Mike Nadel: Bears must make McNabb wish he were home with mommy
Maybe Donovan McNabb really will be the Bears' quarterback next season.
That certainly would please many fans, who haven't had the chance to boo a black QB since Kordell Stewart was in the lineup -- and keeping a promising rookie named Rex Grossman on the bench.
White ... black ... whatever. Here in Chicago, fans are equal opportunity destroyers of the starting quarterback, making a mockery of McNabb's claim earlier this season that black QBs face extra "scrutiny." Even he later admitted Grossman was scrutinized more than any quarterback of any color in any league on any planet.
The "Will Donovan Come Home?" angle is interesting. If the Bears lose Sunday in Philadelphia, it might be the only interesting story line left. (That the south suburban Dolton native probably will be slinging passes for the Eagles again next season is of little relevance because speculation is more fun than reality.)
This week, however, the only story that matters is how Chicago's defensive players will respond to their coach ripping them for not trying hard enough in last Sunday's loss to Minnesota.
The statement was so rare for Lovie Smith -- normally Mr. Sunshine when
discussing his team publicly -- that one only can view it as a calculated attempt to shame the Bears into saving the season by pummeling McNabb repeatedly.
McNabb is a winner, a leader and a talented player, but he's also 31 and obviously not what he once was due to a series of knee problems. The Eagles have trouble scoring, and McNabb was sacked 12 times by the Giants just three weeks ago.
Twelve!
For the Bears, wouldn't this be a swell time for Mark Anderson, Adewale Ogunleye and Tommie Harris to establish residence in McNabb's face? Wouldn't this be a wonderful occasion to blitz Brian Urlacher, Lance Briggs and any other available body? Isn't it time to hit Donovan so hard and so often he'd wish he were home sipping Mama McNabb's soup?
After reaching the Super Bowl last season, Harris and Ogunleye say the Bears have lacked hunger. If that's true, if it isn't just frustration talking, the players should have to return their paychecks.
Meanwhile, Urlacher is STILL crying about the annual injury to safety Mike Brown. Get over it, man! He's not coming back.
Partly because of injuries in the secondary, Smith's beloved Cover-2 defense can't even cover 1. The best answer would be for the ultra-hyped -- and ultra-overrated? -- front seven to put so much pressure on McNabb that he won't have time to find open receivers.
This is the perfect opportunity for these alleged stars to prove their worth and to make up for playing some of the worst defense Chicago has seen since the franchise moved from Decatur.
Will McNabb come home in 2008? Who cares? There's still time for the Bears to save 2007.
Lovie Smith and the rest of us want to see if they have the heart and will to do it.
Absolving Lovie
Facing fourth down and the width of a credit card late in the first half against Minnesota, Smith and offensive coordinator Ron Turner asked Brian Griese to deliver. The QB easily got the first down but fumbled before hitting the ground.
My immediate reaction: "How do you fumble on a quarterback sneak? Had that been Rex, he'd have been flogged in the village square."
Many others, however, ripped Smith and Turner. Apparently, a QB sneak behind a Pro Bowl center on fourth-and-inches is sheer lunacy!
To these experts, a deep handoff to Cedric Benson, a fumble-prone tailback who would have been plowing into a stacked line, would have been wiser.
Look, Smith and his staff made numerous bad calls Sunday. They misused Benson, didn't get Devin Hester involved early on offense, didn't call enough run-blitzes, stuck with a failed defensive scheme and capped it by electing to kick off to Adrian Peterson in the closing moments. Plus, if the Bears didn't play hard (as Smith claims) and weren't hungry (as players claim), isn't that an indictment of the head coach?
But nitpicking about a quarterback sneak on fourth-and-inches? Please. The only thing wrong with the play was that Griese blew it.
Prediction
Making life so miserable for McNabb that he gets booed by his own fans, the Bears respond to Lovie's challenge. Call me a sucker, but I just can't believe this team will fall to 2-5.
Bears 20, Eagles 17.
NFL pick six
1. Patriots (6-0). Time for everyone else to start cheating.
2. Colts (5-0). Colts-Jags is an even better Monday Nighter than last week's Giants-Falcons showdown.
3. Steelers (4-1). Only another motorcycle mishap could slow Big Ben's boys.
4. Jaguars (4-1). Win over Indy would vault them into upper echelon.
5. Chargers (3-3). L.T. tops AFC rushers, new WR helps offense, S.D. ready to roll.
6. Packers (5-1). Gotta pick some NFC team, no? (But probably shoulda picked Ravens.)
NFL deep six
32. Rams (0-6). Somewhere, Dick Vermeil is weeping.
31. Dolphins (0-6). Franchise of Dan Marino and Bob Griese has no QB. Not much else, either.
30. Falcons (1-5). Smidge of hope: Joey Harrington's out.
29. Bills (1-4). It's so bad, O.J. won't travel to Buffalo to search for the real killer.
28. Jets (1-5). Fans already ready to boo next year's draft choice.
27. Bengals (1-5). How 'bout that? Even teams with great QBs can suck.
Mike Nadel (mikenadel@sbcglobal.net) is the Chicago sports columnist for GateHouse News Service. Read his blog, The Baldest Truth, at www.thebaldesttruth.com.