“When the legend becomes fact...print the legend.”
It took me more than a year to figure out why Bears fans hate Rex Grossman so much.
After all, Grossman's not a franchise cancer à la Cade McNown—his teammates love him, at least publicly.
And it's not like he doesn't care or doesn't try—Rex has battled through a season-ending knee injury and a preseason ankle injury which sidelined him until Week 15, and has endured three different offensive coordinators in his first three years with the Bears.
The QB has kept his head up through all his struggles—and apart from calling the media “ignorant” during Super Bowl week, has been a genuinely stand-up guy.
So what’s the problem?
I think I've finally put my finger on it—and it has everything to do with believing legend over fact.
After the Bears' loss to the Minnesota Vikings earlier in the season, I overheard a coworker size up the team's plight as follows:
"Rex Grossman sucks. We’ll never win with him."
There were two flaws in that logic.
First, Brian Griese had taken over the QB job by the point. Second, the Bears made it to the Super Bowl last year behind Grossman—doesn’t that constitute a winning season?
Since then, I've started to notice other fallacies propagated by Grossman-bashers. To wit:
“Rex had nothing to do with the Super Bowl run—it was the amazing defense that carried us.”
Again, myth has supplanted fact. Yes the 2006 Bears defense was nasty—for the first half of the season. Injuries to both Mike Brown and Tommie Harris turned the ferocious Bears into docile little cubs.
“Rex Grossman cost us a Super Bowl win.”
Did Rex have a bad game?
His two late interceptions no doubt sealed the deal—but did anyone notice that the Bears "stellar" defense gave up over 300 yards on the ground and over seven yards per carry?
Did the Bears make any critical third-down stops against the Colts?
Yeah, I didn’t see that either.
Is Rex Grossman a great quarterback? Not yet. Could he become one? Perhaps.
Is he the best quarterback I’ve seen the Bears put under center in years—if not ever?
Absolutely.
The team finally got a cocky QB with a desire to take chances and air it out—and the fans couldn’t wait to throw in Brian "I-Love-the-Check-Down" Griese.
The Chicago faithful essentially called for a return to the John Schoop Era...and John Schoop wasn’t just bad for the Bears—he was bad for America!
So give Rex a break. This is still technically only his second season as a starting quarterback, and his numbers are on par with what Brett Favre and many other great QBs put up in their second seasons.
Of course, things like that only matter to people who go in for facts—not for legends.
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8 months ago
Rex Grossman is the most inconsistent quarterback I have seen from game to game. Last year, he either shredded opposing defenses in great performances or threw interceptions / fumbled the ball away multiple times. He definitely has some talent, but I think he has confidence issues. In his mind, he's either a world-beater or a failure. If he finds some middle ground, Grossman can be a good QB.
8 months ago
The Bears defense was also playing the top offense in the NFL (in my opinion) in Super Bowl XLI. You have to cut them some slack. Rex has to pick it up when he sees his guys struggling, and give them a chance to rest when the Bears get the ball.
All he needs to do is manage. He doesn't have to make big plays.
from 8 months ago
We all saw where Griese just trying to manage the game took the Bears. The Bears defense this year is not a dominant unit, and they definitely NEED Grossman to make big plays and put up some pts.
8 months ago
I must respectfully disagree with this post. Mr. Grossman has some considerable skills (a great arm and a positive attitude), but he has repeatedly demonstrated an inability to perform such fundamental QB functions such as the QB-Center exchange and the ability to operate from the shotgun. Mr. Grossman is certainly not the best Bears quarterback ever (which is a strained title, kind of like Tallest Dwarf). I would submit Eric Kramer, Jim Harbaugh and Jim McMahon were all better that Mr. Grossman both in terms of statistics and results.
from 8 months ago
Jim McMahon never threw for over 3000 yards in a season. He never threw more than 15 touchdowns in a season, and he never even completed a full season. Again, legend vs fact.
Jim Harbaugh threw for 3000 yards once and never more than 15 touchdowns in a season.
