Robert Griffin III on the Redskins' offense and McNabb

Don Banks of Sports Illustrated recently spoke with Robert Griffin III, and like most people who do so, came away very impressed with the 22-year-old quarterback. You should certainly read the whole piece, but there were a couple of quotes from Griffin that I found particularly interesting.

First, on what he's learned about Kyle Shanahan's offense:

"It's pretty tough to gauge how much of it I know already," he said. "By no means did I know what they wanted to do with me specifically within that offense after our session. But I know the offense has a lot of formations, a lot of motion, and they're going to try to disguise things. You can get a base feeling on an offense, but you can't say within three hours I'm familiar with their offense.

"It's an offense that asks the quarterback to specifically stay within the system. I think a lot of good systems do that. If you're going to one-hitch throw here, you do a one-hitch throw here. But once everything breaks down, and you go through all three or four of your reads, that's where you can be creative. I think whenever you can work within the system out, rather than outside the system in, it's better for you. That's what I tried to do at Baylor."

With Griffin's strong arm, accuracy, and athleticism, it's hard not to get excited every time he discusses the Redskins' offense. Griffin also commented on Donovan McNabb's recent critical comments of Mike Shanahan and the Redskins:

"All respect to Donovan McNabb, he had a great career," said Griffin, when I asked him if he understood McNabb's point. "He was one of my dad's [favorite] quarterbacks when he was a Philly fan. He's not a Philly fan any more, because I'm about to get drafted. But what [McNabb] said probably did come from a place of just bad taste. He had a bad taste in his mouth from his experience with Coach Shanahan, and I understand that. He never said anything bad about me, he was just trying to warn me, trying to say, 'Don't let egos get in the way.'

"But that's part of the job at quarterback, to be able to manage different types of egos and different types of people. So I'm looking forward to going up there and managing whatever it is that needs to be managed. All respect to Donovan, but it just didn't work out for him in Washington, and that's why he thought it didn't work out."

It's hard to think of a more perfect response to McNabb than that. Well done, RGIII. (Or is it RG3? This really needs to be settled.)

Also: You should read the outstanding article of Griffin's legacy by ESPN's Tom Friend. Fantastic insight.

Have the Redskins really changed?

Do you know a single Redskins fan who had a problem with the team's offseason strategy? OK, so maybe relying on Rex Grossman and John Beck wasn't the best of ideas, but not selecting a quarterback is also what enabled the Redskins to end up with several quality picks while selecting 12 players in last year's draft. The other moves?

- Dealt Albert Haynesworth to the Patriots for a fifth-round pick in 2013.
- Traded Donovan McNabb to the Vikings for a sixth-round pick in 2012 and a conditional pick in 2013.
- Signed Oshiomogho Atogwe to a five-year, $26 million deal ($9 million guaranteed).
- Signed Stephen Bowen for five years, $27.5 million ($12.5 million guaranteed).
- Re-signed Jammal Brown for five years, $27.5 million ($8.25 million guaranteed).
- Acquired Tim Hightower from the Cardinals in exchange for Vonnie Holliday and a late-round draft pick.
- Agreed to terms with Chris Chester on a five-year, $20 million contract ($6.5 million guaranteed).
- Signed Barry Cofield for six years, $36 million ($12.5 million guaranteed).
- Traded Jeremy Jarmon to the Broncos for Jabar Gaffney.
- Brought back Santana Moss with a three-year, $15 million deal ($6 million guaranteed).
- Signed Josh Wilson to a three-year, $13.5 million deal ($6 million guaranteed).
- Signed Sav Rocca.

I believe that's most of the Redskins' non-draft moves last year. Nothing too horrible, right? Getting anything of value for Haynesworth and McNabb was surprising given their awful tenures in Washington. The Atogwe signing doesn't look that great, and he may end up as a cap casualty (in part because of the presence of DeJon Gomes). It also doesn't help that he hasn't been able to stay healthy. Moss took a step back last season and finished with the lowest receiving yards in a season (584) since 2002-2003 when he had just 433. He also missed four games with a broken hand. Brown wasn't that special either and could be replaced if the Redskins draft a tackle or sign one via free agency.

But the Bowen, Cofield, Wilson, and Rocca signings were all upgrades, and Chester played competently at times in the Redskins' stretch-running attack. They also picked up Hightower and Gaffney for basically nothing since Holliday and Jarmon weren't going to make the final roster anyway.

So are you buying the argument that the Redskins aren't the "same old" team? ESPN's Dan Graziano argues that point and also that signing Peyton Manning wouldn't require a shift in this new, different philosophy:

In the meantime, there is free agency, and although the Redskins didn't make a big splash last summer, they did very well in free agency. Shanahan targeted specific players in the 27- to 29-year-old age group -- guys he believed were already established but still young and hungry enough to grow and develop with the team. He plans to use the same formula this year to address wide receiver, offensive line and the secondary. He's not after the biggest name out there. He's after the specific types of players he believes his team needs in order to build a consistent, year-to-year winner.

Which brings us back to Manning, one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. Shanahan's not going to give Manning a big, five-year, huge-money deal. I don't think anyone is, given the health concerns, but if the market gets that crazy, I don't expect the Redskins to play in it. It just wouldn't be smart. Bringing Manning in on a one-year or two-year deal with incentives to allow him to prove he's healthy is smart, because if Manning is healthy, he's worth as much as any quarterback in the league.

I'm on record as being against a potential Manning deal, but I also agree with Graziano that bringing in Manning could work, depending on the contract, its length, and whatever other moves the Redskins make in free agency and in the draft. If the Redskins do sign Manning, they also must draft a young quarterback at some point, along with not going overboard by simply building the team around Manning. After all, his career could be over in the near future, if it's not already over (which hopefully is not the case).

At the moment, I'm on board with the direction of this team. The Redskins weren't much fun to watch last season, but they also are building a young, talented nucleus -- something they haven't done for a long time. I loved just about everything from the 2011 offseason, but I won't be completely convinced in the direction of this team until seeing what they do in the next few months. There are several important choices to make, primarily what exactly to do at quarterback, but that's also why Shanahan is making big money.

Redskins deal Haynesworth to Patriots

As I was just finishing my previous post on yesterday's Redskins moves, I saw this: According to Adam Schefter, the Skins have traded Albert Haynesworth to the Patriots in exchange for a fifth-round pick in 2013.

To get anything at all for Haynesworth at this point seems like a solid move, even if it's a fifth-round choice in a couple years. The Redskins have now dealt away their two biggest headaches from last season: Donovan McNabb and Haynesworth. And by trading with the Patriots (always a little scary because of the Bill Belichick angle), the Skins also succeeded in keeping Haynesworth away from the Eagles or any other NFC East team.

So long, McNabb and Haynesworth. And congratulations, Redskins, for finally making these deals happen.

Redskins notes: McNabb, Moss, Cofield

The lockout is over, so you know what that means: It's time for the Redskins to win the offseason! Besides signing a few undrafted free agents, here's what the Skins have done so far:

Close to trading Donovan McNabb

According to Jay Glazer of Fox Sports, the Redskins and Vikings have agreed to the framework of a deal that would send McNabb to the Vikings:

Vikes agree to trade 6th rounder in 12 and possibly 6th in 13 to Wash for Donovan McNabb. Deal contingent on McNabb agreeing to much less $$Wed Jul 27 03:13:03 via UberSocialJay Glazer
Jay_Glazer

Glazer has also reported that the deal is not yet done and that the two sides are "trying to work out dollars." Still, McNabb was never going to see that $10 million bonus from the Redskins at the beginning of the upcoming season, so he'd be wise to work out a deal with the Vikings so that he can go to a team that actually wants him. Then again, if he'd rather go somewhere else or wants more money, he can refuse to restructure his contract and possibly force the Redskins to cut him instead.

Considering what the Redskins traded to the Eagles to pick up McNabb in the first place, a sixth rounder or two doesn't seem like much. However, the Redskins weren't going to bring McNabb back after what happened last season, so it's smart for them to get whatever they can while also removing him from the roster. If this deal gets done, then it's your turn, Albert Haynesworth.

Re-signed Santana Moss

According to Adam Schefter, the Redskins and Moss agreed to a three-year, $15 million deal. $6 million of that is apparently guaranteed. Moss is 32 and has been injury-prone at times, but this type of deal doesn't present much risk. It's not that much money, and Moss is already comfortable in the Redskins offense.

