piratesownninjas Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 Grossman has a much better arm than Griese. Griese has a much better brain than Grossman. Both of these guys are borderline NFL starting QBs, with Grossman's youth, vastly-superior physical skills, better long-term potential, and Jerry Angelo's ego being the factors that kept him in the starting gig. So do you fault Angelo for making the decision that he did? If they're both borderline starters, and one is much younger than the other, don't you almost have to stick with Grossman? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Swerski Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 (edited) So do you fault Angelo for making the decision that he did? If they're both borderline starters, and one is much younger than the other, don't you almost have to stick with Grossman? I'm not sure. Griese looked great in the pre-season, but then Rex caught fire in September. By the time that they realized that Rex may not be the best option in the playoffs, Griese was obviously rusty (the Jan 31st Packers game) and not ready to step in. And then Rex played decently for the first two playoff games... but then had a mental meltdown at the SB. IMO, Rex's problems are mental. He lacks confidence and doesn't respond well to pressure. Look at his meltdown during the week before the SB - the one where he called the media "ignorant." How many veteran QBs would say something that stupid? His problems might be correctable via coaching, or even a shrink. Then again, they might not. I think that getting rid of Ron Turner and his bland, predictable offense would help Rex a lot. But he'd still have a lot to work on afterwards. Edited February 22, 2007 by Bill Swerski Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piratesownninjas Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 I'm not sure. Griese looked great in the pre-season, but then Rex caught fire in September. By the time that they realized that Rex may not be the best option in the playoffs, Griese was obviously rusty (the Jan 31st Packers game) and not ready to step in. And then Rex played decently for the first two playoff games... but then had a mental meltdown at the SB. IMO, Rex's problems are mental. He lacks confidence and doesn't respond well to pressure. Look at his meltdown during the week before the SB - the one where he called the media "ignorant." How many veteran QBs would say something that stupid? His problems might be correctable via coaching, or even a shrink. Then again, they might not. I think that getting rid of Ron Turner and his bland, predictable offense would help Rex a lot. But he'd still have a lot to work on afterwards. So would you agree that benching him in favor of Greise would be detramental to the progression of Grossman? If they would have pulled him, he would have zero confidence coming into next year. They rode it out, and now Grossman knows he's the guy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bill Swerski Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 So would you agree that benching him in favor of Greise would be detramental to the progression of Grossman? If they would have pulled him, he would have zero confidence coming into next year. They rode it out, and now Grossman knows he's the guy. IMO, if you're in a position to win a SB and your young guy isn't getting it done, you pull him and play the veteran. Instilling confidence in the young guy isn't worth a Super Bowl. That said, Griese was only a marginal step up from Grossman and, as the New Year's Eve game showed, he was too rusty to step in at that point in the season. I'm not sure that they're interested in keeping Rex around after '07. It's all going to hinge on how he plays later this year. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentastic Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 I like Lovie, but am am beginning to not like his game calling, especially the D in the SB. It remains to be seen if that was more him or Rivera, but I suspect him. The Bears have alwyas been cheap, in part because they are one of the few teams owned by a single family that doesn't have larger investments elsewhere. Unlike Snyder or JJ this is their Mom and Pop store and it's alwyas been handled as such. If the manage to extend Lovie, great. If not, expect to see Rivera return after next year, or even Singletary. Rivera was fired, I don't know if he will be returning next year no matter what happens to Lovie. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 Rivera was fired, I don't know if he will be returning next year no matter what happens to Lovie. He was fired, or rather not brought back by Smith. Rivera left on very good terms with the McCaskey's according to the Trib. If Smith exits, it is very much in the cards for Rivera to return - they brought him in in the first place when Smith was hired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brentastic Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 (edited) He was fired, or rather not brought back by Smith. Rivera left on very good terms with the McCaskey's according to the Trib. If Smith exits, it is very much in the cards for Rivera to return - they brought him in in the first place when Smith was hired. I'm not disagreeing with you as I'm sure you're more up to date with that sort of info than I am. However, can you explain why Rivera's current job of LB coach is a downgrade? In other words, if he has such potential, shouldn't he be moving up the coaching ranks rather than down? Again, this is not me arguing, I'm trying to have a real discussion. Perhaps it's that SD doesn't have a lot of faith in Norv and want Rivera on the staff in any capacity as a contingency plan. Edited February 22, 2007 by Brentastic Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilthorp Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 He was fired, or rather not brought back by Smith. Rivera left on very good terms with the McCaskey's according to the Trib. If Smith exits, it is very much in the cards for Rivera to return - they brought him in in the first place when Smith was hired. Correct. This was more about Lovie finally getting "his guy" in there from his days back at Tulsa. Babich was Smith's choice for DC when Rivera was hired. Rivera will have an open door policy from the management, and if I'm correct, I thought Chico was from California, so this is a great move personally for him. With that being said, I'm not overly impressed with Rivera. He's just OK. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
whitem0nkey Posted February 22, 2007 Share Posted February 22, 2007 (edited) Jerry Angelo rants on Lovie Smith Talks... Ron Rivera, joins the Mike North Morning Show to talk about his release from the Chicago Bears Edited February 23, 2007 by whitem0nkey Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pope Flick Posted February 23, 2007 Share Posted February 23, 2007 I'm not disagreeing with you as I'm sure you're more up to date with that sort of info than I am. However, can you explain why Rivera's current job of LB coach is a downgrade? In other words, if he has such potential, shouldn't he be moving up the coaching ranks rather than down? Again, this is not me arguing, I'm trying to have a real discussion. Perhaps it's that SD doesn't have a lot of faith in Norv and want Rivera on the staff in any capacity as a contingency plan. I don't pretend to know the details, but maybe he simply wanted to work, and there were very few openings around the league after the SB. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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