It was the move for which Bears fans had been clamoring for months — Brian Griese will start in place of Rex Grossman at quarterback.

Saying Grossman has been ineffective this season is an understatement: 500 yards passing in three games, one TD but six interceptions, a passer rating of 45.2. And that’s on top of his turnover-plagued preseason and his barely hanging on as starter last season. It’s easy to forget that he did help the Bears to the Super Bowl, and that he did turn in some good games last season. But when he was terrible, he was truly terrible — he had single-game passer ratings of 10.2, 1.3 and 0.0 (say that last one out loud like the dean in “Animal House). He then was just below average in the playoffs; do you think if the Bears had won the Super Bowl that fans would have kept calling for the hook?

We’ll see Rex Grossman again this season, as I doubt Brian Griese is going to fare much better. If the Bears and their injury-riddled defense don’t turn things around, maybe there won’t be quite the pressure on Grossman and he’ll improve. Unfortunately, I’m skeptical that he can, he might need a fresh start with another team come 2008. If nothing else, Grossman will still have on his resume that he quarterbacked the Bears to the Super Bowl. Or that they made the Super Bowl despite having him at quarterback.

My faith in the Bears is totally lost — I picked the Lions at home. Maybe da Bears and, um, Brian Griese? …. will prove me wrong.

WEEK 4
Houston over ATLANTA
N.Y. Jets over BUFFALO
Baltimore over CLEVELAND
DALLAS over St. Louis
DETROIT over Chicago
MIAMI over Oakland
Green Bay over MINNESOTA
SAN FRANCISCO over Seattle
CAROLINA over Tampa Bay
Pittsburgh over ARIZONA
SAN DIEGO over Kansas City
INDIANAPOLIS over Denver
Philadelphia over N.Y. GIANTS
New England over CINCINNATI
Last week: 12-4. Season: 33-15

More difficult decisions on the way with the first bye week coming up. But first, a look back …

STUDS
– Donovan McNabb, Eagles. This was the McNabb that was tearing up the league last year before his knee injury. Besides the 386 yards passing and four touchdowns, he was 21-for-26, which is over 80 percent. Yes, that stat has little fantasy meaning, but it’s a good sign that McNabb might be back.

– Roy Williams, Lions. His numbers — 204 yards, 9 receptions and a TD — might seem a little inflated by his 91-yard score, but why quibble?

– Anquan Boldin, Cardinals. The fantasy knock on Boldin coming into this season was that he wasn’t scoring touchdowns, as he had just four last year. After two on Sunday (as well as 14 receptions for 181 yards), he already has three this year.

SURPRISES
– Kevin Curtis, Eagles. How’s this line: 11 receptions, 221 yards, 3 TDs. Think he’s Donovan McNabb’s new favorite receiver?

– Joey Harrington, Falcons. I’m not saying you should pick him up as your backup QB, but 361 yards and two touchdowns were surprising.

– DeShaun Foster, Panthers. Carolina is going to need more solid rushing performances like what Foster turned in: 122 yards and a touchdown.

SLOTHS

– All those first-round RBs who still aren’t performing up to expectations. You know who they are.

– Marc Bulger, Rams. Will it get better next week for him with Steven Jackson sidelined? If the Rams get into a shootout with the Cowboys, Bulger might put up better fantasy numbers. Still a must-start.

– Marvin Harrison, Colts. He can have an average week once in a while, right?

And then there were five …

Five undefeated teams remain in the NFL, and I’m thinking all five have a decent chance of staying that way next week. Dallas hosts the Rams, which will be a huge upset if the Cowboys lose; Pittsburgh plays at Arizona and Green Bay is at Minnesota, not automatic wins but the road teams are clearly the superior team; Indianapolis welcomes a Denver team that I don’t think is that good; and New England plays at Cincinnati on Monday night, and even if the Bengals are ready, it’s going to be at least a few week before the Patriot juggernaut is stopped. Here are my guesses when each team suffers loss one (yes, that last undefeated Dolphins team will get to celebrate again): Green Bay in Week 5 to the Bears (not homering, really, but I don’t think the Pack can keep this up), Dallas in Week 6 to New England, Indy Week 7 to Jacksonville, Pittsburgh in Week 7 to Denver, and the Patriots in Week 9 to the Colts.

