Tag: Washington Redskins (Page 10 of 44)

      Redskins working out JaMarcus Russell – yes, that JaMarcus Russell

      November 2, 2010 /
      Dec 13, 2009; Oakland, CA, USA; Oakland Raiders quarterback JaMarcus Russell (2) reacts after a sack as Washington Redskins defensive tackle Kedric Golston (64) and defensive lineman Lorenzo Alexander (79) look on at the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum. The Redskins defeated the Raiders 34-13. Photo via Newscom

      The Washington Redskins’ quarterback situation has gone from interesting, to absurd, to ludicrous in the past 72 hours.

      With just over two minutes remaining in the fourth quarter against the Lions on Sunday, head coach Mike Shanahan benched Donovan McNabb in favor of Rex Grossman despite the Skins only being down one score. On Monday, Shanahan said that McNabb didn’t have enough “cardiovascular endurance” to run his two-minute offense, which is why he went with Grossman.

      Today, Mark Berman of FOX 26 in Houston is reporting that the Redskins will work out free agent JaMarcus Russell, who has been working out in Texas in hopes of returning to the NFL. This is the same Russell who just had codeine possession charges dropped last week.

      Now, Russell may be in the best shape of his life but he’s still JaMarcus Russell. He may have seen the error of his ways and has now committed himself to the game of football, but he’s still JaMarcus Russell.

      I know the Skins haven’t officially signed him yet, but why? Why JaMarcus Russell?

      Maybe I’m looking too much into this, but it’s clear that Shanahan’s confidence in McNabb is disintegrating. He said that McNabb is still his starter, but you don’t bench your starter with the game on the line in favor of Rex Grossman and then turn around and work out one of the biggest draft busts in NFL history during your bye week. Again, maybe I’m reading too much into the situation and there’s a possibility that McNabb’s health status is in question but how good is Donovan feeling about his current situation? He hasn’t fully picked up Shanahan’s offense yet, but it’s only been seven games.

      Michael Wilbon wrote yesterday that this will be McNabb’s first and last year in D.C. Seeing as how Shanahan is about to bring JaMarcus Russell in for a work out, I’m not going to question Wilbon’s theory.

      External Sports, NFL

      Donovan McNabb to bolt Washington after the season is over?

      November 1, 2010 /
      Washington Redskins' quarterback Donovan McNabb is seen on the sidelines against the Green Bay Packers at FedEx Field in Landover, Maryland on October 10, 2010. The Redskins went on to defeat the Packers 16-13. UPI/Kevin Dietsch Photo via Newscom

      This may be an overreaction to what happened yesterday in Detroit, but Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post predicts that Donovan McNabb will not re-sign with the Redskins this offseason.

      With just over two minutes remaining and the Redskins trailing the Lions by only one score in the fourth quarter on Sunday, Mike Shanahan pulled McNabb and inserted Rex Grossman at quarterback. On his first play, Grossman was hit, lost the ball and Detroit’s Ndamukong Suh scooped it up for a 17-yard score.

      Following the game, Shanahan told the media with a straight face that Grossman gave the Redskins their best chance of winning. After he was finished laughing, it had to have hit McNabb that his head coach doesn’t have complete and utter faith in him to get the job done.

      Wilbon, who is a close friend of McNabb’s, doesn’t “believe for a second that Donovan McNabb’s gonna be here next year now.” Not a total surprise given what transpired on Sunday. But the Redskins haven’t been overly aggressive in re-signing him either, so maybe both sides have already soured on each other.

      One would think that Shanahan wants to draft and develop his own quarterback. McNabb was a way to make the Redskins more competitive (which they have been), but Shanahan knows that this team is too devoid of playmakers on the offensive side of the ball to be playoff contenders. And by the time they’re ready to compete for a postseason berth, McNabb will be well past his prime.

      That said, the hot topic right now is how Shanahan benched McNabb. So it’s not surprising that one of the first articles out of Washington was from a writer stating that McNabb won’t be back next year. The key, however, is that the writer is Michael Wilbon, who doesn’t throw crap against the wall just to see if it’ll stick. He’s well respected in the D.C. area and he knows McNabb, so maybe he’s onto something.

      External Sports, NFL

      Why did Shanahan bench McNabb for Grossman?

      October 31, 2010 /
      DETROIT - OCTOBER 31: Kyle Vanden Bosch of the Detroit Lions hits Donovan McNabb of the Washington Redskins during the first quarter of the game at Ford Field on October 31, 2010 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Leon Halip/Getty Images)

      Donovan McNabb has been to six Pro Bowls, has been named the NFC Offensive Player of the Year and has led a team to a Super Bowl.

      Rex Grossman has never been to a Pro Bowl, has never been the NFC Offensive Player of the Year and although he did lead a team to the Super Bowl, it was primarily due to his defense and Devin Hester’s return abilities – not his play at quarterback.

      So it’s natural that Mike Shanahan would choose Grossman over McNabb to run his two-minute offense down a touchdown late in the fourth quarter.

      I’m not kidding. You think I’m kidding? I’m not kidding.

      With just under two minutes remaining in the Lions’ 37-25 win over the Redskins on Sunday, Shanahan benched McNabb for Grossman, who promptly fumbled on his first play, which led to a 17-yard touchdown return by Ndamukong Suh to ice the game for Detroit.

