Rex Grossman, listed somewhat generously at 6-foot-1, may be able to see aspects of the Bears offense from a different perspective than his taller predecessors.
“He can’t see everybody downfield because he’s kind of a little, short guy,” said running back Anthony Thomas, who caught two passes for 11 yards when he wasn’t rushing for a season-best 141 yards on 31 carries. “I’m trying to get out there and try to be one of the outlets for him. I think it helps out a lot when you can throw the ball to the running back.”
Grossman, who became the first rookie quarterback in modern Bears history to win his first two starts, completed 19-of-32 passes for 249 yards and two touchdowns Sunday in the Bears’ 27-24 victory over Washington.
His first NFL touchdown pass went 59 yards to Marty Booker in the first quarter.
Booker beat four-time Pro Bowl cornerback Champ Bailey on a deep route, then waltzed into the end zone for his team-high fourth TD reception of the season.
“[Grossman] probably beat me down there, he was running [to the end zone] so fast,” Booker said. “He said, ‘Give me that!’ It was his first. I was going to give it to him anyway. He beat me to it.”
While Grossman’s statistics have not been eye-popping in his first two games, he has shown exceptional field awareness and leadership. He completed four passes each to rookie Justin Gage and Booker. The deep pass to Booker was the highlight of the Bears’ 429 yards of total offense.
Grossman developed a relationship on the practice field with his young receivers even before he started playing in games.
“I worked with [the young receivers] the most since training camp because they were down on the depth chart and I was down on the depth chart,” Grossman said. “I know what they can do.”
Grossman’s first six completions went to six receivers.
“Rex has the ability to complete balls from unusual positions,” offensive coordinator John Shoop said. “Your body can be all mangled, and you can still find your running back. He did that last week and he did it this week when he was scrambling and found [Thomas] for a big first down.”
