Need an XLI scapegoat? Rex may not be right, but he'll work
The Indianapolis Colts won their Super Bowl, and at first glance it was every bit as bland and featureless as the stereotype of the town in which they live.
A couple of big plays, sure. The Reggie Wayne touchdown pass was nice, and Kelvin Hayden had a lovely introduction to glory with his fourth-quarter interception return. But there was nothing really to call a signature play, an electrifying moment for the ages.
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| It's hard to run Grossman through the mud when the quarterback simply does what he always does. (US Presswire) |
Well, sorry, Jack. You got this instead. A serviceable, workmanlike 29-17 Colts victory over the Chicago Bears that dispelled two phony canards (Tony Dungy is too nice, and Peyton Manning doesn't have enough killer instinct) while perpetuating another (Rex Grossman is a buzzkill of the first order).
In fact, Grossman didn't actually kill the Bears, and that should be noted. He just didn't save them, and the difference between those two states of existence is enormous.
Now look, if you as a Bears fan feel compelled to curse him as the gray hand of death, be our guest. Better to do that than try to punch out a cop's horse on Division Street. Villains are as useful in times of unhappiness as heroes in times of joy, and Grossman has been fingered as the new Steve Bartman by folks who believe in only two kinds of players -- ones who win titles, and ones who blow.
Grossman is used to that by now. He's sick of it, sure, but he's also used to it. His final stats were modest, his game was reduced to back-to-back 11-yard losses while the game was still winnable at 19-14, and he had no single moment to match Wayne's, or Hayden's, or Devin Hester's. He fell behind, and couldn't lead the second-best team past the best team with the ball in his hands only one-third of the time.
And you expected what else, exactly?
This is not meant to exonerate Grossman, but let's be honest here. You really wanted him not to blow the game, and he didn't. The Colts won it by eroding the vaunted Chicago defense, by having the ball in their hands for more than 38 minutes, for running at the team that stopped the run, and by resisting the impulse to beat the safeties deep and throw underneath the coverage instead.
And once that was accomplished, Grossman was in no position, either by dint of his resume or current talent level, to overcome that. He isn't a magical quarterback. He isn't a defier of gravity, or a reaper cheater. He's a guy who will protect a lead for you if you don't make the mistake of getting it the Ohio State way -- with 59:45 left in the game.
And that's all he is. Now, anyway.
The Hayden interception was a bad throw, no question, and killed a game that was already creeping away from the Bears. And Grossman as much as said, "The Colts did a great job of handling the weather factors and they played hard, but there were definitely opportunities for us to take that game and we didn't."
True, but those opportunities would only have paid off with a more experienced and consistent quarterback, and to ask Grossman to be that quarterback based on what he has shown, both good and bad, is unrealistic, along the lines of asking Olin Kreutz to kick a 52-yard field goal Lou Groza-style.
Thus, the safe and fair way for Bears fans to understand this game is to acknowledge that Tony Dungy and Peyton Manning and Tom Moore and Dominic Rhodes and Joseph Addai and Reggie Wayne and the offensive line simply took and kept the ball, playing a nuanced if sparkle-deficient game that worked perfectly in the conditions of the evening.
But if you must text your friends that Rex Grossman sucks anyway, well, go with the satisfying angle instead. You've had a hard evening, and you may as well go with what you know.
Remember, as a fan, you don't always have to accept what your lying eyes tell you if you can take the easy explanation instead. At a time like this, after all, anything that gets you to closing time is good enough.
Ray Ratto is a columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle.
