This is hilarious.  The Chicago Tribune, apparently devoid of sports news, has enlisted the help of a football expert in Indiana to shed some light on Jay Cutler's recent struggles with the Chicago Bears.  The expert?  Rex Grossman's father, Dan.

Now, a lot of NFL players and former Bear quarterbacks have dads who were football coaches.  Mike Tomczak's dad was a successful high school coach and Jim Harbaugh's dad, Jack, was a successful college football coach.  I may have been inclined to listen to their opinions based on their street cred as coaches.  But Dan Grossman is not a football coach, he's an ophthalmologist.  So unless Cutler has ocular issues, it seems kind of a stretch for him to offer what the Tribune seems to be selling as an expert opinion.

Dr. Grossman says his issue with the Bears is that they are basically a run oriented team that wants to make the transition to a passing team but can't because they aren't wired that way.  He goes on to say in his expert opinion (as the father of a lousy quarterback?) that the NFL is a passing league. He continues that several Bear quarterbacks have gone on to thrive in other locations in the NFL after leaving the Bears.  I guess having my son holding a clipboard on the Houston sidelines would qualify as "thriving", just by virtue of the fact that he still is employed in the NFL.

While I will agree with Dr. Grossman that the Bears are trying too hard in their passing game, especially with the receivers that they have, I can't agree that the NFL is a passing league.  All of the teams that have solid passing games use the run as a foundation to set up the pass.  Look at teams like the Colts, the Patriots, the Cardinals, the Saints, the Falcons and their running games.  All of those teams have solid running backs and most of the time when they throw it's on third and thee and it's a short, surgical route to a tight end or a receiver who has hit a middle seam.

One has to go no further than the Big Twelve in college football to realize that the spread offense is dying.  Even the best college team in the country, the Florida Gators, rely on the legs of quarterback Tim Tebow than his arm.

In summary, the wise words of the ophthalmologist turned analyst:

“The successful teams have brought in a quarterback, have surrounded him with excellent linemen, receivers and running backs. Once that quarterback becomes quite confident and comfortable with the system — depending on their skill level — they can flourish.”

Gee, thanks for that, Dr. Obvious.  What you mean is that the best NFL teams have done their homework on draft day and brought in people who can get the job done.  BTW, your son was never one of those people and I said that the day the Bears drafted him.  NFL teams also hire good offensive quarterbacks and coaches to get the most out of their players.  Too bad the Bears missed that memo.

Finally, in an effort to further our cause this morning, I would like to introduce you to my dad, Ace.  Ace was a shoe salesman for over fifty years and is equally as much of an expert as Dr. Grossman, maybe more so since he was around to watch Slingin' Sammy Baugh play.  When asked for his expert opinion on the Bears, Ace said "They stink."  That's all I got out of him before he had to go chase some kids off his lawn.

Tomorrow in the Tribune: Milton Bradley's Mama on how her boy is misunderstood.