Bears Pre-Season Full of Controversy

The Chicago Bears entered the start of this pre-season full of promise and hoping to capitalize on last seasons unexpected successes. There was talk in the city that this could be the season the Bears finally return to some of the glory they once had in the 80s when Ditka was at the helm. With much of the same players and defense as last year still in place it looked as though everything would be in order for the Bears to make another run at the post-season and maybe even penetrate further than they had before.

Instead it seems as though controversy has done quite a bit to bring disruption and chaos to the locker room and to the team. Whereas last year it seemed like the team coalesced into a unit that believed it could not be defeated, this year fights and debates have erupted all over the place.

The controversy stared with back Thomas Jones showing up for training camp to immediately receive a demotion. Jones was one of the heroes of last season. When rookie, and holdout, Cedric Benson injured himself early in the season it was Jones who turned in an all-star performance.

Jones skipped out on supposedly “voluntary” practices over the summer. Why the team calls these practices “voluntary” and then punishes players later for them, is unclear. If you are supposed to be there then it might be more prudent to rename them “mandatory” team meetings and practices. Jones was demoted to the second string.

Benson is still a big question mark. Last season started poorly for him. Benson was a rookie with high hopes for the future but he held out and missed all of the pre-season. Then, when the season got started, Benson wasn’t ready. When he finally was ready, he immediately found himself hurt. It seems as though the Bears management is following their traditions by not admitting any mistakes and they are sticking with Benson as their choice.

What the Bears kept saying there was not was a quarterback controversy. However, it seems as though no one told recently acquired Brian Griese that there was no quarterback controversy. Upon showing up Griese stated that he did not come to Chicago just to be a second-string quarterback. Considering he had had success with Denver and Tampa Bay, this should not have been very surprising to anyone.

Bears quarterback Rex Grossman took it in stride with his usual smile and shrug. Whether or not he was sweating beneath that grin is still debatable. However, it is now the morning after the Bears first pre-season game against a team many believe to be the worst in all of football and it looks as though Griese came to town to play some football whereas Grossman looks lost and unsure of himself.
Grossman has been a Bears project for several seasons now. He has yet to play a complete season. Whether or not he could remain free of injuries was the major concern of this season. He has been, and still remains, the quarterback the Bears want to stake their entire future on but last night’s performance has many here wondering who should be starting.

Grossman looked unsure of himself. Maybe it was just the excitement of the first pre-season game, but he ended up with statistics that were less-than stellar. He had five possessions, two turnovers, three punts and two first downs. Across the field the 49ers quarterback Alex Smith was showing what he was made of and completed 16 of 21 passes for 137 yards.

The Bears have always been a running team and one that has relied on defense. However, both Jones and Benson are out for at least one more pre-season game. Meanwhile players on the defense have also suffered in injuries, leaving the strong defense in the hands of second and third-string players. So, the Bears have shifted and seem to be more willing to pass more. Grossman threw the ball 11 of 16 times in the game against the 49ers.

Meanwhile Brian Griese manhandled the 49ers reserves. Griese led the second-team offense and he was rather impressive. Although it is hard to judge entirely from a single pre-season game against reserves, but it does seem as though Griese was one of the few taking the game completely seriously and playing as though this game counted. Griese has thrown down the gauntlet and announced that he is here to play and not sit on the bench and root.

Griese sent the Bears downfield 75 yards and hit tight end Gabe Reid who then got a 12-yard touchdown to end the first half and bring the score to 17-7 in favor of San Francisco. Griese finished 6-for-7 for 134 yards and got two touchdowns. He ended with a perfect passer rating of 158.3. It was the one real highlight of the entire game for the Bears.

The 49ers managed to get 107 offensive yards in the first quarter, which is some small cause for alarm. However, Adewale Ogunleye seemed to play well and Alex Smith was forced out of the pocket enough to be encouraging.

So, in the end it’s very hard to know what to expect of the Bears after just one game. Yes, the defense struggled a bit but right now these are players who may not even be on the team by the time the regular season starts. Right now there are divisions and disunity in a team that had none of that last year. Right now there are injuries plaguing key players but many of them are scheduled to return soon.

There was one moment that caused coach Lovie Smith to put his head in his hands and tear off his headset and that was shortly after the Bears got the ball to start the game. Cornerback Nathan Vasher was seen writhing on the field when his helmet connected with 49ers running back Kevin Barlow’s knees as Vasher hit Barlow who was going for a pass. The Bears breathed a sigh of relief when tests showed Vasher only had a back strain and would be back almost immediately.

Lovie’s reaction pretty much showed the state where the Bears are. They cannot afford to lose anymore players, especially on the defensive end. The injuries so far have been cause for concern and areas where they were once deep are now looking remarkably shallow. Where once it looked like full-speed ahead, there is now worry and it is only the first pre-season game of 2006.

Some of the key players that are still injured include Mushin Muhammad who has a pulled groin muscle that he injured just this past week. Bernard Berrian also has a groin pull and missed most of last week’s practices. This brought up the need to bring in Mark Bradley for the first game and he fumbled the ball during the opening possession which lead to a San Fracisco field goal.

So far none of the injuries seem to indicate that anyone will be out for the season. This is a good thing for the Bears, but people are nervous. The Bears lost to San Francisco with a final score of 28-14.