Posted by Josh Katzowitz
At some point you have to wonder if the decision-making process of coach Mike Shanahan is one big reason the Redskins likely will finish the season last in the NFC East. Yes, the talent isn’t necessarily there, but the way Shanahan has handled his quarterbacks the past two seasons has been nothing short of disastrous.
On Saturday, colleague Will Brinson brought us the news that that Shanahan, after starting John Beck the past three games following a four-interception performance by Rex Grossman, had split the first-team reps at practice this week between Beck and Grossman.
Now, NFL.com’s Jason LaCanfora is reporting that Shanahan informed the team over the weekend that he was going back to Grossman when the Redskins face Miami today.
While this quarterback controversy has continued since Donovan McNabb left for Minnesota -- and you’ll recall that Shanahan benched McNabb in favor of Grossman last year, leading to all kinds of problems in Washington -- Grossman and Beck, statistically, aren’t much different.
Beck has a better completion percentage (60.6 to Grossman’s 55.8), his quarterback rating is higher as well (72.1 as compared to Grossman’s 66.5), and the two have combined for eight touchdowns and 11 interceptions. The biggest disparity, though, is that the Redskins are 3-2 with Grossman starting and 0-3 with Beck (including the first shutout loss of Shanahan’s career).
While Beck won’t get the chance for revenge against the Dolphins -- he was originally drafted by Miami in 2007 before being cut two years later -- the Redskins can take solace in this fact: the last former University of Florida standout quarterback to start a game against the Dolphins, a guy by the name of Tim Tebow, walked out of Miami with a victory.
At this point, that’s as good a reason as any to make yet another quarterback switch.
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