Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

First off I'm not a huge fan of Grossman. I thought he was going to be a complete bust in the NFL but I have to admit he had a much better season this year than I thought he was capable of.

But this post Super Bowl piling on seems to be getting a little out of hand. I heard Mike & Mike talking this morning about an article that suggested that Rex needs to leave Chicago and start over.

Hello, it was his first full year as the starter. Did he have his share of stinkers? Sure, but damn where would the Packers be now if they gave up on Favre early on in his career when he was making horrible decisions and throwing tons of picks.

Again, I'm not a huge fan of Grossman, but how about giving him the benefit of the doubt considering he helped guide a team to a 15-4 record and a Super Bowl appearance? I also think their defense is getting a bit of a free pass here too. They couldn't stop the Colts especially in the 2nd half when they ran all over them.

I think it would be incredibly knee-jerk if the Bears look to replace him already. I don't think they'll do that, Lovie Smith seems like a very grounded and sensible man, but man the media is just so out of control with this Grossman needs to go crap.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

If I were a Bears fan I would want Grossman to be caned by Thai police. He definately had an awful game against the Colts and is very inconsistent. If the Bears had a better QB, they would have had a much better chance of winning the Super Bowl. They had a running game, a very good (if inconsistent) defense, and great special teams.

But, as you pointed out Matty, it was his first season as a full-time starter. He's not totally green as he's been on the bench (or trainer's room) for a few years now, but experience in real games matters. So, he deserves a bit of a pass.

So, while I agree that the Bears would be foolish to dump Grossman at this point, I can certainly understand the hazing he is going through.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

Blaming Rex Grossman for the loss is pretty knee jerk if you ask me. Bears S Danieal Manning was directly as responsible for just as many points as Grossman was, and unlike Grossman he was in no way impressive.

At this stage in his career, Grossman is a below average QB with the potential to be an above average one. He struggled all year to complete an acceptable amount of his passes (completion %), and for three quarters of the Super Bowl, Grossman was completing better than 75%. This shows remarkable improvement and understanding of the offense.

Yet, despite three very good quarters from the Quarterback, the Bears were dominated in all phases of the game, and were trailing by 5. That was in no way their QBs fault.

Grossman had struggled to throw the long ball all day in the conditions, and whether you consider the Hayden INT to be a poor decision to try to throw the fade ball in the rain, or just a crappy throw (I think it was both), you have to admit that the interception was predomantly, if not entirely, on the quarterback. The second INT to Sanders was a good decision, but once again the QB failed to deliever the deep ball accurately in the conditions.

Peyton Manning showed a patience that clearly seperated the two QBs on this day in taking the underneath stuff to beat the Bears Cover 2. Manning didn't try to stretch the field unessarily when the Bears were giving up the underneath stuff, possibly because he didn't trust a down the field throw into coverage in the wet conditions.

A Quarterbacks' day is defined by the entire body of work, not by one or two critical throws. Grossman completed 71% on the day, for IMO a solid, but unspectacular day where he made some mistakes.

Bad sportswriting is everywhere, and for those who think Rex should have been replaced at QB by Brian Griese at any point this year have apparently never seen Brian Griese play his way out of Denver and later Tampa Bay.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

One other point: I am really, really not a big fan of the fade ball, espicially in the middle of the field (between the 20s). It's a low percentage pass with relatively little reward, and when the QB fs up, catastrophy occurs. I think NFL coordinators should completely get rid of it.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

Grossman is terrible.

Griese would have given them a chance to win that game.

The Bears need another QB in there to challenge him or replace him.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[QUOTE=GTripp0012;275783]Blaming Rex Grossman for the loss is pretty knee jerk if you ask me. Bears S Danieal Manning was directly as responsible for just as many points as Grossman was, and unlike Grossman he was in no way impressive.[/QUOTE]

I must disagree. Two fumbles on good snaps in one game is inexcusable for ANY quarterback.

