Quick Shots: AFC versus NFC would add life to NFL postseason
The NFL playoffs would be more fun if it ran like the NCAA tournament, where teams from the same conference don't play each other until as late as possible (that would also improve high school playoffs.)
Drop the AFC-NFC dividing line; it's not like one side uses a designated quarterback and the other believes in one-platoon "real" football. Seed everyone 1-12. Or, if you want to hype a tepid rivalry, pit the AFC vs. the NFC, with the highest AFC seed playing the lowest NFC seed, and vice versa.
Bears need third QB option
The Bears seem content to have Kyle Orton or Rex Grossman start at quarterback in 2008. They deserve a shot, but here's why Chicago needs a third option to challenge them:
Orton looked good in the last two games, throwing well both over the middle and toward the sideline and avoiding the pass rush, but the defense also shined. Can he win when the defense isn't dominant?
Grossman's late-season resurrection was greatly exaggerated. If you count his three lost fumbles as interceptions - and they had the same effect - his passer rating in those three starts drops to 66.3, below his career average of 70.9. He needed two Devin Hester kick returns for TDs and a blocked punt to win his only second-chance start.
Bears best option for Rex
It shouldn't cost much for Chicago to keep Rex Grossman. Only the Falcons, 49ers, Jets, Dolphins and Ravens are in great demand for a QB. And backups Chris Redman (90.4 rating in five games for Atlanta), Shaun Hill (101.3 in three games for the 49ers) and Troy Smith (83.3 in two starts for the Ravens) all outplayed Rex. The Jets and Dolphins have recent second-round picks Kellen Clemens and John Beck.
Grossman ranked 32nd out of 33 rated passers this year (66.4). Ten backups, including Chicago's Brian Griese and Kyle Orton, started at least three games and outplayed Rex. Sage Rosenfels, often cited as an example of why teams would want Grossman, had an 84.8 rating and went 4-1 as a starter for a team that went 4-7 without him.
Bears should trade
The Bears should shop Mark Anderson (12 sacks as a rookie, five this year). He's horrible against the run. And maybe he could bring a second-round pick. Or be part of a blockbuster package for big-play receiver Chad Johnson, who's act has worn somewhat thin in Cincinnati.
Gossage not that dominant
Goose Gossage is in the Hall of Fame, and maybe he even deserves it (although not over Bert Blyleven). But he's not what he was billed to be. Those who voted for him called him the most dominant and feared reliever of his generation who threw as many as 134 innings in relief.
Well, Goose is known best as a Yankee, and in his six years in New York (1978-83), Gossage was 41-28 with 150 saves and a 2.10 ERA in an average of 86.3 innings. At almost the same time (1980-85) in the same league, the Royals' Dan Quisenberry was 41-33 with 212 saves and a 2.44 ERA in an average of 120.7 innings.
Dreary times for Illini BB
Bruce Weber is my all-time favorite college coach. Funny, honest, interesting, what's not to like? Well, Illinois' current record (8-8, 0-3). Weber averaged 25.5 wins his first four years in Illinois, so his job isn't in danger. But his crop of heralded new recruits can't get here fast enough. For six thrilling years from 2000-06, Illini basketball was the best part of Illinois winters. That's starting to feel like a lifetime ago.
Assistant sports editor Matt Trowbridge's Quick Shots on Sports appear Sundays. He can be reached at 815-987-1383 or mtrowbridge@rrstar.com.