Playboy.com: You've had bad games throughout your career. What do you do to shake them off?

Grossman: Bad games are a way to learn from your mistakes and get better. I guess I can find the silver lining anywhere. But after [a bad] game I have to understand why I played bad and what I did wrong. I have to examine the whole mental approach I took out on the field that day and fix that. I'm still going to make mistakes, but just not the same mistakes over and over again.

Playboy.com: Does the Bears' offense not get enough credit in the media, because everyone is so impressed by the D?

Grossman: In my opinion we are a complete team. We have a defense that was the best in the league last year and this year they are just as good if not better. Any time you do something like that in consecutive years you get that much more respect and adoration. From an offensive standpoint we're trying to do it for the first year and build our reputation as well. It's an ongoing process and they are just a little further advanced than we are. I love playing for them and they deserve all the accolades that come their way.

Playboy.com: The great start for the Bears has everyone talking Super Bowl. Given the injuries that have dogged you, is there anything in the back of your mind saying, Don't get hurt now?

Grossman: No, not at all. I'm excited about our opportunity and I don't have any negative thoughts at all. I'm only focused on what I can control. What's in the past is in the past. A general rule of life is only worry about what you can control. That's all I need to worry about.

Playboy.com: What is the responsibility that you feel as the quarterback of the team?

Grossman: I have a lot of responsibilities as a quarterback in the NFL, the most important of which is to run the offense the way the offensive coordinator wants us to. That means going through the reads, getting our team lined up right, calling the snap count right, putting us in a good situation with the play call and all the checks I have to make. I could go on and on and on. But the bottom line is playing on Sunday the way coach Turner has me practice during the week. I also have to be the leader and I tend to lead by example.

Playboy.com: You had great quarterback coaching all through your career, from your dad, a quarterback at Indiana University, to Steve Spurrier. What was the single most important lesson you learned about playing QB along the way?

Grossman: Take what the defense gives you. It sounds simple, but it's the most important thing I can do. You have to be aggressive. If they give you a certain look to go deep, you go deep. If they are giving you the short ball, take it. That's playing quarterback at an efficient level. Think of it from a baseball point-of-view. You are not going to swing at the curve ball in the dirt. You are only going to swing if it's a strike.

Playboy.com: How was it this summer when fans grew worried about you because your preseason numbers were unimpressive? Did the criticism on the talk shows bother you?

Grossman: I knew it was out there. I understood the criticism. I was hurt for a couple of years and I hadn't really shown what I could do. I also inherited a lot of the bad quarterback play as my responsibility and my fault. Nobody had seen me play consistently and that was as frustrating for them as it was for me. I knew I didn't play well in the preseason games. Not that they were that important, but it is somewhat of an indicator. It proved to be a false indicator, but it was still all they could go on. So I understood where they were coming from. I just wish they could have been at the mini-camps and training camp so they could have seen things develop on the offensive side of the ball.