I'd be surprised if the Skins didn't target another wide receiver in free agency, mainly because they like to make a big splash. But even if they did go out and overpay for someone like Santonio Holmes or Sidney Rice, would it really even help the offense out that much? Anyway, the Moss signing seems rational.

Agreed to terms with Barry Cofield

The Redskins have signed the now-former Giants defensive tackle to a six-year, $36 million deal, according to Rich Campbell of The Washington Times. The deal includes $12.5 million in guaranteed money. The Skins were targeting/continue to target defensive line help, and Cofield was a solid defensive tackle in the Giants' 4-3 system. At age 27, Cofield is 6'4 and 306 pounds, so he has the size the Redskins are looking for. But, as The Washington Post's Mike Jones reports, "[Cofield] is listed as a nose tackle according to NFL.com. It’s not immediately clear if he will play nose tackle or end for the Redskins’ 3-4 defense."

Cofield can play, though: In five seasons and a possible 80 games, he's played in 79 of them. He's also accumulated 211 tackles and 10.5 sacks. So as long as he stays healthy and occupies multiple blockers, he should be a helpful addition. Still, spending big money on a player who might not exactly fit? That certainly seems like a typical Redskins move.

What did the Shanahans learn about Rex Grossman?

In his three starts this season, coming in an apparent audition for either the starting job next season or a long-term backup role -- depending on what the Redskins brain trust collectively decides to do in the offseason -- Rex Grossman performed reasonably well. Sure, everything is not about numbers, and the Redskins won just one of his three starts, but here are his stats anyway:

Week 15 at Cowboys: 25-43, 322 yards, 4 TD, 2 INT, 1 fumble lost, 93.4 QB rating
Week 16 at Jaguars: 19-39, 182 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT, 0 fumbles lost, 60.0 QB rating
Week 17 vs. Giants: 26-44, 336 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT, 2 fumbles lost, 88.8 QB rating

Total: 840 yards, 7 TD, 4 INT, 81.4 QB rating, 55.6 completion percentage, 3 fumbles lost

It's worth noting that Grossman did not face an elite defense in his three starts. In terms of points allowed per game, Grossman faced the 17th-ranked Giants (21.7), 27th-ranked Jaguars (26.2), and 31st-ranked Cowboys (27.3) -- not exactly a Murderers' Row of defenses. Considering how often he turned the ball over against those defenses, that doesn't bode well for Grossman if/when he faces better defenses in the future.

In Week 8 against the Lions when Grossman filled in for Donovan McNabb in the fourth quarter, Grossman, which I'm sure most fans remember well, was immediately sacked and lost a fumble -- which was returned for a touchdown -- putting the game away for good. The fumble wasn't necessarily his fault -- there was very little blocking on the play -- but it happened. Still, I didn't include that fumble in the numbers above and focused on his three starts.

Grossman's three-week performance indicates a few things: 1) He can, when given time, put up some points in this offense; 2) His completion percentage is a little low for an offense in which he's seemingly familiar with; and 3) He will turn the ball over. Turning the ball over seven times in three games is inexcusable, but he did also throw seven touchdown passes. If the Shanahans are going to go with Grossman as the starting quarterback next season, they're going to get a quarterback who can lead the offense to a few scoring drives, but he'll also make some boneheaded plays and turn the ball over at inopportune times. This is Rex Grossman, after all.

Grossman deserves credit for playing this well after holding a clipboard for most of the season. He faced enormous pressure when he took over for McNabb, and he didn't embarrass himself. His 81.4 QB rating (in his three starts) isn't spectacular or anything, but it still is about four points better than McNabb's (77.1). I, or probably most fans for that matter, didn't think Grossman would play well and would make the Redskins look even worse. Instead, he looked decent at times and certainly played no worse than McNabb did. Whether or not that means he'll get another chance to start next season is another question, and that will depend on what the Redskins do in the draft.

If I had to guess, I'd say that Grossman performed about as well as the Shanahans thought he would, meaning that they may decide to go with him as the starter next season and draft a quarterback for the future. Grossman as the starter for a full season? If that ends up being the plan, the Redskins better surround Grossman with some much-improved talent, or 2011 may end up being disastrous.

Analyzing, but not overreacting to, McNabb's benching

As you've undoubtedly heard by now, Donovan McNabb has not only been benched in favor of Rex Grossman for Sunday's game against the Cowboys, but likely for the rest of the season. McNabb will not even serve as the backup in Dallas; that duty will go to John Beck. The decision, handed down by Mike Shanahan, will also presumably end McNabb's brief tenure in Washington.

McNabb may still be with the team for the next few weeks, so it's worth noting that in mid-November, McNabb signed an extension to stay with the Redskins beyond this season. But as Barry Svrluga of Redskins Insider mentions, the only guarantee in that extension was that McNabb would earn $3.5 million if the Skins decided not to bring McNabb back. And with today's events, that outcome seems extremely likely.

There are basically two points to take away from this mess:

1) The decision itself to bench McNabb is absolutely justifiable. That isn't something that I thought I'd ever write, especially considering that on October 27 I discussed this very topic when the Grossman-over-McNabb rumors were rumbling. Here's a sample of what I had to say:

Do fans really want to start someone who has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns in his career just because he's more familiar with the team's offense? Now, I understand that there are some crazy fans with irrational ideas -- mainly the types of fans who routinely call into sports talk radio shows and ramble on and on about random things -- but that type of thinking is just ridiculous.

Regardless of how bad that looks now, I still stand by that statement. At the time, the Redskins were 4-3 after a win -- an extremely ugly win -- over the Bears in Chicago. After that win, though, came arguably the toughest three weeks for Washington this season: a horrible loss in Detroit that included McNabb being benched late in the fourth quarter in favor of Grossman, a horrendously long bye week that included endless discussion of said benching, and then a 59-28 beating on Monday Night Football by the hated Eagles.

Since the Bears win, the Redskins are 1-5. In the first seven weeks, McNabb had six touchdown passes and seven interceptions. In the six games after that, he had eight touchdown passes and eight interceptions. For the season as a whole, McNabb has posted a 77.1 QB rating. So yeah, McNabb has been consistently mediocre the entire season.

That's not to say that the Redskins' poor offense and recent collapse as a team are both his fault -- of course not. He only has a couple of offensive weapons around him, the only young one being 24-year-old Ryan Torain, who has been fantastic -- when he's actually healthy enough to play. The receiving corps, outside of Santana Moss and Chris Cooley (and maybe Anthony Armstrong), isn't anything to get excited about either. And that's not even mentioning the offensive line, which is just a running joke at this point because of how often it has been neglected in the draft.

Benching McNabb in favor of Grossman does not give the Redskins a better chance to win. I think that bears repeating: Grossman starting at quarterback obviously does not present an upgrade at the position. With that being said, if the Shanahans have already decided that McNabb is a) not the quarterback they want to lead this team for the next few seasons, and b) deteriorating as an effective playmaker, then what's the point of running him out onto the field for the next three weeks? Sure, beating Dallas would be great, but with all of the major problems with this team, it's not really that big of a deal at this point. Sure, the idea to give Grossman all the reps is a little strange, considering that Grossman just isn't that good no matter what offensive system his team runs. Starting Beck would provide some intrigue, and maybe that's something that happens before the season ends. It's also entirely possible that no quarterback on this current roster ends up starting under center in Week 1 next season.

But really, if Shanahan wasn't going to bring McNabb back after this season, there's no reason to give him any more snaps. He's seemingly decided to go in another direction, and from what most people have seen this year from McNabb, that doesn't seem like a horrible choice. (That's not to suggest that McNabb won't look much better when he plays on a team next season that's able to surround him with more talent. Getting out of D.C. could be the best thing to happen to McNabb.)

2) The trade for McNabb was/is a complete disaster. In case anyone forgot, the Redskins parted with a second-round pick in the 2010 draft and either a third- or fourth-round choice in the upcoming draft. The Redskins have a ton of holes on offense and defense, and those two picks certainly would have helped. The Redskins could have selected a quarterback with that second-rounder -- who knows.

(Sidenote: Here's a quote from Brian Mitchell in the linked ESPN article above on the McNabb trade:

"In his voice I heard a lot of enthusiasm," Mitchell reported on Comcast SportsNet. "And you know, he may not be exactly like me, but I could hear he had a little revenge in that voice, too. And he wants to go to the Eagles and show them that they made a mistake."

