2 things immediately led me to believe Rex Grossman would be out for an extended period of time as the play that he got hurt on ended. He tried to hobble across the field but realized that it was not only too painful, it was also a bad idea. The cart came on the field and as Grossman rode away on it, he seemed to be uttering expletive after expletive. I don't blame him. If Jake Plummer is "The Snake", maybe Rex is "The Snakebitten".
I've always liked Rex and I am a Florida Gators fan. I was excited when the Bears drafted him. But unless you are fast and or elusive or very big and strong (or all of those traits together), I'm not sure you are long for the NFL as a Quarterback. Grossman is listed as 6'1" 218. While I might buy the 6'1", I do not buy the 218. The 218 might have been a few years back. Or with all the gear on. Whatever his weight, it doesn't matter--he's out again. And there are not a lot of QBs of that size who are durable enough or good enough to play in the league.
Injuries certainly come to players of all shapes and sizes in the NFL. But no one has the ball in his hands more than the QB and that leads to all the more chances to get hit and/or hurt. Injuries can also be flukish. Perhaps it's the case with Grossman. But I'm thinking that, with few exceptions, if you are drafting a QB in 2005 and beyond, he better be a brick house or super fast or both. Let's look at the more durable QBs in the NFL.
Peyton Manning- 6'5" 230. Certainly not elusive, but showed during his first few seasons he can take a major pounding--repeatedly.
Daunte Culpepper- 6'4" 264. He's bigger and faster than some tight ends. He has missed 7 games in 7 seasons. I also recall him playing with a broken bone in his back.
Brett Favre- 6'2" 224. Massive consecutive games streak continues. Tough as there has ever been in the pocket. He'll stay and take it. But he also is good at getting away from defenders, even though he is not very fast.
Drew Bledsoe- 6'5" 238. Bledsoe was hurt in 2001 and only played in 2 games. He could have come back but some guy named Brady took over and the rest is in the books. You take away that one season--out of his 12 in the NFL--and he has been remarkably durable.
Tom Brady- 6'4" 225. He's smart, big and stronger than he looks. Don't let the pretty face fool you--he's very tough. He has started 62 consecutive games since taking over for Bledsoe.
Trent Green- 6'3" 217. He did blow out his knee--which brought us the Kurt Warner era--but since 2001, he has played in every game. In these last 2 seasons he has thrown over 50 TD passes and accumluated over 8600 yards passing.
Go down the list of NFL QBs, and you won't find many exceptions. Flutie and Brees come to mind. The SF version of Jeff Garcia. Mike Vick, but he's in his own category and certainly has missed many games. But when you think of those that are big/strong and or fast, you can't stop naming them. Boller, Brooks, Carr, KCollins, Delhomme, Harrington, Hasselback, Leftwich, Roethlisberger, Palmer, etc. They are all 6'3" or taller and all way at least 225. That's just how it is in today's NFL. Smaller QBs need not apply.
For the record, Bears fans, Kyle Orton is 6'4" 226. And Chad Hutchinson is 6'5" 237.
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