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Listen up Bears: Give Rex Another Shot - Bleacher Report

February 11, 2008
Listen up Bears: Give Rex Another Shot

 by Jimmy Mac (Member) 4 comments Filed Under: NFL, NFC North, Chicago
Bears, Rex Grossman


Rex Grossman deserves another shot with the Chicago Bears. Let me tell you why.

 Look at the following stats. These are a certain QB's stats against
the now-Superbowl Champion New York Giants:

 29 of 48 for 266 yards, 1 TD and 5 sacks with an 82 passer rating

 No, it's not Rex Grossman. The previous stats are those of the
indestructible Tom Brady.

So what's my point? Here, take a look at Rex Grossman's stats against
the same New York Giants back in week 13 of the 2007 regular season,
and tell me if you see any similarities:

25 of 46 for 296 yards, 1 TD and 6 sacks with an 81 passer rating.
Look at all familiar? The only differences between the much maligned
Bears QB and the invincible pretty boy are Rex throwing for 30 more
yards, completing 4 less passes with 2 less attempts, and being sacked
only once more than Brady.

 Now hold the phone, for a minute. How does Tom Brady suddenly turn
into Rex Grossman in the blink of an eye?

 I'll tell you. And it's what any football fan that has the magic of
sight could've told you from week 1 where Grossman was planted on his
first drop back of the season against the Chargers.  Three words:

 The offensive line.

 Brady suddenly lost his pocket of protection and looked less than
human. His accuracy was off, his throws were rushed, and at least 2
passes should've been picked off by the Giant's secondary. The QB who
was laughed at Plaxico Burress' comment about the highest scoring
offense in the history of the league not scoring more than 17 points
in a predicted loss, only managed to throw one TD in quite possibly
one of the most important games in his life. A game that gave him the
chance to be the only undefeated QB in the history of the league since
the 16 game regular season came into play.

 So what does this mean? It's quite simple: Any QB, no matter how
great or how perfect they may seem, can't do their job, and do it
well, without an offensive line.

 Rex Grossman would tell you this after he crawled away from his first
rib-cracking sack of the season against the Chargers. Grossman would
play 6 more games behind a line that would eventually end the season
giving up a sack every 10-15 attempts, and giving their QB's (all
three of them) an average of less than 2 seconds to get rid of the
ball, as opposed to top-of-the-line o-lines like the Colts and
Patriots who give their QB's nearly 4 to 5 seconds to deliver a pass.

 Not to mention also the fact that Grossman played with "Benson the
bust" who on top of not being able to pass block finished as one of
the worst rushers in the league, and a wide receiving corps. that lead
the leauge in dropped passes with 27 this season.

 Do you really expect ANY Quarterback to flourish in an offense with
all those struggles? In the midst of the mediocre commentary of
Superbowl XLII, Brady was quoted as, "showing us how he would look if
he were playing behind Chicago's offensive line". Brady gave up more
sacks in that game than he'd given up in any game all season long.

 My point: Rex Grossman cannot be blamed for the Chicago Bears'
offensive struggles this season, period. Let's look at this logically,
on top of the offense that struggled as a whole, we tried another QB
in Brian Griese. He faired no better, and ended up leading the team in
INT's, had more snap fumbles than Rex and Kyle, and didn't help us
improve the stat that counts the most: the win/loss stat. Grossman
played in less than half the games this season, and the Bears still
ended with a losing record. So it's obviously more than Rex.

And not that it helps heal the wounds of a lost season any quicker,
but Rex played significantly better after coming off the bench,
throwing 3 TD's to INT in a span of 3 games and posting an 82 rating
average in those 3.5 games.

 Those hoping for a free agent to come in and light it up... please,
tell me who? McNabb is staying in Philly, and Chicago can't afford to
lose a first and third round pick and the money it would cost to sign
Derek Anderson, who by the way, posted a 52 rating in his last 5
games, throwing 5 INT's and looking... not so hot. Who else? Dante
Culpepper? Cleo Lemon? Josh McCown? Please... even those who hate Rex
to the very depths of their football souls know that he has shown more
promise than the previously mentioned.

Rex could be signed at a cheap deal, leaving us money and draft picks
to upgrade a badly degraded offensive line and perhaps take another
running back to compete with Benson, and another deep WR to replace
Berrian who may leave, and help complement our passing attack which
should feature the ever-explosive Devin Hester next season. With that
kind of weapon on offense, the Bears absolutely need Grossman and his
powerful, accurate arm next season. 9 of Griese's 12 INT's came on
passes over 15 yards, so he obviously struggles with the deep pass.
And Orton has the arm, just not the accuracy to make the throws Rex
can make. All in all, Grossman seems like the smartest choice for
2008.

 And with the constant sightings of Grossman working out at Hallas
Hall, Sexy Rexy could very well be back in the mix for 2008.

 Hopefully Chicago will re-sign him, and do him a favor: Get him an
offensive line.