Rex Grossman Named Starting QB

[Schneed10]

Originally Posted by 12thMan

Yank him at the first sign of trouble? Surely you're not talking about one bad game? Or even two bad games.

And let's say they do yank Grossman at the first sign of trouble, then what? Will John Beck just waltz in and tear up like we all imagined? I doubt it. I think Rex has at least 5 games to bench himself or prove he's corrected some of his bad ways.

Of course the answer is not as simple as that. If the offense is mostly clicking - in other words the QB has reasonable time to throw, the WRs are getting open relatively consistently, and the running game is keeping the offense out of 3rd and longs, then you expect your QB to get the job done. And if in that situation Grossman is missing reads or throwing ill-advised picks, or even if he's flat out inaccurate, then I think you make the switch to Beck very quickly. Like after two games. Might as well try to save the season if the QB is the only thing holding the offense back.

But if the QB is under duress, or the WRs are not getting open, or if the running game is getting shut down, then it really doesn't matter who the QB is and you should just let Grossman ride it out.

Luckily I think I have an idea what to expect from Grossman. If he has a strong supporting cast around him he'll get the job done most of the time, save for a few boneheaded mistakes that you would never see from a strong NFL starter. I'm just saying that if "bad Rex" shows for the first 2 or 3 games and you think better QB play would make the difference, then put in Beck and give him a chance.

After all, it's not like any QB move would be stunting the growth of a young guy trying to learn. With both guys being 30, they either have it or they don't.

Hopefully this supporting cast really is better and makes their jobs easier. That would help either one of them out a great deal. But I'm not delusional - I don't believe either of these guys to be the long-term answer. And I don't believe either of them to be appreciably better than the other. So if the QB competition was as close as Shanahan has said all throughout the preseason, then it logically follows that the leash for either is not all that long.