Grossman's Too Young

[Guaranteed]

It looks like the Bears are going to win this New Orleans game, mostly due to their defense forcing so many turnovers. But, if they get to the Super Bowl, I don't think Grossman is going to cut it. He's had a number of shots at the NO end zone, and he failed miserably. He didn't look like he was in control. He flailed, throwing the ball all over the place when it really counted.

Now, it could be that the Bears' D will keep them in the game. But going up against a seasoned quarterback like Peyton Manning, or, God forbid, Tom Brady, I don't think it will be enough. Brady is the type of quarterback who just knows how to get it done when he has to. That is that intangible quality most desired in a quarterback. It's why he reminds people of Joe Montana. Grossman doesn't have that.

So, I'm predicting another New England SB win. I think they'll take out the Colts tonight, then the Bears in two weeks.

[Awsi Dooger]

1. Very good chance you're right

Weaknesses are much more difficult to hide as the playoffs move on. New England's only flaw is they aren't a great team. But in this salary cap era and particularly in this mush season of 2006 you really don't need to be exceptional. The Patriots are simply pretty good in every category, as evidenced by the Power Rankings chart on TwoMinuteWarning.com: http://www.twominutewarning.com/

Notice that the Patriots are single digits in every category, in contrast to every other team.

The main weaknesses of the four surviving teams are Chicago's quarterbacking, and the rush defenses of New Orleans and Indianapolis. Two of the three were already evident in the first half of this game. I bet Indianapolis in the first half and hope they can mask their vulnerability at home, which is always a possibility but significantly more difficult to do as you face better teams.

Hey, Reggie Bush! Yeah, Miami got Ronnie Brown with the #2 pick and a year later that slot turns into Reggie Bush. Life is fair.

[rep the dems]

2. I had the same thought for a while, though it's starting to look like

he may have a shot. I do agree that if he is going to win the Super Bowl, he must do better than he has for much of today.

[Guaranteed]

3. He had a couple of nice passes in the 2nd half, but he

also had some nasty looking ones. Most of the progress made was, again, due to the defense, and actually a lot of it was the Bears' running game.

Their D will probably do very well against NE (or Indy), ala the Ravens &- was it Dilfer?-, maybe, but I just don't think that they'll be able to pull it off with that kind of quarterbacking.

[HuckleB]

4. You might be right.

But people have been doubting the Bears with Grossman all season long. And that includes me, a lifelong Packers fan. I give the Bears good odds against either AFC team.

[Guaranteed]

5. I was extremely impressed with the Bears as a team against NO.

Their D in particular was outstanding. Their running game was good, too.

A quarterback like that can really mess things up for a team, though. A couple of picks or fumbles. A bunch of three and outs...or even a two-minute drill 4 points down at the end of the game that fails at their opponent's 20-yard-line.

It's a game of inches. It's the job of that guy who first gets the ball to make sure that those inches are made. Just don't know if Grossman will pull it off.

We'll see.

[trumad]

6. I think Brady was younger when he won his first SB.

[Guaranteed]

7. He might have been. I'm just using the term "young" more as

a label for what I was seeing Grossman do out on the field. He got it deep into the Saints territory a number of times, but couldn't get off a decent pass to put it in.

[bearfan454]

8. I think the Bears defense will do it for them again

just like they did for most of the season.

[never cry wolf]

9. Ahem, playoff passer ratings

And Rex's one interception was not his fault, it went through his receiver's hands.

NFL Stats 2006 Postseason
NFL · AFC · NFC
NFL Passer Rating
Rank Player Team Yds Att Cmp TDs Ints Long Rating
1 Tony Romo DAL 189 29 17 1 0 32 89.6
2 Drew Brees NO 597 81 47 3 1 88 88.3
3 Eli Manning NYG 161 27 16 2 1 29 85.6
4 Jeff Garcia PHI 393 61 32 2 0 75 83.6
5 Chad Pennington NYJ 300 40 23 1 1 77 79.2
6 Tom Brady NE 724 119 70 5 4 49 76.5
7 Rex Grossman CHI 426 64 32 2 1 68 75.4
8 Matt Hasselbeck SEA 435 69 36 3 3 37 68.2
9 Peyton Manning IND 787 115 72 2 6 52 66.8
10 Philip Rivers SD 230 32 14 0 1 58 55.5
11 Steve McNair BAL 173 29 18 0 2 23 49.9
12 Trent Green KC 107 24 14 1 2 24 48.4

[Guaranteed]

10. It's the 50% completion rate...

You can see how the coaches are calling a lot more running plays, too, comparing attempts with the others.

[jcrew2001]

11. Brady/ Big Ben

Brady won in the SB in his 3rd year, Ben won his in his 2nd year.

