FanHouse RexGrossman

Who says the fourth preseason game means nothing? Backup quarterback Dan Orlovsky (with large multi-year contract) looked inconsistent with poor touch in limited minutes against Tampa Bay. Third string quarterback, Rex Grossman (vet minimum, one year contract) threw two touchdown passes, and more importantly showed much more poise. On Tuesday, coach Gary Kubiak named Rex Grossman the number 2 quarterback for the Texans, for now.

Usually the backup quarterback competition isn't much of a big deal, but it is when their are concerns about the health of the starter. Matt Schaub injured his ankle in the game against the Vikings and is described as "progressing toward getting ready to go" and as being "day-to-day." He took half the snaps in practice.

Texans QB Matt Schaub injured his ankle in the Monday Night Football game against the Vikings. It didn't happen from a hit, but rather when he ran out of bounds on a play. Untouched.

Schaub says he's fine and is confident he will be ready for the home opener against the Jets. He wasn't going to be playing in the fourth game of the preseason against the Buccaneers anyway. Even so, the number one question about Schaub has never focused on ability but rather durability. (The number two question would be his red zone decision making, but that's a different story).

Rex Grossman seems nice enough. But the NFL scrap heap is littered with swell guys who couldn't keep their jobs. There are worse fates -- like being David Carr, the former first-overall pick with a ridiculous nickname, who is just passable enough to make the 53-man roster every summer, but will never see the field except for preseason and blowouts -- but it also means that Grossman's NFL days might be behind him.

At 28, he should be entering his prime. Instead, the Bears' 2003 first-round pick is sitting on his couch wondering if he'll get another chance. On the upside, Byron Leftwich and Dante Culpepper were in the same predicament a year ago. Now they're both in line for starting gigs, and Leftwich even got a Super Bowl ring as a backup last season.

Kyle Orton doesn't have Jay Cutler's franchise quarterback pedigree. He was taken in the fourth round of the 2005 draft, two years after the Bears had invested a first-round pick in Rex Grossman. And, from the beginning, his role was clear: a raw, strong-armed talent, who would spend the first few seasons on the bench learning the nuances of what it means to be an NFL quarterback.

That lasted up till the moment Grossman broke his ankle in a 2005 preseason game. At the time, head coach Lovie Smith told the AP that "I don't know exactly who there is out there but we like the guys we have right now ... Chad Hutchinson is a good player, we feel comfortable starting him, and Kyle Orton continues to shine as far as we're concerned."

Jay Cutler is going to the Bears for three draft picks and Kyle Orton. Jay Mariotti has already discussed how much it means to have a good quarterback in Chicago. Still, I bring the voice of the fan, and I've got something to say: I love this move. One thing that's great about sports, though, is there are always opposing fans trying to bring you down.

I've taken time to check out many message boards and comments sections across the internet. What I'm finding, for the most part, is that fans of teams other than the Bears think this is a terrible deal. Their "evidence," though, is usually incredibly flawed. Here are some of the reasons people think the deal is poor for the Bears, followed by my rebuttals.

Jay Cutler is headed to Chicago. According to the Broncos' official website, Denver has agreed in principle to trade Cutler to the Bears. The Chicago Sun-Times is reporting that the Bears will send the Broncos their 2009 and 2010 first-round picks, a 2009 third-rounder and Kyle Orton in exchange for their first real quarterback since Erik Kramer threw for nearly 4,000 yards in 1995. The Bears also receive a 2009 fifth-round pick from Denver.

---

CHICAGO -- So the Summer Olympics must be coming in 2016. And a minefield of potholes soon will be magically filled. And the Cubs will win a World Series for the first time since, oh, your grandparents' grandparents were double-dating in Henry Ford's Model T. And those wicked, face-eating winters will be replaced by pleasant, sunny, balmy, gorgeous ... all right, I'm obviously overcome by shock.

I don't know about you, but when one of my bosses urgently needs me, he either calls or yanks me by the earlobe into his office. We're still waiting for Pat Bowlen to have such contact with Jay Cutler, which shocks me. For a quarter-century, Bowlen has been among the dynamic owners in American sports, a primary reason why the Denver Broncos have been an elite NFL franchise.

---

---

With the not-so-shocking news that the Broncos and Jay Cutler will be filing for their inevitable divorce, more than a handful of teams in the NFL will surely be trying to get their hands on the Pro Bowl signal-caller. Apparently, the Bears are among those who will be in hot pursuit.

I have been very critical of Bears' brass in the past, namely general manager Jerry Angelo and head coach Lovie Smith, when it comes to building an offense. They sure know their defense, but for every Matt Forte there is a Rex Grossman (he was a first-rounder, remember?) or Cedric Benson (fourth pick overall). Should they pull off a deal for Cutler, though, I'd gladly eat crow.