– What a swell guy Atlanta’s DeAngelo Hall is. Three penalties, 57 yards, all in the same drive that allowed the Panthers to take control of their victory over the Falcons. That selfishness overshadowed Joey Harrington not having that bad a game. Just 13 games left before Atlanta’s season is over, too bad it won’t come sooner

– More bad news for the Saints: Deuce McAllister is out for the season with a torn knee ligament. We’ll see how Reggie Bush steps out of the running back by committee, my hunch is he’ll do fine but won’t get quite as many receptions, meaning the Saints will lose a dimension to their offense that already was pretty flat. The bye week should help, but they can’t afford to lose to Carolina in Week 5.

– The saga of Rex Grossman … is for another post. I’ll say one thing, the Bears’ problems go beyond Rex. They would be 1-2 if he wasn’t their QB, but the two losses (and one win) would not have looked so painful.

– Finally, what do Chris Brown, Jamal Lewis, Derrick Ward, LenDale White and Sammy Morris have in common? They are among the 29 running backs that have more rushing yards this season after three games than Larry Johnson. Add Najeh Davenport and DeAngelo Williams, and there are 32 RBs with more yards than LaDainian Tomlinson. These first three weeks have been weird, for sure.

I’m sticking with the Colts at No. 1, though the Patriots are making a good case to move up. It would be something that come Nov. 4, when the two teams meet, they are undefeated. The Bucs make the biggest jump, moving from 22 to 12; the Bengals and Chargers take the biggest fall, 10 spots each.

1. Colts (3-0)
2. Patriots (3-0)
3. Cowboys (3-0)
4. Steelers (3-0)
5. Ravens (2-1)
6. Packers (3-0)
7. Titans (2-1)
8. Seahawks (2-1)
9. Panthers (2-1)
10. Jaguars (2-1)
11. Broncos (2-1)
12. Buccaneers (2-1)
13. Redskins (2-1)
14. Eagles (1-2)
15. Texans (2-1)
16. Bengals (1-2)
17. 49ers (2-1)
18. Lions (2-1)
19. Chargers (1-2)
20. Bears (1-2)
21. Giants (1-2)
22. Jets (1-2)
23. Cardinals (1-2)
24. Vikings (1-2)
25. Raiders (1-2)
26. Browns (1-2)
27. Saints (0-3)
28. Chiefs (1-2)
29. Rams (0-3)
30. Dolphins (0-3)
31. Bills (0-3)
32. Falcons (0-3)

I’m watching the Bears-Cowboys game as I type this. It was not an impressive first half for two teams that might be the best in the NFC. The offenses look sharper in the third quarter here. If the Cowboys lose, the Packers will be the only undefeated team in the NFC. Go figure.

Can the Packers keep it up? Have the Eagles finally got their act together after putting up 56 points on the Lions? Will the Saints get back on track Monday night? Can the Seahawks build upon their victory over the Bengals? After a season of NFC questions like this, will it make a difference in the Super Bowl against the Patriots, Colts, Steelers or Ravens?

Too many questions. Some other thoughts from Sunday, Week 3:

– After the abominable Philly throwback uniforms, the classic Redskins helmets were a fashion triumph. I’m now yearning for the classic Jaguars helmet, before the carmaker forced the team to switch the logo.

– How does a team with Marc Bulger, Steven Jackson and Torry Holt produce only 245 yards and three points? The Rams might be the young season’s biggest letdown, tonight’s Saints game notwithstanding, if not for the Chargers, who have now lost as many games as they did last year. Yes, San Diego has played three good teams, but the Bolts didn’t look very convincing in beating the Bears, didn’t put up a fight against the Patriots and let a victory slip away against the Pack.

– The Texans couldn’t continue their dream start like the Packers did, but Houston didn’t exactly roll over against the Colts, either. The Texans won’t catch Indy in the AFC South, but they could legitimately challenge for a wild-card spot with continued solid play.

– There was a commercial advertising a contest to win a trip to the Super Bowl, Pro Bowl and NFL draft, which led me to this question: If you won a trip to the Pro Bowl, would you actually be forced to go to the game? Yes, you are winning a free trip to Hawaii, but why waste three perfectly good hours in Hawaii watching a non-entertaining football game?

– 17-10, fourth quarter, Cowboys leading. Terrell Owens is having a good half, and Tony Romo looks ready to step into the elite of NFL QBs. Hopefully the Bears will tie this up, soon, but the Cowboys are driving. Will it be these two teams again in late January? Argggghhh — another NFC question!

