Posted by Will Brinson

If there's one thing we know about Rex Grossman, it's that he doesn't lack confidence. (John Beck, by the way, isn't short on competitive enthusiasm either.) But the prediction he dropped in a recent interview, following his ascension to the unofficial No. 1 quarterback in Washington, well, it's just delusional.

Grossman, in speaking with Kelli Johnson of CSN Washington, predicted that the Redskins would win the NFC East.

"We're fine being the sleepers right now," Grossman said. "We're just waiting in the wings waiting to take over the NFC East. No one's talking about us. IT's right where we want to be. You look at us from top-to-bottom out here, there's a bunch of great players.

"We don't need people saying we're the best right now. When it's all said and done I really feel like we're going to win the NFC East."

Um, yeah. Look, you gotta admire Grossman's confidence, however misplaced it seems.

But the odds of the Redskins winning the NFC East? Well, they're not good. And actually, if you want to put a number on them, they're 25/1, according to Sportsbook.com.

That wouldn't be bad if it were their Super Bowl odds, but when Vegas drops a double-digit number on a team to win its division, it's a pretty clear-cut indicator that they won't be doing that. (The 2-14 Panthers, in fact, are only 20/1 to win the NFC South.)

Anyway, back to the Redskins. They are simply not going to win the division, regardless of the fact that Grossman's done it before.

"This offense, from top to bottom, is better than that offense I had in Chicago," Grossman said. "And the defense is going to make a ton of strides this year. I know they are. I know we're going to be a good team."

Maybe so. (Not likely, but maybe.) Predicting that the Redskins defense could suddenly turn into 2006 Bears and help a quarterback who completed 54 percent of his passes, threw 20 interceptions -- against just 23 touchdowns -- and averaged under 200 passing yards is probably closer to "foolish" than it is "bold."

But, hey, if Grossman wants to get 20/1 on any sort of bet, I'm more than happy to oblige.

HT: DC Sports Bog

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

• On the first unofficial depth chart of the season, the Redskins have listed as their No. 1 QB……. Rex Grossman. So, there’s that, Redskins fans.

• Is free agent WR Terrell Owens still a possibility to return to the game when his ACL is completely healed? It’s certainly not out of the question.

• What kinds of consequences will Titans DB Cortland Finnegan have to face after missing practice last weekend because he was unhappy about his contract (and then lying to his fans about it)? Sounds like the team management will forgive, but might not forget.

• Anthony Gonzalez isn’t exactly sure how many NFL players are taking HGH, but he’s pretty sure that those players are out there, lurking in the shadows. Said the Colts WR to the Indianapolis Star: "How many guys are on it, that's hard to say," Gonzalez said. "It could be 10, it could be a hundred or more; either way, it's too much. But around the league, you see guys on Sunday, and things don't add up; they don't look right. I see guys I saw in college, now they're in the NFL and they look totally different."

• Between the second and third preseason games, the Saints will move their training camp to Oxnard, Calif.

• The relationship between newly-minted HOFer Richard Dent and his former coach, Mike Ditka? Yeah, not too good. Ditka didn’t show for last weekend’s induction ceremonies, and Dent didn’t mention Ditka in his speech.

• Steelers WR Limas Sweed feels like he has something to prove. And yes, he’s pretty much correct.

• Browns DE Marcus Benard bulked up about 25 pounds during the offseason because he thought that would make him more effective. Funny thing about that. The coaches disagree and want him to lose the weight.

• Hey, Curtis Painter: the battle is on to see if you’ll stay as Peyton Manning’s backup in Indianapolis. Apparently, Dan Orlovsky wants Painter’s job.

• As a brief aside, we hit the 10,000th follower on our Twitter feed today. Many, many thanks to those who made it possible.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

With Donovan McNabb off the Redskins radar screen and with Rex Grossman a free agent, it was assumed by just about everybody -- especially by the man himself -- that John Beck was in the position to take over Washington’s starting QB spot.

And by just about everybody, I’m not including Redskins coach Mike Shanahan, who told reporters, via the DC Sports Bog, that Beck actually ISN’T the starter right now.

As Dan Steinberg points out, many national reporters have assumed that because Beck said he thought of himself as the starter that he actually was. But until NFL.com asked Shanahan, he hadn’t made a comment on the scenario.

“First of all, I’ve never mentioned a starter,” Shanahan said. “I’ve never even insinuated a starter. I said I had a lot of belief in John Beck, I had a lot of belief in Rex Grossman. We’re going to play the best player at the end of camp, but I do believe in both those guys. I’ve watched them practice. You make decisions based on practice. I’ve watched both these guys for a year, I like what they bring to the table. Now I get a chance to watch them compete on a day-to-day basis.”

