Joe's Gameday Preview: Bucs at Bears

If you had told me six months ago that the Bears and Bucs would play in week 3 and Brian Griese was going to be involved in a quarterback controversy, I would’ve had no problem believing you. In fact, I would’ve had money on it. The weird part is Brian Griese is playing for Tampa Bay…again. I’m sure Brian’s pretty excited at the prospect of beating the team where he wasted two years of his career. Honestly, I might be more afraid of facing Brian Griese in this game than I would be if Jeff Garcia was starting. Now, before you stop reading because I’m an idiot, let me explain why.

There’s no question Garcia is the better quarterback. He’s a winner in the NFL, even with sub-par stops in Cleveland and Detroit.  A veteran like Garcia has seen it all, and is adept at reading defenses. Brian Griese, while less talented, has something going for him that Garcia doesn’t heading into this match-up. It probably explains why Gruden is fine leaving Garcia on the bench for the second straight week.

Brian Griese was a Chicago Bear. He knows Chicago’s defense in and out, having practiced against it for two seasons. When you couple his veteran football experience with such first-hand knowledge of an opposing defensive scheme, it becomes fairly intimidating. I won’t go as far as to say he’ll light the Bears up for 300 yards and two touchdowns, but expect Griese to be very efficient on Sunday.

Defensively, the Bears should be able to contain the Buccaneers offense, especially now that it’s likely that deep threat Joey Galloway won’t see action. Despite his age, Galloway is and has been Tampa’s most consistent performer at the wide receiver position. His loss will put even more pressure on an average running game fronted by Earnest Graham and an oft-injured Cadillac Williams. Though Carolina was missing one of the best receivers in the game last week, they managed to pound Chicago with the run in the second half. Look for Tampa Bay to follow the exact same plan of attack.

Offensively, the Bears need to show up in a big way. The defense and special teams is not guaranteed to score seven every week, no matter how much Lovie Smith’s staff “expects” it. How arrogant is it to think that your defense and special teams are going to score points every week? It just doesn’t happen. Their offense, which they know is mediocre, should not be expected to put up anything more than ten to thirteen points a week. That’s the downside of Kyle Orton at quarterback. I’m putting the over / under of 200 yard passing games for Kyle this season at two. I’m taking the under.

Devin Hester’s mysterious rib injury could very well decide this game. If he doesn’t play, the Bears lose their one downfield playmaker. If he plays but isn’t fully healed, he might be ineffective and not much more than a decoy, as well as risking further injury. If Devin is going to contribute in a significant way on Sunday, he needs to be completely healthy. Otherwise the Bears should just sit him for the week and prep him for the next game.

The Chicago Bears always manage to play well in their home openers, and while I’m sure they won’t lay an egg on Sunday, I’m not penciling in a “W”. However, with the high-scoring Philadelphia Eagles showing up in week four, the Bears need this win to avoid a 1-3 hole. I hope they can teach the familiar old dog Brian Griese some new tricks.