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Rex Grossman Is A Fatty, According To Washington Post

While the Washington Redskins’ 2-1 start might have actually exceeded the expectations of many, Monday’s 18-16 loss to the Cowboys was a crusher. Failing to win a game where your opponent doesn’t score one touchdown and botches multiple center-QB exchanges can’t be spun as anything but a missed opportunity, and Washington Post columnist Sally Jenkins placed the majority of the blame at the body of quarterback Rex Grossman.

While Grossman threw for 250 yards and the game’s only touchdown, he was also responsible for both of Washington’s turnovers – including a final-minute fumble that cemented the loss. Jenkins gives Grossman some credit: she says he got a bum rap for his time with the Bears and played an instrumental role in the team’s two victories to date. She then, though, draws a line between “Good Rex” and “Bad Rex” (as well as Bad Rex’s offshoot, “terrible, awful, dreadful Rex“), and says Good Rex has what it takes to eradicate bad Rex from his game. How might he go about doing so?

He can start the transformation today by going on a diet. He needs to lose weight, as he admits — and this is not a trivial point. If Grossman has an inherent limitation, it’s his lack of mobility. He has no business compounding it with a knife and fork if he expects to lead the Redskins to the playoffs.

He said of his final snap against the Cowboys, “I wanted to try to make a play, I thought I could slide and get it to Santana” Moss. But it’s pretty hard to extend a play with your legs carrying 10 extra pounds of fat: Anthony Spencer ran him down from behind like a pigeon. Also, it sends a bad message. He’s the one guy left in the Redskins’ locker room who looks anything other than hungrily lean.

Ouch – though it’s not like Jenkins is the first to point out Grossman’s excess baggage. Considering Spencer is in the neighborhood of 6-3, 260, getting run down by him isn’t the worst thing in the world, but perhaps it should have looked a little less easy to track down someone listed at over 30 pounds lighter.

Grossman will never be a burner – but like Jenkins says, that’s no reason to make himself slower than he has to be (though Grossman wouldn’t be the first portly passer in Redskins history to experience any success). And while he’ll likely never be one of the best quarterbacks in the league, the guy has talent, as he’s shown so far this year. While it’s easy to get a laugh out of seeing an NFL quarterback get called out for being fat (we’re posting this for a reason, after all), well, we’re also curious to see what a trimmer Grossman might be able to accomplish.