It's nothing that's a big deal, of course, but it's still funny to read after the fact.)

As is the case with most Redskins trades, many fans focused on the veteran the team traded for instead of the value of the draft picks. The Redskins fan base's disdain for trading away draft picks is definitely growing -- and will continue to grow until these types of trades stop happening -- but there were a ton of excited fans when the news of the McNabb trade broke. And I'll be honest, my immediate thought that was I didn't like the trade, particularly because the team was again giving away more draft picks, but as the season got closer I did feel a little better about the Redskins having an established quarterback under center. But that obviously didn't change much about the team, and here we are now.

For what it's worth -- and believe me, I don't like to quote myself very often, let alone twice in the same post, but I think it's constructive in this case -- here was my reaction to the trade:

I understand why the Redskins made this move, and I think most fans can see the rationale behind it. If the Redskins are able to find a young quarterback they like in this year's draft or next year's, then McNabb isn't a bad choice to be the team's quarterback until then. However, the Redskins really need to stop trading draft picks. It's downright laughable at this point. There probably isn't another team in the NFL that values draft picks less, and it's not surprising to understand why the Redskins don't have adequate depth at most positions.

Although McNabb is a little more mobile than Campbell, he still needs an offensive line to give him time. Even if the Redskins take a left tackle at No. 4, there's still work to be done to significantly improve the line.

The move made some sense at the time; it would be a bit of revisionist history to suggest that it made no sense at all. But the Redskins didn't adequately address the offensive line woes and also didn't bring in enough offensive weapons around McNabb. Oh, and McNabb didn't turn out to be the quarterback that the Shanahans thought they were getting.

Determining the winner and loser of this trade was always going to depend on how well McNabb played in Washington. Well, he didn't play all that well, and now it looks like he's on the way out. The McNabb trade is just another failed move, and now it's back to the drawing board for Shanahan and Co.

Boswell thinks the Redskins are 'close'

I've already picked on Thomas Boswell once this month for a peculiar column, and it's not something that I'm going to make a habit of doing. But after watching yesterday's frustrating 17-13 loss against the Vikings, how can Boswell say that the Skins "are getting closer" to much of anything?

Granted, I'll give the team credit for playing hard. And at 5-6, they already have more wins than last season with a shot to get a couple more. But yesterday's game can be used as a precise example of why the Skins are not close.

Even though Donovan McNabb was not the reason the Redskins lost the game, he did not make enough plays to win it. Boswell is right when he blames the lack of a running game, the poor offensive line play, and a few dropped balls by the team's receivers -- and a huge block-in-the-back call on Perry Riley -- but those are also all problems that the team needs to address. They are huge team weaknesses, not just a single week's problems that can easily be corrected after just one offseason.

Keiland Williams has had a few decent games, but he's not really an explosive player and shouldn't really be viewed as NFL starting running back material. James Davis deserves some more carries to see what he can bring to the table, but he didn't do anything special yesterday either. And Ryan Torain has also had a few strong performances, but he can't stay on the field.

Then again, maybe the lack of a running game can be blamed on the offensive line, which not only failed to protect McNabb (four sacks), but didn't open up any holes in the running game either. Trent Williams, the team's most recent first-round pick, is undoubtedly the best offensive lineman on the team, but there's little else to get excited about in terms of blocking.

And yet, when the blocking gave McNabb enough time, he did make several accurate throws. For the game, he was 21-35 for 211 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. As Boswell mentions, the interception was not McNabb's fault; it was Santana Moss who dropped the pass and had the ball deflect into the air for an interception. But McNabb did finish the game with a 74.8 quarterback rating, which has been about his average this season. It would be nice to get McNabb a ton of weapons and a huge offensive line that blocks every defender in sight, but the Redskins traded for McNabb so he'd be able to win games like this. Unfortunately, he didn't get much help.

And then, Boswell writes this uplifting paragraph: "This game also underlined the area where the Redskins have made the most significant improvement: in the game-breaking speed of Banks, who had a 65-yard kickoff return, and Anthony Armstrong, who caught a 45-yard bomb and now has 545 yards receiving."

I'm not going to debate the worth or skill level of Brandon Banks, who has been phenomenal in the return game and has easily been the team's most exciting player. But Armstrong? Yes, he has caught some long passes, and he even did so in yesterday's game (two catches, 53 yards). But even though he's not an old guy, he's still 27 years old. Has he really shown enough to be relied upon week in and week out? And is he really a big part of the team's future? The Redskins also have two seemingly reliable tight end options in Chris Cooley (28) and Fred Davis (24), but Santana Moss (31) is a free agent after this season and may end up on another team next season. It sure seems like more help will be needed in the receiving game.

Also, how can Boswell use speed as a positive and fail to mention the team's lack of speed in the Eagles game just a few weeks ago? The Redskins looked like they were playing on a different level -- a much, much lower level -- while the Eagles were running up and down the field with ease.

Anyway, my point is that the Redskins have a ton of holes to fill and not enough draft picks to fill them all adequately. Free agency will likely be the team's go-to option when it comes to bringing in more talent, but the past several years have shown that that strategy is far from reliable and may only create more future headaches for Mike Shanahan and the team's coaching staff.

Right now, the Redskins don't look as bad as they did last season, but they aren't really that much better either. I'm just not sure that I understand all of the excitement.

McNabb's last seven games

Last night's embarrassing blowout loss to the Eagles -- with a final score of 59-28 -- showcased this current Redskins team's weaknesses. And yes, there are plenty of them. Here are a few: The defense gives up way too many yards and can't get a consistent pass rush; overall team speed is lacking; the offense doesn't have many playmakers; the offensive line is rather awful; and the Redskins have not gotten consistent quarterback play from Donovan McNabb. None of this should be surprising at this point.

Well, let's go back to that point about McNabb: that he hasn't been consistent. Actually, that's not quite true. With all of the deficiencies of this team contributing, McNabb has been consistently mediocre. That might seem a little unfair after last night's terrible game; after all, of course it's not McNabb's fault that the defense allowed that many points and a whopping 592 total yards. McNabb doesn't deserve all of the blame -- far from it. But he does deserve his fair share, especially since he's going to be in Washington for a few more years after signing an extension.

Last night, McNabb completed 17 of 31 passes for 295 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions. That was good enough for a 69.4 quarterback rating. One of those interceptions was returned for a touchdown. McNabb was sacked twice and hit six times, and he was under consistent pressure from the beginning of the game. Still, the Redskins failed to convert one third down the entire game (0-10). That just can't happen.

Let's try to forget about last night's game for a moment. McNabb's last solid performance probably came against Houston, when he threw for 426 yards and a touchdown in a losing effort. He didn't turn the ball over and had a 119.0 QB rating. Since that game (all the way back in Week 2), McNabb hasn't posted a QB rating over 80, and his only multi-touchdown game came last night. Take a look at the numbers:

Opponent	Yards	TD	INT	QBRat
Rams	236	1	1	79.7
Eagles	125	1	1	60.2
Packers	357	1	1	75.0
Colts	246	1	2	67.5
Bears	200	1	2	56.8
Lions	210	1	1	75.7

And then yesterday's game against the Eagles. So, yeah, not very good. Here are some other numbers:

• His quarterback rating of 75.2 ranks 29th in the NFL.
• His 57.1 completion percentage also ranks 29th, just ahead of Jason Campbell (56.7).
• McNabb is actually ranked ninth in passing yards (2,266), one yard ahead of Matt Ryan. But McNabb also only has nine touchdown passes (tied for 24th) while also throwing 11 interceptions (tied for fourth most).

Whether it's the current offensive scheme, the lack of playmakers, or just not being familiar in a Redskins uniform yet, McNabb has not played well in Washington. He also turns 34 on November 25. It's nice that the Redskins have some quarterback stability (not sure if that's the right word) with McNabb after signing him to an extension. The deal likely ensures that he'll be in Washington for the next three or four years, and in that time, maybe the Skins can draft and develop a young quarterback to be ready by the time McNabb departs. Also, with the quarterback position filled, the Redskins can finally focus on key areas in the next few NFL drafts, like offensive and defensive line, wide receiver, running back, and obviously other positions. Maybe that finally means they'll stop trading away draft picks for players that don't produce. If it takes giving McNabb that extension for that to happen, maybe it's worth it.