      The details are sketchy at this point, but McNabb definitely wasn’t hurt. He had taken six sacks and threw an interception that led to the Lions’ go-ahead touchdown with just over three minutes remaining in the game, but his offensive line and running game didn’t do him any favors either. Suh, Corey Williams, Kyle Vanden Bosch and Cliff Avril completely dominated the interior of Washington’s offensive line so there wasn’t much McNabb could do. The interception was ill timed, but he still completed 17-of-30 passes for 210 yards and a touchdown. Those aren’t Hall of Fame numbers but he wasn’t Jay Cutler out there either.

      Unless McNabb was turning the ball over at a Brett Favre-like pace, there’s really no reason to ever sub Grossman into the game – any game. What did Shanahan think, that Grossman was going to lead the Skins back with a heroic touchdown drive? Grossman hadn’t taken a snap all season and yet there he was, in for McNabb at the most crucial moment in the game.

      Look, I could see Shanahan making a move if he had a better option at backup. But this is Rex Grossman we’re talking about. It’s not Kerry Collins, Charlie Batch or even Chris Redman – it’s Rex Grossman. Just why…what the…huh…are you serious?

      Shanahan has some explaining to do as the Redskins gear up for their bye.

      External Sports, NFL

      It’s high time Jay Cutler learned some humility

      October 25, 2010 /
      CHICAGO - OCTOBER 24: Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears waits for a play during a time-out against the Washington Redskins at Soldier Field on October 24, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. The Redskins defeated the Bears 17-14. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

      After throwing four interceptions to DeAngelo Hall in the Bears’ 17-14 loss to the Redskins on Sunday, one would have thought that Chicago quarterback Jay Cutler would have shown some respect to the Washington cornerback.

      Then again, if you thought that, then you don’t know Jay Cutler very well.

      “I’ve played against him before, there’s no reason to shy away from him. I mean, that’s hard for me to say throwing four picks at a guy. But I’d still, if we had to play them tomorrow I’d go at him every time, if we could.”

      Hall had this to say on SportsCenter in response to Cutler’s comments:

      “You know what man, Jay’s a little bit, he don’t really understand, I guess, the game, the game of football,” Hall said on Monday. “And in the game of football, you’re gonna see guys several times in their career. You know, he completed four passes against me when I was out in Oakland and he was in Denver on a Monday Night Football game, and I knew leading up to the game he was still feeling good about that. He made some smart, snide comments about that after that game, so I knew definitely he was gonna try to come out there and try me, and it didn’t work for him.”

      Cutler has always been brash and confident – that’s kind of his M.O. He believes that he can get the best of a defense every time and in some respects, quarterbacks have to have that mentality.

      That said, he should learn to show some humility because it would serve him in the long run. You can’t throw four picks to the same guy and then turn around and say that you’d throw on him “every play” if you could. That’s the kind of attitude that got Cutler into trouble in the first place. After the second interception, he should have known that Hall was on top of his game and looked elsewhere. But because he’s so overconfident at times, he kept going at him and it wound up costing the Bears a potential win.

      Look, interceptions are a byproduct of several things – not just the quarterback. The quarterback’s decision making, down and distance, receivers’ route running and pass protection all factor into a pass play. Anyone who studies the Bears knows that not every interception that Cutler has thrown in the last two seasons have been his fault.

      That said: come on already. Cutler has yet to lead a team to the playoffs and maybe there’s a reason for that. I don’t want to get into a debate about how games aren’t won or lost by one player – I know that. But considering he has yet to win anything in his career (college or pro), it’s time for Cutler to learn some humility so that he can become the quarterback that the Bears envisioned he’d be when they traded for him two offseasons ago.

      External Sports, NFL

      Jay Cutler makes DeAngelo Hall look like a cross between Deion Sanders and Darrell Green

      October 24, 2010 /
      CHICAGO - OCTOBER 24: Jay Cutler of the Chicago Bears hits the ground after being sacked by Rocky McIntosh of the Washington Redskins at Soldier Field on October 24, 2010 in Chicago, Illinois. (Photo by Jonathan Daniel/Getty Images)

      One would have thought that after Jay Cutler threw his second interception to DeAngelo Hall that he would stop looking the corner’s way. But apparently that’s not how Cutler rolls.

      Hall tied a NFL single-game record with four interceptions in the Redskins’ ugly 17-14 win over the Bears on Sunday. Cutler completed 26-of-40 passes for 281 yards and a touchdown, but his four picks and fumble at the goal line in the third quarter killed Chicago’s hopes for victory. One of Hall’s interceptions went for a 92-yard touchdown late in the third quarter.

      This game was like a bad highlight reel of all the Bears’ problems stuck on repeat. They continue to struggle in the red zone, Cutler continues to be careless with the ball and this team can’t score on the goal line. It’s amazing. It’s almost like they have some sort of complex when they get on the one-yard line. They tense up, freak out and find a way to blow it.

      And how about this little nugget of information: the Bears still haven’t scored in the third quarter this year. Not once. Not one point. How is that even possible? How can a team head into the locker room at halftime, make adjustments and not manage a measly field goal at least? That’s a shocking stat.

      The Bears’ defense can only do so much. They started to get gashed on the ground late in the game, but they had been on the field all day and still held Washington to just 17 points. Cutler can’t continue to put his team in bad position every week and there’s no excuse for throwing four interceptions to the same defender.

      Chicago has now lost to the Seahawks and Redskins at home in back-to-back weeks. The NFC North can be had, but these are games they have to win if they want to challenge for a playoff spot.

      External Sports, NFL

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