According to the famous adage, girls are made out of “sugar and spice and everything nice.”  A few lines later it is learned that boys are made out of “snips and snails and puppy dog tails.”  And while I am not one to doubt conventional wisdom, I might add that my favorite football player (Rex Grossman) is probably made out of a cross between the two.  Maybe “talented and brash but with bones made of glass.”

Grossman came into the league four years ago, has played in nine NFL games, and suffered three season ending injuries.  And if you are to believe the near unanimous consensus of the media minions, the Bears would be wise to bench Grossman in favor of established backup Brian Griese.  Here is why they are wrong.

Great NFL quarterbacks come in many shapes and forms.  There is the big and sturdy pocket passer type, like Dan Marino or Carson Palmer.  There is the mobile playmaker, like John Elway or Steve Young.  There is the hard throwing gambler, like Terry Bradshaw or Brett Favre.  And then there is the relaxed genius, say Joe Montana or Tom Brady.  As you can imagine, the absence of one proven prototype complicates the already difficult process of selecting and grooming a franchise player at the position.

But there are four traits that every great quarterback has had, regardless of background, personal style, complimentary players, or system.  These traits are: a strong arm, passing accuracy, confidence, and field vision.  Yet somehow every year, prospects that rate favorably in these key areas are overlooked for guys who steal the spotlight for other reasons.  Mike Vick for example, moved so much like an elite halfback that few noticed that he could not pass like a pro quarterback.     

Now some personnel types have this all figured out (Bill Walsh, Ron Wolf, Mike Holmgren) and you never find their teams without a quarterback who ranks somewhere in between competent and dynamic.  But sadly there is another end to the spectrum, those being the Dave Wannstedt’s and Dick Jauron’s of the world.  Both will tell you with a straight face (and crossed eyes) that quarterback play is not important, and accordingly not an emphasis in their offensive schemes of choice.