They say they'll be a little extra motivated in their game against the Bears this weekend:
Bears QB draws Vikings' ire Grossman 'tried to show us up' in first meeting; he says he was provoked BY SEAN JENSEN Pioneer Press A war of words is under way between the Vikings' secondary and Chicago Bears quarterback Rex Grossman.
But none of the parties privy to the exchange on Sept. 24 would reveal what Grossman said after throwing a 24-yard touchdown pass that punctuated the Bears' 19-16 come-from-behind victory at the Metrodome.
"After he threw a touchdown pass, he kind of was beating his chest, talking trash, this and that. 'You guys are this,' " Vikings safety Darren Sharper said. "Some curse words, stuff like that."
Sharper didn't elaborate, and neither did safety Dwight Smith. Sharper, though, clearly disapproved of Grossman's comments.
"He tried to show us up a little bit," he said. "In 10 years, I haven't had a quarterback do that at any time to me. So we definitely remember that, and the guys in the locker room remember that.
"Will that decide the game on Sunday? I don't think so," Sharper said. "But it gives us a little extra motivation."
Grossman told Chicago reporters that he said "some things that I regret." But he insisted that Smith provoked him.
"The whole game, their DBs were talking to me, just really getting under my skin a little bit, probably more than I should have allowed it to, but they were just yapping the whole game," Grossman said.
Grossman said that culminated with Smith smacking him on the helmet and getting in his face after Vikings cornerback Antoine Winfield intercepted a pass and returned it 7 yards for a touchdown early in the fourth quarter.
"I never talk trash. You don't want to get them pumped up, but at that point, maybe that was the only situation where I could let it go, just because it was (ticking) me off, you know?" Grossman said.
Grossman said his comments were channeled toward Smith, who ignored the comments.
"I regret it," Grossman said, "and it's hopefully a situation that never comes up."
Not likely.
Based on Sharper's comments, the Vikings aren't forgetting that incident. Sharper lamented that he is not a defensive end, "so I don't get to hit him every time, like I would like to." But Sharper also said he would not make any snide comments if the Vikings beat the Bears.
"I'm not going to do that," he said. "I'll just be happy enough to win."
Bears coach Lovie Smith defended Grossman.
"That's the first I've heard of Rex Grossman (trash-talking)," he said. "He's been described a lot of different ways, but trash-talking hasn't been one of them."
If it bothered Sharper so much, I don't see why he had to wait 8 weeks before saying anything. And to top it off, Rexy's trash talking in their first matchup weren't even directed at him. Plus, this is the second time he made comments about Rex to the media.
Darren Sharper wrote:“He is a confident guy and we sensed that from how he was running his mouth when he played us,” Sharper said. “He was very confident, so we’ll see how confident he is on Sunday.
“He was running his mouth pretty much the whole game and he especially ran his mouth when he threw that last touchdown pass. He came over and said some things to my fellow safety (Dwight Smith) and a couple of our defensive players. So you know he is a cocky guy.
"He is going to say those things. But just make sure he is not the guy who kills their season for them. So we’ll see what happens on Sunday.”
Darren Sharper wrote:“I’ve never had a quarterback say the things he said before and I’ve been playing 10 years,” Sharper said. “I’ve gone against some wild and some cocky, brash quarterbacks. I felt like he stepped over the line a little bit.
"A quarterback should never talk trash. That’s what I think. That’s just me because I am a defensive back. I don’t want any quarterback talking trash to me. He made the play and he felt like he could run his mouth. Anytime a quarterback opens his mouth, to me he is overstepping the lines.
“When he threw that last touchdown pass, he made some comments, pretty much in-your-face comments. Everyone on our defense remembers what he did and how he was acting. He may have got caught up in the moment being a young guy. He made a big play for his team to win in a big game, so he decided to be a little brash and talk trash a little bit. (But) there is always another time you face a team and this is another time for us to face him.”
