McNabb still confident in two-minute offense
ASHBURN – This is when he wants the ball — when the game is tight, when the crowd is tense, when little time remains on the clock. Donovan McNabb has faced this situation. He has won in this situation. And he wants to remain in that situation.
Quarterbacks carve their legacies by leading teams to late-game wins. Or they can become a two-week story when they get pulled in such a situation.
In his career, McNabb has led 23 game-winning drives. One of those did not occur vs. Detroit when he was benched in a Redskins loss.
“Every quarterback loves to run the two-minute drill,” ESPN analyst and former quarterback Ron Jaworski said. “Every quarterback looks forward to that. It’s not as difficult as people make it out to be.
“If you look at the history of Donovan, he’s been inconsistent in that period of time. There are times when he’s run the two-minute offense brilliantly and times when it’s been sketchy.”
The question is: If Monday’s game comes down to the final two minutes, will McNabb remain in the game? Though no one said he would for certain, it’s likely that he would. One reason Redskins coach Mike Shanahan cited for removing him was that he nearly didn’t play vs. Detroit anyway. But there’s no doubt McNabb, who said his hamstrings have improved, will play in this game.
“I do enjoy that part, specially when you’re in that rhythm and everyone is getting involved,” McNabb said. “You’re spreading the ball around. You’re picking up first downs, and you get in the red area where you feel like good things can happen.”
Of course, practicing it would help. That’s something the Redskins haven’t done for six weeks because of McNabb’s quadriceps and hamstring injuries. Shanahan said he hopes they can practice it Saturday, depending on how McNabb’s hamstrings are doing.
“I won’t take a chance of injury just to run a two-minute offense so everyone’s happy,” Shanahan said. “You have to be able to go full speed in a two-minute situation.”
McNabb has fared well late in games, though his career passer rating in games within seven points is 75.8 (ranking him 34th since 1991). But he has a 38.1 passer rating in such late-game situations this season with no touchdowns and three interceptions.
There’s also this: Shanahan calls the two-minute offense an extension of their third-down package. McNabb is 26th in the NFL on third downs with a 62.8 passer rating. On third-down plays in which the Redskins need anywhere from three to seven yards for a first down, he has a 23.1 rating.
Shanahan’s definition of a true two-minute offense is one in which they have no timeouts remaining and must hustle downfield with each play. The quarterback must call two plays in the huddle. And for a quarterback in a new system, that can be difficult until he’s comfortable with the terminology. He’s likely choosing from a list of 25 to 50 plays.
The quarterback typically calls his own plays in that situation, though Redskins offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan also will call a few. Defenses scale back.
“The two-minute drill is an exciting time because no one knows what to expect,” McNabb said. “The unknown happens. I’ve been a part of it for years.”
