Rex Grossman: Worthless... The Four QBs Who Lost This Weekend? Not So Much

Most football people expected two things to happen this weekend: Rex Grossman and Marty Schottenheimer would blow it for their teams. They were half-right. Schottenheimer continued his practice of gagging in big games, but Grossman, on the other hand, performed admirably in Chicago's 27-24 overtime win against Seattle.
So why is everyone ripping Grossman today while Marty is getting a relative pass? I apologize for the redundancy, but it's worth mentioning again: Grossman's team won and Marty's lost. What am I missing here?
Let's start with Marty. During an easily winnable game against an overrated Patriots team, the Chargers list of offenses included:
- Challenging a play that was so clear-cut that even people listening on the radio knew it was a mistake
- Two personal fouls which led to New England first downs
- Trying to pick up, and run with, a ball that was bouncing after a punt, leading to a fumble
- Fielding a kickoff about six inches from the sideline when the ball was clearly heading out of bounds
- Trying to return a 4th down interception instead of falling down and perserving possession which, again, led to a fumble
- And, perhaps most egregious, throwing the ball with a rookie QB nine more times than running it with an MVP back
Some might say that personal fouls and stupid plays aren't the fault of a coach. But those people are wrong. Make no mistake, Marty and the Chargers lost this game, not the other way around. (Look, we all know Tom Brady is a Hall of Fame quarterback. But let's stop with all the "Brady led his team back" nonsense. Remember, Brady threw three terrible interceptions, including one on fourth down that should have led to a Pats loss, had Troy Brown not stripped the ball afterwards. Brady was allowed to stage a comeback in spite of his poor play. Just because he's a fantastic quarterback doesn't mean we have to praise him when he doesn't deserve it. Imagine if Rex Grossman had made some of the throws Brady made yesterday. You think Phil Simms would have been making excuses for him? Maybe Brady's past record makes him immune from criticism, but it certainly doesn't mean his poor play should be lauded.)
It's hard to imagine Marty surviving the next few days in SD. With a transcendent running back and evolving QB, the Chargers shouldn't be losing to the worst Patriots team of the decade at home on a day where Tom Brady throws three picks.
On the bright side, it was nice to see the Patriots' true colors come out after the game. LDT was 100% right in ripping the team and attributing their classless post-game behavior to Bill Belichick. Do you think a Joe Gibbs or Bill Parcells-coached team would have acted that way? Belichick might be a great coach, but that doesn't mean he's not a scumbag. Shawn Merriman's dance is pretty much the dumbest thing this side of Michael Strahan's jumpshot, but act like you've been there before, New England. Alright, I'm done sounding like Peter King.
Here's an email sent by The Wolfman late last night:

I'm just pissed that all the articles are saying how many more interceptions Grossman could have had. The Chargers dropped one in the Pats first possession and the Ravens could have had a few more as well. Peyton has 5 already, Brady 4. Can you imagine if Rex threw 3 ints and the Bears won? He would be the worst (and luckiest) QB ever. Listen, if he has a shitty game next week (please for the love of God, don't), I'll be the first to admit it. So why is it so hard for the media to admit when he plays pretty well? Am I missing something here because if I am, please let me know. Oh, it just makes me so FURIOUS.

I'll be honest; I have no clue why the media picks on Grossman so much. The AP story that Deadspin featured today was hilarious. For those that didn't read it, the game recap began:

Two swings of the foot by Robbie Gould were all the Chicago Bears needed to offset any shortcomings in Rex Grossman's arm.

What the hell does that mean? Let's compare numbers, shall we? Looking at the following and answer, who had the better game:

A 27-51, 280 yards, 2 TD, 3 INT
B 21-38, 282 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT
C 15-30, 170 yards, 0 TD, 2 INT

A is Brady, B is Grossman, C is Manning. And it's not even close; Grossman had better numbers than the two QBs who will one day have their busts in Canton. The whole "yeah, but Seattle started a guy in the secondary who was working as a loan officer last week" bit has been played to death too, so don't use that as an excuse. San Diego allowed 200 passing yards per game during the regular season, just three less than Seattle. So let's also not say Grossman was throwing against an inferior defense. I mean, did you see Quentin Jammer play? He probably wouldn't even start for the Redskins.
If you want to say, as mentioned before, that Brady and Manning's past gives them a pass, that's fine. (Even though Manning's playoff past should really cause his play to be put under more scrutiny.) But that still doesn't explain why everyone is dumping on Grossman. He played adequately, he made a great pass on 3rd and 10 that ended up going for 30 yards in overtime and, most importantly, his team won. I'm not sure what it will take for everyone to get off his case, but I imagine two more wins should do the trick.
Gene Wojciechowski seems to disagree, as evidenced by his baffling column on ESPN.com today. He begins with this bizarre riff on Ricky Manning:

So Bears cornerback Ricky Manning Jr. was standing in front of his locker after Chicago's 27-24 overtime win in the NFC Divisional playoff, and he was talking about how difficult the past 12 months have been for him. I'm a sucker for a heartwarming overcoming-adversity story, so I clicked on the digital recorder.

"I would say the last year has been a drastic change for me as far as signing with the Bears, then with the off-the-field issues [he pleaded no contest to a felony assault charge], getting married, having a kid, moving to Chicago, buying a Bentley ... it's crazy," he said.

It is, isn't it? I was just telling the ball and chain that very thing a few days ago when we were at the Ferrari dealership picking out ostrich leather seats for our new 599 GTB Fiorano.

Oh my gawd. You see, this is the problem with a lot of the Bears. Manning signs a five-year, $21 million free-agent deal and buys one of the most expensive cars on the planet -- and thinks he's had it rough.

Now, Ricky Manning is most definitely a jackass and has done some indefensible stuff in his life. But I'm not seeing in that quote where Manning said he's had it rough. He simply said "[it] has been a drastic change for me." Notice, no mention of "I've had it rough."
Wojciechowski writes dumb columns all the time, so I'm not going to waste my time on him. But read the story if you want a laugh.