Facts make Rex controversy ring hollow
The halftime coin-tosser?
O.J. Simpson.
Yaba-daba-doo.
Does that help put the Rex Grossman controversy in some kind of perspective?
This entire frenetic, endlessly analyzed football week has come down to two basic elements: the feel-good aura created by two pioneering African-American coaches leading Super Bowl teams for the first time ever.
And what in the heck is shambling quarterback Grossman doing here on the same stage as hallowed Peyton Manning?
The bad vibes got so obvious that Matt Hasselbeck, quarterback for the Seattle Seahawks (whom the Bears beat twice this season), told interviewers that it seemed the media was being ''confrontational with Rex.''
The question was how can anybody who got a zero passer rating in a game in 2006 expect to compete in the rare air once breathed by stars such as Bart Starr, Joe Namath, Terry Bradshaw, Joe Montana, John Elway and Tom Brady?
''If you are a quarterback, and you get your team to the Super Bowl,'' he said, ''in my opinion, you are doing a good job.''
Everybody at the media center at the Miami Convention Center has seen former NFL quarterback Trent Dilfer walking around in a business suit, doing TV and radio interviews.
Dilfer is the poster boy for quarterbacks who some folks feel didn't ''deserve'' to win a Super Bowl.
When his Baltimore Ravens blasted the New York Giants, 34-7 in SB XXV in 2001, Ravens middle linebacker Ray Lewis was named the game's MVP.
Dilfer completed 12 of 25 passes for 153 yards and one touchdown.
Critics frowned on that.
Quarterbacks Elway and Kurt Warner had won the MVP awards in the two Super Bowls previous, and New England's Brady would win it in the next one.
But Dilfer's 38-yard touchdown pass to wide receiver Brandon Stokely in the first quarter and his 36-yard pass to Qadry Ismail early in the second quarter, which set up a field goal, gave the Ravens the 10-0 halftime lead that was enough for a victory.
Such detail isn't revealed in statistics.
Consider that all the Ravens had to do from the third quarter on was run the ball and play their killer defense to be successful.
''People are talking bad about me in the media,'' Grossman said Tuesday, ''criticizing me and saying things that aren't true and trying to bring me down.''
Bears coach Lovie Smith was asked if he'd be quick to yank a shaky Grossman and replace him with completely rusted-up backup Brian Griese.
''I'm just wondering if Peyton Manning will be asked that question,'' Smith snapped back. ''Probably not.''
No, Manning was not asked if Jim Sorgi (zero passes this season) would be coming in for him.
That would have been insane.
Yet it's never mentioned that Grossman and Manning had the same amount of games with passer ratings over 100 (seven), or that Manning traditionally has not performed all that well in the playoffs, or that he has thrown six interceptions and two TD passes in this season's playoffs.
Nor do most people remember that Grossman is definitely a work in progress, completing his first full year as a starter.
It's easy to throw the physically unimpressive Grossman into the worst-ever Super Bowl quarterback heap with the likes of Earl Morrall, Vince Ferragamo, Tony Eason, David Woodley and Chris Chandler.
But it also is worth noting that Fran Tarkenton and Jim Kelly have a stunning seven Super Bowl losses and no wins between them, and both are in the Hall of Fame.
''I feel a lot of pressure,'' Grossman said. ''I'm sure it's the same way for Peyton. This is the biggest game of both our lives. No matter what we've done in our careers to this point ... this is the biggest game of our lives.''
Said Manning, ''All we have here is an opportunity.''
The annals of football are full of great quarterbacks losing to lesser ones.
That's why they play the game.
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