mutineer10

Here's something else I found on Pro Football Talk, and again I'm posting the article (instead of a link) because the article is so long. Thought some folks might find this interesting:


DESPERATE BEARS FINALLY TURN TO GEORGE

Weeks after writing him off as a head case who was more trouble than he's potentially worth, the Chicago Bears finally have realized that quarterback Jeff George has more talent than all of their current signal-callers combined, times ten.

ESPN.com's Len Pasquarelli reports that the Bears have signed George to a one-year deal, most likely for the prorated veteran minimum.

And although Pasquarelli suggests that the Bears will put George at No. 3 on December 5 against the Vikings, we've got a feeling that, if he's even remotely in football shape, he'll make his debut at some point during that game.

Indeed, placing him behind Jonathan Quinn, Medicine Woman on the depth chart would be even more of an indignity than George has suffered as teams have ignored him for most of nearly years seasons since he wrapped up a backup stint in Seattle, which came after sitting out for more than one full season after getting unceremoniously dumped by the Redskins in 2001.

The starter for the Minnesota game likely will be reformed pitcher Chad Hutchinson, who was dumped by the Cowboys in the offseason -- and who has yet to show much of anything in practice with the Bears.

But look for Hutchinson to be on a leash shorter than a pit bull in a park full of poodles in heat come next Sunday. The Bears will need to score points in bunches in order to keep up with the Vikings, and a loss will drop Chicago to 4-8. Despite the strong possibility that a team with eight losses will make the playoffs as a wildcard in the NFC, it's hard to expect the Bears to run the table with remaining games against Jacksonville and Green Bay.

Back to George, the decision to bring him in does little to dissuade us from believing that he's been blackballed by the NFL powers-that-be. And for no good reason. Sure, he's had a run-in with a head coach and he's generally reputed to be aloof and arrogant. But so what? The guy has a cannon.

In Chicago, however, the biggest problem is that he doesn't necessarily have the horses at receiver to move the ball consistently. Still, it's hard to tell how good (or bad) the pass-catching corps in Chitown really is, since they've had no one to deliver the pig on a consistent basis since Rex Grossman's knee exploded in Week Three at Minnesota.

The bottom line is that we think it's a good move for the Bears. The problem is that it came about a month or two too late to make much of any difference this year.

- Mike Florio


;) This is just another reason to keep Brooks for now, I suppose. Now we can't even have Jeff George, LOL!

BrooksMustGo

Well, at least now we\'ll be spared the annual, \"Give Jeff George another shot\" article from Passquarelli.

We\'ll see if age has mellowed his \"me-first\" quality. On the plus side, the Bears can\'t do any worse than they already are on offense.

blake6900

Forget the \"me-first\" attitude, I\'m more interested in seeing whether or not he\'s still throwing the frozen rope, easy to pick off passes. Jeff George was living proof that a strong arm and nothing else gets you a strong arm and nothing else.