I am sure the boys upstairs will find a way to spin it to make it sound not all that bad, but sadly the Bears don't have a QB, because neither of them is playing very well.

"We'll evaluate all of that." Smith said. "We had made a decision how we were going to start the first two games, and that's about as far as we've gone."

Smith's evaluation of Grossman's start vs. Seattle didn't seem to bode well, nor did Grossman's passer rating of 44.9, which included an intentional grounding penalty.

The Bears' first-team offense failed to score under Grossman, and although there were others to blame, the most glaring light was cast on the quarterback.

"We didn't play good as an offense as a whole," Smith said. "I'm not really pleased with what many of our offensive guys did early. We didn't get a lot done. Rex was a part of that."

At this point I am struggling to find a reason in any of them that says they are worth the effort.  And while third string QB, Caleb Hanie's success has come against weaker defenses and I know he wouldn't fair as well if he started I am enticed to say let him start at least, so I have somebody different to complain about.

Grossman believes his off season program will help him win the job in the end.

With the help of Jason Riley, the facility's director of performance, Grossman spent five days a week improving his footwork, strengthening his core, concentrating on his conditioning and dissecting his diet—trading in Papa John's thin-crust pizzas for fish and vegetables.

"It was more about flexibility, training my muscles to fire in a different way," Grossman said. "I did lose some fat. I definitely felt like I was in the best shape I've been in after going there."

Grossman also received an education on a simple aspect he might have ignored in the past: running.

With Brandon McGowan's ankle not ready to go, Kevin Payne will step in.

No big deal there. The Bears are used to changing safeties. They do it as often as some teams change cleats.

But the addition of Kevin Payne to the starting lineup next to Mike Brown raises one of the curious questions surrounding the defense: Why is Danieal Manning playing nickel back instead of safety?

Bears still have a lot left to decide in these last three games.

Still on the to-do list are choosing a quarterback, identifying the starting wide receivers and ensuring that an offensive line in transition has the right parts in the right places. That's quite a burden for the next three weeks, but the feeling is things are headed in the right direction.

''[Camp] is just a step,'' coach Lovie Smith said. ''We need to play some more games and finish up the rest of the preseason and know exactly where we are, but up until this point, we like where we are. You just have to evaluate where you started.

''I know I am being pretty broad with my statements. There is nothing magical right now. We just want to see improvement leading up to that first game.''

This Saturday Rex Grossman will get his shot to start versus the Seattle Seahawks.  He may need a big outing to have a chance to pass up Kyle Orton as the Bears potential starter.  Grossman though is not putting that much pressure on himself.

"I'm just going out there to try to play my game," Grossman said. "I'm going to try to make the plays when they're there, run the offense and move the chains. They (the coaches) will make that determination I'm just going out there and try to play my best."

Grossman has done a better job of stepping up in the pocket during training camp and he seems to be moving better in general.

After a horrendous outing against the Chiefs, Trumaine McBride cannot wait to get back out there and show what he can really do.

"I basically just have to be more focused," McBride said. "I have to be aware of the little things that got me in trouble in that game."

Bears DT coach, Brick Haley's kingdom for an injury free season.

A bum left knee for Pro Bowler Tommie Harris last season and a rash of injuries at nose tackle made the Bears' front less than it should've been. While Harris soldiered through to play 16 games, Dvoracek missed 15 with a torn ACL in his left knee suffered in the opener.

His replacement, Darwin Walker, missed five games with an assortment of ailments. Anthony Adams was next, and an elbow injury cost him the final four. By the end of the year, the Bears had plucked Matt Toeaina off the Bengals' practice squad and imported two players -- Babatunde Oshinowo and Jimmy Kennedy -- off the street.

Unlike most QB rumors this one is different only because I am starting it.  I imagine I'm not the first person to bring up the name, but I have yet to see it written anywhere.

This article summizes that the Detroit Lions might consider dumping Jon Kitna and go with Drew Stanton.  The logic is it would give Lions head coach Rod Marinelli more time and less pressure since they can say they are bringing up a new QB.

Nobody knows right now if Stanton can perform at this level, but it's also that air of uncertainty that makes him Rod Marinelli's trump card this season.

The Lions think they're a playoff team. Common sense suggests otherwise, and should the Lions once again live down to the general public's low expectations, Marinelli might replace Jon Kitna with Stanton as the starting quarterback.

I realize that this is a major long shot and it wouldn't even be a potential move until mid season at the earliest, but just look ahead.  Say Grossman and Orton cannot get the job done.  I don't think I am surprising anybody when I say the odds on that are not astronomical.  Would Kitna be a good move for the Bears?

Kitna has had his share of success in the NFL.  His last two seasons he has passed for over 4,000 yards.  In those two years he has thrown for 21 and 18 TD (also 20 and 22 INTs).  Including those two years he has 7 years over 3,000 yards and has an average per completion of 11.1 yards.  Compared to the 5 yards our QBs like that is a big improvement.  Now whether our receivers or line can do anything to make him a viable solution is anybody's guess at this time.

So the question to you, would you be interested in seeing Jon Kitna in Chicago should Rex and Kyle flop?

Why is it the Chicago Bears are in the middle of training camp yet the only thing anyboyd wants to talk to them about is Brett Favre.  Let's run through this.

Urlacher on Favre:

"Nothing surprises me at this point. They're probably just trying to get rid of him," Urlacher said. "They don't want him there, obviously. So I think they'll take whatever's the best offer.

"Too much has to happen for him to come here. I don't see it ever happening. If it does, we have a Hall-of-Fame quarterback playing for us. If not, we have two good quarterbacks as it is."