Grossman, for the record, has 31 career starts (including three last year) against Beck’s four -- which is less than half as many as the one guy who’s getting no love in this case. That would be nine starts for Kellen Clemens.

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Posted by Ryan Wilson

It took nearly a week and the ratification of the new collective bargaining agreement, but Minnesota quarterback Donovan McNabb finally got on the field with his new teammates.

And not unlike his 2010 season in Washington, McNabb's first official day on the job was a mixed bag. The St. Paul Pioneer Press's Jeremy Fowler writes that "From 50-yard completions to ducks crashing into the grass, Donovan McNabb made just about every throw in his first full practice with the Vikings."

To be fair -- and McNabb pointed this out after the fact -- it was his first workout with a new team, with new faces, in a new system.

"We made a lot of big plays today, but some plays we want back," McNabb said, according to the Pioneer Press. "Everything was moving a mile a minute (early on); your legs feel so fresh that your drops are extremely fast. You just have to calm down."

One difference between Minnesota and previous teams -- at least to hear McNabb tell it -- is that Vikings offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave is more amenable to input from the quarterback than former coaches (we won't name names but we'll venture a guess…).

"Some coaches say 'Hey, it's my way or no way,' " McNabb said. "You become robotic. That's when you pull away from your style of play and the way of things that got you successful. If things don't go as well as you'd like them to, you find out what the mistake was, you correct it and you go right back and get it done."

McNabb probably deserved to be benched at some point last season, but that's not the issue. Why did Mike Shanahan give up a second-round pick to division rival Philadelphia for a guy who didn't fit his system?

(And if the argument is, "Well, he thought McNabb was a good fit and that's why he traded for him," that makes Shanahan seem out of touch and a horrible judge of talent. Which is fine for your fantasty football team, less so when you're coaching an actual NFL franchise.)

Worse still: once it was determined that McNabb wasn't working, the backup plan was … Rex Grossman.  (If nothing else, the Redksins' chronic ineptitude over the years has provided some much need comedy relief. So there's that. )

Now McNabb gets a fresh start in Minnesota. And maybe he will find some of the magic that helped propel the Eagles to annual playoff appearances in the mid-2000s. But it's just as likely (and maybe more so) that 2011 will not only signal the end of McNabb's run as an NFL starter, but usher in the Christian Ponder era. The only question is when.

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Posted by Ryan Wilson

One of the least surprising moves of free agency was the Redskins' decision to jettison quarterback Donovan McNabb after just one season in Washington. Despite a new head coach and general manager, the Skins still appeared to be the same slapstick (unintentional) comedy act when it came to roster building.

Mike Shanahan unceremoniously benched McNabb for Rex Grossman midway through the 2010 season (good news, however: Shanahan proclaimed last month that "I love Donovan McNabb," so there's that), and Washington's other backup, John Beck, appeared to win the job by default.

Well, Grossman, a free-agent until Tuesday, has signed a one-year deal to return to the Redskins. And now the biggest storyline in Washington will be which player, with seven starts between them in the last six seasons and a combined career passer rating that averages in the mid-60s, wins the starting quarterback gig.

“This is all I can ask for: an offense I love, a bunch of players I think are really good,” Grossman said on his first day back at Redskins Park. “I’m excited about this team, this offense and my opportunity.”

Washington's coaches have stressed that the QB job is wide open, even if it seemed that Beck was anointed the starter during the offseason.

“They all got a good opportunity,” offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said, according to the Washington Post. “Whenever you don’t have a designated starter, you got a lot of competition.”

Maybe that's a shot at McNabb (Shanahan was rumored not to be much of a fan) or maybe it's the realization that the team's going into the season with either Beck or Grossman as their starting QB. It can't be a comforting thought for supporters who have endured more than should be expected of any fan base not located in Detroit during those heady Matt Millen days. Upside: Grossman and Beck both sound like they want the job. It's not much but, well, it's something.

“I want to be able to do the second half of the Cowboys game throughout 16 weeks and on through the playoffs as well,” Grossman said of a half in which he was 18-of-30 passing for 214 yards and three touchdowns. “That’s my challenge: to be consistently great.”

And while Beck has just four starts in his four-year NFL career, the last coming during his rookies season in 2007, he exudes confidence.

“I know where I stand, and I know how I’m viewed,” he says, according to Yahoo.com. “But I feel differently about myself. I know the questions are justified. I haven’t thrown a lot of passes. I have to prove to everyone what I can do. … Coach Shanahan is giving me my chance. That’s all I’ve been asking for in this league – a real chance.”

However the rest of training camp and the preseason play out, there's a very good chance that the Redskins' will begin the season with a 30-year-old under center. All that's left to sort out is if it will be a former first-round pick who has underachieved for most of his career, or a former second-rounder who has yet to win an NFL game.

