The Chicago Sun-Times’ Jay Mariotti (above), opining on the matter of Bears QB Rex Grossman being lifted during Sunday’s 4th quarter against Detroit.

For all the fretting about the Rexyll-and-Hyde quarterback, his fluctuating performances and his supermodel-body-fat passer ratings, he should have stayed in the game Sunday. How are we supposed to know if Rex Grossman can direct a fourth-quarter comeback drive in January if Lovie Smith doesn’t let him try in December? This was the perfect situation for confidence-building and faith-healing, was it not?

Instead, what we have is the mysterious rekindling of a quarterback debate that had been assumed a dead issue. Riddle me this, Lovetron: If Grossman is your starter for the postseason, as you continue to insist, why risk even the slightest strains of another public controversy by inserting Brian Griese with the game in doubt? You say it was the plan all along, but if so, why did Rex say he knew nothing about it? Seems all you’ve done is play with Grossman’s brittle psyche, give talk radio something to jabber about all week and create a story line after trying incredibly hard to avoid such intrigue all season.

This is the same Mariotti, by the way, who 3 weeks ago, declared of Lovie Smith, “if Rex Grossman remains your quarterback, your season goes splat in January. You won’t see a contract extension, the city will call for a full-blown probe of your pedigree and years of Bears disgust will plummet lower than Lower Wacker Drive.”

Daunte Culpepper would like Steve Young to know he’s not missed any many meetings.  The next time Culpepper confronts Young, Phil Simms would like in on the action.