By Steve Lienert
Philadelphia (The Phanatic Magazine) - When word spread through NFL press boxes that Redskins coach Mike Shanahan benched quarterback Donovan McNabb for the final 1:50 of Washington’s loss to the Lions on Sunday, it certainly raised a lot of eyebrows.
Here in Philadelphia, though, all it generated was another roll of the eyes.
Another chapter in the epic melodrama that has become Donovan McNabb’s NFL career was penned when Shanahan put in — I’m trying not to laugh here– Rex Grossman, saying that he had a better grasp of the two-minute offense than McNabb and that he gave his team the best chance to win at the time.
Um, yeah, whatever you say there, coach.
On his first play from scrimmage this season, Grossman dropped back, got hit and lost his grasp on the ball, which was scooped up by Detroit defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh and returned for a game-sealing touchdown.
On Monday, Shanahan then reversed field faster than Andy Reid and said he made the inexplicable and inexcusable move because McNabb didn’t have the “cardiovascular endurance” to run the two-minute offense.
OK, to paraphrase, first he called McNabb too stupid to grasp the offense after being in his system since the spring, then he called him too fat to navigate 80 yards in 1:50 of football time. Are you kidding me?
Now there are stories circulating that Shanahan never liked McNabb’s accuracy (shocker there) nor his practice habits. (Really? No way. I mean, just get out of town and stop pulling my leg already.) There’s also a rumor saying that Shanahan wanted to bench McNabb after the Eagles game.
In Philly, we’ve been there, done this. We’ve seen this show. Frankly, for once, it’s nice not to have any involvement in McNabb’s martyrdom. We can just sit back and watch the train wreck, much like Packers fans are enjoying how the Vikings season is going this year.
We’ve known that McNabb can’t efficiently run a two-minute offense for years now. We also know that he has a penchant not to be the most prepared quarterback all the time, that we won’t be the most accurate quarterback you’ll ever meet and that he can be out of shape from time to time.
Shanahan’s pronouncements on Sunday and Monday were nothing but truths about McNabb that we as Eagles fans hold as self-evident.
Shanahan seems to have the patience of an alcoholic at an open bar, with the temperament to boot. If he really thinks Rex Grossman gives his team a better chance to win a football game than McNabb does, he should have his own head examined.
Shanahan made a mockery out of defensive lineman Albert Haynesworth’s ‘cardiovascular endurance’ during training camp and Albert has just been lighting the world on fire ever since, recording a whopping 13 tackles and two sacks in eight games thus far this season.
That’s a nice return on owner Daniel Snyder’s $100-million dollar investment.
Speaking of return on investments, how does that second-round pick for McNabb look now? Because it seems to me like the Redskins got fleeced. Then again, that’s just the Redskins being the Redskins.
And McNabb, who seems to be ever preparing for an acting career after football, is fine-tuning his typecast role has the loveable victim by once again toeing the company line by saying that Shanahan makes the calls “so he went with it.”
Following the bye, Shanahan will anoint McNabb the starter (again) and proclaim to have full faith in his abilities (again), but it will all be hollow. None of this will motivate McNabb to hit the playbook or the track though.
If Shanahan expects a different McNabb, maybe the Redskins are better off with Grossman after all. And if the Vikings and their fans aren’t careful, this soap opera will be in Minneapolis by this time next year.
Steve Lienert can be reached at stevelienert@hotmail.com.
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