Rex Grossman wrote:“I don’t ever do that,” said the 2003 first-round pick from Florida. “It was the first time I did it all year. If something like that happens where someone’s on me the whole game, talking trash the whole game and then you make a play like that to win the game, I couldn’t help but say something.
“It wasn’t really ever (directed) at Darren Sharper. It was mostly at Dwight Smith. Darren Sharper never said a word. I think it was more in response to backing up Dwight Smith because he turned his back. He wouldn’t let me talk to him. But I regret it and it’s hopefully a situation that never comes up.”
Olin Kreutz wrote:“We were all fired up after we won that game,” Kreutz said. “It’s the same thing as a d-lineman doing a sack dance or somebody dancing after an interception. It's all the same thing. It’s just all the way you take it.
“Rex doesn’t have to explain what he does on the field. If Darren Sharper is mad about something, we’ll all be there on Sunday. No use issuing threats through the media. We’ll be lining up on Sunday. If he’s mad about it, he can do something about it Sunday.
“Rex can talk whenever he wants. Anybody on the field can talk when they want and that’s where you handle it, on the field. That’s the problem with the NFL. Everybody always issues threats through the media and no one ever really does anything about it. That stuff, I’m kind of tired of. I’ve been here nine years and everybody’s always talking tough in the media and there are never any fights. If you’re going to talk tough, I mean, go fight somebody then."
“Obviously they felt a need to say something about it,” Kreutz said. “Maybe they thought we’d get scared and not come on the field. But we’ll be out there Sunday, and if they’re mad about it, they can do something about it then.
“There’s stuff that I don’t like that people say to me on the field, but I don’t go tell the media about it. I say stuff on the field that I’m sure people don’t like, but to cry to the media, I mean, it’s a little embarrassing for them I think. They’re probably trying to get in Rex’s head and that’s not going to happen.”
Funny stuff. A QB should never trash talk?? Uh... why Mr. Sharper? Kreutz is great though.
Stomperrob, I appreciate you posting all the articles you do. However, I would like to request two things:
Can you not use italics when posting the text of the article? It makes it very difficult to read. I suggest putting the text inside a quote box to make sure people understand it's not your own writing.
Can you post the URL of the source of the article? Sometimes there is formatting lost when just the text of the article is copied and pasted here, and I'd like to view the original.
Olin Kreutz wrote:If Darren Sharper is mad about something, we’ll all be there on Sunday. No use issuing threats through the media. We’ll be lining up on Sunday. If he’s mad about it, he can do something about it Sunday.
Maybe they thought we’d get scared and not come on the field. But we’ll be out there Sunday, and if they’re mad about it, they can do something about it then.
I love it. Do you think Sharper might've forgotten that there are five massive human beings between his threats and Rex? I guess it's easier to talk through the media; back in high school, for example, the defensive guys could hardly see our quarterback to talk smack at him.
Thanks to madaslives911 for this graphic from his site... MOVE THOSE CHAINS, MOVE THOSE CHAINS, MOVE!
Sharper should be very scared of Olin. Olin broke a teammate's jaw (Fred Miller) over some disagreement at a BBQ. Imagine what he'd do to you on the field if you get him angry, and Sharper isn't even a teammate.
Olin even got fat Pat Williams to shut up last year after his agent accused Olin of organizing players to blacklist Pat from the ProBowl. Funniest comment then too from Olin, saying that Pat Williams is acting like he stole his cheeseburger, LOL.
BrutallyHuge wrote:Grossman is a punk. That team will never go anywhere with that scrub as the QB.
Kreutz wouldn't necessarily disagree with you, I'm sure--but, in calling out the Bears' QB, Sharper pretty much took their offensive line for granted. And Tait, Kreutz, & Co. aren't punks.
Thanks to madaslives911 for this graphic from his site... MOVE THOSE CHAINS, MOVE THOSE CHAINS, MOVE!
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