Mike Shanahan still has everyone guessing. Surely the coach knows who his starting quarterback will be when the Washington Redskins face the New York Giants on Sept. 11. He just doesn’t want to save the Giants even a minute of watching game film.
The coach is giving no clues, not even nonverbal. There’s no wink-wink here, no leaks from the backroom.
Drat.
Redskins fans will spend the next two weeks arguing over who’s better — Rex Grossman or John Beck — who should start the season and who would be the better backup should the first fail. Why, there may be some misguided urge for a platoon system.
The two passers are close. Beck has a 99.0 pass rating, Grossman 92.3. That’s about 20 points higher than expected. Each has one interception, while Grossman has thrown two touchdowns, one more than Beck.
The difference is Grossman has spent more time facing starting defenses because Beck missed the preseason opener with a groin injury. Grossman threw a few bad balls against Baltimore on Thursday but also averaged 14 yards on eight completions. The touchdown toss before halftime was exactly why Grossman could be named starter.
Beck hasn’t discouraged precamp notions that he’s the front-runner, though. Both outings have been good even if much of his success was vs. Baltimore’s reserves. Beck is a bigger gambler than Grossman, but neither is forgoing offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan’s playcalling.
Beck is a little more fluid in the pocket, which will be needed after the offensive line’s spotty effort against Baltimore. Then again, Grossman gets rid of the ball faster than Beck to offset the fact he stays in the pocket.
As for leadership, teammates seem fine with either one. It’s not a factor.
Maybe Shanahan is showcasing Grossman a little more to shield his real choice of Beck. Perhaps Shanahan has been flaunting all along that Grossman is the starter and is laughing secretly that no one has figured it out. This is the biggest mindgame since Scrabble.
Shanahan said the competition will continue until the final preseason game against Tampa Bay on Thursday — or maybe even the subsequent seven-on-seven drills in practice. That’s hard to believe, but no one can disprove it.
Whoever starts against Tampa Bay would appear to be the front-runner simply because the second passer won’t work with the first-team offense. Why would Shanahan intentionally do that in the final preseason game? A poor effort by the starter could still cause change, but it’s one clue Shanahan must reveal.
The upside is that no one expected either of the passers to play so well in the preseason, much less both. Similar regular-season production would elevate the Redskins into wild card contention.
Who would have guessed one year ago Grossman and Beck would make everyone forget Donovan McNabb?
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more on Twitter @Snide_Remarks or email [email protected].