One thing I do Sunday mornings is take one final look at my fantasy teams online one last time, making any last-minute changes and checking for late injuries. I had a few minutes before Mass this morning to do so, and I was going to change my QB in one league from Jay Cutler to Brett Favre, who I though was going to have another good game. I quickly log on to my computer, open a browser and discover … it’s not opening. Neither does a second browser, and the modem is working fine. It’s apparent my computer is massively confused, my wife is clamoring for me to go, the kids are in the car already, and I can’t figure out what’s wrong. Thinking it was a lost cause and I’d be stuck with Cutler, I tried rebooting, quickly. Thankfully, I was able to make the switch and we only missed part of the opening hymn at Mass. So, if you are updating your team in little time in Sunday morning, be prepared to sit in the back of the church.

Favre hasn’t disappointed so far, two touchdowns in the first half, hopefully he’ll catch Dan Marino’s record before the day is done.

Finally, the Eagles are wearing the worst alternate uniforms EVER! And that’s including those throwback Steelers jerseys and the White Sox uniforms from the ’70s that includes shorts. What’s worse — the Eagles already have 42 points, meaning we may see these yellow and poweder blue monstrosities again.

I went 10-6 last week, but in one of the pick’em leagues I was in I got squashed. Maybe the 16 confidence points I placed on the Bengals vs. the Browns didn’t help …

WEEK 3
NEW ENGLAND over Buffalo
N.Y. JETS over Miami
PHILADELPHIA over Detroit
PITTSBURGH over San Francisco
GREEN BAY over San Diego
KANSAS CITY over Minnesota
St. Louis over TAMPA BAY
BALTIMORE over Arizona
Indianapolis over HOUSTON
OAKLAND over Cleveland
SEATTLE over Cincinnati
DENVER over Jacksonville
Carolina over ATLANTA
WASHINGTON over N.Y. Giants
CHICAGO over Dallas
Tennessee over NEW ORLEANS
Last week: 10-6. Season: 21-11

Went 3-1 this week in four leagues, and I almost pulled off a win in the loss, too. It helps to have Carson Palmer in two leagues …

STUDS
– Various members of the Cincinnati Bengals and Cleveland Browns. Well, duh.

– Steve Smith, WR, Panthers. Alas, his three touchdowns were the Panthers’ only three touchdowns. He also caught eight passes for 153 yards.

– Andre Johnson, WR, Texans. Another nice game, with seven receptions, 120 yards and two TDs. He’s not expected to play this weekend after a spraining his knee, however.

SURPRISES
– Braylon Edwards, Derek Anderson, Jamal Lewis, Kellen Winslow, Joe Jurevicius and Phil Dawson, Browns. Duh, again. Yes, even the Browns’ kicker had a big fantasy game

– LaMont Jordan, RB, Raiders. If you took Jordan in a later round, you may have scored a steal … if he keeps this up: 159 yards rushing against a decent Bronco defense.

– Jerricho Cotchery, WR, Jets. He was Kellen Clemens’ favorite receiver Sunday, catching seven passes for 165 yards. Wait, who’s Kellen Clemens?

SLOTHS
– LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, Chargers. I never would have thought he’d earn this title this early in the season, early meaning before Week 17 when the Chargers already clinched a playoff berth. He finished with 43 yards rushing and 15 receiving against the Patriots. He could have at least thrown a touchdown to not make the week a total waste.

– Alex Smith, QB, 49ers. The Niners primarily relied on Frank Gore, as Smith was just 11-for-17 for 126 yards and no TDs. But no interceptions! So much for Smith’s breakout year.

– Reggie Bush, RB, Saints. Did you know Alex Smith and Reggie Bush were high school teammates? And both were underwhelming this weekend, with Bush rushing for 27 yards and catching six passes for 43 yards, and not a TD in sight.

Amid all the annoyances of the latest O.J. Simpson scandal (can his life get any more bizarre?) is the realization that he is in the process of being forgotten as a great football player. Maybe, deservedly so, but how many NFL fans will remember he rushed for 2,003 yards in a 14-game season? I was born in 1970, so I just missed actively watching most of O.J.’s career, so I can’t personally recollect on how good he was (I missed Gale Sayers’ career too, unfortunately). Too bad, he’ll be primarily known my generation as a former football player/bad actor/guy acquitted of murder/guy maybe going to jail.

On the subject of football players just before my time, I mindlessly had a “Brady Bunch” rerun on TV while making dinner, and it was the Deacon Jones episode! I almost went out and joined the glee club.