All eyes will be on Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman this weekend against the Seattle Seahawks. The main question in my mind is how long coach Lovie Smith will stick with Grossman if he struggles against the Seahawks.
In watching Grossman over the last month the first thing that comes to mind is a lack of confidence at times when it comes to trusting his reads on the back end in coverage. The key Sunday will be how he starts the game as far as making the proper reads and adjustments when attacking the Seahawks secondary. When Grossman starts out poorly it seems that he usually struggles to regain confidence, which has resulted in his poor decisions in the passing game. On top of that, when the quarterback is struggling it usually results in a more conservative approach on offense.
The Bears were a very balanced team offensively during the 2006 season and offensive coordinator Ron Turner will rely on the combination of running backs Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson against a Seahawks run defense that finished 22nd in the league, allowing 126.8 yards per game. The Bears must be able to run the ball effectively to take pressure off Grossman on offense. Look for the Bears to attack off-tackle against the Seahawks multiple eight-man fronts on heavy run-down tendencies. This will place a lot of pressure on defensive ends Bryce Fisher and Grant Wistrom and their ability to control the edge and force the Bears to run into the middle of the line of scrimmage. Seahawks defensive coordinator John Marshall will invert either SS Michael Boulware or FS Ken Hamlin up near the line of scrimmage to try and confuse Grossman. Look for either safety to move downhill late in the box after Grossman goes through his pre-snap reads.