckenmiller, Dan McGwire, and Heath Shuler–all first-round quarterbacks since 1990 who were brought along slowly and are now out of football. Most of those had coaching continuity, too, so there is no foolproof formula, except perhaps to refrain from drafting fools.
A gradual indoctrination does seem preferable to tossing the quarterback into the pool and hoping he can swim. Peyton Manning is the lone exception among first-round quarterbacks since 1990. The Indianapolis Colts are the only team to get 16 starts out of their rookie followed by 16 the second season (and third, fourth, fifth, going on sixth).
The Colts tried to do the same thing with Jeff George in 1990. Others who were thrown in right away are either no longer with their original teams (Kerry Collins, Rick Mirer, Drew Bledsoe), out of football (Ryan Leaf, along with George), in trouble (Tim Couch) or too young to evaluate (Joey Harrington, David Carr).
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It’s not that the Bears never have been capable of developing a quarterback. Jim Dooley, head coach from 1968-71, was the Bill Walsh of his time as far as innovative offensive concepts went, but he never had a No. 1 pick at quarterback to work with. The Bears hired Hall of Fame offensive coach Sid Gillman and former quarterback coach and guru Ted Marchibroda as coordinators, but each left after one season frustrated, with no No. 1 draft choices at quarterback and head coaches content to hand off to Payton.
Until the Bears settle on an alliance between a top quarterback and a coaching staff, and give it time to grow, the frustration will continue.