For the Texans, times are good when your third string QB has a Superbowl start under his belt
Certainly, the name Rex Grossman strikes fear and nausea into the hearts and stomachs of Bears’ fans, much the same way that David Carr does to the Texans’ fans. During that 2006 season for the Bears, everyone except Lovie Smith seemed to know that Grossman was a liability on the field as the starting QB. Ah, but in retrospect, Coach Smith didn’t exactly have many great options that year either.
Some folks will say that Kyle Orton was the answer, but if you were watching in 2005, and obviously Lovie Smith was, Orton’s 59.7% pass completion coupled with 13 interceptions and only 8 TD’s were not great indicators of likely future success. Granted, Orton was able to get his starting spot back and had a respectable year in 2008, putting up a 79% completion rate. Nonetheless, the Bears and Coach Smith were all-too eager to let Orton and a couple of draft picks go to the Broncos in exchange for a QB in Cutler whom they thought could actually lead the team to a championship.
Obviously, Orton was indeed not the answer, and truthfully, neither was Grossman, but Coach Smith’s rationale was very reasonable. If Grossman had held the helm at QB all season, leading them to the NFC Championship, he certainly was the guy for the job. Unfortunately, for Grossman and the Bears’ fans, Superbowl XLI was lost, and much of the blame fell on Grossman and even Lovie Smith, perhaps rightfully so. As a result of that, many fans outside of Chicago, even people who could care less about the fate of the Bears, held Grossman responsible for that loss and held his name in contempt. (The writer here confesses to his share of the guilt in that as well.)
But, now Mr. Grossman is a Texan. That changes everything, or at least hopefully it changes his more recent completion percentages and touchdown-to-interception ratio for the better. When the Texans first signed Grossman on June 12, they said he would be competing with Alex Brink for the third spot, but it did not take Coach Kubiak and Rick Smith long to figure out that Grossman’s experience put him well ahead of Brink, so Brink was released 12 days later. Now, the question is whether or not Grossman will be competing for the #2 spot with Dan Orlovsky.
A case could be made for either one of them as the #2 guy. If you wanted to argue records alone, Grossman would definitely be far out in front of Orlovsky. After all, Orlovsky has 12 games to his credit and he is yet to taste victory. The more adept and attentive Bears’ fans will tell you that Grossman’s 19-12 record is more a result of their defense than Grossman’s leadership and skill, and perhaps they are correct. So, even if the records are tossed out, Grossman’s experience as a starter is almost three times that of Orlovsky’s. The two QB’s do have similar career completion rates, with the edge going to Orlovsky, and Grossman’s is further diminished by a downward trend from his first year on.
This should be an interesting competition to watch once training camp starts, and as Texans’ fans have witnessed in the recent years, the outcome is likely to have consequences in the regular season. Personally, I think either one of these guys has the talent to be a dependable back-up QB. And, now that they both have essentially been given a chance to reinvent themselves in a new home, perhaps they will get a chance to prove they can be dependable starters too. The intention here is not to diminish in anyway Orlovsky. It’s just that I never had any angst toward that poor fellow while he was at the helm of a team destined to achieve the unspeakable—an 0-16 record.
Unfortunately for Grossman, and perhaps even unfairly, I did have some disdain for him and have used his name in parallel with the likes of David Carr. Now that he is a Texan, I want to like him. He took the first step toward making many new friends and fans recently when he showed great humility and appreciation for his newfound lot in life. Here is a guy who won an NFC Championship and was the starting QB on a Superbowl team, and he sounded delighted to come into Houston for the NFL minimum for his experience and compete for the third-string spot. Shortly thereafter, he had it secured. He also managed to shake loose his affinity with Carr, at least in my mind, by thus far demonstrating his simple passion for playing football.
Ultimately, this turns out to be yet another seemingly terrific move by the Texans’ organization in this impressive offseason. The Texans now have a 29-year-old, former Superbowl QB on the team as a third-stringer for bare minimums. I’m sure the Bears’ fans have not forgiven Grossman for the biggest loss of his career, but here’s hoping Rex can forge a new, positive career as a Texan, and here’s hoping he makes the most of every chance he might get on the field. Though, let’s hope those chances only come when the game is well in hand, and Mr. Schaub is only resting on the bench.
Written by Greg Shelley, Monday June 29 2009
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4 comments
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Interesting observation there, Kristin. Still, I'll bet Grossman will take all the Kudos he can get. Thanks!
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Rex Grossman also has much better hair than Orton, whose tresses look as though the business in the front is getting a little too close for comfort to the party in the back.
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Thanks Nolan! I'm not sure why I had angst about Grossman, since I was not necessarily a Bears' fan, but I hope he does well here in Houston, and I hope he accepts my apologies.
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I agree with you Greg. I was not one of the Bears fans that blamed the Super Bowl loss solely on Grossman. With the way the defense played that day, Rex actually kept them in the game for the most part. With a good O-line and the receivers the Texans have, I think Rex could be very successful in Houston.