[QUOTE=GTripp0012;275783]Yet, despite three very good quarters from the Quarterback, the Bears were dominated in all phases of the game, and were trailing by 5. That was in no way their QBs fault.[/QUOTE]

I agree that the Bears were getting dominated on defense, but I didn't see three good quarters from Rex. He had about 30 passing yards at the half and, as noted above, he fumbled twice and threw two picks on bad, bad, bad passes. It's not that Rex was the sole reason for the Bear's loss, but he was definately a big factor.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

Part of the blame also must lie with offensive coordinator Ron Turner. Thomas Jones only had 15 carries for the game when his team was only down 16-14, 19-14, and 22-17.

The Bears shouldn't have put it all on Rex's shoulders in the 4th quarter.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[quote=Sheriff Gonna Getcha;275792]I must disagree. Two fumbles on good snaps in one game is inexcusable for ANY quarterback.[/quote]These fumbles certainly were a major factor in the outcome of the game.

However, I don't believe Grossman has a fumbling problem (I could be wrong, I only saw about half of Chicago's games), and these very well could have been two isolated incidents due to the conditions.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

If J. Campbell was the Bears QB they would have won that game. Sign Garcia and see what he can do. Grossman is way too careless and right now he plays one good game for every two. Kind of hard to get back to the big game with those odds. Just goes to show how important that position is. The teams with a very good to great quarterback have such a huge advantage in the NFL it's not even funny. With a top eight QB you can basically stay in almost any game IMO. That is huge.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

I hate to jump on the Rex is horrible bandwagon, but he's bad.

Bottom line, in the biggest game of your life, you find a way to fight the elements and come up with a few gutsy plays. He didn't.

He was a non-factor, provided no emotional spark for his team, and made costly mistakes.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

I sure hope Campbell lights things up next year or I guess we'll be whipping him next year around this time. Yikes.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[quote=Mattyk72;275805]I sure hope Campbell lights things up next year or I guess we'll be whipping him next year around this time. Yikes.[/quote]

he will.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

I thought going into this season Rex would surprise a lot of doubters. I still think he has the potential to be great. I think, though, that ultimately-more than talent-what separates him from the Peyton Mannings of the world is preparation, or lack thereof.

Manning always talks about being so prepared that he never feels "pressure" Going so far as to practice with soaked footballs to get a feel for it. Grossman doesn't seem to have that characteristic.

That said, he was one of many problems for the Bears on Sunday. Great point by Beems about Ron Turner

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

Manning prepares like no other. It's probably safe to say he prepares to the point of him being obsessive complusive about it, but that's what makes him great.

Grossman is still young and learning the ropes of what it takes to win in this league. I definitely can see alot of the young Brett Favre in him.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[quote=wilsowilso;275799]If J. Campbell was the Bears QB they would have won that game. Sign Garcia and see what he can do. Grossman is way too careless and right now he plays one good game for every two. Kind of hard to get back to the big game with those odds. Just goes to show how important that position is. The teams with a very good to great quarterback have such a huge advantage in the NFL it's not even funny. With a top eight QB you can basically stay in almost any game IMO. That is huge.[/quote]I don't think Campbell over Grossman would have made that much of a difference. In fact, both Grossman and Campbell suffer from some of the same problems, spotty decision making at times (because of inexperience), and an inability to consistently complete passes.

That said, Campbell's potential for growth FAR exceeds that of Rex Grossman. Because of that, I'd want Campbell on my team any day.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[quote=Mattyk72;275777]First off I'm not a huge fan of Grossman. I thought he was going to be a complete bust in the NFL but I have to admit he had a much better season this year than I thought he was capable of.

But this post Super Bowl piling on seems to be getting a little out of hand. I heard Mike & Mike talking this morning about an article that suggested that Rex needs to leave Chicago and start over.

Hello, it was his first full year as the starter. Did he have his share of stinkers? Sure, but damn where would the Packers be now if they gave up on Favre early on in his career when he was making horrible decisions and throwing tons of picks.

Again, I'm not a huge fan of Grossman, but how about giving him the benefit of the doubt considering he helped guide a team to a 15-4 record and a Super Bowl appearance? I also think their defense is getting a bit of a free pass here too. They couldn't stop the Colts especially in the 2nd half when they ran all over them.

