QB Brian Griese is getting a ton of much deserved praise for his late 97 yard drive of his own calling, that led to a TD and a Bears defeat of the Eagles. Clark Judge of CBSSports.com gives Griese all the credit for winning this game.
Apparently. Never did he look more comfortable than driving the Bears from their 3-yard line in the last two minutes -- a frantic series where he completed seven of 11 passes, including the game winner, a 15-yard TD to Muhsin Muhammad with nine seconds left.
It is never a good thing when a QB is uncomfortable with his OC calling plays. That is something the Bears will need to address.
If Brian Griese and this Bears offense continue to improve like they are, teams will have to reconsider whether to punt to Devin Hester or not. Sure you keep the ball out of his hands 5 or so times a game, but you put it in Griese's hands with good field position (31 yard line this week). Never has a player had this kind of affect on a game by just being on the field.
Said offensive coordinator Ron Turner: "On kickoffs we're consistently getting the ball on the 35- or 40-yard line. Same thing on punts. I'll take it."
Akers said Hester "didn't touch the ball once, and that was on purpose. We went to what is called a mortar kick, which is a high directional kick outside the numbers between the 25- and 30-yard lines where we wanted the ball to come down. It was effective for us."
Turns out Mushin Muhammad has some success in this stadium.
"Same end zone too," he said.
This week saw Devin Hester's learning curve in full affect on the field as he had to be physically put in the right spot, but it all worked out.
But they did pull it out.
"Now we're at a point where, if we can get to .500 for our bye week, I would feel very good about that position going forward for the rest of the season," Griese said.
Especially since Nathan Vasher might be back by then, which might help a defense currently bordering on lousy regain its equilibrium.
And how about we close with one more bit of praise for Griese, who by all accounts was run out of two towns for not being able to come through in the big game or when the pocket was collapsing.
Even more frustrating for the home team was the futility of its blitzes, which were exploited nearly every time by a journeyman quarterback who had been run out of his three previous stops mostly because he would fold under presure.