Rex Grossman said he’s a different quarterback. Mike Shanahan said he doesn’t care what Grossman did before coming to Washington.
But that begs a question: Can a quarterback at this stage of their career – he’s been in the league since 2003 — really change? One longtime scout says …
“Not at all,” said Dave Razzano, an NFL scout for 24 years who was part of three Super Bowl winning organizations. “That’s been the problem with Alex Smith too. Alex was mediocre; he was an overdrafted bust. Same with Grossman. In Joe Montana’s first season with Kansas City he took them to the AFC Championship Game. You’re either good or you’re not. You’re either a playmaker or you’re not; you’re either consistent or you’re not. Coaches like to say, ‘He’s never been in the same system or this system.’ That’s a coach’s ego talking, but from a scout’s perspective, no. Guys like Grossman have played so much you know what he is. They’re mediocre backups; they get you beat.
“All coaches say that they think it’s about the system. No, the quarterbacks play the same. They don’t change. The coach can make you more efficient, but when the game’s on the line that never changes.”
Grossman has thrown 40 touchdowns – and 40 interceptions — in his career. He’s also never completed more than 56 percent of his passes in a season. The latter is where the scheme can help, especially if it provides more checkdowns. In his 23 starts in 2006-07 for Chicago, when he should have improved with experience, he completed more than 60 percent of his throws in a game five times; and 17 times he was under 57 percent for the game.
In college, Grossman did complete 61 percent of his throws, but also threw 36 interceptions in three years (17 as a junior). The picks were obscured, however, by 77 touchdown passes.
What does it mean? To Shanahan, nothing.
“I evaluate what he’s done since he’s been with me,” he said. “He’s done a good job since he’s been here.”
To others, it means a lot. In their mind there’s a difference between improving and changing a mindset.
“Even in college he threw a lot of interceptions,” said Razzano, who soon will launch the Razzreport.com. “At the end of the day those guys kill you and it drives coaches nuts. They think they can make you better and for a while they do, but in the end they revert to who they are.”
And some are in the middle. The scheme can help – but how much?
“A system can help a player improve with more clear reads, bootlegs and emphasize checkdowns,” one talent evaluator said. “But in crunch pressure it will tell. This is what Rex has to overcome. He had that problem in college too.”
Starting Sunday, we’ll find out if Grossman is, indeed, a changed quarterback.
Have a Redskins question you want answered? Click here to submit a question for Redskins mailbag.