I think it would be incredibly knee-jerk if the Bears look to replace him already. I don't think they'll do that, Lovie Smith seems like a very grounded and sensible man, but man the media is just so out of control with this Grossman needs to go crap.[/quote]

Wow...

I haven't heard this talked about too much but I blame the Chicago coaches as much as Rex Brunell. They went the whole game without taking any risks and then in the fourth quarter (when the Bears probably should have had a lead), they expect him to throw them to victory.

The Bears coaches obvously did not trust him (which would have an effect on his confidence) the whole game and then expect him to become Superman? I don't get it.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

nobody is really comparing rex to farve are they? just saying that rex and farve, and I would guess countless other qbs started out in a similar fashion, right?

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[quote=SkinEmAll;275937]nobody is really comparing rex to farve are they? just saying that rex and farve, and I would guess countless other qbs started out in a similar fashion, right?[/quote]

I see Grossman and Tony Romo being very similiar, that's a more fair comparison at this point. Both are young, mistake prone, arrogant, and have very similiar career arcs. They're both breed from the Brett Favre school of quarterbacking which means they're either really good or really bad from one game to the next. Both need to be more consistent, or both will be career backups before long.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[quote=Grim21Reaper;275927]Wow...

I haven't heard this talked about too much but I blame the Chicago coaches as much as Rex Brunell. They went the whole game without taking any risks and then in the fourth quarter (when the Bears probably should have had a lead), they expect him to throw them to victory.

The Bears coaches obvously did not trust him (which would have an effect on his confidence) the whole game and then expect him to become Superman? I don't get it.[/quote]

I know Brunell has been kind of underwhelming here in D.C. but when he was with the Jaguars he was really something. It's kind of a insult, I would think, to put Grossman in Brunell's class by calling him Rex Brunell. Brunell's old and wobbly now and that's why he's stunk it up so much lately, but Grossman's young and careless and hasn't really proven anything yet, unlike Brunell.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

Grossman is terrible but I don't really hold it aganist him. Like Matty said the D is the reason they won 15 games and it was a main reason they lost the SB. Also getting a pass is Lovie. They had a better option. There is not a person on this planet who an convince me that Grossman is even remotely as good as Griese. Is Griese great? No, but Grossman is THE WORST starting QB in the league and everyone knows it. Griese was annoited the job in camp before ever proving he could do the job. I remember thinking 'Why does everyone think Grossman is gonna be anything other than a average QB at best?' He hadn't done anything and he wasn't even a great QB in college. It was like everyone was like 'Yay we don't have to play Orton anymore. Now we can play Grossman who is better.' Problem with that statement is that Orton isn't even a NFL level QB. They had a guy on the bench who has won a lot of games in this league. He is still young and by all accounts hasn't forgotten how to play so why the hell they thought Grossman was a better option than Griese is beyond me.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[quote=ncskinsfanec;275946]I know Brunell has been kind of underwhelming here in D.C. but when he was with the Jaguars he was really something. It's kind of a insult, I would think, to put Grossman in Brunell's class by calling him Rex Brunell. Brunell's old and wobbly now and that's why he's stunk it up so much lately, but Grossman's young and careless and hasn't really proven anything yet, unlike Brunell.[/quote]


Grossman has a conference championship. Something that Brunell does not and probably will not ever have.

Did you see Grossman in the Superbowl? In the second half I saw flashbacks of the early part of our season.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[quote=FRPLG;275947]Grossman is terrible but I don't really hold it aganist him. Like Matty said the D is the reason they won 15 games and it was a main reason they lost the SB. Also getting a pass is Lovie. They had a better option. There is not a person on this planet who an convince me that Grossman is even remotely as good as Griese. Is Griese great? No, but Grossman is THE WORST starting QB in the league and everyone knows it. Griese was annoited the job in camp before ever proving he could do the job. I remember thinking 'Why does everyone think Grossman is gonna be anything other than a average QB at best?' He hadn't done anything and he wasn't even a great QB in college. It was like everyone was like 'Yay we don't have to play Orton anymore. Now we can play Grossman who is better.' Problem with that statement is that Orton isn't even a NFL level QB. They had a guy on the bench who has won a lot of games in this league. He is still young and by all accounts hasn't forgotten how to play so why the hell they thought Grossman was a better option than Griese is beyond me.[/quote]

Grossman's bad games were pathetic but when he was sharp his numbers were as good as anybody's.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

I am thoroughly confused as to why anyone thinks that Grossman can be a great QB in this league? Or ever did.