If nothing else, it should give some indication of what the Redskins coaches thought of McNabb.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

So, who wants to take a chance on Redskins QB Donovan McNabb, the guy who was beaten up and benched last year in Washington?

How ‘bout the team who just got finished employing Brett Favre? Yep, it’s the Vikings.

That’s according to CBSSports.com's Mike Freeman, who reports that the Vikings and Redskins have had "intense" conversations about possibly trading McNabb.

McNabb's destination

Mike Shanahan: ‘I love Donovan McNabb’ Redskins shouldn't expect much for McNabb McNabb: 2011 will be special season

With rookie Christian Ponder and the inexperienced Joe Webb as the only legit starting QBs on the roster right now – you might have heard that the Seahawks will sign away Tarvaris Jackson from Minnesota – it stands to reason that the Vikings are in need of an experienced signal-caller to help with Ponder’s transition to the NFL.

But considering McNabb is due to make $12.5 million this season, the terms of McNabb’s contract would have to be restructured in order for the Vikings to accept the deal. Especially since, at one point last season, Washington coach Mike Shanahan thought Rex Grossman should be in the game to lead a last-minute drive instead of McNabb.

So, why do it? Well, as ESPN.com’s Kevin Seifert writes, the deal only makes sense if McNabb comes into Minnesota with the understanding that he’d be Ponder’s backup. Otherwise, Seifert writes, “if Ponder isn't ready in Week 1, you wonder if someone like Joe Webb or Tyler Thigpen couldn't hold down the fort until he is. Isn't that a smarter long-term move than trading for a declining player who can't start for a team that plans to have Rex Grossman and John Beck compete for the job this summer? The Vikings drafted Ponder to end their cycle of Band-Aid solutions at quarterback, not to extend it.”

Considering the Redskins gave up two draft picks to get McNabb from the Eagles before the 2010 season, McNabb’s decline in value is pretty startling.

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Posted by Josh Katzowitz

John Beck, who WILL be competing for the Redskins starting QB spot this training camp, tried to get a quick jump on his competition by showing up at the team facility Monday soon after the NFL and NFLPA agreed to a new CBA.

Problem is: he can’t access the facility until Tuesday.

Beck moved back to Northern Virginia from San Diego nearly a fortnight ago to be in the right spot when the lockout ended (probably because he knows Rex Grossman also WILL be competing for the starting QB job), and after the presser with DeMaurice Smith and Roger Goodell began in Washington, Beck jumped into his car and headed for the facility.

But, via the Washington Post, he was denied entry. The guard told him he couldn’t come in until Tuesday morning. Even worse, the guard didn’t even recognize Beck.

“I’m OK with that,” Beck told the paper. “I haven’t done anything yet.”

The Redskins will open training camp Thursday, and some of Beck’s teammates told him they’d make it into town by Wednesday. Until then, Beck will be waiting (quite possibly in a sleeping bag in the facility parking lot).

“So glad to hear it’s over,” Beck said of the lockout. “It needed to be over.”

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Posted by Will Brinson

In Minnesota, Christian Ponder has become the unquestioned future at quarterback, and even if the Vikings end up pursuing and/or signing a veteran free agent, it will be in a "mentor" role.

What about the past, though?

We know Tarvaris Jackson isn't coming back to Minnesota, and we know that there's a need for quarterbacks around the NFL. But could there be a market for a guy like Jackson, who's got potential but has struggled so often to succeed at the NFL level?

Well, the NFL Network's Jason LaCanfora certainly thinks so and notes that he foresees "a nice market" for Jackson in free agency.

Specifically, LaCanfora cites the Redskins, the Seahawks and the Dolphins as "strong possibilities" to sign the former first-rounder.

Those teams make a lot of sense, too, because they've got uncertain quarterback situations with incumbent veterans that need to be pushed.

The Redskins will, in all likelihood, end up with Rex Grossman and John Beck competing for the starting job (we're assuming here, of course, that despite love from Mike Shanahan, Donovan McNabb gets the boot) and Tarvaris would make a good third wheel to push the other guys and give Mike Shanahan a second option. Plus, he can roll out and throw on the run, so he must be just like Jake Plummer!

In Seattle, Matt Hasselebeck is supposed to come back, but no one's really all that sure -- one week he's guaranteed to be back, the next week it's no more than a 50-percent chance. Since anyone can beat out Charlie Whitehurst for a job, Jackson's a good candidate there as well.

And in Miami, there's been a lot of chatter about Vince Young as a possible addition to the Dolphins roster. Jackson might not have the same résumé as Young but he also doesn't bring to the table the same dramatic downside that VY does.

Factor in that Jackson will be cheaper and more durable over the course of a contract than most "veteran" quarterback options out there, and it's not unreasonable to see why teams might be interested.

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