Then again, the Redskins have just committed a lot of money to an aging quarterback who hasn't shown, except for one game against a terrible defense, that he can still produce at a high level. I don't think McNabb is done, and obviously the Redskins don't either. But they painted themselves into a corner when they traded for McNabb, and the only thing that would have looked worse than signing him to an extension would have been to let him walk.

Quick take on the McNabb situation

The decision by Mike Shanahan to pull Donovan McNabb in the Lions game has been the dominant NFL story the last few days, even with all of the Randy Moss drama unfolding. Whether or not Shanahan was trying to send a message to McNabb that he needs to play better, Shanahan never offered a logical reason for the move and has instead given a range of excuses: the possibility that McNabb doesn't practice hard enough; that McNabb was very sore going into the game and was told he could be removed from the game at some point; Shanahan at first saying that Grossman "gave us the best chance to win"; that McNabb might not be that great at running two-minute drills; and that maybe McNabb isn't as familiar with the team's offense as he needs to be (which at first was insinuated and then never touched on again, for obvious reasons). Some people have raised the racial implications of some of the things Shanahan has said (like that last example above), and even Vinny Cerrato has offered his opinion, for what that's worth (next to nothing).

Trying to sort through all of the nonsense from Shanahan, here's my take: This situation has less to do with removing McNabb from the game and more about the timing. What coaches let their quarterback play the entire game and then pull him with two minutes left when they're down by less than a touchdown? It doesn't matter if McNabb's hamstrings were sore, if he's in bad shape, or even if he knew that there was a possibility he could be taken out of the game. Shanahan is wrong on this issue, and now he has to deal with this for maybe the rest of the season -- and especially for the next two weeks. Nice work.

People aren't exactly lining up to congratulate Shanahan. And that's to be expected. When was the last time that a starting quarterback had played just about the entire game, and then was unexpectedly removed from the game while his team had a chance to march down the field for a game-winning score? I honestly can't remember, though I'm sure at some point it's occurred.

McNabb can play much, much better. And really, he needs to for this team to go anywhere -- or for him to even possibly return to D.C. after this season. But Shanahan deserves all of the blame in this case. If he didn't know this was the quarterback he was getting in McNabb, or that the offensive line would be even close to as bad as it currently is, why even trade for McNabb in the first place? Keep that pick and draft a young QB or another offensive lineman (or three).

Shanahan already has a difficult job, but he didn't help himself at all with this move. The only way he wins in this whole mess is if McNabb somehow starts playing better and rallies the troops in the team's final eight games. But even then, when it comes to the possibility of re-signing with Washington, would McNabb forgive Shanahan for not only taking him out of the game, but criticizing him, if only briefly, about his lack of knowledge of the team's offense?

Who knows what McNabb or Shanahan are really thinking, but hopefully McNabb is able to focus his rage on something that may anger him even more than Shanahan: the Philadelphia Eagles.

Praising the common-sense genius

In last night's game between the Steelers and the Saints, an interesting situation arose in the second quarter that definitely got my attention. On a 4th and 3 on the Pittsburgh 13 and 12 seconds remaining in the half, the Saints, for some reason, shifted out of field goal formation and looked as if they were going to run a pass play. Instead of letting his field goal unit cover the possible trick play, Steelers head coach Mike Tomlin simply called a timeout (the Steelers' third and final timeout of the half). After the timeout, the Saints opted to kick the field goal instead.

Not only was the decision by Tomlin to call a timeout logical, but it seemed like a simple solution. But Cris Collinsworth seemed amazed by Tomlin's timeout-calling genius, and he and Al Michaels discussed the move for the next few moments/minutes until the Saints lined up for their actual field goal attempt.

Now, there are thousands of coaching decisions behind the scenes both during the week for preparation and during actual games that fans will never know or be able to comprehend. But many coaches these days seemingly make so many bone-headed decisions that an obvious coaching move by Tomlin was enough for Collinsworth and Michaels to praise as if Tomlin had just pulled off some difficult maneuver that only he could have accomplished. Why is it so tough to have a common-sense approach?

Maybe that's because just about every bad coaching decision is analyzed endlessly by SportsCenter, teams' local media, other sports TV/radio shows, etc. But like it or not, that's going to be the case this week (and next week) with Mike Shanahan and his decision to pull Donovan McNabb in favor of Rex Grossman in the fourth quarter. (And that's not counting his two decisions to go for two in the second half, but I'll leave that for others to examine.)

To be clear, I completely disagreed with the decision to pull McNabb, even if he was having another mediocre game. I don't think McNabb has played all that well this season, which I've noted in previous posts. But that doesn't mean that Grossman gives the Redskins a better chance to win, which, oddly enough, was another topic that was discussed this week. There's very little, if anything, on the football field that Grossman does better than McNabb, especially with how poorly -- very, very poorly -- the Redskins offensive line was playing against the Detroit front four.

I think Shanahan likes to play these little head games with some of his team's best players. He was (still is?) in a battle of wills with Albert Haynesworth, though hopefully that's over as Haynesworth has played rather well the last few weeks. It's possible that Shanahan was trying to send a message to McNabb that mediocrity from him won't be enough to a) possibly get the Skins to the playoffs and b) earn him a contract to stay in Washington if it's not deserved.

But the timing of the move was beyond questionable. Let's take a look at the fourth-quarter situation again. Leading 25-20 after a Brandon Banks kickoff return touchdown, the Skins defense forced the Lions to punt the ball away, and McNabb and the offense took over at their own 26 with a little more than five minutes to go. The Lions also still had all three of their timeouts. On first down, Keiland Williams rushed for no gain. But on second down, McNabb made a disastrous decision, forcing the ball into a crowded area. Detroit intercepted the pass and took over in Redskins territory. Detroit both scored the go-ahead touchdown and completed the two-point conversion, which gave them a 28-25 lead.

The Redskins got the ball back with 3:12 remaining -- unfortunately, Banks didn't return the kickoff for a touchdown again -- and the offensive line again ruined any potential scoring drive. Trent Williams was called for holding on first down, and after two incomplete passes on second and third down, McNabb was sacked on 4th and 10. With the ball already in Washington territory, the Lions ran the ball three times and kicked a field goal to go up by a score of 31-25.

And that's when the switch to Grossman happened. Three thoughts popped into my head when I saw Grossman running onto the field: 1) Is McNabb hurt? 2) Why would Shanahan do this? 3) How exactly is Grossman supposed to perform any better than McNabb did with the way the offensive line was playing? As if it was destined to happen, Grossman was immediately sacked, and his fumble was recovered and returned for a touchdown. With the game now out of reach, Grossman threw a few short passes when the Skins got the ball back, but they didn't mean anything.

After the game, Shanahan said he made the switch because Grossman "gave us the best chance to win" at the time. I really hope he didn't believe that, no matter how poorly or slowly McNabb had previously run the team's two-minute drill in other games. Grossman had absolutely no chance behind the Redskins offensive line in that game, and that was evident from the beginning of the first quarter. McNabb ran for his life all game, basically having to avoid one or two potential tackles on most passing plays just to get the ball off. Sure, he missed his fair share of open receivers when the line actually gave him time. That's been an issue all season. Does that mean that pulling him in the fourth quarter when all the team needed was a touchdown was really a good decision?

If Shanahan really was trying to send McNabb a message, maybe he could have found a different time to make such a choice. Or maybe he decided that was the single best opportunity he'd have all season to demonstrate to McNabb that he needs to play better, no matter what. Unfortunately, unlike Tomlin, Shanahan did not use common sense in assessing the situation, and it may not only have cost the Redskins the game, but now Shanahan and the team face some serious question marks heading into their bye week.

Keep giving the ball to Ryan Torain

What's the best way to keep the pressure off of Donovan McNabb? Continuing to run the ball with Ryan Torain.

In Week 6 against the Colts, the 24-year-old Torain had his first career 100-yard game in the NFL. He rushed 20 times for 100 yards, averaging five yards per rush. He broke plenty of tackles, and he also added two touchdowns for good measure. And last Sunday against the Bears, Torain arguably had an even better game, getting the ball 21 times and gaining 125 yards (six yards per rush). He failed to score a touchdown and also fumbled twice (losing one of them), but he ran extremely hard and again ran through several tackles.

