The-Hogs.net - Washington Football Discussion, Redskins to Commanders Era

LANDOVER, Md. – There is no reason to believe in Rex Grossman(notes). He barely stands taller than the equipment men. His throws don’t have that crisp crackle that top quarterbacks can always make. And when he stands in the locker room and pulls off his shoulder pads, he reveals a doughy, almost shoulder-less frame that makes you ask: “THIS is the quarterback?”

Certainly the NFL doesn’t think much of him given the way he’s been kicked around like some football vagabond, lingering on rosters presumably because he knows things and knowledge is always good to have in a meeting room. Maybe it would have been easier for the Washington Redskins to write him off if it wasn’t for this lone intangible that is non-measurable in any other way but to a coach who has seen a player fall and step back up.

“He’s got nuts,” one Redskins assistant said Sunday night after Grossman threw for 305 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-14 victory over the New York Giants. “How else do you explain it?”

Few quarterbacks have endured the eye rolls and the mocking chuckles more than Grossman. Perhaps this is a condition of playing in Chicago, where the fans seem to think every player, regardless of position, should look and sound like Iron Mike Ditka. It never seemed to matter that Grossman actually led the Bears to a Super Bowl. He never fit the prescribed mold, never threw for tons of yards and wasn’t the superstar Chicago may never get to play the position.

He is, however, a survivor, and sometimes those are the most dangerous players of all. Because here on the Redskins, where Mike Shanahan runs a rigid system and everyone seems tired of the shiny new thing, Grossman might be the perfect leader. He’s someone who understands the offense, who accepts its confines and finds a way to make everyone else in the locker room think they can actually win something.

“You know he HAS been to a Super Bowl,” Redskins right tackle Jammal Brown(notes) said.



Ultimately a quarterback has to win over his offensive line since these are the players who are blocking for him. Often it is these linemen who sniff out fear before the rest of the players and make judgments about whether the man is fit for the position. If the quarterback lacks confidence, a dread runs through them too and this is where things start to fall apart.

But here was Brown, all 6-foot-6 of him, with seven years in the NFL, standing in the locker room calling Grossman “an O-line’s quarterback.”

It comes from the way Grossman walked back into the Redskins’ camp after re-signing a few days following the lockout. The position had presumably been bequeathed to John Beck(notes) and a shell of a competition was set up. Yet Grossman stalked into the huddles like he was the true starter. He barked out plays. He showed the other players the finer aspects of Mike Shanahan’s complicated offense. He took control.

This is why Brown calls him “an O-lineman’s quarterback.”

On Sunday the Giants came hard for Rex Grossman, thinking they could break him. They came in a flood of blue and white jerseys, first only four but then five and then six. On the sideline, after each series, the Redskins linemen looked around wondering what was happening.

“They’re bringing extra guys,” the coaches said.

And Grossman stared at the defenders streaming in, glanced downfield and fired away. He got six passes to Santana Moss(notes) and five to tight end Fred Davis(notes) and another three to Jabar Gaffney(notes) and two more to Anthony Armstrong(notes). Six players in all. Whatever the Giants figured they could do to him clearly didn’t work.

“That stuff people say about Rex it’s all [expletive],” Gaffney said. “He can play. He willed us to a victory [Sunday].”

Something is different about this Redskins team. There’s been so much chaos, so many controversies in the past it’s been a long time since Washington looked like a serviceable NFL franchise. But Albert Haynesworth(notes) is gone. Donovan McNabb(notes) had 39 yards passing for the Minnesota Vikings on Sunday. There are new players here, younger players. Gone is running back Clinton Portis(notes), injured for years, replaced with Tim Hightower(notes), who is healthy. Those around the Redskins say Hightower’s health is an overlooked but vital aspect of this offense.

They are comfortable with Shanahan’s system which is built heavily on a complicated blocking scheme. There is an optimism that has been missing here for years.

But any optimism is only as good as the quarterback and until now no one much has been overwhelmed by Rex Grossman. One game a Super Bowl does not make. Yet maybe it’s time people believed in Rex Grossman a little.

Sometimes, in the NFL, guts can go a long way.

tribeofjudah wrote:We're all liking Sexy Rexy right now.....

Hope he stays CONSISTENT....!!!

tribeofjudah wrote:We're all liking Sexy Rexy right now.....

Hope he stays CONSISTENT....!!!

tribeofjudah wrote:We're all liking Sexy Rexy right now.....

Hope he stays CONSISTENT....!!!

RedskinsRule56 wrote:

tribeofjudah wrote:We're all liking Sexy Rexy right now.....