Who cares if Rex is young, he has the best TEAM in the NFL - that is why Peyton never won anything cuz he tried to do everything himself and throw stupid interceptions, which is exactly what will happen in Miami.

[TSIAS]

12. As a Gator fan, I have to pull for Rex

One good element for Indy is that their run defense has improved. It'll be interesting to see if the combo of Thomas Jones and Cedric Benson is enough to compensate for Grossman's shortcomings.

[Jack from Charlotte]

13. The game's in Florida and a Gator is on the other sideline.........

and it's a...... BIG GAME. So how does Peyton do in big games played in Florida with Gators on the other sideline? .............Let me think?

One other thing........Everytime I turn on the TV a Gator is hoisting a championship trophy. '06 NCAA Basketball Champs. '06 Football Champs. Gator David Eckstein was World Series MVP. 2 of the 5 starters on The NBA Champs, Miami Heat were Gators, The Gators are currently ranked #1 in NCAA basketball again.

Even Gator Emmitt Smith was Dancing with the Stars Champ.

I'm guessing Rex The Wonder Dog is hoisting the hardware after the game and Peyton is getting ready for the citrus Bowl, one more time.

[TSIAS]

14. I love Rex

It's funny that nobody remembers that Grossman was once a Heisman trophy runner-up. And Peyton, at Tennessee, could never beat the Gators. In fact, the rather pedestrian Tee Martin won the championship for Tennessee the year after Manning went pro.

None of my fellow Gator fans seem to defend Grossman. I guess after Danny Wuerffel won the title in 1996, he left a long shadow. But I'll be pulling hard for Grossman in the SB.

[Awsi Dooger]

15. Wuerffel never left a shadow

His passes had too much loft to be impacted by the sun.

I always like Grossman with the Gators. No question he's the best pro caliber QB I've seen at Florida in more than 30 years.

The problem so far is Grossman is a pure frontrunner. He plays horribly if the game is going badly for the team. This season Grossman was 8.1 yards per pass attempt when the Bears are ahead. When the game is tied or Chicago is behind he's dramatically worse, 5.6 YPPA when tied and 5.5 when behind.

So I suggest the Bears take the lead.

He was also much worse against the AFC than the NFC this season, 7.1 versus the NFC and 5.5 against the AFC.

[Jack from Charlotte]

16. It was a terrible shame Rex didn't win the '01 Heisman.........

Was another victim of the 9/11 attack. The UF v Tennessee game was postponed until December. UT had a running back go batsh*t vs UF's #1 ranked SEC defense. Rex carried the team on his back but UF lost 34-32. A win would have meant an appearance in the National Champ game for UF. And they gave the Heisman to that below average QB from Nebraska.

Then Rex is left with that moron coach, Zook, after Spurrier left for the pros.

[Awsi Dooger]

17. The 2001 Gators had zero excuse

They lost to Auburn as a 23 point favorite and to Tennessee as a 17.5 point favorite. The Gators rushed for -36 yards against Auburn and 36 vs. the Vols, mangled on the line of scrimmage 242 yards rushing to 36.

Florida still would have had to defeat LSU in the SEC title game, then win the BCS tally to advance to the national title game. As a Canes fan I certainly wish that had happened, looking back. Miami's great 2001 team would have toyed with Florida similar to the previous year's Sugar Bowl and the 2002 massacre in Gainesville.

It's hysterical that Gators fans are now swarming the Canes message boards, desperately trying to assert legitimacy. You guys are still pure weaklings who backed out of a state rivalry to schedule an annual patsy at home. In 2001 that game was Louisiana Monroe. Congratulations. That's Florida's legacy in the eyes of Canes fans, cowardice, and it's amusing that Gator fans don't get that, that no amount of victories change your school color to anything but bright yellow.

[Jack from Charlotte]

18. Yup. UF beating LSU would have been tough but since UF already beat them.....

in October, 44-13 at LSU.... I'm guessing it would have been a problem convincing the SEC office that Florida would have had to send more than 12 or 15 players for the rematch in The SEC Champ Game. But yea. They were real tough. They did have 214 yards of total offense vs UF's......... 640 yards on their HOME friggin' field.

Call me when the scUM wins a Championship while playing the toughest schedule in the country. Call me again when it you do it twice, like Florida has. And has any other "school" other than scUM ever been allowed to play in a Championship game on their home field? More than half of anything scUM won was bogus.

And I told you........ teams that play the toughest schedule in the country like UF did in it's '96 & '06 Championships don't take scheduling advice from teams that play yo yo Big East and ACC schedules.

Florida's legacy is holding up trophies in many sports. Do you really think anyone from the state's flagship university cares what anyone from Miami U. thinks?

Miami's legacy? Fights with rough, tough, FIU or FAU or some such garbage..... Wearing fatigues to bowl luncheons. No matter what you do, the stench of Miami U. in the eyes of the whole country will not wash off.