McNabb drama subsides but doesn’t disappear
ASHBURN – The drama subsided; it didn’t end. So even coming off a bye week, the Redskins once more returned to a topic they hoped had ended a week ago: Donovan McNabb and his benching.
And another weekend meant another round of stories suggesting Mike and Kyle Shanahan’s displeasure with McNabb, their near benching of him and how much they’ve had to pare the playbook.
But Mike Shanahan dismissed reports that stated the Redskins had considered benching McNabb before the Oct. 3 game at Philadelphia. Nor did it sound as if Shanahan regretted his decision to bench him for the final two minutes during the Oct. 31 game at Detroit.
“We went down that road enough and if I keep going down it, it will swerve in a little different direction and we’ve taken it a different way,” Shanahan said. “But it’s a tough decision. It’s not always popular, but it’s one I felt was right. As I shared with the team, sometimes you don’t always make the right decision, but you make a decision based on your gut feeling … and you go with it.
“It’s the nature of the beast. Anytime you make a decision like that, obviously there’s going to be a lot of controversy.”
Shanahan also said that he’s been pleased with McNabb’s tempo in games and practices over the past month.
Meanwhile, backup quarterback Rex Grossman poked holes in the theory that the Redskins have had to dramatically reduce the playbook for McNabb. Grossman played for offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan in Houston last season.
“I don’t think it’s true,” Grossman said. “We had 120 plays going into a game last year and we have 100-some this year. I don’t think we have any less plays because of Donovan at all.”
When asked if McNabb had struggled remembering plays in the huddle, fullback Mike Sellers said: “Donovan’s a pro. Obviously he’s shown it over the years.”
Regardless, McNabb will start vs. Philadelphia on Monday, something Shanahan made abundantly clear after the benching. He also said McNabb told him his hamstrings were feeling better coming off the bye. It was not an intense practice, so McNabb did not fully test his hamstrings. However, he did participate in the six 100-yard sprints afterward.
“We didn’t want to push him too hard,” Shanahan said. “The hamstring is a lot better, but it’s still there so hopefully there’s no setback.”
Shanahan did not talk to McNabb during the bye, but did have a chat with him Monday.
“He’s always handled himself as a pro,” Shanahan said. “This is no different. No one likes to get pulled, especially a competitor like him. I understand his frustration. It’s something we deal with and we’ll move on.”
The players would like to do the same.
“Everywhere I was [during the bye], that’s all I saw was stuff about Donovan,” cornerback DeAngelo Hall said. “So I don’t think the bye week gave it a chance to go anywhere except sit there and fester, so it’s still there.”
