A tale of two quarterbacks
Rex has skeptics, but Manning has all the pressure
It's downright Darwinian.
Manning is unbelievable on this stage, no doubt about it. He left the media horde frothing for more Wednesday when he told the story of what true pressure meant to him -- how he tried to avoid a computer class as an eighth-grader and instead enrolled in a drama course, only to wind up performing a public tango in front of family and friends.
Emmitt Smith, Jerry Rice and the dancing stars had best beware.
Grossman is treated more like a hostile witness. He's cross-examined as much as interviewed. It's getting to him and to the Bears. Just ask coach Lovie Smith, who bristled when asked what scenario other than injury would force him to pull Grossman from the game in favor of backup Brian Griese.
''I'm just wondering if Peyton Manning will be asked that question -- probably not,'' Smith said. ''Rex Grossman shouldn't be asked that question. I shouldn't be asked that question. Rex is our quarterback. I should not have to continue to go over that. I am not planning on pulling Brian Urlacher or Olin Kreutz, either.''
The disparity between Manning and Grossman might be a tired story line, but the comparison isn't going to stop until the game is over. It's not much of a comparison if, as Manning says in one of his many TV ads, you like a 6-5, 230-pound quarterback with a rocket arm. Manning has been asked if he's playing for Archie, his celebrated quarterback father who toiled 15 seasons in the NFL as a great player on a bad team. He has been asked about his younger brother, Eli, the embattled starter for the New York Giants.
It all makes you wonder if the Manning boys have had too much of an advantage in getting into the family business.
''They were born with the genes and taught growing up how to throw and how to play the game,'' Grossman said. ''That is definitely an advantage. But I think if Archie wasn't his dad, he would still be where he is -- a great NFL quarterback.''
Grossman doesn't disguise his admiration for Manning. He was a senior in high school in Bloomington, Ind., when Manning was an NFL rookie nine years ago. The Grossmans had season tickets for the Colts, but Rex laughed last week when asked if he ever owned a Manning jersey. He didn't.
Grossman isn't without some football legacy himself. He's a third- generation quarterback. His father, Dan, played at Indiana, and his grandfather Rex was a 29th-round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles in the 1948 NFL draft. Grossman's grandfather played for the Baltimore Colts of the All-America Football Conference in 1948 and '49 and split time with the Colts and Detroit Lions in 1950 in his only season in the NFL.
Grossman's grandfather died two months before he was born, so he doesn't know a lot about his career as a quarterback, kicker and linebacker at Indiana or later as a fullback with the Colts.
''I haven't had a lot of long conversations about it with my dad,'' Grossman said. ''What I really should do is ask my grandma.''
Grossman's grandmother gave him a framed photograph of his grandfather from his playing days with the Colts. It's a print from an old program that features this quote beneath the photo: ''Hi, I'm Rex Grossman. I play for the Baltimore Colts.''
Grossman received the gift before going away to college and has put it in a place of pride in every address he has held since then. In most of those places, it was the only photo on the wall. For a kid whose father placed a football in the crib with him when he was a baby, Grossman laughs at the idea that you need to have an NFL connection to grow up with the game.
''I don't think your dad has to be a great NFL quarterback to be in a football family,'' Grossman said. ''Growing up watching the game and playing in the yard, you are a football family. If that is your favorite sport as a family and you always watch and go to games, that's all it takes.''
Grossman might have faced as much negative publicity as any quarterback has coming into a Super Bowl. The legitimacy of his ability seems in constant question. But the guy under the most pressure has to be Manning, who never has won a championship at any level -- high school, college or professional -- despite always being regarded as the best player on the field.
Manning can dismiss that pressure as nothing compared with a public tango, but it's still there. Grossman only can exceed expectations; it's unlikely he can perform below them. Asked whether the pressure on Manning has lessened the pressure on him, Grossman said it's not a question he can answer.
''I know the pressure that I am feeling myself,'' he said. ''I want to win the Super Bowl for my teammates and coach Smith and the fans and for myself. I feel a lot of pressure in that.
''I'm sure it's the same way for Peyton. He wants to win it for his teammates, coaches and things like that. We are all in the same boat. We have the same amount of pressure. I know he gets a lot of attention and it might seem there is more pressure, but this is the biggest game of both of our lives.''
