Rex says 'thanks for the yanks'

Being pulled out of games by Steve Spurrier gave Grossman strength.
By EDDIE PELLS
AP NATIONAL WRITER
The browbeating, the nitpicking, the ever-present specter of the bench.
Rex Grossman was used to all that well before he became embroiled in his love-hate affair with Bears fans in Chicago this Super Bowl season.
Remember -- he played college ball for Steve Spurrier.
It was a successful, if not always harmonious, relationship -- one that led to a Southeastern Conference title for Florida and gave Grossman a slew of records, to say nothing of the layer of thick skin that has come in handy in Chicago.
"One wonderful thing about Rex is that if you jerked him out of a game, he wouldn't pout," Spurrier said Friday. "He doesn't complain. He always figures, 'Maybe Coach had a reason to take me out, and maybe I'll be back in there pretty soon.' "
Kept coming back
He kept coming back. Nearly won a Heisman. Became a first-round draft pick. And now, he's one win from an NFL title.
But none of this journey through the pros has been easy. He played the apprentice role his first year, missed virtually all of 2004 and '05 with injuries.
He came back in time to flop in the 2005 playoffs. Yet despite that, Bears coach Lovie Smith -- the anti-Spurrier -- gave Grossman the job to start 2006 and stayed with him the whole way.
Even though the Bears scored exactly as many points (427) as the Colts this regular season, Grossman had his share of ugly moments. Tough times and nasty headlines were common.
When things got bad, Smith played the role of the reassuring father, keeping Grossman calm and reiterating his faith in his fourth-year quarterback.
It was, well, a bit different from the coach-quarterback dynamic at Florida.
"Coach Spurrier was effective by being able to yank him out of games. That gets your attention," his father, Dan Grossman, said. "But it was more than that. He was very much into details -- perfect, precise mechanics. Perfect routes run by receivers. It helped Rex immensely to go through the Spurrier times. He wasn't always easy on Rex, but it's all right. That makes you tougher."
Carousel
Spurrier's quarterback carousel spun fast as ever during Grossman's freshman year in 2000, one in which the Gators won the SEC even though their starting quarterback was announced seemingly on a week-to-week basis.
There was the time Spurrier benched him against Georgia, only to bring him back after the replacement, Jesse Palmer, got injured. Under those awkward circumstances, Grossman led the Gators to a 34-23 victory.
There was the time Spurrier benched Grossman after a slow start against South Carolina, only to go back to him three weeks later in the SEC title game. Grossman was the MVP that day.
"When you take a guy out of the game and put another guy in, it can sometimes lead to outbursts, but he shook it off," Spurrier said. "He was a better player when he came back. He usually came back quickly."
The Super Bowl will mark Grossman's first appearance at Dolphin Stadium since the moment of his most dramatic benching and comeback.
He missed curfew in the lead-up to the 2002 Orange Bowl, and Spurrier made him start the game as a backup to Brock Berlin despite a record-setting year that led Grossman to a runner-up finish in the Heisman voting.
He threw for 248 yards and four touchdowns in a little more than two quarters to lead a 56-23 romp over Maryland.
"It certainly had every neuron in his central nervous system on charge," said Dan Grossman, who conceded he wasn't thrilled with Spurrier's decision that week. "He was ready to go. I'm certain he would have had just as good a game if that hadn't happened. But it was more dramatic that way."
Final benching
Benching Grossman for the Orange Bowl turned out to be the last dramatic move of Spurrier's 12 seasons at Florida. He shockingly stepped aside a few days later, a legend at Florida for a hundred different reasons, one of which was his mastery over next week's other Super Bowl quarterback -- Peyton Manning of Tennessee.
Spurrier went 3-0 against Manning and the Vols in the mid-90s, an achievement that paved the way to Florida's 1996 national title.
Looking back a decade later, Spurrier said the dominance against Manning "was just one of those things that worked out that way."
In the most memorable of those games, the 1996 meeting, Manning actually set school records for pass attempts (65), completions (37) and yards (492). Of course, he did most of it as part of a futile rally after the Vols had fallen behind 35-0 early in the second quarter.
"There wasn't any key," Spurrier said. "It just happened. He's a very good quarterback. An excellent quarterback."
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