Pinning hopes on ‘Metamucil gang’ can skew odds

I hate birthdays, and I don’t celebrate them. In fact, I’m usually pretty miserable on those annual occasions. This year happened to be No. 50, so to ease the milestone pain, I scheduled a cross-country red-eye flight on the big day. While squirming in my seat somewhere over Iowa, all I could think about was how I’m getting old and rusty.

Then I turned it into a positive. Instead of needing oxygen after trying to blow out so many candles, or running the risk of burning the house down, a decision was made to focus this week’s NFL column on the element of rust. At least I would have company in my misery.

Has any quarterback appeared rustier in recent memory than Brian Griese?

Bears fans, you asked for this. I turned to Merriam-Webster’s Dictionary for confirmation. It read as follows: Main Entry: rusty Function: adjective 1: affected by or as if by rust; especially: stiff with or as if with rust 2: inept and slow through lack of practice or old age.

All that was missing was Griese’s picture.

In his defense, Griese threw for 286 yards and two touchdowns in his first start last week, a loss to Detroit. Now the bad news for the Bears and their backers — he also was sacked six times, and with the Bears ahead by three in the fourth quarter, one of his three interceptions was returned for a TD.

Can Griese shake off the rust and ignite the Bears today in Green Bay? The oddsmaking jury is still out.

While most everyone at Las Vegas Sports Consultants had the Packers as 3- or 31/2-point favorites, oddsmaker Mike Seba was on an island with the opinion that Green Bay should be favored by a touchdown. But it’s not Griese who shaped Seba’s thought process.

“Chicago is not the same team with the many injuries they have suffered on defense,” he said. “… It doesn’t get any easier at Lambeau Field on national television.”

Oddsmaker Sean Van Patten gives the Bears’ new starting quarterback the benefit of the doubt, with a major caveat.

“Griese will improve this week and even more so next week, but if the Bears don’t get their running game going, it doesn’t matter who the quarterback is,” he said. “You won’t win on a regular basis by throwing the ball 52 times.”

A similar scenario will be in play in St. Louis, where the Rams are 31/2-point underdogs to Arizona. Gus Frerotte comes out of mothballs to replace the injured and poorly performing Marc Bulger for the Rams. The 36-year-old quarterback’s last significant playing time came two years ago for Miami.

Frerotte has limited weapons available, as running back Steven Jackson of Las Vegas is out and wide receiver Isaac Bruce questionable. Oddsmaker Ken White said several intangibles should be considered when it comes to Frerotte.

“He needs only to look across the field for motivation, as Kurt Warner has jumped in and played well this year,” White said.

And for good measure, let’s throw Trent Dilfer into the mix and the starting lineup in San Francisco, as he shoulders the burden for injured Alex Smith. Dilfer faces the team he helped guide to a Super Bowl seven seasons ago. The 49ers are 31/2-point home underdogs to Baltimore.

For fans of Chicago, St. Louis and San Francisco, here’s hoping the “Metamucil gang” is sitting on solid efforts as the regular season moves into the second quarter.

I’m just worried I’ll forget where I put the TV remote. And is it asking too much to make the scores easier to see on the screen?

Brian Blessing, project manager for Las Vegas Sports Consultants, can be reached at bblessing@lvsc.com. Listen to the LVSC oddsmakers on “Sportsbook Radio,” weekdays at 4 p.m. on KENO-AM (1460).