LAKE FOREST, Ill. – Nearly two months removed from Super Bowl XLI, Rex Grossman has had plenty of time to reflect on an eventful 2006 season.

In his first full year as a starter, the former Florida star quarterbacked the Bears to the Super Bowl for the first time since 1985 yet was heavily scrutinized by fans and media.

“I thought it was a great season,” Grossman said. “There were obviously a few games I wish I’d have had back, but at least two-thirds of those games, I’m extremely proud of the way our passing game played and the way I played and everything worked out great.”

Last season Rex Grossman became the first Bears quarterback ever selected as NFC Offensive Player of the Month.

Grossman was named NFC Offensive Player of the Month for September, set a franchise record by registering at least a 100 passer rating in seven games and threw 10 TD passes and three interceptions in leading the Bears to a 5-0 record for the first time since 1986.

But the 2003 first-round pick also posted passer ratings of 0.0, 1.3, 10.2, 23.7 and 36.8, a handful of unsightly blemishes that he hopes to eradicate heading into the 2007 season.

“It bothers you, and now is the time to figure out why that happened and prevent it from ever happening again,” Grossman said. “I don’t care how good you are, you’re going to have a bad game here or there. But I don’t want it to be a terrible game, and if it is a bad game, (hopefully) it’s a rare occasion.

“For every two games I played well I had one bad game. If you win 66 percent of your games, you’re going to be in the playoffs. But the games I played bad, I didn’t even give us a chance to win. So that’s what I need to eliminate, and I’m extremely excited and positive. I don’t think that that’s going to be that hard of a task to do.”

Grossman believes that the key to developing more consistency is improving his fundamentals and decision-making, something he’s working on with new quarterbacks coach Pep Hamilton.

“The only way you can do it is analyze your fundamentals and your thought processes to make sure your mechanics are more consistent and just do drills so that everything you do mechanically is muscle memory and you’re not out there thinking about things,” Grossman said.

“Coach Hamilton and I have already started on a few things to gain that muscle memory because I feel like I do have really good mechanics. Just at times, for whatever reason they go haywire.”

Grossman, Hamilton and offensive coordinator Ron Turner are studying tape of the quarterback to determine exactly what led to some of those fundamental breakdowns last season.

A major focus thus far has been working with Grossman to regularly step up in the pocket, which should result in stronger, more accurate throws while also enabling him to run with the ball when no receivers are open.

To that end, Grossman has been concentrating on holding the ball with two hands further back toward his right shoulder in order to keep his weight on his back foot when he sets up to throw.

In terms of decision-making, Grossman is working with Turner on making the correct reads against various defensive looks.

“Having gone through that (in 2006), now I have a chance to evaluate myself and get better and realize what I did wrong and improve on those this time of year,” said the Bears quarterback.

After throwing 23 TD passes and 20 interceptions last year, Grossman has definitive goals in mind for the upcoming season.

“The biggest thing I need to do is eliminate the interceptions,” he said. “Single-digit interceptions with 30 touchdowns is my goal. If I run the offense, play the way I’m capable of and use the talent around me, we’re going to put points on the board.”

Grossman has watched individual plays from Super Bowl XLI on tape, but has yet to view the game from start to finish. He completed 20 of 28 passes for 165 yards with 1 TD, 2 interceptions and a 68.3 passer rating in the Bears’ 29-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts.

“It (still) hurts, but I’ve accepted the fact that I didn’t play my best game and we lost,” Grossman said. “It was tough because it’s an opportunity to be a world champion that slipped out of our hands. That’s the negative. The positive is that we were NFC champions and we accomplished a lot. But we still have one more goal to reach.”

The Bears will pursue that goal without running back Thomas Jones, who was traded to the New York Jets. But Grossman feels that replacement Cedric Benson is more than capable.

“Thomas was a great player for us,” Grossman said. “He was a great leader in the huddle and very consistent in pass protection and running the ball well and a tough runner. He’s going to be missed, but at the same time Cedric Benson has all the talent in the world to be a perennial Pro Bowler.

“You could see him get more comfortable with what he’s been asked to do, so he’s going to be a force to be reckoned with. I know for a fact that no defensive player wants to come up and tackle him. He ran a lot of people over, and what people haven’t seen is that he has the ability to run the ball the distance. I’m excited to see him do that a couple of times next year.”