Torain's performance against the Colts could be viewed as not so impressive simply because the Colts allow a ton of yards on the ground. They're currently ranked 26th in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per game (137.3). The Bears, on the other hand, do a solid job of stopping the run. Right now, after Torain's impressive game, the Bears are ranked fifth in rushing yards allowed (89.3). The only other running back this season to rush for over 100 yards against the Bears is the Giants' Ahmad Bradshaw (23 carries, 129 yards, 1 TD) in Week 5. Like Torain, Bradshaw also lost a fumble.

The Redskins seem committed to the run -- Torain has received at least 20 carries in each of the last two games -- and they're actually more efficient at running the ball right now than passing. As long as Torain holds onto the ball, which hopefully doesn't develop into a weekly worry, he should be due for another huge game against a Lions run defense that is allowing 138.8 yards per game on the ground (ranked 27th).

And in case you're curious about how Torain stacks up to the rest of the league, his 381 rushing yards rank 19th in the NFL, and his 4.6 yards-per-carry average of 4.6 is tied for 12th. Not bad for a guy who wasn't even activated until Week 3.

Grossman over McNabb? You must be joking

I've been critical of Donovan McNabb through his seven games with the Redskins, particularly the last few weeks. But never did the thought of benching him cross my mind. But according to Redskins Insider's Jason Reid, apparently some fans believe it's time to give Rex Grossman a shot:

In e-mail we've received recently, many Insider readers have suggested that the Washington Redskins should bench Donovan McNabb and start backup quarterback Rex Grossman.

The thinking, if I read it correctly, is that Grossman has a better grasp of Coach Mike Shanahan's offense because he worked under offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan with the Houston Texans. Since he understands the offense better, readers have explained, he undoubtedly would be more productive than McNabb, who is struggling to learn the offense and is struggling on the field.

Seriously, that's it? Because he's more familiar with the offense, Grossman should start over McNabb? That seems rather simplistic, especially when looking at this:

McNabb (career): 86.0 QBRat, 58.9 Comp%, 222 TD, 107 INT
Grossman (career): 69.6 QBRat, 54.0 Comp%, 33 TD, 36 INT

Do fans really want to start someone who has thrown more interceptions than touchdowns in his career just because he's more familiar with the team's offense? Now, I understand that there are some crazy fans with irrational ideas -- mainly the types of fans who routinely call into sports talk radio shows and ramble on and on about random things -- but that type of thinking is just ridiculous.

Also, for as below average as McNabb has been this season (76.0 QBRat, 57.5 Comp%, 6 TD, 7 INT), those numbers are still better than Grossman's best season (2006-2007: 73.9 QBRat, 54.6 Comp%, 23 TD, 20 INT). McNabb needs to start ramping up the touchdown production a little, but there's still time for that to happen. By the way, Grossman's experience in this offense in actual game situations is one game last season. In that game, when he replaced an injured Matt Schaub, Grossman threw nine passes, completing three of them, and also had an interception. He also fumbled once, but it was recovered.

If Grossman had spent several years learning this offense and was some kind of master of this scheme, then maybe, just maybe, it would be worth considering. But he's only been learning this offense since the Texans signed him in 2009, so it's not like he has some enormous advantage, or even one that comes close to the talent differential between him and McNabb.

Grossman seems like a decent backup. It should stay that way.

Skins beat Bears despite offensive struggles

First, the good news: The Redskins beat the Bears today, 17-14, and moved to 4-3 on the season. If the Giants lose tomorrow, then the Skins will be on top of the NFC East again, via tiebreaker. Also, DeAngelo Hall had the game of his life, intercepting a whopping four Jay Cutler passes and returning one for a 92-yard touchdown in the third quarter. That touchdown accounted for the only second half scoring in the game and ended up being the deciding play.

On offense, Ryan Torain rushed 21 times for 125 yards and broke numerous tackles, just like he did on Sunday night last week against the Colts. Unfortunately, he did lose a fumble deep in Bears territory on a potential scoring drive that could have put the game away for good, but it ended up not mattering because of Hall and the Skins defense. Donovan McNabb finished 17-32 for 200 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. He didn't play particularly well, but he was also under siege all day by the Bears defense, and his receivers didn't help him out much, especially early in the game when Anthony Armstrong and Chris Cooley dropped consecutive passes in Bears territory. McNabb's lone touchdown was to Santana Moss, who had five catches for 63 yards. Cooley caught seven passes for 52 yards, but he also had at least one drop and also fumbled (though he did smack the ball out of bounds to keep the ball away from the Bears, but that play did draw a flag). Armstrong also had two catches for 42 yards.

On defense, players were flying all around the field, making big hits and forcing numerous fumbles. Rocky McIntosh led the team with eight tackles (tied with London Fletcher) and had a sack. Albert Haynesworth returned and played a phenomenal game. He blew up several plays by himself and also recorded a sack. Brian Orakpo was awesome as well and had two sacks, increasing his season total to seven. Overall, the defense only allowed seven points and was very opportunistic.

And now, the bad: The offense had a very difficult time both scoring points and holding onto the ball. As mentioned above, McNabb threw two interceptions -- one was returned for a touchdown -- and the Redskins also fumbled the ball six times(!), though they only lost one of them. So that was weird.

But back to the lack of scoring. In the first quarter, the Bears could barely gain any yards, which repeatedly set the Redskins offense up with great field position. In the quarter, the Redskins had four possessions that ended up at least entering Chicago's side of the field, yet at the end of the quarter, the score was 7-7. Let's take a look at each series:

1) 1st and 10 at WSH 23 D.McNabb pass short middle to A.Armstrong to WAS 43 for 20 yards (D.Manning) [I.Idonije].
1st and 15 at WSH 38 R.Torain right end to WAS 49 for 11 yards (A.Adams).
2nd and 4 at WSH 49 R.Torain right tackle to CHI 49 for 2 yards (T.Jennings).
3rd and 2 at CHI 49 D.McNabb pass incomplete short right to S.Moss.
4th and 2 at CHI 49 H.Smith punts 49 yards to end zone, Center-N.Sundberg, Touchback.

Nothing too out of the ordinary here. The Redskins get the ball on the opening kickoff and open up with a 20-yard completion to Armstrong. Torain gains 13 yards on two rushes after a false-start penalty, but McNabb and Moss can't connect on third down. Result: Punt

2) 1st and 10 at 50 D.McNabb pass incomplete short middle to R.Torain [J.Peppers].
2nd and 10 at 50 D.McNabb pass incomplete deep left to A.Armstrong.
3rd and 10 at 50 (Shotgun) D.McNabb pass incomplete short middle to C.Cooley.
4th and 10 at 50 H.Smith punts 20 yards to CHI 30, Center-N.Sundberg, out of bounds.

After the Skins defense forces a three-and-out, Brandon Banks returns the punt nine yards to the 50-yard line. McNabb drops back to pass three times in a row and fails to complete a pass. But it's hard to blame him since Armstrong and Cooley each botch potential big plays by dropping passes that hit them in the hands. Result: Punt

3) 1st and 10 at WSH 39 R.Torain left tackle to WAS 41 for 2 yards (H.Melton, M.Toeaina).
2nd and 8 at WSH 41 D.McNabb pass short middle to F.Davis to CHI 42 for 17 yards (B.Urlacher; C.Harris).
1st and 10 at CHI 42 D.McNabb pass short right to C.Cooley to CHI 37 for 5 yards (M.Toeaina).
2nd and 5 at CHI 37 D.McNabb pass short left to M.Sellers to CHI 22 for 15 yards (C.Tillman).
1st and 10 at CHI 22 R.Torain right end to CHI 26 for -4 yards (P.Tinoisamoa). PENALTY on WAS-J.Brown, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at CHI 22 - No Play.
1st and 20 at CHI 32 D.McNabb pass short left INTERCEPTED by D.Moore (I.Idonije) at CHI 46. D.Moore for 54 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

After another forced three-and-out, the Skins earn decent field position at their own 39. The drive starts out with some promise as McNabb starts to get in a rhythm and completes a few passes to move the ball down the field. But disaster strikes on a 1st and 20 play on the Chicago 32: McNabb drops back to pass but doesn't see an unblocked Bears defender running straight for him. Instead of taking the sack, McNabb tries to make a play and attempts a difficult throw to the left side of the field. But that doesn't work, and the ball is tipped up in the air, intercepted, and returned for a 54-yard touchdown. Result: Interception, TD Chicago. 7-0 Bears

4) 1st and 10 at WSH 28 R.Torain right guard to WAS 33 for 5 yards (M.Toeaina).
2nd and 5 at WSH 33 D.McNabb scrambles right end to WAS 35 for 2 yards (B.Turner).
3rd and 3 at WSH 35 (Shotgun) D.McNabb pass short middle to S.Moss to CHI 49 for 16 yards (C.Harris).
1st and 10 at CHI 49 D.McNabb pass incomplete short left to M.Sellers.
2nd and 10 at CHI 49 D.McNabb pass short right to C.Cooley to CHI 41 for 8 yards (B.Urlacher).
3rd and 2 at CHI 41 D.McNabb pass short right to C.Cooley to CHI 35 for 6 yards (T.Jennings).
1st and 10 at CHI 35 R.Torain right guard to CHI 25 for 10 yards (C.Harris).
1st and 10 at CHI 25 R.Torain left end to CHI 24 for 1 yard (P.Tinoisamoa).
2nd and 9 at CHI 24 D.McNabb pass deep left to S.Moss for 24 yards, TOUCHDOWN.

