Yahoo! News: Bears better w/out Benson & Grossman

We all have our take on the situation that has been ongoing for the past several years at QB and RB for the Chicago Bears.  But a writer for Yahoo! Sports has taken it one step further in this latest piece.  Vinnie Iyer believes that the Bears made the right call in getting rid of Cedric Benson and they should take it one-step further and think about parting ways with Rex Grossman too.

I think we can ALL agree with the Cedric Benson thing.  I was onboard with that manuever regardless of how big a hit he was to the cap.  But the question remains is Chicago REALLY through with Rex Grossman?  I don't think so.  Should they be?

Well... I will leave that to your discernment.  I'll leave you with this final note from the author...

Do I have faith that Grossman will finally make the turn this year and become a decent quarterback? No. Should the Bears part ways with him? Maybe.

Grossman has been an on again, off again QB. His main issue has to do with his injuries. He hasn’t received enough playing time to show development. Most QB’s take about three ( continuos ) years of play in order to develop. Grossman hasn’t had that. When he did play a full year we went to the Super Bowl. Last year was a whole other story with the offensive line. We couldn’t get QB play from anybody out there and our run game was stuffed.

My final take on Grossman is this: No matter what kind of offensive line play we get this year, Grossman must make plays without silly mistakes. I understand being rushed and pressured, but he still needs to make good DECISIONS with the football under those circumstances. That may include throwing the ball away or taking the sack, but he must avoid the turnovers. If he can manage that then I have no problem with signing him again.

BUT

If his decisions are poor ( good offensive line play or not ) then we need to chalk him up as a bust. I don’t want to have to pick apart his games to show improvement in some areas of his game. He must show those improvements now. He’s had enough time.

Bears fans,

While the play of neither Benson or Grossman have been nothing to get excited about, one thing that continues to frustrate me is the fact that the two of them continue to get a bulk of the criticism. The one thing that both of them are related two is the terrible play of the offensive line. It was outright brutal. How frustrated I was week in & week out watching running plays with little to no hole to run through. With no running game there was no play action fake to be concerned with. The defense continued to drop back 7 men & dare our running game to beat them, which the offensive line was unable to due. Benson's demeanor never allowed Bears fans to embrace him. That being said, if Goodell ever allows him to play again I believe if he's picked up by a team with a descent offensive line he'll be a pretty good player. I'm not willing to bet that he'll be in the pro bowl. However he'll show signs of what the Bears were hoping to see.

There were a lot of good points on this post but I want to pick up on what WelterWeight said.  The key to Rex Grossman's game is the play-action pass.  Through the first 6 games of 2006 that was the key to the Bears game and Grossman was considered a candidate for MVP.  Obviously we know that's a stretch but he can be an effective QB when being utilized with PA and in the shotgun.  Stop me if I'm wrong but those are the only times that it appears he's been very comfortable. 

We don't need a 1500+ yd rusher (it would be nice) but if Matt Forte can gain 1000+ and Garrett Wolfe and Adrian Peterson can chip in 400+ that would be HUGE for the Bears passing game. 

Another big key for the Bears is going to be Devin Hester and not for route running and his hands.  Devin needs to develop as a blocker (don't call me crazy yet, well yea I'm crazy but wait a second).  The second Devin hit the field last year the defense knew the ball was either going to go to him or he was a decoy.  If Hester can get on the field during 1st and 2nd down and block someone that will open up the PA exponential!!!

Of course the bottom line is still the offensive line and that's why we drafted Chris Williams (I hope they move