themurf Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 (photo by Brian Murphy) Something stood out to me in the moments after the Washington Redskins defeated the New York Giants 28-14 Sunday. When Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman was made available to the postgame media, he took to the podium still dressed in his uniform. Most people probably didn’t give it a second thought, but it stood out to me because it’s just not something I’ve seen very often in my seven seasons covering this team. You can chalk it up to a player who isn’t overly concerned with his outward appearance or what others think – which wouldn’t surprise me because of Grossman’s non-reaction to offseason whispers about him showing up to training camp overweight. Or you can say that Grossman simply wanted to get the media session over with as quickly as possible, so he didn’t even bother to shower and change until after this obligation was completed. Either way, it was a stark contrast to last year’s starting quarterback, Donovan McNabb, who rarely stepped in front of a television camera without sporting a tailor-made suit. But here’s the thing – I happened to walk past Grossman after the game and after he was done with the press conference. The nine-year pro had finally gotten out of his uniform and was gingerly working his way towards the training room to seek treatment after a punishing game against an aggressive defense. The Giants definitely tried their best to take away Washington’s running game in hopes of making the Redskins offense one dimensional,* but New York’s plans backfired. *Which is the polite way of saying they wanted the ball in the hands of Grossman. Because even with a less-than-stellar day from the Redskins ground game and an uneven performance from Washington’s offensive line, Grossman was able to do the heavy lifting necessary to bring him the victory. For all the talk outside of our nation’s capital about how Grossman is destined for mediocrity, he’s now 21-14 as a starter for his career and, most importantly to ‘Skins fans, he’s now thrown for 300 yards in three of his four starts in Washington. Not bad for a player who reached the 300-yard mark only once before joining the burgundy and gold. “I thought Rex played an excellent game,” said head coach Mike Shanahan. “There was a lot of pressure up front. They were a very talented football team. It’s extremely hard to get big plays in the passing game against a defensive front that puts lots of pressure on the quarterback.” While Grossman’s name is used mostly as a punchline elsewhere, his head coach couldn’t care less about what others think when it comes to his starting quarterback. “I really don’t worry about what somebody has done in the past, just what he’s done here,” Shanahan said. “He’s been pretty consistent here since he’s been here with the way he works in practice, the way he goes about his business. All I can do is judge Rex or any other player about what they have done since they’ve been with the Washington Redskins. That’s what we’re looking at with all of the different positions. Guys have to take advantage of their opportunity on game day and show us what they can do.” Judging Grossman based solely on his Week 1 performance, it’s tough to argue with the two-time Super Bowl winning coach. Two of Grossman’s throws in particular stood out to me against New York. Trailing the Giants 14-7 just before halftime, Grossman stepped calmly onto the field and orchestrated the two-minute drill like nothing seen in Washington in ages. There were no wasted plays. There were no blown timeouts or delay of game penalties. There were no backbreaking interceptions thrown. Grossman just dropped back and connected with receiver Jabar Gaffney on a beautiful 39-yard completion to move his team into ideal field position with plenty of time left on the clock. Two plays later, Grossman threw the best fade route I’ve seen from a Washington quarterback since Brad Johnson suited up in the burgundy and gold. The touch pass thrown by The Rex Cannon to wideout Anthony Armstrong that tied the game at 14-14 with 37 seconds left in the half is a pass that McNabb never made during his time in D.C. It’s a throw Jason Campbell couldn’t connect on either. And forget about Mark Brunell. To even attempt that pass, he’d have to throw a ball past the line of scrimmage. But the least heralded guy of the bunch didn’t even give it a second thought. Click here for the full article. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Redskins Life Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Excellent write up. I hope Grossman can prove all the critics wrong this season. Not just because he's a Redskin, but because I believe people have truly overblown how bad he is. I'm not expecting him to be MVP of the league, but I'm hoping for him to be one of the brightest spots on what I hope is a much improved offense. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetThePointsSoar Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Feel like a broken record, but...good read as always murf, good stuff. Really like how Rex carries himself, was great to see his demeanor on PTI yesterday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themurf Posted September 14, 2011 Author Share Posted September 14, 2011 Excellent write up. I hope Grossman can prove all the critics wrong this season. Not just because he's a Redskin, but because I believe people have truly overblown how bad he is. I'm not expecting him to be MVP of the league, but I'm hoping for him to be one of the brightest spots on what I hope is a much improved offense. Feel like a broken record, but...good read as always murf, good stuff. Really like how Rex carries himself, was great to see his demeanor on PTI yesterday. It's funny how little respect Grossman is given. Just yesterday when we recorded this week's episode of Skinscast, we were still getting emails from Redskins fans suggesting that even after the Giants game the team should give the job to John Beck. I didn't see Grossman on PTI, but I saw enough from him on Sunday to let me know he's the guy for the job. Thanks to you both for the continued support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WhoRUSupposed2Be Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 John Becky who? I guess no more BeckGruber Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rockfan7224 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Another great write up as usual, enjoyed the Al Bundy reference Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FanboyOf91 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Nice read. I always thought he was underrated for his SB run. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky21 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Did Grossman score 4 touchdowns in one game in high school? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themurf Posted September 14, 2011 Author Share Posted September 14, 2011 Did Grossman score 4 touchdowns in one game in high school? High school? That's for amateurs. In case you forgot, The Rex Cannon threw for four touchdowns in Dallas last season. Now all we need is a shot of him with his hand down the front of his pants. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riggo#44 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 It's funny how little respect Grossman is given. As usual, great article Murf... I was thinking this exact same thing, especially in reference to Vince Young. Prior to last year, all we ever heard about Young was he's a winner. However, while Rex isn't the greatest QB ever, all we ever hear is how the Bears won despite him (mostly true) and Good Rex-Bad Rex, while everyone ignores he got to the Super Bowl. Young has never won a playoff game, losing his only game in 2007. But his defincies get missed, while the Sex Cannon gets pummeled... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rocky21 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 High school? That's for amateurs. In case you forgot, The Rex Cannon threw for four touchdowns in Dallas last season. Now all we need is a shot of him with his hand down the front of his pants.Love it. Who's good with Photoshop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