After that horrible play and resulting touchdown, the Redskins start at their own 28. What resulted was their only touchdown-scoring drive of the day. Looking determined, the offense marches down the field, utilizing both McNabb's arm and Torain's legs (but mostly McNabb's arm). After getting to the Chicago 24, McNabb fires a 24-yard touchdown pass to a wide-open Moss. Result: TD Washington. 7-7

The Redskins defense again forces the Bears into a three-and-out, which ends the first quarter. For what it's worth, the Redskins did score on a field goal on the ensuing drive, though they didn't have to go very far considering they started at midfield. But after that field goal, the offense failed to score again, and the only Redskins points came on Hall's interception return.

For the game, the Bears offense slightly outgained the Redskins 322-308, though neither offense would likely take much pride in such an ugly game. However, it's still notable because despite being 4-3, the Redskins offense has been outgained (in yardage) in all seven games. Yes, the scoreboard is what's most important, obviously, but the yardage stat is still worth noting.

So what does all this mean? Well, the offense failed to take advantage of outstanding field position early in the game and also allowed the Bears to score a defensive touchdown, both of which nearly cost the Redskins the game. At this point, Redskins offensive players know that they need to put more points on the board -- especially touchdowns. The offensive line didn't pass block well at all, but Torain did have a strong game on the ground, averaging six yards per rush. Last week Torain had 100 yards, so moving the ball on the ground is starting to become a strength instead of a weakness like it had been early in the season.

The Redskins just aren't a very good offensive team at this point. There's tons of room for improvement, but it may take a while before positive changes are made (if at all). With the team playing so many close games and still managing a 4-3 record, it would be a huge lift if the offense could just score another touchdown here or there. But it would be even better to not have any more plays like that Bears interception return, though that type of thing really hadn't happened to the Redskins this season until today anyway. It's also awesome that the defense forced six turnovers, but that kind of thing probably won't continue to happen, especially since the Skins schedule after the bye week is rather difficult.

No matter who's to blame -- McNabb, offensive line, receivers, coordinators -- the offense has to be more efficient if this team is going to reach the playoffs. Jay Cutler won't be there every week to throw the game away.

McNabb isn't playing that well

The Redskins season -- so far -- has to be considered a moderate success. At 3-3, they've done a pretty good job of weathering the storm of a difficult early season schedule, and they've really only lost one game, to the Rams, that looked bad at the time. But with the Rams playing better, that doesn't even look too awful now, and the Skins have also beaten Dallas (doesn't look that impressive now), Philadelphia (solid win), and Green Bay (also solid). The two three-point losses to the Texans and Colts were tough to stomach, but they were certainly in both games the whole time and barring a couple of missed opportunities, could actually have won those games. The Colts and Texans are also both 4-2, so it's not like they're slouches either.

The next two games, both on the road, are crucial. First, the Redskins head to Chicago in Week 7 to play the Bears, and then they travel to Detroit to face the Lions in Week 8. If the Redskins win both of those games, they'll be 5-3 heading into their bye week, which is right before another difficult part of their schedule. Here's who they face in weeks 10-13: Philadelphia, at Tennessee, Minnesota, and at New York (Giants). The Redskins will likely need to finish at least 2-2 in those games, meaning they need to win these next two games before their bye.

The Redskins have been better than last season, but they obviously still have things to work on. The defense gives up way too many yards, the offense needs to score more points, the offensive line could certainly block a little better, and the defensive backs could do a better job of catching would-be interceptions when they're thrown right to them, etc.

But here's something else the Redskins will need if they're somehow going to finish above .500: better quarterback play from Donovan McNabb. I know what you're thinking: Wait, I feel much more comfortable with McNabb at quarterback compared with Jason Campbell and all the other QBs the Redskins have had over the last several seasons. And yes, for the most part, I feel the same way. McNabb has the intangibles factor and the better ability to lead the Redskins on a game-winning drive, but that doesn't mean he's played all that well so far this season.

Let's take a look at McNabb's stats through six games this season versus Campbell's first six games last season:

McNabb: 78.8 QB rating, 58.1 completion percentage, 1,561 yards, 5 TD, 5 INT, 0 fumbles lost
Campbell: 82.9 QB rating, 65.6 completion percentage, 1,197 yards, 6 TD, 6 INT, 2 fumbles lost

Sure, Campbell turned the ball over three more times, which definitely is something quarterbacks want to avoid, but he also put together better overall numbers while playing with essentially the same weapons in the passing game and a worse offensive line. And yes, I do realize that this example is a small sample size and just a tiny slice of the whole pie to examine. (By the way, McNabb currently ranks 24th in the NFL in QB rating and 26th in completion percentage.)

I am in no way trying to say that I'd rather have Campbell as the quarterback of the Redskins than McNabb. McNabb simply brings things to the table that Campbell never will: better pocket presence, a quicker release, the ability to create plays, and being better at throwing deep passes. Simply put, McNabb's career numbers dwarf Campbell's, and McNabb is unquestionably the better quarterback -- not exactly a stunning statement. Still, the Redskins need McNabb to play much better than he has, meaning that he needs to do a better job of hitting open receivers and completing a higher percentage of his passes. Yes, he's in his first year in this offense, so he gets the benefit of the doubt in that regard. That may also mean that he'll progress in this offense as the season goes along. But even though I like that McNabb throws a great deep ball, there's nothing wrong with checking down a little more and moving the chains instead of going for the home run.

Especially when some of those home-run balls are going in the direction of Joey Galloway.

Despite scoreless second half, Skins still beat Eagles

Here's a fun fact: Did you know that the Redskins (2-2) are in first place in the NFC East (thanks to tiebreakers) despite being outscored by six points (79-73) in their four games? That's probably not a good thing, but it's all about getting wins, right?

That seemed to be the case yesterday, when the Redskins played a fantastic first quarter and then were mediocre, or worse, on offense the rest of the game. In that first quarter, the Redskins scored two touchdowns on their first two drives. On the first TD, Brandon Banks set the offense up with outstanding field position after a 53-yard punt return. The Redskins ran the ball three times, the final play a 12-yard run by Ryan Torain, who ran over Eagles safety Quintin Mikell on his way to the end zone. On their next TD drive, the Redskins moved the ball from their own 22 into Eagles territory with ease, and that drive was capped off by a 31-yard TD pass from Donovan McNabb to Chris Cooley. With about five minutes left in the opening quarter, the Redskins were up 14-0 -- a great start. Unfortunately, the offense wouldn't do a whole lot else for three-plus quarters.

Tale of the tape (first quarter):
Redskins: 112 yards (plus a 53-yard punt return), 14 points
Eagles: 72 yards, 0 points

Sure, the Redskins kicked a field goal in the second quarter to take a 17-3 lead. But for the next 39 minutes or so (in game time), the Redskins scored no points. And after gaining those 112 yards in the first quarter, the offense gained just 181 yards for the rest of the game. That's just not good enough to win many games; however, the defense was up to the task yesterday.

Did it hurt the Eagles that Michael Vick had to leave the game late in the first quarter? Yeah, definitely. But the Redskins defense still held the Eagles to only 12 points, even with an offense that stopped moving the ball effectively after the first quarter and a punter (Josh Bidwell) who averaged 37 yards per punt and probably shouldn't be with the team going forward. The Redskins knew when to get rid of Larry Johnson; it's time to do the same with Bidwell.

