For a long time in the NFL, there was an unwritten rule that a team, to be successful, had to have one workhorse running back, and the other guy(s) gets in the game in spot duty, or if the starter gets hurt.  That rule has fallen to the wayside as teams are starting to incorporate a two-back system playing to players' strengths.  The Bears did it last year, so did the Superbowl Champion Colts, the Vikings also do it.  When Priest Holmes was healthy a few years ago, it even worked for them with him and Larry Johnson.

So why is it, that in a new NFL era, are NFL coaches too stubborn to move to a two QB system when it is obvious that they have two decent QBs with differing strengths?  I don't have a lot of precedence to speak of in this instance, primarily because with the exception of the Arizona Cardinals (before Leinhart got hurt), no team dares to utilize more than  one quarterback, and by the time most teams go to their backups, the starter has already irreparably lost the game for them.

Here is what I propose, at least for the Chicago Bears: try to rotate Griese and Grossman, and call plays to their strengths; it will also open up the running game.  Griese is perceived as a more cerebral quarterback, more accurate on the short throw while not making a whole lot of mistakes, who, however, won't win too many games with his arm (with the exception of the Philly game), but won't lose them either.  Grossman, on the other hand, is the swashbuckling gunslinger, not afraid to take a chance or a gamble, known to single handedly win games with the deep ball, but, on more often than desired, has been known to lose games with that same arm.

Why not get the best of both worlds while at the same time keep opposing defenses on their heels and both of the Bears' quarterback sharp?

The answer: old school football traditional mumbo jumbo.

If you were to create a quarterback on a computer (that wasn't Tom Brady or Peyton Manning), you would get an almost perfect quarterback if you were to combine the strengths of Brian Griese and Rex Grossman; a calculating game manager with a laser, rocket arm. 

The Bears have that perfect quarterback, his name is Rex Griese.

As I sit and reminisce about the days of old when MJ and Pip used to embarrass their opponents, one question comes to mind: What shooting guard/small forward combo has even come close to playing at the level of Jordan/Pippen since the horrible and premature dismantling of the Unstoppa-Bulls in 1998?  The only answer that comes to mind is- NONE!

 

That is what the new Bulls are looking at if Paxon decides to grow a set of balls and pull a trigger on the Kobe Bryant deal.  As currently constituted, the Bulls aren't a championship team.  Yeah, they might be good enough to make it to the Eastern Conference Finals to play the revamped Celtics, but keep in mind that even if they made the Finals, they would have to play a Western Conference team to win the championship.

 

The Bulls organization and fans need to get over their infatuation with Ben Gordon.  He is a very talented ball player, but if he is part of the price required to bring in the closest player in skill to His Airness since his exile to Washington, then so be it. 

 

The longer the Lakers wait to pull the trigger on Bryant, the less they are going to get for him.  The Lakers need to get rid of the malcontent Bryant more than the Bulls need to trade for him, and that is a negotiation piece in itself for Paxon.

 

The Bulls need to take a hard line and offer the Lakers a square deal for Bryant.  Ben Gordon, Tyrus Thomas, and a future 1st round draft pick for Bryant.  Both Gordon and Thomas were top 4 picks in their respective drafts and getting a 1st round pick as well basically gives the Lakers three 1st round picks for Kobe.  That is fair enough for a player who will eventually opt out of his deal and the Lakers then get nothing.

 

Could you imagine what it would be like for Deng to have a big, offensive and defensive minded shooting guard to share the floor with him?  I've seen this movie before, and it ended in Utah in 1998 with six championship banners...

 

Let's see if Paxon has the testicular fortitude to make this happen like that shot he made against Phoenix in '93.

 

Ahhhh!  Its been a long seven months, and football season is finally upon us.  The baseball pennant race is great, but it just started heating up and that lull between the end of basketball season and the beginning of football season is almost too much to bear. 

 

Dont believe me?  Then why was I watching Japanese league American football when it was on ESPN?  Watching five-foot-nine inch tall quarterback Hiraguchi Hachitachi pass to five-foot-eight inch tall wideout Hiro Nakamura is almost laughable now that I think about it, but like a jones'n crackhead down to his last five bucks, sometimes you gotta take what you can get, and thats what I could get at the time.

 

If you live through a famine long enough, eventually there is gonna be a feast, and starting with Thursday night's Colts vs. Saints game, there is more than an abundance of hopes, dreams, and optimism to go around.  Everyones Fantasy Football team is 0-0.  Everyones favorite NFL team also is now 0-0. You ask Raiders fans, and their team is going to the Super Bowl.  You ask Texans fans, and they'll tell you anything can happen, and to look out for that Schaub kid.

 

Until reality comes crashing down on the heads of fans from about 28 football teams, and you start to hear the good old "wait til next year". 

 

But now is not the time for that.  Now is a time for celebration.  It is a time for sugar-plum fantasies and lollipop dreams for everyone.  So plop in front of your big screen, crack open a beer and remember, "hey, anything can happen!".  Cheers!!

I'm not the kind of guy to say "I told you so", but, er, who am I kidding?  I TOLD YOU SO!!!!  As soon as Tank got arrested, people were on this website and blog throwing stones and passing judgement.  This is just another reason why in this country you are supposed to be considered "innocent 'til proven guilty"!

All you Tank haters out there were just itchin' for a chance to blast the guy.  You couldn't wait for that one slip up.  That one minor infraction.  Then BAM!!!  Crucify the guy.  After the Pacman Jones  and Chris Henry incidents, the bloodlust and desire to bash and judge professional athletes and football players in general has increased ten fold.

On the Fox Sports thread, I went on record defending Johnson and I got blasted and ganged up on just because I wanted to wait and see before I threw a stone at the guy.  I went on record to say that it wasn't as big of a deal as people were making it out to be, and people acted like I was defending Satan himself.  Even the Romans who crucified Jesus are saying that we judged too soon.

Did we learn anything from the Duke Lacrosse case?  I guess not.

As soon as Tank was arrested, it was like a full blown witch hunt, Salem style.  Tank drowned and didn't float.  I guess he's not a witch after all. 

Nowadays people mistake marketablity for greatness.  LeBron is hightly marketable, has great commercials, and seems to be an overall good guy, but that doesn't necessarily mean he will be a GREAT player.  It's always guys like Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady  that come out overhyped that never quite live up to it, while people like Kobe Bryant and Dwyane Wade, who many analysts said would take time just adjusting to the NBA game, are actually coming closer to MJ-like domination than anyone since His Airness.

Now I'm not going out on a limb and saying that LeBron won't be a great player, because he has all the tools necessary to.  Most of what he needs to develop has to take place right between his ears, and the rest at the free throw line.  But at least do things you know have worked.  Stop biting your nails and start sticking out your tongue or something.  Hey, it worked for MJ.  You won't see too many kids at the park biting their nails trying to be like LeBron, but almost every kid I knew growing up stuck out their tongue at one point or another on the court and said "Jordan" right before they pulled up to take a shot.