Rex Grossman joked that one of the biggest differences in starting Sunday was that he couldn’t order pizza Saturday night, as he used to as a glorified clipboard-holder.
But obviously the Bears’ offensive coaching staff changed its approach, too, and appeared to expand the menu of the passing game to suit Grossman’s tastes in a 13-10 victory over the Minnesota Vikings.
Grossman went 13-for-30 for 157 yards. The statistics won’t inspire awe, but the style might impress folks hungry to see the Bears finally stretch the field.
“I think the most encouraging thing is that I know Rex Grossman is a more accurate passer than he displayed [Sunday] and he’ll get better the more comfortable he gets in live situations,” quarterbacks coach Greg Olson said.
A look at six of those live situations:
Situation 1
First-and-10 from the Bears’ 32 on the first offensive play of the game.
Result: Grossman rolled right, stopped and fired across the field to wide receiver Justin Gage running a deep corner route along the left sideline. Gage made a nifty double move for which Vikings cornerback Ken Irvin had no defense other than to make contact with Gage, which drew a pass-interference penalty. The 33-yard penalty set up a 38-yard Paul Edinger field goal.
The Rex factor: Calling a rollout right to the hash mark that required the quarterback to throw the ball across the field to the numbers on the opposite side of the field immediately showed how much faith the Bears had in Grossman’s arm strength. It’s a high-risk pass that provided a fitting start to the Grossman era and unofficially announced that the Bears finally have a quarterback capable of doing things ordinary QBs cannot do.
Situation 2
First-and-10 from the Bears’ 25 with 42 seconds left in the first quarter.
Result: Grossman lofted a pass into coverage to receiver Marty Booker, who made an All-Pro effort to come down with the ball in bounds over Vikings cornerback Brian Williams.
The Rex factor: Even if Booker had not gotten both feet in bounds, the call typified the type of downfield aggressiveness that offensive coordinator John Shoop seemed more open to with Grossman. It also informed fans who might not have watched Grossman at Florida that this is not a QB afraid to throw into coverage, boldness that will only make him popular with receivers.
Situation 3
Third-and-10 from the Vikings’ 12 with 11:44 left in the second quarter.
Result: Grossman drilled a pass into tight end Desmond Clark over the middle that looked like it had enough zip to cut through ice, let alone the wind. The 11-yard gain was a key play in a 10-play drive that culminated with an Anthony Thomas touchdown.
The Rex factor: The right arm Bears fans had heard about since draft day lived up to its reputation. If Grossman had thrown anything but a major-league fastball on that play, given the coverage, the ball would have been intercepted or knocked away.
Situation 4
First-and-10 from the Bears’ 46 with 11:39 left in the third quarter on the Bears’ first play of the second half.
Result: Grossman made a ball fake that suggested he studied acting at Florida, freezing the linebackers. It cleared the middle for Booker on a crossing pattern into the vacant zone. But Grossman sailed the pass too high.
The Rex factor: If Grossman weren’t prone to rookie mistakes like these, Dick Jauron would have started him two months ago. Grossman predicted there might be plays on which he was too pumped up, and this looked like one of them.
Situation 5
First-and-10 from the Bears’ 37 with 1:31 left in the third quarter.
Result: Grossman made another convincing fake to Thomas but waited too long to unload a deep pass to wide receiver Dez White, who was open early in his route. But by the time Grossman danced around the pocket to elude a rush, the Vikings’ defense had caught up. Grossman threw anyway. The pass covered at least 60 yards in the air and was knocked away by Irvin at the 10.
The Rex factor: Inexperience showed as he overreacted to a rush that wasn’t as heavy as he sensed and waited a second too long to let it fly. Even so, he recovered in time to throw a pass that gave White a chance to make a play.
Situation 6
First-and-10 at midfield on the first play of the fourth quarter.
Result: Grossman offered a pump-fake left, reset his feet and delivered a bullet pass into the arms of receiver David Terrell for a 22-yard gain, Terrell’s longest catch of the season.
The Rex factor: Many more throws like that from Grossman, and the Bears will have to add a miles-per-hour category on the Soldier Field scoreboard just for fun.
