It is fair to say that not many if any QBs have been through what Bears backup Rex Grossman has.  Some of it was his fault, but he was catching a level of criticism that you don't see often.  When the Bears selected Kyle Orton  as their starter Grossman didn't take it lightly.  He has since rededicated himself to his preperation should his number be called again.

Grossman said, ''I'll never fully get over it,'' when he lost the starting quarterback job to Kyle Orton, but instead of slipping into a funk, he has dedicated himself to being fully prepared should his number be called. To that end Grossman took the lion's share of snaps as the scout team quarterback last week, prepping the defense by playing Peyton Manning in practice. That's usually the duty of the third-string quarterback. Brian Griese, who backed up Grossman last year, always let Orton run the scout team, saying he believed it was an important part of the development process of a young player.

I don't know if Grossman can ever be a franchise QB for any team.  I'd like to think he can.  We've seen him play to that level.  He also has handled a lot of stuff that we have seen crush other QBs and his spirits are still up and he is still fighting.  You have to admire that.  I doubt Grossman will be with the team next year unless somethign happens to Orton this year, but he will rebound somewhere and get another shot.

We talked yesterday about the Bears jump in the Power Rankings.  And while most mimiced the rise the Bears had in the ESPN list.

FOX Sports

13. Meet Kyle Orton, Game Manager. Feel no shame, Bearded Wonder … because this is the formula that could propel the Bears into the playoffs. And thankfully for Chicago, new RB Matt Forte has a forte for avoiding controversy, DUIs and opposing tacklers … unlike his predecessor.

there was actually one who took a fresh look on things and believe it or not it was SI's Dr Z.  I've had my share of issues with Z, so this was a bit of a surprise.  He took to throwing out any preseason rankings and just ranked teams based off of their week 1 performance.  The list wasn't without problems though as the Patriots still showed up at #2, but the Bears came in at #8 ahead of the Colts and the Chargers.

8. Yes, I was impressed watching them tear Indy apart, until I heard this one-liner from one of the ESPN geniuses: "They're just asking Kyle Orton to hold the fort and not screw things up." I hate that almost as much as, "They're trying to establish a running game," or "Have a nice day." Keep working on not screwing things up and you'll have a nice, peaceful 9-7 record. Or maybe 8-8 if the ball bounces the wrong way a couple of times.