The Redskins shouldn't expect to win a lot of games when McNabb ends up with a quarterback rating of 60.2 (8-19, 125 yards, 1 TD, 1 INT) and the offense fails to score any points in the second half, but the defense also took a step forward, holding the Eagles to just two field goals until a late TD drive in what looked a lot like some version of a prevent defense. The defense also forced, by my count, four holding penalties on the Eagles offensive line, and it probably should have been more than that.

The running game was also much better this week. Torain rushed for 70 yards on 18 carries (3.9 average), and Clinton Portis had 55 yards on 11 carries (5.5 average) and showcased some evasiveness that hasn't been seen for a few years. McNabb also ran five times for 39 yards, including a clutch run for a first down in the fourth quarter to, more or less, seal the game. (But why did he run out of bounds?) Still, the ground game was improved.

With consecutive games against the Packers and Colts coming up, and then a trip on the road to Chicago to play the Bears, the win over the Eagles was crucial. And not only that, but the Redskins are now 2-0 against the NFC East after finishing 0-6 against the division last season. They may not stand a chance in their next two games, but they've been competitive in their own division, which is important considering how average all four teams have looked at times.

Rams 30, Redskins 16: a familiar feeling returns

In the first two weeks of the season, the Redskins gave up a lot of yards. In the Week 1 Redskins win over Dallas, the Cowboys gained 380 yards but were held to just seven points. Then in a Week 2 shootout, the Texans gained a whopping 526 yards and earned a comeback victory in a 30-27 win over the Redskins. In two weeks, that adds up to 906 yards -- way too many to give up. Still, traveling to St. Louis to play the Rams, the Redskins were supposed to blitz and confuse a rookie quarterback, Sam Bradford, starting only his third NFL game.

And that didn't happen. Instead, Bradford completed 23 of 37 passes for 235 yards and a touchdown as the Rams outplayed the Redskins and won, 30-16. Most of Bradford's passes were short ones, but that strategy worked to perfection since not only did it get the ball out of Bradford's hands quickly, but it also forced the Redskins linebackers to cover, which didn't work out very well for Washington. Failing to really pressure and frustrate Bradford -- the Redskins only had one sack, by Brian Orakpo -- the Redskins allowed 30 points and 365 yards to, at the very least, an average Rams team.

One of the main reasons that the Redskins hired Jim Haslett and switched to the 3-4 defense was to get more pressure on opposing quarterbacks and create more turnovers. Against the Rams, the Redskins got a Kareem Moore interception, but that was their only turnover besides a Rams fumble on a kickoff return. One sack and one forced turnover simply isn't enough, especially against the Rams. And with their next four games against the Eagles, Packers, Colts, and Bears, not only is the subpar defense going to be under attack, but the Redskins missed a golden opportunity to move to 2-1 with the toughest part of their schedule coming.

The defense was pretty bad; the offense wasn't much better. Donovan McNabb played just about as well as Bradford, which isn't a good thing. He finished 19-32 for 236 yards and also had one touchdown pass and one interception. He looked OK, but the offense only scored three points in the second half and couldn't get anything going. The offense also couldn't sustain many drives in the second half, and, for the game, the Rams dominated the time-of-possession margin by nearly 10 minutes.

Removing McNabb's two runs for 25 yards, the Redskins averaged over six yards per carry (15 rushes for 91 yards) in the running game. Ryan Torain, recently activated from the practice squad, had seven carries for 46 yards; Clinton Portis had seven carries for 44 yards. But even though the running game was better this week, it didn't lead to more points.

The one player who had a great game was Santana Moss -- six catches for 124 yards and a touchdown -- but even he had a horrible fumble early in the game that set the Rams up for their second touchdown. Besides the second quarter, when the Redskins outscored the Rams 13-0, just about nothing went right.

Yesterday, neither the offense nor defense were good enough to win -- a very scary thought for the rest of the season. And despite the mediocre offensive performance, the team's main focus should be to fix a broken defense, if that's possible. If it's not, the Redskins are in big trouble.

Texans complete comeback, stun Redskins in OT

Leading 27-10 in the third quarter after a 22-yard touchdown pass from Donovan McNabb to Chris Cooley, the Redskins allowed 20 unanswered points to the Texans, who went on to win 30-27 on a game-winning 35-yard field goal in overtime by Neil Rackers. The Redskins fought valiantly against the Texans, but they had a few opportunities to shut the door on a potential comeback, yet failed to do so. So despite the fact that McNabb threw for 426 yards, is this progress or more of the same?

I don't believe in a team "deserving to win" a game, but the Redskins had no business losing that game. They held a 17-point lead in the third quarter, and going into the fourth quarter were still winning by 10. But the Texans have a lot of weapons on offense, and they went to work in the second half. After the Redskins scored to go up 17 with about four minutes left in the third quarter, one big play seemed to give the Texans momentum back: a 50-yard screen pass to Arian Foster. It really was a fantastic play call; the Redskins had been blitzing a lot, and on 3rd and 15 from the Houston 44, they called a simple screen pass to Foster, who slipped past several blitzing defenders and followed a few blockers down the field for a huge gain. Matt Schaub then completed a short TD pass to Kevin Walter to cut the lead to 10.

That touchdown ended the third quarter, and the Redskins got the ball back with a chance to tack on some more points. Unfortunately, Larry Johnson entered the game and figured that that would be a good time to take a toss that seemed doomed from the start and, instead of losing maybe three or four yards by trying to get back to the line of scrimmage, make a U-turn and turn a bad play into a horrible one with a 10-yard loss. Thanks to that play, the Redskins went three and out and barely took any time off the clock. The Texans got the ball back and almost immediately answered with a field goal. With about 11 minutes to go, the Redskins' lead had been cut to seven.

So here's where the only-the-Redskins-do-this-kind-of-stuff part comes in. The Redskins start off at the 37 after a solid return and drive into Houston territory on passes to Anthony Armstrong (16 yards) and Joey Galloway (19 yards). The Redskins then run four straight times, and for the first time all game actually move the ball efficiently on the ground, getting the ball to the Houston 5. A false-start penalty gives the Redskins a 3rd and 6 opportunity, but McNabb throws an incomplete pass. Graham Gano comes on to try a 29-yard field goal, but the Texans block the kick. So instead of leading by 10 with about seven minutes left, the Redskins still lead by seven.

But there's still hope! On Houston's ensuing possession, London Fletcher gets a huge sack on Schaub, and the Texans punt the ball away after a three and out. After an awful Matt Turk punt, the Redskins have the ball on their own 49 -- fantastic field position -- with five minutes to go. On first down, McNabb hits Mike Sellers for a five-yard gain. And then, another confusing play: the Redskins attempt an end-around to Santana Moss, which loses eight yards. McNabb and the Redskins can't convert the 3rd and 13, so instead of icing the game by driving down the field, the Redskins have to punt the ball away.

With just over three minutes to go, the Texans drive down the field. And even though the defense made the Texans work, Schaub still hits Andre Johnson on a 34-yard touchdown on 4th and 10 to tie the game. The lead is gone, Trent Williams sprains his knee on the next possession, and the game goes to overtime.

In OT, the Redskins have a (another) chance to win with a 52-yard field goal, but Texans coach Gary Kubiak calls a timeout right before Gano nails his the kick, nullifying the play. On his next chance, Gano misses the kick wide right. So with great field position, the Texans drive down the field and get their own field goal chance, and Rackers makes his kick to win the game and give the Texans an amazing comeback victory.

So, to summarize, the Redskins had their moments but still did several Redskins-type things to lose the game. McNabb had a huge passing game, but he was overshadowed by Schaub, who threw for 497 yards and three touchdowns. The Redskins also did a decent job of stopping Foster (19 carries, 69 yards), but that's mostly because the Texans got behind and had to start passing (which still worked). Foster also caught three passes for 69 yards, including that huge screen pass.

The Redskins, though, had an awful game running the ball. Portis had 13 carries for 33 yards (and two touchdowns), and Larry Johnson had two carries for -7 yards. If that 10-yard loss play wasn't enough to move Johnson down the depth chart, I don't know what is.

