If anybody knows about the highs and lows of playing quarterback for the Chicago Bears, it's Rex Grossman. The former 1st round pick led the team to its second Super Bowl appearance in 2006. However, he was a core reason they lost that game and never managed to start a full season before or after that year. Most view him as one of the many disappointments at the position over the past several decades. That said, he remains grateful for the experience he had in Chicago. He also has great empathy for the challenge Caleb Williams is taking on.
He knows how demanding the city is. Fans don't like hearing excuses, especially after so many years of QB ineptitude. Plenty of factors go into whether one succeeds or fails. Coaching and the supporting cast are the biggest ones. However, Grossman quickly pointed out that Chicago adds further layers because of the wind and cold from playing on Lake Michigan. Despite all of that, the former quarterback told Card Player that he expects Williams to have a big season.
Record-breaking, in fact.
“Some organizations (more so than others) have an identity. For a long time, Chicago, because of the wind, the cold and the style of passing success, had kind of been built around the defense. Very much, ‘We’re going to build our team off January playoff football, not in a dome with the Greatest Show on Turf and throwing the ball all over the place.’
“It’s a little bit of bad quarterback play, a little bit of organizational identity. In 2025, they’re going to start throwing the ball. It’s just the way the game’s developed. I know during our Super Bowl run, we were ahead in a lot of games and didn’t throw the ball a lot. That really wasn’t our identity. We were more play-action pass, run the ball and quick passes. I did have some big games but the priority of that season wasn’t to put up stats. Stats are great if you have the personnel and the play package to throw the ball a lot. I think they will have a balanced offense and he’ll be around 4,200 or 4,300 yards this year.”
Rex Grossman has never felt that success in Chicago is impossible.
He already demonstrated some of it during his own career. For all the talk about how he was a horrible quarterback, the reality was different. There were periodic instances where he played some fantastic games. The issue was always his health and his inconsistency. Injuries ruined his early career, and he never got over his bad tendencies of turning the ball over. Williams is a much more gifted player than he was, and he's better about protecting the football. This Bears team is built differently from the one 19 years ago. Its strengths are in the passing game. Together with Ben Johnson's offense, Williams is better equipped than any QB in franchise history to put up real numbers. If Grossman is correct, it will mark the first time anybody has cracked 4,000 yards in franchise history.
