Gunzlingr
10-05-2006, 04:56 PM
They are, at the quarter pole of the season, polar opposites. Quarterbacks Rex Grossman (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=6358) of Chicago and Daunte Culpepper (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/players/profile?statsId=4659) of Miami are both coming off injuries that wrecked their 2005 seasons, but that's about where the comparisons for 2006 come to a screeching halt.
Grossman, who was limited to seven starts in his first three seasons because of injuries, has been one of the league's biggest surprises in 2006, rebounding from a broken ankle to provide the Bears the kind of quarterback production they haven't enjoyed in years. On the flip side, Culpepper, who is coming back from a catastrophic right knee injury in which he tore three ligaments, clearly has been a disappointment, ranking just 20th in the NFL in passer efficiency for a Dolphins team that has not lived up to expectations.
"For me," Grossman said, "the difference is pretty easy to [identify]. I'm healthy. No one knows just how frustrating it can be having to go through rehab the way I did it two years in a row. But it feels good to, you know, feel good again. And, hopefully, we can keep this up."
A first-round pick in the 2003 draft, Grossman has completed 78 of 125 passes for 1,061 yards, with eight touchdown passes and three interceptions. The eight scoring passes double the total of his first three years in the NFL and his passer rating, 100.8, ranks fifth in the league.
Culpepper has thrown just two touchdown passes, has three interceptions, and has been sacked a league-high 21 times. While he and Miami officials insist his surgically repaired knee is whole again, it's clear, when one sees Culpepper being chased down by 300-pound linemen, that he has lost some of his escape dimension and ability to make plays outside the pocket.
It remains to be seen whether the former Minnesota Vikings (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=min) star, who only two years ago authored one of the best statistical seasons in NFL history, can regain his stature. Ditto on whether Grossman, whose career could best be described as star-crossed, can maintain his current pace. But at this point in the season, the two quarterbacks are certainly going in opposite directions. They aren't the only players in the NFL, of course, whose first month was marked by either surprise or disappointment. Here's a look at some more veterans in those disparate categories.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=2614021&campaign=rss&source=NFLHeadlines
Take it for what it is worth coming from Pastabelly
Grossman, who was limited to seven starts in his first three seasons because of injuries, has been one of the league's biggest surprises in 2006, rebounding from a broken ankle to provide the Bears the kind of quarterback production they haven't enjoyed in years. On the flip side, Culpepper, who is coming back from a catastrophic right knee injury in which he tore three ligaments, clearly has been a disappointment, ranking just 20th in the NFL in passer efficiency for a Dolphins team that has not lived up to expectations.
"For me," Grossman said, "the difference is pretty easy to [identify]. I'm healthy. No one knows just how frustrating it can be having to go through rehab the way I did it two years in a row. But it feels good to, you know, feel good again. And, hopefully, we can keep this up."
A first-round pick in the 2003 draft, Grossman has completed 78 of 125 passes for 1,061 yards, with eight touchdown passes and three interceptions. The eight scoring passes double the total of his first three years in the NFL and his passer rating, 100.8, ranks fifth in the league.
Culpepper has thrown just two touchdown passes, has three interceptions, and has been sacked a league-high 21 times. While he and Miami officials insist his surgically repaired knee is whole again, it's clear, when one sees Culpepper being chased down by 300-pound linemen, that he has lost some of his escape dimension and ability to make plays outside the pocket.
It remains to be seen whether the former Minnesota Vikings (http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/clubhouse?team=min) star, who only two years ago authored one of the best statistical seasons in NFL history, can regain his stature. Ditto on whether Grossman, whose career could best be described as star-crossed, can maintain his current pace. But at this point in the season, the two quarterbacks are certainly going in opposite directions. They aren't the only players in the NFL, of course, whose first month was marked by either surprise or disappointment. Here's a look at some more veterans in those disparate categories.
http://sports.espn.go.com/nfl/columns/story?columnist=pasquarelli_len&id=2614021&campaign=rss&source=NFLHeadlines
Take it for what it is worth coming from Pastabelly