I kept saying the whole game 'This is playing out exactly like everyone thought. Bears dominate on special teams early but the Colts bust abig play to keep in it. Bears play OK D and keep the ball out of Rex's hands. They have the lead.'

When Grossman throws the first pick my next statment in like half a seond was 'And now Grossman throws the game away just like everyone knew he would.'

The guy can't play.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[QUOTE=Grim21Reaper;275949]Grossman's bad games were pathetic but when he was sharp his numbers were as good as anybody's.[/QUOTE]

The bears run 3 fly routes 30% of the time and 2 fly routes another 30% of the time. Then on the other plays Moose and Clark run breaks on WR clearouts. Not once in any of the 7 games I saw the Bear play did Grossman ever make a play. All he did was throw down field and pray. That plus a solid run game was their offense. He didn't show me even once that he was a good QB.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[quote=Grim21Reaper;275948]Grossman has a conference championship. Something that Brunell does not and probably will not ever have.

Did you see Grossman in the Superbowl? In the second half I saw flashbacks of the early part of our season.[/quote]

Grossman was a conference champion in spite of how inconsistent he was. His teammates carried him to the super bowl for the most part. Brunell, on the other hand, in his early days was a key contributor to the Jags success and could help win games singlehandily through his play. It's unfair to a fine player in his day, like Brunell, to be compared to someone as inconsistent as Grossman. Heck, Brunell was really solid last season (2005) until the Giants cheapshotted him below the knee.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[quote=FRPLG;275947]Grossman is terrible but I don't really hold it aganist him. Like Matty said the D is the reason they won 15 games and it was a main reason they lost the SB. Also getting a pass is Lovie. They had a better option. There is not a person on this planet who an convince me that Grossman is even remotely as good as Griese. Is Griese great? No, but Grossman is THE WORST starting QB in the league and everyone knows it. Griese was annoited the job in camp before ever proving he could do the job. I remember thinking 'Why does everyone think Grossman is gonna be anything other than a average QB at best?' He hadn't done anything and he wasn't even a great QB in college. It was like everyone was like 'Yay we don't have to play Orton anymore. Now we can play Grossman who is better.' Problem with that statement is that Orton isn't even a NFL level QB. They had a guy on the bench who has won a lot of games in this league. He is still young and by all accounts hasn't forgotten how to play so why the hell they thought Grossman was a better option than Griese is beyond me.[/quote]Well, the leagues' worst starting QB is Andrew Walter by a significant margin (or Brooks takes his title as worst if you annoint him the starter), but Grossman (in 2006 only) also clearly outplayed Bruce Gradkowski, Brad Johnson, Alex Smith, Charlie Frye, Trent Green (post concussion) and you can probably throw Vick on this heap too depending how much you value his running skills (Because Vick is a crappy passer on the Grossman standard). Plus there were a few starting QBs who got replaced who were considerably worse than Rex this season. Jake Plummer, Daunte Culpepper, and Drew Bledsoe come to mind.

So as bad as he was at times, many teams had it a lot worse this season.

The Bears don't have an above average QB on their roster, so it was relatively moot who played the position for them. If they are smart, they will go out and get actual, serious, non-Griese competition for Grossman, but it wouldn't surprise me if Grossman won the job in camp anyway.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[quote=ncskinsfanec;275961]Grossman was a conference champion in spite of how inconsistent he was. His teammates carried him to the super bowl for the most part. Brunell, on the other hand, in his early days was a key contributor to the Jags success and could help win games singlehandily through his play. It's unfair to a fine player in his day, like Brunell, to be compared to someone as inconsistent as Grossman. Heck, Brunell was really solid last season (2005) until the Giants cheapshotted him below the knee.[/quote]I've actually shown in many different threads how effeciently Brunell played, even this season. Most teams would have won this year with Brunell at QB, it's unfortunate that we had the worst pass D this league had seen in a long time.