Moss caught 10 passes for 89 yards, but besides that McNabb spread the ball around. Galloway (88 yards) and Cooley (64 yards) each caught three passes, and Fred Davis had a 62-yard catch.

I'll admit this: The Redskins do seem like a better team than last year. And while they could very easily be 2-0, they also could be 0-2. So 1-1 still feels pretty good. And if that seems negative, well, it's not. Consider this: A 3-8 Redskins team nearly beat an 11-0 Saints team last year in a game very similar to this one.

In that game, the Redskins led by 10 in the fourth quarter before allowing a late touchdown drive that sent the game into overtime. The Redskins got the ball first in OT, but Sellers fumbled the ball away, giving the Saints great field position. They easily moved the ball into field goal range and won, moving to 12-0.

If you'll remember, the Redskins had a chance to ice that game with a kick as well. But Shaun Suisham missed a seemingly routine 23-yard attempt to give the Saints new life. And they took advantage by driving the ball down the field for a touchdown and sending the game into OT. Another missed opportunity -- sound familiar?

Even if McNabb revitalizes the passing attack, which he did yesterday, the Redskins will be in big trouble if they can't 1) improve their rushing attack and 2) fix the defense. It's fun to play an opportunistic, bend-but-don't-break defense, but it's tough to ask a defense to do that all game while continuing to call blitzes that just don't get to the quarterback often enough. The Redskins did have five sacks -- that's pretty good. But they were also allowing big chunks of yardage in the passing game.

By the way, the Trent Williams injury is a big deal. If he's forced to miss more than a game or two, that'll spell big trouble not just for McNabb, but for the entire offense.

With the Rams on the schedule next week, the Redskins should be able to move to 2-1. Let's see how the team responds when they're actually favored in a game.

An injured Redskins team could be an ugly one

You probably already know by now that Donovan McNabb has a sprained ankle and hasn't been practicing. Head coach Mike Shanahan has said that he's not sure if McNabb will be ready in time to play in the season opener against Dallas. Unfortunately, Clinton Portis is also dealing with an injured ankle, though his injury isn't as much of a concern as McNabb's.

Neither practiced on Monday and both have already been ruled out of the Redskins' preseason finale against the Cardinals -- which is common since most starters are held out of the final preseason game anyway. Still, McNabb and Portis have nearly two weeks to get healthy, and according to Rick Maese (in the second linked story above), "both seemed to be walking around on their sore ankles without much problem" yesterday.

So they'll likely both be ready to play against Dallas. But don't expect this to be the last time that injuries plague McNabb and Portis this season. McNabb turns 34 in November, and although he's a tough guy and battles through an assortment of injuries, he has played a full 16 games just once in the last six seasons. (In three of those seasons, he played in 15, 14, and 14 games, so he's durable, but he will miss games.) Portis is a little younger -- he actually turns 29 tomorrow -- but he also plays a different position, running back, and has taken a pounding the last few seasons. Portis suffered a serious concussion last season and only played in eight games, but with Shanahan in town he seems to be in great shape and has been working out and practicing hard to impress the new coaching staff. If he stays healthy, he should unquestionably receive the bulk of the carries.

If McNabb and Portis miss games this season, especially at the same time, the Redskins are in big trouble. A starting lineup that features Rex Grossman at quarterback and Larry Johnson as the main rusher isn't exactly promising, to say the least. One of the risks the Redskins have taken over the last several years -- trading away their draft picks -- frequently results in a lack of depth at key positions. It's nice to have players like McNabb and Portis (both were acquired in trades), but it's even better to hold onto picks and draft solid players. Easier said than done, though, I guess.

For the Redskins to remain competitive this season, barring some kind of miracle, McNabb and Portis both need to be healthy and need to play well. It's a lot to ask of two players, but this team doesn't really have other options.

McNabb, others out for Friday's preseason game

An ankle sprain will keep Donovan McNabb out of the Redskins' third preseason game (against the Jets). McNabb hurt his left ankle in last week's loss to the Ravens.

Here's what head coach Mike Shanahan had to say about McNabb's injury:

"I don't think it's a bad ankle sprain. I don't think it's too bad. But it's still real sore right now, sore enough where he couldn't play this week if it was regular season, so that kind of gives you an idea."

Teams typically play their starters the most in the third preseason game, so the injury hurts the offense in that regard. But McNabb should be ready for the first regular season game against the Cowboys on September 12. The rest of the offense may lose the chance to become more familiar with McNabb and open things up a bit more for the rest of the preseason, but it's important to keep McNabb as healthy as possible. With McNabb out, Rex Grossman will get the start.

According to Shanahan, fullback Mike Sellers and wide receiver Malcolm Kelly will also miss Friday's game. Safety Kareem Moore will miss the game as well and is out 4-6 weeks with a sprained knee. Reed Doughty will get the start in his place.

Redskins trade for McNabb, shock an entire fan base

After a few relatively minor signings this offseason, the Redskins finally made a big splash -- and, for once, not many people saw it coming. Last night, the Redskins traded for Donovan McNabb, acquiring the six-time Pro Bowler for a 2010 second-round pick and either a third- or fourth-round choice in 2011. The move feels a bit familiar because it involves the trading of draft picks, which most fans desperately wish the Redskins would stop doing, but it also feels a bit foreign as well considering not only did the Redskins acquire a big name quarterback, but they also traded within the NFC East.

This move has several angles that need to be examined:

1) Shanahan must not have been impressed with Campbell. Do you think new head coach Mike Shanahan felt confident going into the upcoming season with Jason Campbell as his starting quarterback? Probably not. I wonder if this is something that will eventually be explained, because I thought the goal all along was for Campbell to start this season while a younger quarterback waited in the wings for the next season or two. Honestly, I was looking forward to seeing how Campbell would adjust to yet another offensive system, though this time he would be working under one of the best offensive minds in football.

2) What do the Redskins do with Campbell now? Hindsight is 20/20, but most fans should have seen at least some kind of quarterback move coming because the Redskins never publicly committed to Campbell as the starting quarterback this season. They even brought in Rex Grossman to, as it was announced at the time, compete with Campbell for the starting job. Now, McNabb is the clear No. 1 quarterback on the roster, meaning there isn't much of a reason to keep Campbell. If the Redskins are able to move Campbell, maybe they'll be able to trade for a mid-round draft choice.

3) Why are the Redskins targeting older players? McNabb is 33. Willie Parker is 29. And Larry Johnson is 30. (And oddly enough, all three have birthdays in November.) Basically all of the players the Redskins have signed or acquired this offseason are on the downside of their career. So what exactly does this mean? Are the Redskins just trying to improve the team for next season while also planning for the future? Those questions and more probably won't be answered until seeing the Redskins' approach in the upcoming NFL Draft. One of the most important questions will be:

4) Will the Redskins still draft a quarterback this year? This is a huge question, especially for next season. It's no secret that the Redskins need offensive linemen in the worst way. Campbell was supposed to be the bridge to the quarterback of the future, but that player now appears to be McNabb, who is probably a better option. But, as stated before, he's on the downside of his career, so at some point, either this season or next, the Redskins will have to draft a quarterback. But when will they do that? As of right now, the Redskins only have four choices in the 2010 draft: first round (4th overall), fourth round (103), fifth round (135), and seventh round (211). No matter who they pick in the first round, the Redskins don't select another player until the fourth round, nearly 100 spots later.

5) Will the Redskins trade down? They probably should trade down to get more draft picks, but will another team be willing to move up to the No. 4 slot while also giving the Redskins what they want? There will still be talented players at No. 4, but teams frequently are unwilling to trade up that high because of the high price tag that player will command. Hopefully if the Redskins can't trade down, they'll select the best available offensive lineman, but at this point, no one really knows what they'll do.

One more thing: I understand why the Redskins made this move, and I think most fans can see the rationale behind it. If the Redskins are able to find a young quarterback they like in this year's draft or next year's, then McNabb isn't a bad choice to be the team's quarterback until then. However, the Redskins really need to stop trading draft picks. It's downright laughable at this point. There probably isn't another team in the NFL that values draft picks less, and it's not surprising to understand why the Redskins don't have adequate depth at most positions.

Although McNabb is a little more mobile than Campbell, he still needs an offensive line to give him time. Even if the Redskins take a left tackle at No. 4, there's still work to be done to significantly improve the line.

Obviously, there will be more to come as the draft approaches. Let's just see what else the Redskins do this week.