NFL 2008

[Cactus Drags]

I've never seen that mentioned before, only that he wanted an end to the three-headed quarterback issue. So I guess that explains Grossman's offer being a 1 year deal.

[Trey]

That and the reasoning that the money was so good, it was really an offer that Grossman couldn't have refused if you ask me; I don't see any other team offering him that kind of deal.

[livid]

That's it everyone, just ignore the decent side of Rex Grossman we saw when he came back following his short stint as a back-up. If Eli Manning can win a Super Bowl, so can Sexy Rexy.

Edited February 24, 2008 by Livid La Vida Loca

[Cactus Drags]

Rex wasn't solely to blame for the Superbowl loss. Thomas Jones went out early and C-Ben underperformed, a lot harder to win games with no running game. And the defense kept giving up the short yardage and it killed them.

[james_ewing88]

I can't believe nobody has mentioned this. Chicago is very smart to re-sign Grossman for one solid reason...if you don't, what free agent quarterback is there to take over in Chicago?

[Vendetta]

McFadden ran a 4.27 40 yard dash today.

[livid]

Rex wasn't solely to blame for the Superbowl loss. Thomas Jones went out early and C-Ben underperformed, a lot harder to win games with no running game. And the defense kept giving up the short yardage and it killed them.

Edited February 24, 2008 by Livid La Vida Loca

[Vendetta]

Grossman is like a lifetime minor leaguer.

[Trey]

I can see the argument that some people want to make that Grossman, when on his game, has a higher ceiling then Eli, but Eli is more consistent (which isn't saying much) and now, he has taken that major step to the upper-echelon of QBs. I don't agree with the idea that Grossman is better and I'm as big a Grossman supporter there is, Eli just took down the Patriots, he is obviously a top flight QB while Grossman obviously isn't 85% of the time.

[alldaws1]

Eli Manning has been making mistakes for the Giants since he took over as starting QB. Then towards the end of this past season he got it together and played really well. Rex Grossman has made a lot of mistakes for the Bears but still took them to a Super Bowl. He began to get it together and play really well last season until he was struck down with injury. My point was that if Eli can overcome his mistakes and lead his team to a Super Bowl win then so can Rex Grossman. But because he made so many mistakes, people write him off now, regardless of how well he plays. Chicago aren't in desperate need of a quarterback, some key FA acquisitions/draft picks on the offensive line and at the RB position and there's absolutely no reason they can't be what the Giants were in 2007.

[Trey]

I agree. Eli had a solid running game and a monster defense, the same things that Grossman had when he took them to the Super Bowl a year ago. If the Bears can get Hester going on offense, give Benson a line to run behind, and the defense can stay healthy, I see no reason why the Bears couldn't surprise the NFC. They were suppose to be the favorites last year and while older, they shouldn't lose a ton this off-season.

[livid]

No, just because one player who made some mistakes in his career (and one could argue that Tiki really hurt that team, chemistry-wise and never allowed Eli to be the leader he was this season, especially late) doesn't mean that another QB with a similar track record can do the same. Especially, when said QB had a chance to do it only one year prior and failed because he wasn't able to not make mistakes. So it's not like Rex was a non-factor for Super Bowl 41 and they still lost. I would even say, that yes, he is the reason why they lost that game. Because if he doesn't turn the ball over 3 times, that's 3 more opportunities that they have to score and 3 less opportunities that the Colts had to score.

[alldaws1]

See, you're still hung up on Grossman's mistake-filled performances. Base your opinion on the games in the 2007 season when he turned it around and was playing well. Sure there's no forgetting those bad performances but EVERYONE had doubts about Eli managing to keep up his solid play so why couldn't Grossman do the same?

[Cactus Drags]

Eli didn't take down the Patriots, that was a proper team effort. He had that one excellent drive at the end. I don't think Rex is better than Eli, but I don't think it was a bad signing by any means. I highly doubt Chicago will trade for McNabb, but I do hope they go against tradition and actually go for a big name free agent, Michael Turner would be ace.

