From Fred Mitchell in the Trib:
No one has suggested Rex Grossman is a 2006 version of failed Bears quarterback Cade McNown.
Not yet, anyway. It's just that the numbers … well, they don't lie.
The 6-foot-1-inch, 217-pound Grossman was taken 22nd in the first round of the 2003 draft out of Florida.
He has completed 54.9 percent of his passes (297 of 541 for 3,697 yards) for 22 touchdowns. Grossman also has thrown 20 interceptions in his 19 NFL games.
The 6-1, 219-pound McNown was chosen 12th in the first round out of UCLA in 1999. He is practically Grossman's left-handed complement—at least statistically.
He completed 54.6 of his passes (281 of 515 for 3,111 yards) for 16 touchdowns. He threw 19 interceptions during his 25 games in the NFL, all with the Bears.
While the Bears have been patient with Grossman's early series of debilitating injuries, McNown was dispatched after he suffered an injury to his left shoulder on Oct. 22, 2000, in Philadelphia.
Wednesday, McNown was awarded a $220,000 settlement from the Bears in a workers-compensation deal on the eve of a scheduled trial.
McNown, who has been out of football for four years, now lives in southern California. He declined a request to talk publicly about his case or the current state of the Bears.
Playing for coach Dick Jauron, McNown was widely castigated by coaches and teammates for his lack of leadership skills and perceived arrogance after a lengthy contract holdout his rookie year.
Two Chicago tech-industry workers even devised a now-defunct Web site called
www.tradecade.com. The Web site featured animation of McNown being yanked away by a giant cane, as well as a petition requesting the Bears deal him.
McNown was traded during the 2001 preseason to the Miami Dolphins, along with a seventh-round pick, for a pair of low-round picks.
McNown was the third-string quarterback in Miami and saw no action during 2001. A failed attempt in San Francisco ended his brief career in 2002 when he re-injured his shoulder in an exhibition game.
Gil Gordon, the NFL Players Association's Chicago attorney, represented McNown in this case. Attorney John McAndrews represented the Bears.
Until further evidence is presented, the only tangible difference between Grossman and McNown is that Grossman has a far superior supporting cast and a more patient coaching staff.
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Juice's Lecture Notes wrote:
I smell a bit....