Hope he stays CONSISTENT....!!!

He Wont

The Hogster wrote:As long as he plays well, I'm good. But, for a guy who has not played a full 16 game season in forever, I'm bothered by his apparent out of shape-ness.

I hope he holds up, but what does this guy do in the offseason..geez

HarleyHog wrote:

tribeofjudah wrote:We're all liking Sexy Rexy right now.....

Hope he stays CONSISTENT....!!!

I think he will. Some fool is bound to open his filthy pie hole to the contrary, but Rex was given plenty of opportunity to choke yesterday and didn't. He may not be a Tomy Rono, but that's a GOOD thing.
The Gnats clearly game planned to shut down Hightower and try to bring out "bad Rex" and he whupped their butts. Next week, the run game will kick into high gear, and Rexy will get ALL sexy. 400+ yds offence, and a strong defensive showing will give us a 2-0 start and presumably fumigate the site to get rid of the troll infestation.

The Hogster wrote:As long as he plays well, I'm good. But, for a guy who has not played a full 16 game season in forever, I'm bothered by his apparent out of shape-ness.

I hope he holds up, but what does this guy do in the offseason..geez

RedskinsRule56 wrote:

tribeofjudah wrote:We're all liking Sexy Rexy right now.....

Hope he stays CONSISTENT....!!!

He Wont

InsaneBoost wrote:I think it's a little too soon to jump the gun on Rex, especially after one game. We all know how the guy plays week-to-week, not to say he could change this year, but I'm going to wait and see. There's no doubt he has the potential and the skill to be good and sometimes great, but so far it just has not been seen and I don't want to sell myself short.

With that said, on Sunday he did one hell of a job and if he can continue to do that this season, minus a few games (face it, nobody has a perfect season), he could lead us to 9 games if all goes well, maybe even squeak out a 10th. However, it's nice to see him finally getting respect from all over.

I remember, ESPN, NFL Network, etc giving Rex a whole lot of crap and then Sunday after the game talking about "woah, who is this Rex?" That's exactly what I wanted him to do and the Redskins to do, shut everyone of the doubters up and so far they've done it, lets see them do it next week and the following weeks!

Rex Grossman has thrown for over 300 yards in three of the four games he has started for the Washington Redskins before taking over the Redskins starting job and running his close friend, Kyle Shanahan’s offensive scheme Grossman’s only other 300 plus yards passing game happened when he threw for 339 yards against the Buccaneers in December 2006.

CanesSkins26 wrote:He played very well but it's also only one week and offenses in general put up huge numbers throughout the league. Just look around the league....Newton put up 422 yards and 2 tds, Henne had 416 and 2 td's, and Ryan Fitzpatrick threw 4 td's. 14 qb's threw for more than 300 yards and 18 threw 2 or more td's.

CanesSkins26 wrote:This was a great first step for Sexy Rexy, but he played against a seriously depleted D and has to show that he can continue to play at this high of a level without making the types of mistakes that he made last year and throughout his career. The offensive line also needs to step up (I'm looking at you Trent and Monty) or Rex's play wont matter because he wont be on the field.

Newton's Panthers lost
Henne's Dolphins lost
Fitzpatricks Falcons lost

1niksder wrote:

CanesSkins26 wrote:He played very well but it's also only one week and offenses in general put up huge numbers throughout the league. Just look around the league....Newton put up 422 yards and 2 tds, Henne had 416 and 2 td's, and Ryan Fitzpatrick threw 4 td's. 14 qb's threw for more than 300 yards and 18 threw 2 or more td's.

Newton's Panthers lost
Henne's Dolphins lost
Fitzpatricks Falcons lost

This must be why they call it a team sport

CanesSkins26 wrote:This was a great first step for Sexy Rexy, but he played against a seriously depleted D and has to show that he can continue to play at this high of a level without making the types of mistakes that he made last year and throughout his career. The offensive line also needs to step up (I'm looking at you Trent and Monty) or Rex's play wont matter because he wont be on the field.

Rex did almost get killed, in the past he would have took off and heaved the ball somewhere he shouldn't have. Sunday he stood there and took the sack. back in the day he wanted to make the play now he takes what he can get if what he wants isn't there. That's based on what he has done as a Redskins QB only not what he did Sexy Rexy days. A depleted is a good description of the Giants D, but it's not like it went to the final gun.

CanesSkins26 wrote:

Newton's Panthers lost
Henne's Dolphins lost
Fitzpatricks Falcons lost

Fitzpatrick is on the Bills and they crushed the Chiefs.