Rex Grossman

Can the Eagles build off their impressive free agent class and make a Super Bowl run? Will Rex Grossman… not suck terribly in Washington? Are the Giants flying under the radar? I love this division. Let’s break it down.

Continue reading "Joe's 2011 NFL Season Preview: The NFC East"

As football fans across the globe cast their longing eyes in the direction of the April draft, I decided that now might be a good time to reflect on draft classes of the last 10 years. Too often in this business, we rush ahead to the next big event without taking pause to evaluate the past and learn from it. In a way, this study will still be a celebration of the coming 2009 draft as I believe it will shed some light on certain overlooked trends that no one ever stops to consider. I will begin with a class by class showdown of sorts at the quarterback position over the last 10 drafts.  This is part III in the series:

Continue reading "NFL Quarterback Draft Class Showdown: 2004 vs 2003"

Quarterback: Duh. With Rex Grossman leaving to free agency (and saying he would love to play for the Lions!?), the Bears are in dire need of an experienced quarterback to compete with Kyle Orton for the starting job or at the very least a competent back-up.

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e and quite old...he can't stick around for much longer.  Thus, he would only be a stop-gap.

Rex Grossman: Let's not even go here.

Kyle Boller: See above.

The only other options are potentially J.P. Losman or Matt Leinart (if the Cards don't want him), and both those guys are just as risky as Jackson.

Continue reading "Issue #2: The Quarterback"

verely out of reach, and keeping Kyle healthy should be this coaching staff’s first priority. Rex Grossman filled in during garbage time, where he showed nothing new. This offense should have a great opportunity to regroup against the lowly Rams next week, and Orton’s ankle will be a week closer to fully healed. 

Continue reading "Bears Get Blown Out in Green Bay"

y and keep his team in first place with a win over the Packers. 

Orton’s arrival means Rex Grossman moves back to the area where he can most help the offense: the sidelines. Orton’s ankle could offer problems in terms of his velocity, but his accuracy should remain intact. Luckily, he shouldn’t have to win this game all by himself, as the Packers’ rush defense ranks 28th in the league. If Lovie Smith and coordinator Ron Turner realize this, they can keep Kyle in the high teens for pass attempts by simply handing off to any one of their three running backs. Between Matt Forte, Kevin Jones, and Garrett Wolfe the Bears have an opportunity for a huge day on the ground. The Packers own the NFL’s third ranked pass defense, so going through the air too often won’t end well. They also lead the league in interceptions with sixteen. This would appear to be the perfect game for Kyle to try and play through an injury, since the Packers (like the Bears) have struggled to pressure the quarterback, totaling only sixteen sacks through 9 games. (For all those wondering, the Bears have 17 sacks. Take that Packer fans.)

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uo;s just too bad they had to play the rest of the game.  

Following the opening drive, Rex Grossman forced a ball towards Marty Booker that was tipped in the air and picked off by Chris Hope of the Titans. That halted any momentum from the first score, and the offense failed to put up points until late in the fourth quarter. Their next nine possessions ended in eight punts and a blocked field goal and totaled 94 yards. It was a pathetically anemic performance by the offense. The Bears only converted 3 of 14 on third down, thanks in large part to Grossman’s inaccuracy. Rex was either late on his throws or too widely misplaced them for his receivers to make a play on the ball. While he avoided his trademark turnovers, Grossman is still responsible for most of the offensive woes. If there never was any evidence of the difference before, there is now: had Kyle Orton been playing, the Bears win that game. The running game was decent if nothing else, but I have yet to see Kevin Jones or Garrett Wolfe spell Matt Forte for any significant stretch of time. That’s inexcusable to me, as tailback combinations are the key to longevity and consistency of a successful running game. 

Continue reading "Bears Latest to Fall to Superior Titans"

Despite claims of wanting to play, Orton has been held out of practice two straight days, with Rex Grossman taking all of the first team snaps. “Sexy Rexy” will need to avoid the costly mistakes that have marred his career if he has any hopes of leading the Bears to victory over the AFC’s best. Helping Grossman out are the offensive weapons that have developed this season with Orton at quarterback. Devin Hester and Rashied Davis have vastly improved as receivers, and Marty Booker is still find ways to beat coverage. Even better news is Brandon Lloyd’s full participation in practice this week. Lloyd was on his way to becoming the Bears’ number one target before a knee injury derailed his season. Along with his selection of wide-outs, Grossman will be aided by the best set of tight ends in football in Greg Olsen, Desmond Clark, and rookie Kellen Davis. Olsen is living up to his first round selection, and will be a staple of the Bears’ offense for years. Add that to a running game that found itself behind Matt Forte’s 126 yard performance last week, and you’ve got the recipe for a solid offensive attack, with or without Kyle Orton. 

