Posted by Ryan Wilson

When head coach Mike Shanahan benched Donovan McNabb last season for Rex Grossman, it seemed like the latest chapter in the unintentional comedy stylings of an organization that had been on the wrong side of seemingly every personnel decision in the Dan Snyder era. The faces change, yes, but the story remains the same.

Or so the thinking went.

And while it's way too early to make any grand proclamations about the 2011 season, we feel comfortable enough with what we've seen from Grossman and John Beck to say this: the Skins' quarterbacks aren't that bad. Soft bigotry of low expectations? Perhaps, but we are talking about the Redskins. Yes, that phrase was coined in Washington, and while it wasn't originally intended for the Skins it might as have been.

But as Shanahan begins his second season as the head coach (and his son, Kyle, as the offensive coordinator), the offense looks like something more than a hastily assembled pick-up squad. And we can't stress this enough: they're doing it with Grossman and Beck, one a former first-round pick destined for the life of a backup, and the other a guy who last started an NFL game in 2007 -- four of them, all losses.

So after Grossman made easy work of the Steelers in Week 1 of the preseason, Beck showed well against the Colts in Week 2, and both held their own against the Ravens Thursday night, the starting quarterback situation remains … up in the air. At least to hear Shanahan tell it.

“I’m going to evaluate them all the way through camp, all the way through the last preseason game, possibly up to the day before we play the Giants,” said Shanahan, according to CSNWashington.com, after the Redskins lost, 34-31, to the Ravens. “It all depends on if someone separates themselves.”

"If someone separates themselves" isn't always a positive. It could be the case that two prospective quarterbacks are playing so poorly that a coach is praying one can achieve mediocrity in time for the season. Grossman and Beck present the Redskins with a good problem: two guys playing well, moving the chains and, ultimately, scoring points. Of course, there's always the fear that Grossman reverts to the player we've come to know from his inconsistent days in Chicago. And Beck, despite a four-year NFL career, has next to no actual game experience.

Also not helping: the Skins play in the NFC East, the division the Eagles are predestined to win according to oracle and backup quarterback Vince Young.

But this is the preseason, where every team still has visions of the playoffs, and hopes haven't yet been crushed by the stark reality of the regular season. And for two Redskins' quarterbacks, that means trying to earn the starting nod.

“I do know both of us feel pretty good about what we’ve done,” Beck said. “I’ve tried to do everything I can. Is it enough? That’s hard to say, because I’m not making the decision.”

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