Erik Kramer did have a great season in 1995, with 29 td's and close to 4000 yards passing. Obviously the best season from a Bears quarterback in recent history. That was year six for Kramer, and he had played 34 games previously. Rex played a combined 9 games before the 2006 season. He's a young quarterback whose growth was retarded due to injury.
As far as the center/qb exchange, I recall super veteran Brian Griese fumbling one of Kreutz's snaps.
The shotgun isn't a mystical play. It's a way of delivering the ball. Not sure what the infatuation with it is, and Kreutz came out publicly at one point and stated he didn't feel very comfortable with shot gun.
8 months ago
I agree with you Jack, I even wrote a similar article earlier in the season.
Grossman led the Bears to the 14th ranked offense last year. The previous 6 year? They were never better than 23rd.
Next, look at the horrible recievers and front office decisions. Cedric Benson when Thomas Jones was in his prime? Seriously? Why not take a chance on Mike Williams or Troy Williamson? Both have been relative busts but at least try to give Rex some WR's. Where was Berrian before Grossman? Exactly, no where.
Rex has become the most hated/scrutinized player I have ever seen. He can throw for 3 TDs and 200 yards with 1 pick and all the media cares about is the one pick. This happened all last season. I am sick of it.
8 months ago
Grossman became the scapegoat for every problem Chicago had last year and this year. It was just easy to blame everything on him and ignore things like: an aging offensive line; an letdown at running back; arguably the least threatening and least talented receiving corps in the league.
Honestly, I don't think I've ever seen two receivers drop as many passes as Berrian and Muhammad. In fact, earlier this year I came to the point that I was ready to say that Mushin was quitting on routes, almost as if he wanted the ball to be intercepted so Rex would be benched. It sounds crazy, I know. We're talking about pros here. But Mushin had 4 receptions in the first three games with Rex as QB and then he had 5 receptions the following week when Griese took over. All of Rex's INTs in the Dallas game (Rex's last before the benching) were balls thrown to Muhammad. Trust me, I was so pissed about this that I went back and watched replays of each.
Chicago needs major help. They need a more inventive offense. More playmakers at the skill positions. Better blocking up front. And they need to learn how to look themselves in the mirror - each and every player.
8 months ago
Grossman is simply not an effective passer. He does, however, possess the capability to make a big play now and then. Combine that with the Devin Hester show and that's about all the Bears have going for them right now. Can they beat the Giants this week? As a Giant fan, I will tell you that they can....because the Giants are finished for this season
8 months ago
Grossman is simply not an effective passer. He does, however, possess the capability to make a big play now and then. Combine that with the Devin Hester show and that's about all the Bears have going for them right now. Can they beat the Giants this week? As a Giant fan, I will tell you that they can....because the Giants are finished for this season
8 months ago
Great article, I really feel like he has turned the corner, and I don't care if I'm wrong again, the Bears NEED this guy to succeed.
from 8 months ago
I completely agree. He's layed 3.5 games without bad rex reering it's ugly head. I probably just jinxed him for thursday night agaginst the skins.
However, at this point you can dump Griese, after all he turned out to be Bad Rex with a weak arm. Keep Orton, Keep Grossman. Draft a quarterback.
Sign Rex to a 3 year, incentive laced contract, with a couple million signing bonus.
Use the saved money to either go out and get a running back, or try and lock up Briggs. They could always franchinse Briggs, but that's $15 million, so you might as well sign him to a long term contract.
I'd say dump Benson, but i'm not sure how much of a salary cap hit that will be. His signing bonus was $16 million pro rated over the life of the contract which I believe is 5 years. If they dump him now, the remaining pro rated value gets put on the 08 books. So that might hurt more than it helps.
8 months ago
I concur with the article. For someone who led the Bears to the superbowl in his first full season, the lack of support this person has endured is beyond belief. I would like to add a few more points about the myth of Grossman losing the superbowl. Besides your excellent point about the Bears dismal failure to slow down the Colts running game was how ineffective the Bears running attack was. The typical Bears possesion in that game was Grossman throws for 7 yds on first down and the Bears run the ball on 2nd and 3rd down and fail to get a first. A couple of long runs by Jones skewed the running statistics. I would much rather have a running team that can get the tough running yards when they need it to sustain drives.
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