Whether or not Rex Grossman can save Dick Jauron’s job, the Bears rookie quarterback already has done wonders for Jerry Angelo.
Grossman is the player upon whom Angelo staked his reputation if not his job as general manager. In only two games, Grossman has bolstered Angelo’s grip as team boss.
Grossman’s potential appears so obvious in only two appearances, that Angelo’s decision to forgo the No. 4 pick in the draft and slide down to land Grossman and defensive end Michael Haynes looks vindicated.
The question of whether Jauron and his coaching staff have been surrounded with enough talent suddenly turns to a question of how prudent Jauron has been in using the talent available. Grossman could very well save Jauron, but his showing also could embolden Angelo to make the coaching change he has been expected to make since he was hired in 2001.
With only 32 career pass completions–most of them on the numbers, on time and with velocity–Grossman allows Angelo to proclaim: Trust me.
If the McCaskey family wants to keep Jauron and Angelo wants to fire him, Angelo can point to No. 8 and say, “Look. I know what I’m doing, and I know what I want to do.”
Even though the Bears continue to have obvious personnel needs, Grossman’s apparent success trumps most everything else, including mistakes Angelo has made. Grossman’s second win Sunday kept the spotlight off San Francisco safety Tony Parrish, who beat Philadelphia almost single-handedly and has been a spectacular player for the 49ers after the Bears decided to pay Mike Brown and let Parrish go before last season.
With nine interceptions to tie for the league lead and 16 in two seasons in San Francisco, Parrish has become a much bigger impact player than he was in four seasons in Chicago, when he had eight interceptions. Whether he was improperly coached or improperly evaluated, either one reflects poorly on the Bears, who are always advertising for more impact players.
When Angelo’s predecessor, Mark Hatley, resigned, he conceded things probably could have worked out if only his No. 1 pick at quarterback, Cade McNown, had made it. Hatley drafted Curtis Enis and David Terrell, but one successful quarterback outweighs two failures at any other position.
Last spring Angelo could have had quarterbacks Byron Leftwich or Kyle Boller at No. 4. He eyed Grossman and got him. Angelo was expected to play it safe and give Jauron the next Warren Sapp at defensive tackle, Dewayne Robertson, with the No. 4 pick. Instead he allowed the New York Jets to fall in love with Robertson and made the trade that netted Grossman.
An update on Robertson: If he is the next Sapp, he has yet to show it. His rookie season has been ordinary–1 1/2 sacks, only four hurries, not yet any more of a difference-maker than Haynes.
Angelo passed up pass rusher Terrell Suggs, who has 12 sacks for Baltimore and looks like the real deal. All together now, Bears fans, would you rather have Grossman or Suggs?
Angelo also could have drafted two outstanding cornerbacks in Terence Newman, who went to Dallas, and Marcus Trufant, who went to Seattle. Both have been more than worth their respective No. 5 and No. 11 spots in the draft, yet Angelo’s second-rounder, Charles Tillman, looks like he has a chance to become the best value of them all.
Angelo thought he might still be able to get defensive linemen Johnathan Sullivan or Kevin Williams in the first round along with Grossman, but both were gone before Haynes, who has shown promise. Does it matter as long as Grossman plays well?
To Chicago and maybe to Jauron, Grossman already looks like Santa Claus. To Angelo, Grossman is looking more like a Christmas angel.
Eagles down: The inability to stop the run almost always catches up to teams. The Eagles were getting away with a porous run defense until they were gouged by the 49ers and Kevan Barlow’s 154 yards Sunday.
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The Eagles had won nine games while giving up 160 yards a game at a 5.4-yard clip. Barlow was the seventh running back in nine weeks to crack 100 yards against them. Now they have lost top linebacker Carlos Emmons for the season with a broken leg.
Said defensive coordinator Jim Johnson before the 49ers loss: “Do I want to be a great run defense? Yeah. Is it the most important thing? No. I’m just not sure you can score a lot of points with the running game. The only time I’d worry about [stopping the run] is we were behind and we couldn’t get a team off the field.”
The Eagles can start worrying. Fortunately for them, they have company. The St. Louis Rams, who gained the lead for NFC home-field advantage from the Eagles, can’t stop the run either. They’re ranked below the Eagles for the season. Biggest difference: When the Rams needed to stop the run Sunday, they stuffed Corey Dillon and Rudi Johnson of the Bengals, holding them to 67 yards rushing.
The best NFC team against the run? Dallas. But the Cowboys rank sixth overall. The five best teams against the rush play in the AFC: Tennessee, Jacksonville, Denver, New England and Miami.
Lewis close: If Baltimore’s Jamal Lewis gets 154 yards Sunday night against Pittsburgh to break Eric Dickerson’s season rushing record of 2,105, he will have earned it. The Steelers have nothing on the line except pride and are ranked 11th against the run.
The Ravens might already have clinched the AFC North and the final AFC playoff spot if Cincinnati loses earlier Sunday to Cleveland, but Ravens coach Brian Billick said Lewis will be going for the record no matter what.
“How do you prepare all week for a championship game against the Pittsburgh Steelers and, because of sequence of events, all of a sudden go, `Oh, OK, now this game’s not important,'” Billick said.
Lewis has carried the Ravens all season in an offense that started a rookie quarterback in Kyle Boller and turned to a journeyman, Anthony Wright, after injuries knocked out Boller and Chris Redman.
“Nobody has faced it like Jamal,” Billick said. “None of the great backs you’re talking about has carried the offensive load for their team the way Jamal has, and I think that makes it all that much more spectacular.”
Wannstedt waits: Dave Wannstedt awaits his fate after the Dolphins missed the playoffs for the second year in a row.
“It’s not about me,” Wannstedt insisted Monday. “It’s about our football team getting ready for this week’s game. We’ll deal with all those things later.”
Players expressed support. “I believe the whole staff and team is going to be intact because we were just so close,” defensive tackle Larry Chester said. “We could just smell it.”
Quarterback Jay Fiedler said: “He definitely has my vote of confidence. He’s been a great coach through my four years here. I support him to the fullest.”
Team President Eddie Jones issued a statement: “The only focus the organization has now is to beat the Jets on Sunday. There has been no discussion internally or externally about anything other than that.”
Brady take: New England’s Tom Brady has been the quarterback in 15 games that have been decided by seven points or less. The Patriots have won 14 of them. He is 7-0 in overtime games and is 23-4 in games after Nov. 1.
“I can’t stand to lose,” said Brady, who acknowledges he’s always been ultracompetitive. “I can’t tell you how many golf clubs I broke as a 10-year-old. Every time I’d hit a bad shot, I’d try to break my club. I once busted our TV with a video game. I threw the remote through the screen. Every time I’d lose I’d just throw a fit. That was me growing up. I guess it’s still the same.”