We all know that Rex Grossman has been to the Super Bowl, and conventional wisdom says he went on the backs of his defense. We consider it the same as the 2003 Ravens who won the Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer who only started the last half of the season.
Clearly, Baltimore won the Super Bowl in spite of their quarterbacks that year.
Maybe we judge Grossman too harshly. The 2006 Bears were 2nd in the league in scoring that year putting up 427 points. I’m not sure we can say that Chicago made it on defense alone like Baltimore did.
Grossman threw 23 touchdowns and put up nearly 3200 yards.
To put that in perspective, Kyle Orton, who started just the year before Grossman, had 9 touchdowns and only threw for 1,869 yards in the 15 games he started in 2005. The Bears were 26th in the league in scoring that year. The Bears still won their division with an 11-5 record.
Now I’m not saying that Grossman is the next Drew Brees, but what I am saying is that most of what we know about Grossman comes from his time with the Bears; a different team, a different offense. Sure Grossman had 23 touchdowns and 20 INT’s in 2006, but Orton had 9 touchdowns and 13 INT’s the year before.
What makes me think Grossman is better with the Redskins offense versus the Bears? In the three games Grossman started for the Redskins last year, he put up seven touchdowns, 4 interceptions and 884 yards passing. Doesn’t seem like much, but if we multiply those figures by 5 (pretending he had the same production levels over 15 games that he had over those three) his figures would look more like 35 touchdowns, 20 interceptions and 4,420 yards passing.
Even though Rex went 1-2 in his three games last season, it was the defense that cost him those two games. The Redskins lost to the Cowboys in overtime 33-30 and to the Giants 17-14. The Giants’ second touchdown in that game was a 94 yard pass play.
Again, I’m not saying Grossman will make it rain touchdowns this year, all I’m saying is that before we roll our eyes (like the rest of the league) and believe that the Shanahans are trying to tank the season to get the first overall draft-pick next year, maybe we should see what Rex can do first.
My two cents,
GO Skins!
Rex is a nine-year vet who can no longer make excuses for himself. He must solidify his place in the rotation or John Beck (experience or lack thereof will be more than happy to take over the hot seat.)
The weapons at Grossman’s disposal should alleviate the pressure of performing well in front of his bosses when the games count.
Preseason is over.
Step it up Rex. Or you are out of a job.
Hail to the Shanahans! Hail victory!
Rex will be Rex. Sure he had four INT’s in three games last year but you don’t mention he also had four fumbles and how those affected the outcome. I’ll fill in the blank…24 fumbles in 41 games for his career. Projecting 35 TD’s, 20 INT’s, and 4400 yards is sort of a stretch to say the least. Having 20 INT’s and an unknown number of fumbles isn’t the way to win games. Most turnovers result in bad things happening to your team. Perhaps Rex will excel in this offense, perhaps not but I don’t see them “tanking” to get into the Luck sweepstakes. As Sammy23 says…Step it up or you’re out of a job.
Good point on his fumbles, but when you compare his body of work to McNabb who had 14 touchdowns, 15 interceptions, and 10 fumbles in 13 games you can see where some might consider Rex the better option. Rex had 7 TDs and 8 TOs in three games vs. McNabb’s 14 TDs and 25 TOs in 13 games.
Many of these struggles can be attributed to poor offensive line play (for both QBs), something it appears the Redskins have addressed this offseason. Plus adding some talent at WR, and what looks like a promising running game should help.
If Rex doesn’t perform, John Beck will be eating his lunch. He has no excuses. Personally, I think even with his shortcomings he can get the job done. I hope I’m right