The dress rehearsal is turning into a strip tease.
Injured quarterback Donovan McNabb won’t play against the New York Jets on Friday, preventing the Washington Redskins’ offense from entering the regular season with an extensive stint together on the field. That’s not good.
The starters were expected to play three quarters against New York. Now the Redskins’ offense will spend maybe four quarters together during the entire preseason before facing Dallas in the Sept. 12 opener. McNabb might play one quarter at best in the preseason finale at Arizona, but missing the Jets game is a bigger blow than any other exhibition.
It’s a big disadvantage for a team running a new offense to face the defending NFC East champion. The Redskins will still be in preseason mode; the Cowboys will be ready for the prime-time matchup.
If McNabb — with his history of injuries — is beat up after two preseason appearances, the Redskins should be worried about the upcoming 16 games.
Second thought: Maybe Washington shouldn’t have traded Jason Campbell for a mythical draft choice and kept three quarterbacks on the roster. You know, just in case someone gets hurt. Would Campbell really be worse than John Beck?
Will the season come down to backup quarterback Rex Grossman, who’s simply a younger version of Todd Collins? Grossman has looked decent during the preseason because he knows the offense. However, we also know Grossman’s history — 36 interceptions in 37 games. He posted a 73.9 rating in 2006 in his only year as a starter.
For now, all that hope of building chemistry between McNabb and receiver Santana Moss and tight end Chris Cooley will be limited to the practice field. Willie Parker also is getting his chance to earn a backfield job against the Jets. But he’ll be working with the backup passer instead of McNabb. Bet he’s not thrilled over that.
The Redskins will say it’s all good, but it’s really not. Game conditions are everything, and Washington enters the regular season short on snaps.
Then again, maybe the Redskins are smart to keep McNabb from the Jets’ defense. Rex Ryan wants to [bleep, bleep, bleep] opponents without mercy, and Washington still seems a blocker short of protecting McNabb after Baltimore hurt him. The Redskins need a reserve running back who blocks better than a matador.
Meanwhile, a promising preseason is now a peep show of what may come.
Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks or e-mail [email protected].