Lovie Smith on Favre:

"No reaction, doesn't affect us," Smith said. "We have our quarterbacks. I'm not going to talk about somebody else's players. … If you want to talk about our quarterbacks, I can talk about them. But that's about it."

Kyle Orton on Favre:

"I haven't paid attention to it one bit because I have enough to worry about," Orton said.

"Every organization makes moves to try and better the team. If [Favre] happens, I guess it happens."

Rex Grossman on Favre:

"It's hard to escape because you hear [Brett] Favre this, Favre that," the Bears quarterback said Thursday afternoon. "I try not to pay attention because I don't really care. ... Ever since I got pulled last year, I've tried to worry about everything I can control and nothing else."

Ron Turner on Favre:

''Not right now,'' Turner said when asked if he could envision the future Hall of Famer in a Bears uniform this season. ''Not with what we have. I like our quarterbacks. That's not to say he's not a great player. He's one of the greatest players of all time. I love watching him.

''Not at this time and in this situation. We've got two good quarterbacks.''

And of course the media telling everybody the Bears are stupid for not wanting Favre:

Sun-times:

It's incomprehensible to think the Bears couldn't use Favre. They've needed a guy like Favre since Sid Luckman retired 58 years ago. They'd need Favre if he were 58. How absurd to suggest the only thing wrong with Favre is his timing. Pity he wasn't available five or six years ago instead of Kordell Stewart or Chris Chandler.

Only a few days into camp, but already Rex Grossman is putting some space between Kyle Orton and himself.  Looking at this report from camp:

Kyle Orton

And on Friday, Orton had a very rough day. What made it even worse was that he worked with the second team, a defense made up of backups at this point, and they had no trouble keeping Orton out of rhythm. He fumbled a snap exchange and lost it, and was picked off twice by Trumain McBride and backup safety Kevin Payne.

Rex Grossman

Grossman, on the other hand, seems only to be getting better with each snap of the ball. On the first day, while he did throw an INT, his passes were far more threatening and crisp than Orton's. He completed four deep passes, one for an easy TD, and worked the short game just as well if not better than Orton.

It is still early and Orton can still get back in the game.  Either way I would like to hope this isn't just Grossman teasing us again.

Based on how Chicago at times handles signing free agents there is a popular theory that floats around every off season that the Bears are cheap.  This shows that they aren't so much cheap as they choose to take care of their own first and that they will not overpay a player.  Here is what they have spent on resigning players this off season:

Devin Hester: Signed 4-year extension worth as much as $40 million.

Brian Urlacher: Signed 1-year extension worth $18 million.

Tommie Harris: Signed 4-year extension worth as much as $40 million.

Robbie Gould: Signed 5-year extension worth $15.5 million.

Lance Briggs: Signed new 6-year, $36 million contract.

Rashied Davis: Signed new 3-year, $5.86 million contract.

Kyle Orton: Signed 1-year contract extension worth as much as $5 million.

Rex Grossman: Signed 1-year contract worth as much as $4.5 million.

Alex Brown: Signed 2-year extension worth $15.5 million.

Desmond Clark: Signed 2-year extension worth $6.5 million.

TOTAL: $186.9 million

The Bears were planning to go into camp with Devin Hester and Brandon Lloyd as their starting wide receivers.  With a hold out by Hester, Marty Booker stepped in and ran with the first team.

The Bears lack experience at the wide receiver spot.  Only Marty Booker has more than 3 years experience with meaningful playing time. What the Bears do have is a lot of speed and a ton of potential.  Hester, Bradley and Lloyd all have high end speed.  They also are carring two promising rookies.

The Bears current roster of wide receivers looks like this:

Devin Hester
Marty Booker
Brandon Lloyd
Rashied Davis
Mark Bradley
Earl Bennett
Marcus Monk
Mike Hass
Brandon Rideau

Hester, Booker, Lloyd and Bennett are probably locks at this point.  Based on OTAs the Bears have probably seen enough good out of Monk to keep him. Rashied Davis was the Bears top performer during OTAs, I'd like to see them keep him.  At least he is familiar with the play book.   I don't know how many recievers the Bears are going to run with, so Hass and Rideau are either cuts or practice squad players.  Mark Bradley is the X Factor.  The Bears seemed intent on marking him a starter going into this year, but with his latest surgery the Bears don't know when he will be ready.

Let's take a look at the numbers of those with NFL experience:

(numbers after the jump)

Continue reading this post »

Somewhere deep in the hallways of the Bears training facility Ron Turner precided over a most crucial moment in Bears training camp history.  The coin flip between Rex Grossman and Kyle Orton to decide who would run with the first team offense on day 1.

The winner...Rex Grossman. 

Kyle Orton will take the helm on Thursday.

Hopefully this wasn't a coin flip to decide who gets to show off their inconsistency and mediocrity first.

At the beginning of next week I'd like to be posting that both guys have been playing lights out.

Bears offensive coordinator, Ron Turner, has stated that Devin Hester and Brandon Lloyd will open training camp at the reciever spots with the first team offense.

Currently neither is listed as the #1 recevier and considering the group we have at recevier, it is anybodys guess who will end up holding those spots.

``At all the positions right now, I'm not going to tell you who they are,'' Smith said of his top secret depth chart. ``We're going to go out on the football field and play and once we feel like everyone needs to know, we'll let you know then. If I know it a little bit earlier am I going to tell you, no.''

In other training camp news.  The Bears have opted for a coin toss to decide who will open with the first team at QB.  This is a typical method used by teams.

Also, to save the legs of Robbie Gould and Brad Maynard, punter Zac Atterberry, will be handling a lot of the punting and place kicking during training camp.