Rex Grossman’s dad rips Bears organization
Rex Grossman’s dad took the opportunity recently to rip the Chicago Bears organization for how they mishandle the quarterback position.
“It’s a self-perpetuating problem that is not Jay Cutler’s fault,” said Dan Grossman, who played quarterback at Indiana in the ’60s. “It’s not Rex Grossman’s fault. It’s not Kyle Orton’s fault. It’s not every other quarterback who has been through that system’s fault. It’s the fault of the organization for not understanding what a quarterback needs.
“What’s amazing to me is, here we go again with Jay Cutler. He came in and he was going to be the franchise quarterback and lead the Bears. I heard some people say they were going to the Super Bowl this year. And here we are, back in the situation where … because the team is not really built around a passing game, he has struggled. I don’t really blame it on Jay Cutler.
“Jay Cutler, first-round draft pick. Rex Grossman, first-round draft pick. I mean, you’re telling me these guys were terrible? They did bad scouting? No,” Dan Grossman said. “You can connect the dots pretty easily when you just look. I am just amazed at how infrequently people in the media look at it. Their evaluation is that it is always the player. That’s not right.
“I believe that the NFL is a passing league. It has been for the last 20 years. Chicago continues to use the phrase, at least Lovie Smith continues to use the phrase, ‘We get off the bus running.’ They need to abandon that concept. Running is obviously a very important part of the offense. But the best teams in this league are prolific passing teams.
Grossman’s daddy makes a good point that the best teams in the league are prolific passing teams. The Saints, Colts and Patriots are three teams highly regarded as the best in the NFL and all of them can throw the ball.
But what Grossman misses the fact that all three can also run the ball. It’s not the teams with prolific passing games that win: It’s teams that have a balanced offense. He’s right in that the Bears’ offense isn’t working right now and that it’s not Cutler’s fault. But the reason why it isn’t working is because they have zero balance. Cutler feels like he has to do everything himself because he has no running game to support him. That’s the problem.
Grossman doesn’t want to come off like a bitter parent, but that’s exactly what he sounds like. He does offer a nugget of truth in that the Bears seldom set their quarterbacks up for success (look at their receivers and offensive line), but that’s because they’re a cheap organization and they often rely on has beens like Orlando Pace and Muhsin Muhammad to address their needs. It’s not that they don’t want to help the quarterback; they just don’t want to spend any money.
Rex Grossman wasn’t the sole problem in Chicago, just as Cutler isn’t the sole problem now. That’s why they call it a football team – all phases have to produce on both sides of the ball in order to be successful.
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Bitter Parent, maybe, but I think its just
he sees the people against Cutler like they were against Rex. Rex is mentally not as strong as Cutler and more injury prone, but everyone wanted to blame Rex for all of it. Dont mention he got hurt 4 times badly by the horrible line. Or that most of his picks came from a rushed, hurried throw trying to make something out of a fimilar nothing. Just like Jay. Bears line is awful, running game doesnt exist, and their #1 WR is a return man who played D in college, yeah Rex and Jay are the reasons Chicago is not going anywhere.
Actually, the Colts are anything but balanced offensively. Addai and Brown have their moments but Indy is near the bottom of the league in most rushing categories. For that matter, the Pats aren’t much better — 15th in rushing yards per game and 18th in yards per attempt.
I think the major difference is that defenses have to play back against Peyton and Brady, which makes it easier for the Colts and Pats to run the ball and therefore leads to the occasional big play. The Bears haven’t really been able to run all year, and now they can’t throw either.
Jamey – you’re right, the Colts do rank low in all rushing categories. But they can still be balanced when they have to. As can the Patriots when Belichick isn’t trying to prove a point by running up the score.
My point is that Rex’s papa wants to draw a conclusion that all prolific teams are passing, which isn’t entirely true. Look at the Saints – they can run and pass and they’re undefeated. Dallas can run and pass and they’re 6-3.
And his main point that the Bears don’t know how to handle quarterbacks isn’t entirely true either. The offensive line has been the main problem for years because the organization doesn’t want to spend in free agency and doesn’t know how to draft in rounds 1 & 2. Chris Williams in the first round two years ago was a friggin joke with who was still on the board at the time (Branden Albert being one of the names, Gosder Cherilus being another).
Fix the O-line and then see how these quarterbacks do.
Yes, the Bears need to find offensive linemen that can protect their quarterbacks. No, Cutler doesn’t have experienced deep threats he can throw too. But why did the Bears win more games with Kyle Orton than with Rex? Why did Kyle have a better start with Denver than Cutler did with the Bears? I’m not saying Orton is great, but he seems to be able to work within the limitations his teams have had.