He was the sleeper pick in NFL draft

Attending classes while playing football at the University of Florida was a real learning experience for Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman, who was surprised to discover one unusual truism at the football-mad school:

You snooze, you don’t necessarily lose.

Grossman told the Chicago Sun-Times that during his final semester at Florida, he took four classes because they were taught in the building closest to the practice field.

“It made sense,” he said. “All four of them were easy enough for me to get a B without much work....

“I remember taking a class on stress and anxiety management, and for one period -- an hourlong class -- you had to bring a pillow and take a nap.”

That course wasn’t a total waste of time. It prepared him well for the 2005 season, when Grossman, recovering from a knee injury, had to get through 15 Bears games quarterbacked by Kyle Orton.

Trivia time

Which Bears quarterback was last named to the Pro Bowl?

Six of one ...

Assuming Grossman will be caffeinated enough today, Briefing brews up some NFL picks:

* New England over Chicago: Patriots seek revenge for Bears’ 46-10 rout in Super Bowl played 20 years ago. Which is why New England signed 43-year-old Vinny Testaverde. Vinny remembers watching that game.

* Minnesota over Arizona: Dennis Green Appreciation Day. Vikings fans say: “He lost his last playoff game for us, 41-0, to the Giants.” Cardinals fans say, “You made the playoffs?!?”

* Carolina over Washington: Steve Spurrier makes the trip to FedEx Field, pulls Joe Gibbs aside and says, “I told you so.”

* Cincinnati over Cleveland: Battle for second place in Ohio state football rankings.

* Jacksonville over Buffalo: Last week, Buffalo’s No. 83, Lee Evans, caught two touchdown passes covering 83 yards apiece. The league hasn’t seen anything like it since the day Jacksonville’s No. 9, David Garrard, completed two nine-yard passes.

* New York Jets over Houston: After completing 22 in a row in a loss to Buffalo, Texans’ David Carr wonders, “What’s it take to win a game with this team?” Evidently, 23 in a row.

... Half a dozen of the other

While Atlanta watches the Falcons and Hawks begin their swoons together, Briefing finishes today’s picks:

* New Orleans over Atlanta: Drew Brees and Michael Vick are each 1-3 in his last four starts. One difference: Sean Payton doesn’t have his dad going on national radio and calling Brees “a coach killer.”

* Pittsburgh over Baltimore: The Ravens are 4-0 since Brian Billick took over play-calling. His best call last week was telling B.J. Sams to return six kicks for 212 yards.

* San Francisco over St. Louis: Barry Bonds and Mark McGwire fail to complete pregame coin toss when Bonds out-wrestles McGwire for the coin and throws it through the roof of the Edward Jones Dome.

* San Diego over Oakland: Raiders’ game plan revealed: Sneak into Marty Schottenheimer’s hotel room and change calendar from November to January.

* New York Giants over Tennessee: Memo to Tiki Barber: Your retirement starts after New Year’s Day.

* Indianapolis over Philadelphia: Real reason behind T.O.’s Philadelphia departure revealed as Jeff Garcia takes over as Eagles quarterback. T.O. knew this day was coming.

Trivia answer

Jim McMahon, in 1985.

And finally

Australian lawn bowler David Gourlay, who finished third in the recent International Open in Sheffield, England, on tournament champion Greg Harlow: “He’s got no weaknesses. That’s one of the strengths of Greg.”

*

mike.penner@latimes.com