You are absolutely correct, there is no comparision between Brunell and Grossman.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[QUOTE=GTripp0012;275965]Well, the leagues' worst starting QB is Andrew Walter by a significant margin (or Brooks takes his title as worst if you annoint him the starter), but Grossman (in 2006 only) also clearly outplayed Bruce Gradkowski, Brad Johnson, Alex Smith, Charlie Frye, Trent Green (post concussion) and you can probably throw Vick on this heap too depending how much you value his running skills (Because Vick is a crappy passer on the Grossman standard). Plus there were a few starting QBs who got replaced who were considerably worse than Rex this season. Jake Plummer, Daunte Culpepper, and Drew Bledsoe come to mind.

So as bad as he was at times, many teams had it a lot worse this season.

The Bears don't have an above average QB on their roster, so it was relatively moot who played the position for them. If they are smart, they will go out and get actual, serious, non-Griese competition for Grossman, but it wouldn't surprise me if Grossman won the job in camp anyway.[/QUOTE]
You didn't mention one QB who was worse than Grossman. Maybe statistically worse but not worse in the way I meant. Well maybe Frye. I'll give you that one.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

Why oh why does any QB conversation have to revert back to Brunell?

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[quote=FRPLG;275969]You didn't mention one QB who was worse than Grossman. Maybe statistically worse but not worse in the way I meant. Well maybe Frye. I'll give you that one.[/quote]I don't think I mentioned anybody that had a better year than Grossman. Guys like Culpepper and Plummer may have had good years in the past, and have potential for the future, but what did they do well [I]this[/I] year?

But how can anyone who saw the Raiders play (or even if they didn't) not think that they had the worst 2 QBs in the league?

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

Rex Grossman is playing horrible, but its not his fault they lost... its lovies....

he know's grossman is crap better than anyone and he put the game in his hands when they were running pretty well...

I called both of those picks before they happened. He was off all night long, and his recievers were making terrific catches...

He had a great beginning to the year, but I'd definately bring someone in as an ins. policy... draft a nice 2nd round QB as a project... see what happens...

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

maybe the bears fans don't haven't had a good qb since sid luckman cause they don't have any patience or know how hard it is to find one.

for his experience and pay, grossman did very well (for 600k$). If they're not happy with him, they should be looking back at their FO and themselves (the fans that is) for not pushing harder for drew brees. It's really convenient to b---- about it now. if grossman isn't good enough for them, and they chose not to look at other options, that's their problem.

and griese came in and looked terrible in limited action this year, so without seeing him run that offense well, it's kinda hard to assume he would have been much better.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

I don't see how the Bears can be that unhappy. Grossman had no playoff experience and he got them to the Final game of the tournament. Yeah, he panicked and through a couple up for grabs, but no one thought he was going to take them on his shoulders. If their defense had played as well as they have at points over the last two years (injuries being one factor), then I think Grossman's play might have been just barely enough. And, what other options do they have? Not many.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[quote=70Chip;276011]I don't see how the Bears can be that unhappy. Grossman had no playoff experience and he got them to the Final game of the tournament. Yeah, he panicked and through a couple up for grabs, but no one thought he was going to take them on his shoulders. If their defense had played as well as they have at points over the last two years (injuries being one factor), then I think Grossman's play might have been just barely enough. And, what other options do they have? Not many.[/quote]I think I'm repeating myself, but over a period of three quarters of mistake free football (unless you attribute the fumble to Grossman and not Kreutz), the Bears were getting dominated in a losing effort. I think Grossman foolishly took it upon himself at that point to go win the SB, but it's tough to fault him for wanting to do so. We can rag on the two poor plays all we want, but the bottom line is that the Bears weren't going to win that game unless Rex did something about it, and his feeble attempt leads to the same result that a conservative approach would have, but with more bitching from an, in my opinion--underqualified media.