[livid]

I wouldn't call an average rating of 77.32 over those 5 games "turning it up". Yeah, it's decent but it's not great and not good enough to get you to the Super Bowl, much less a victory.

The point I'm trying to make, is that you're blindly assuming that because Eli could that Rex can because of it. Rex was given the chance to win it even before Eli and he couldn't handle the pressure and ended up causing his team to lose that game, whereas Eli thrived under the pressure and came through big within the last minute of the game to cause them to win.

There's a fundamental difference between Eli and Rex and it's this: Eli has leadership ability and Rex doesn't. It took Eli a little while (basically for Tiki to retire) but he finally showed one of the skills that caused him to go drafted first overall. When Rex is on the field, for the most part, he looks dazed and confused. From what I've seen in the 5 years (well, the times he can actually stay on the field), Rex simply just isn't the leader that is required to really lead a team into the playoffs and onto a Super Bowl title.

Maybe he can prove me wrong, but you're just assuming that he can because Eli did.

[livid]

EDIT: Double post.

Edited February 25, 2008 by Livid La Vida Loca

[Cactus Drags]

...No, I'm not. Good Rex hasn't been good Rex by accident, and there's clearly a reason why other guys like Berrian will only stick aorund if Rex is around. Hell, Moose signed largely due to how impressed he was with Rex. Sure, it's not always coming out when it matters at the moment, but he's still young, he's had one full season. Eli has by no means been perfect in his career, yet you're willing to give him time, and not Grossman? Remember, Rex has had season-ending injuries in three of his five years that's going to be detrimental to both his confidence and his chance to get in-game experience.

If they'd signed him to a long-term deal, or out and out said "Rex is our QB," then my argument would be different, and I'd be less happy about it. But as it is, it's the right move to make, and Chicago's still going to be looking at quarterbacks, hell they're even talking about carrying four on the roster.

[alldaws1]

I wouldn't call an average rating of 77.32 over those 5 games "turning it up". Yeah, it's decent but it's not great and not good enough to get you to the Super Bowl, much less a victory.

The point I'm trying to make, is that you're blindly assuming that because Eli could that Rex can because of it. Rex was given the chance to win it even before Eli and he couldn't handle the pressure and ended up causing his team to lose that game, whereas Eli thrived under the pressure and came through big within the last minute of the game to cause them to win.

There's a fundamental difference between Eli and Rex and it's this: Eli has leadership ability and Rex doesn't. It took Eli a little while (basically for Tiki to retire) but he finally showed one of the skills that caused him to go drafted first overall. When Rex is on the field, for the most part, he looks dazed and confused. From what I've seen in the 5 years (well, the times he can actually stay on the field), Rex simply just isn't the leader that is required to really lead a team into the playoffs and onto a Super Bowl title.

Maybe he can prove me wrong, but you're just assuming that he can because Eli did.

Nobody gives a crap about QB rating, it's the stupidest statistic in sports. Except for maybe the distance covered by a soccer player during a match. Rex threw less interceptions and rather than try and force throws down the field he went to his check-downs. He showed a lot of progress from the 2006 season in that good spell he had and there's no reason to think he can't build upon it.

And nothing is being blindly assumed, I've mentioned the supporting casts (which, if the Bears can get a decent back I think they have at least a good a one as the Giants have if not better), I've mentioned that his progress last season showed me enough to think that he can 'do an Eli'. Now I'm not saying he could do a Tom Brady or Peyton Manning and be the main reason that his team wins a Super Bowl but Eli wasn't that either. Eli just avoided making mistakes and then came through in the last drive of the big game.

[Evil Chase K]

Quarterback rating's not a bad stat when it's used to breakdown a player's performance is certain situations (3rd and long, 4th quarter down by 6, etc.) but even then the most telling stat is completion percentage and yards per attempt.

[DMN in the House]

The only important QB stats are completion percentage and TD to INT ratio. Everything else is meaningless and changes based on the system, although that can be said for completion percentage to a degree as well.