He really wasn't. He was tough as nails, a terrific athlete, but never an "absolute stud". He never made a single pro bowl, never made all-pro, and only one time in his entire career did he lead the NFL in any major passing category: 1979, he led the league with 28 touchdown passes. (he did lead the league in 1980 in yards per attempt, but that's the kind of stat that never gets seen by the public really)
He was a very good runner though. From 1976-1979 he rushed for 1,628 yards, 6.1 yards per attempt, and a whopping 20 touchdowns. So definitely gets credit for that. But consider 1979. He threw for 3,286 yards, ran for 368 more, but got sacked for 341 yards in losses. So he accounted for 3,313 total yards. That was his best season overall. And it was a fine season. But even then he threw 20 interceptions and had 12 (!) fumbles. So in his best season production-wise, he committed *32* turnovers.
So we all love Grogan and in his day was a perfectly fine NFL quarterback, and I have many fond memories of him. But he was never an "absolute stud".
This is a textbook case of numbers not telling the story - in any way, shape or form, except for the rushing records.
A succession of egregiously wrong noncalls and calls which specifically prevented one team from winning a game [and gifted it to the other] is what prevented Steve Grogan from accomplishing the exact same thing Tom Brady did in his sophomore pro season.
I personally believe that bad events often start a chain of subsequently bad ones [Celtics fail to keep James Posey>KG needlessly injures himself two months into the season] and in 1978, losing Darryl Stingley for
ever from another in the endless line of cheap shots by the same crybabies who stole the title from you at the same venue was the equivalent of the 21st century Pats losing Troy Brown
forever on a cheap shot in 2000.
Just take a moment and think about how that would change everything for us.
So, anyway after Julius Adams goes down for the season in Week One, by the time the playoffs arrive vs. the Oilers Grogan is hurt and hobbling. That may have happened anyway, because in the 70's we played on a concrete surface, and we [led by Hog] played physical.
Which brings us to how Grogan responded to the litany of painful injuries to still play, and play very well, in leading the Patriots to upset victory, after upset victory, after upset victory.
That's all he did in the 80's. Time after time after time. The decision was made to go with Eason in 1983, and Berry obstinately held to that until the ship finally went down and at least three title opportunities were wasted. But every time he was called upon, Grogan led the team to victory. Through sheer determination, by using his intellect, experience, and knowledge, he got that Patriots team of the 80's to reach its potential. His leadership unquestionably inspired the defense and special teams as well, just as Brady inspires his teammates today. I rate Steve over guys like Morrall, DeBerg, etc. because he possessed the qualities and intangibles to win a championship - as a young, strong 2nd year kid or an old, beat up afterthought nine years later. The list of quarterbacks he defeated in his career is basically a list of the best ever [only one I can think of he didn't beat was Staubach].
The Patriots of the mid-80's were much better than the early-80's. Grogan is the guy I wanted starting, and when he did, he won. He's a championship level quarterback.