That's the part thats unfair. It's one game; critique the plays, not the player.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[quote=That Guy;275998]maybe the bears fans don't haven't had a good qb since sid luckman cause they don't have any patience or know how hard it is to find one.

for his experience and pay, grossman did very well (for 600k$). If they're not happy with him, they should be looking back at their FO and themselves (the fans that is) for not pushing harder for drew brees. It's really convenient to b---- about it now. if grossman isn't good enough for them, and they chose not to look at other options, that's their problem.

and griese came in and looked terrible in limited action this year, so without seeing him run that offense well, it's kinda hard to assume he would have been much better.[/quote]Great points, although I'm not going to blame the fans for the organization not bringing in Brees.

The only reason Griese was brought in was to be a backup. They really don't want to stunt Grossman's growth, thus they bring in a guy who is pretty clearly inferior.

Had the Bears signed Drew Brees, would they have won the Super Bowl? Maybe so. Maybe they wouldn't even have made it. It's all moot now, because they got close with Grossman and didn't play well enough AS A TEAM to win the SB.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

i think grossman looked that bad that skins fans would rather see brunell at quarterback:)

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

the picks were his bad decisions and as I said, he was off all night, but lovie should've been pounding the ball only trailing by 2 pts at the start of the 4th (I believe).... The run was there, but they threw in the towel on it and their D was tired as hell....

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

First of all, I think Rex Grossman sucks. But in his defense, he had a solid season. He exceeded expectations. Most people thought he would have lost his job to Griese but he managed to get the team to the Superbowl and he deserves some credit for that. In the games that he played well, he threw downfield very well. He suffers from some of the common mistakes a lot of young quarterbacks suffer from, inconsistency and poor decision making. He will get better. The Bear fans should be happy that after one full season of play he was able to get the Bears to the Superbowl. With more experience, he may get them over the top. It's not fair to compare Rex Grossman to Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning is a seasoned veteran at the top of his craft. Grossman is an aspiring young whipper snapper, trying not to screw up.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[quote=hail_2_da_skins;276144]First of all, I think Rex Grossman sucks. But in his defense, he had a solid season. He exceeded expectations. Most people thought he would have lost his job to Griese but he managed to get the team to the Superbowl and he deserves some credit for that. In the games that he played well, he threw downfield very well. He suffers from some of the common mistakes a lot of young quarterbacks suffer from, inconsistency and poor decision making. He will get better. The Bear fans should be happy that after one full season of play he was able to get the Bears to the Superbowl. With more experience, he may get them over the top. It's not fair to compare Rex Grossman to Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning is a seasoned veteran at the top of his craft. Grossman is an aspiring young whipper snapper, trying not to screw up.[/quote]

My thoughts exactly.

Re: Rex Grossman the whipping boy
 

[quote=hail_2_da_skins;276144]First of all, I think Rex Grossman sucks. But in his defense, he had a solid season. He exceeded expectations. Most people thought he would have lost his job to Griese but he managed to get the team to the Superbowl and he deserves some credit for that. In the games that he played well, he threw downfield very well. He suffers from some of the common mistakes a lot of young quarterbacks suffer from, inconsistency and poor decision making. He will get better. The Bear fans should be happy that after one full season of play he was able to get the Bears to the Superbowl. With more experience, he may get them over the top. It's not fair to compare Rex Grossman to Peyton Manning. Peyton Manning is a seasoned veteran at the top of his craft. Grossman is an aspiring young whipper snapper, trying not to screw up.[/quote]

A solid season for being a "rookie". He has some good games and showed leadership a few times. If he continues to progress and cut down on his rookie mistakes, he could be good for them. If he's like Patrick Ramsey and still plays like a rookie in his 4th-year, he needs to find another line of work.

Coach Smith says he's the man next year and I think it's a good move. Their only player in danger of being lost to FA is Briggs, so he'll have the same team around him next year with a few injured players back. If he cuts down even a few mistakes, they'll be in contention for the SB again next year. If after next year, he's not able to lead the team and be consistant, it's time to move on.