themurf Posted September 14, 2011 Author Share Posted September 14, 2011 Love it. Who's good with Photoshop? There might be a new t-shirt available courtesy of the Homer McFanboy sweatshop in the near future. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Santana_89 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 It's funny how little respect Grossman is given. Just yesterday when we recorded this week's episode of Skinscast, we were still getting emails from Redskins fans suggesting that even after the Giants game the team should give the job to John Beck. I admit I was not thrilled about Rex Grossman being the back-up qb last year until Week 15 @ Dallass down 20 points on the road, to our hated rivals. Rex's ability to rally this team made me a believer. I can not recall the last time we were trailing double digits and made a (near) comeback . Lately I've seen a few interviews where you kinda get a glimpse at the man. If you base your opinon on the national media (and some of the local media as well) perception of him you'd think he was a scumbag/headcase like Ben Roethlisberger, HAYNESWORTH, or T.O. I hope that he continues to flourish and succeed not only because he's our quarterback, but he's a nice guy. If Vick/VY can find redemption then Grossman deserves it ten folds over. Insightful article as always Murf:). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jsbaugh Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Its funny that Rex is the second coming based off one game. He could go out and throw 4 picks on Sunday and everyone will be calling for Beck. Its what have you done for me lately and this week he is riding high. Rex's track record has him sucking this Sunday so lets see if he can put back to back games together. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
G1 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Its funny that Rex is the second coming based off one game. He could go out and throw 4 picks on Sunday and everyone will be calling for Beck. Its what have you done for me lately and this week he is riding high. Rex's track record has him sucking this Sunday so lets see if he can put back to back games together.It's not based on one game though. It's based upon what he did here last year and people are also pointing out that Rex was better at Chicago than he was given credit for. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LetThePointsSoar Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 It's funny how little respect Grossman is given. Just yesterday when we recorded this week's episode of Skinscast, we were still getting emails from Redskins fans suggesting that even after the Giants game the team should give the job to John Beck. I didn't see Grossman on PTI, but I saw enough from him on Sunday to let me know he's the guy for the job.Thanks to you both for the continued support. Agreed, and it's impressive how well he deals with adversity. The guy arguably gets the least respect of any QB of all time that has played in a SB, yet he has the cajones to just go out and play his game every week. Loving the Rex Cannon more and more every week that goes by. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skins Wingman Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 the guy just wins games.. if he can tighten up and not make dumb int or fumble, he can easily take us into the playoffs. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hooper Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 It's funny how little respect Grossman is given. Just yesterday when we recorded this week's episode of Skinscast, we were still getting emails from Redskins fans suggesting that even after the Giants game the team should give the job to John Beck. I didn't see Grossman on PTI, but I saw enough from him on Sunday to let me know he's the guy for the job.Thanks to you both for the continued support. That is nuts. And lucky for Beck, he didn't start that game. He impressed me more than I thought he would in preseason, but he would often take too long to make a decision. Had the same problem in practice according to many. The way the Giants were bringing it, the poor guy might have gotten killed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LuRedskins Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 IMO if we can make the playoffs Rexy should be in the running for a comeback player of the year type award Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BleedBNG Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Nice read murf, thanx! I like the way Grossman pinpointed that shot pass to Gaffney in the end. Another split second and it would have been blocked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THEREALTOR1 Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Damn it murf, that was a great freaking article! I'm sitting here at my desk at work, and now i'm all frickin amped up, ready to run through a damn wall. Damn I love this flavor koolaid!!!! I'm really feeling like this is going to be a special season and hopefully its only the start of the Skins return to glory!!!! Hail!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swift Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 I wasn't thrilled with the prospect of Rex being our QB, but he definitely played a superb game against the Giants given the pass-rush he was facing. I think he'll do well if we can take some pressure off him with the running game and good play-calling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RemoveSnyder Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Polk High represent. What was it - three touchdowns in one game? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSO Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Yeah, I'm so glad the "lesser of two evils" QB Rex Grossman is doing well enough to garner an article of praise from you. :pfft: And don't get all pissy like last time, I'm just pulling your leg... nice write up as always, murf, it was enjoyable to read! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wildbunny Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 Polk High represent. What was it - three touchdowns in one game? It was 4 !! Otherwise, that's a great article. And yes, even if Grossman doesn't make me dream, I have to admit he's taking care of business, which is what matters. I've already said it about John Beck... But dammit, Marty went 8-8 with Tony Banks. Shanny can do better with Grossman no? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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