This the second installment of the Chicago Bears All-Decade Offense - 2000's Edition. The QB position, as has been the case most of our Bears' lives, has been a resounding disappointment. Hopefully the 2010's will be much better with Jay Cutler at the helm. Here is a list of the Bears' QB's who have started a game from 2000-2009:
Shane Matthews, Cade McNown, Jim Miller, Chris Chandler, Henry Burris, Kordell Stewart, Jonathan Quinn, Craig Krenzel, Chad Hutchinson, Kyle Orton, Rex Grossman, Brian Griese, & Jay Cutler.
Our All-Decade QB's for the 2000's are...
1.) Rex Grossman
The "best" of an awful group. What more can we say about Rex? He was the starting QB for the Bears when they went to their only Super Bowl of the decade (2006 season). He started 31 games for the Bears in 6 seasons. He compiled a record of 19-12. He was 2-2 in the playoffs, for an aggregate record of 21-14 as a starter. His regular season stats with the Bears:
521 completions on 962 attempts for a 54.1 completion percentage. He threw for 6,164 yards and 33 touchdowns vs. 35 interceptions, resulting in a 70.2 QB Rating.
His start to the 2006 season had some folks talking MVP actually. In those first 5 games he threw for 1,243 yards (249 yd/g), 10 td's, and only 3 ints to lead the Bears to a 5-0 start. That season he had 7 games with a QB Rating greater than 100; all Bears' wins. He also had 5 games with a QB Rating below 40: 2 wins & 3 losses.
The fact remains, that Rex was the QB when the Bears went to the Super Bowl; he had some outstanding performances during that run. He's the QB of the Decade in my book.
2.) Kyle Orton
In 4 seasons with the Bears, Orton compiled a 21-12 record. Very impressive. He won 10 games as the starter in 2005. He had a very impressive start to the 2008 season until an ankle injury caused him to miss a game. In 3 seasons' worth of starts (Orton did not play in 2006 at all, Rex & Griese took all the snaps) he completed 505 passes out of 913 attempts for a completion percentage of 55.3%. He threw for 5,319 yards with 30 touchdowns vs. 27 interceptions. His QB Rating over that span was 71.1. He has never played in the playoffs.
3.) Jim Miller
From 2000-2002, Miller started 23 games for the Bears compiling a record of 14-9. He threw for 4,625 yards with 455 completions on 791 pass attempts (57.5%). He had 27 touchdowns vs 20 interceptions. His Chicago Bears QB rating (including 1999 stats) was 76.7. He played in 1 playoff game in 2001; a loss to the Eagles in which he completed 3/5 passes for 23 yards and had 1 interception. He was unable to finish the game and Shane Matthews could not lead a comeback.
Honorable Mention
Jay Cutler only played 1 season in the 2000's for the Bears. He had 27 passing touchdowns, but also had 26 interceptions. He threw for 3,666 yards with a completion % of 60.5 & QB Rating of 76.8.
Interesting note: the ONLY 1 of 2 Quarterbacks in the 2000's to post a QB Rating above 80 for a season was the immortal Cory Sauter (who?). In 2002, he played 1 game; he was 6 of 9 for 59 yards, no TD's or INT's, for a QB Rating of 85. Those are his NFL career numbers too. Wikipedia entry on him: LINK. He's the Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks coach for the Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs. GET THIS GUY ON THE PHONE! He's the OC we've been waiting for!!!!
In 2002, Chris Chandler posted a 79.8 QB Rating in 9 games played. In 2008, Orton posted a 79.6 QB Rating in 15 games.
UPDATE: Jeff Blake in the 2005 season finished 8/9 for 55 yards and 1 TD for a season QB Rating of 129.2. Helmet Tip to D Reinstein for the correction.