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Everyone knew what was coming. Kyle’s injury meant the return of Rex Grossman, otherwise known as the most scrutinized quarterback in NFL history (he also goes by “Sexy Rexy” and ‘Wrecks” Grossman).  

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I don't know how many people have heard this outside of Chicago but it was in the news recently that Lindsay Lohan was quoted as saying that Kyle Orton is "super-hot" after seeing him on the

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Well, the second Chicago Bears pre-season game is in the books. It was a fairly interesting game, as far as pre-season affairs go. It actually went into overtime, which I'm convinced is exciting (though it might just be watching scrubs with even more pressure before they get cut).

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Lovie Smith has decided to let Kyle Orton and Rex Grossman battle it out for top dog in this year's training camp. I'm excited. Aren't you?

This will be a nice change of pace for Chicago, as they typically have a dead-set starter going into camp, even if they don't annouce it. For a team that hasn't had a pro-bowl (or even solid, for that matter) NFL QB in quite some time, that's borderline ridiculous. Battling it out should enable the best signal-caller to come out on top when the regular season starts. This will put the Bears in the best position to win right off the bat, as the survivor should be battle-tested before the season even begins.

Continue reading "Chicago Bears Quarterbacks and I"

The ceremonial fireworks of the opening weeks of free agency have finally started dying down and there’s a lot of dust to clear through. A few teams have made some big strides, immediately raising their hopes for 2008 with key acquisitions and retainers. I’m pretty sure we can all agree that the Browns are probably the poster child for this offseason. On the heels of a ten-win season in which they were unfortunately robbed of a playoff spot, the team too good for a logo had much to look forward to – rising young talent in Edwards (who finally learned how to catch short passes over the middle) and Winslow (who finally realized it wasn’t a good idea to pop wheelies on your bike in May), a terrific offensive line with a young left tackle quickly making a name for himself, a defense that could only really improve. Now, they’ve set themselves up for great success by bringing in talent on both sides of the ball. Re-signing Anderson was a must in my opinion, and the Browns will be all the happier seeing him rather than future franchise QB Quinn trying to direct the offense. Giving Quinn more time as a spectator will aid the transition from college and help him adjust for when he eventually makes his debut. Sure, some would argue that Quinn deserves his shot now, but no one can say that the extra time won’t hurt – two years on the bench is the most valued experience for a fresh QB. With Anderson, even if he does prove to be nothing more than a flash in the pan (as we might suspect from the closing weeks of last season), Quinn is waiting in the ranks. The Browns’ offense also became much more explosive with the addition of Stallworth, a legit speedster who seems to be on a new team each season. The Saints, Eagles, Pats -- can’t we get some consistency? Millions of fantasy owners don’t want to gamble on you each year! We like sure things! (Ironic side note: There are no sure things in fantasy football.)

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y was interesting was his comments during a phone conference with reporters in which he stated that Rex Grossman would be the team's starting quarterback.  He followed that up by stating that both Grossman and Kyle Orton are well thought of by the coaches and that he "assumed" that Grossman was the starter.  After a pause, he said that "open competition is what I'm is being told right now".  Someone must have gotten to Lloyd right away to tell him that was not the right answer.  Turner was quick to follow up Lloyd's comments by telling the press that they all know that there will be a quarterback competition in camp.  If that's true, then someone forgot to inform Lloyd.

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The Bears gave Brandon Lloyd a one-year contract last week, reeling in a cast-off from the Redskins who’s been plagued by injuries and questionable locker room chemistry the past two seasons. Lloyd’s production will be a complete gamble, but there are some good reasons to like this deal. First off, he’s coming incredibly cheap, dime-store, like we just snatched him up off the shelf at that seedy bodega down the street. There’s basically nothing to lose, am I wrong? Anybody is an upgrade at this point. I remember a time when Lloyd impressed me mildly – two 40+ catch seasons in San Fran, great hands, good burst off the line, strong vertical leap, mediocre blocking, a propensity for SportsCenter Top-10 one-handed catches. When I read about him being traded to Washington, I pictured him working the middle of the field, Santana Moss putting some double-moves on the outside and burning the safety with an inside post pattern, Antwaan Randle El drawing up in a hitch – the near-mechanized cogs of Al Saunders’ vaunted offense in perfect syncronization. Well, we all know how that turned out (Did he really think every one of those players could digest a 700-page playbook? Didn’t he check their Wonderlic scores?).

Continue reading "Lloyd Reunited with Turner, Hugs and Tears Abound"