In the middle of a lockout, only the Washington Redskins can have a quarterback controversy.
Donovan McNabb, who is so five minutes ago when it comes to the Redskins, may or may not have refused to wear a wristband that listed plays last season depending on which media report you choose to believe.
First, who cares? Really, who cares about last season or a player who won’t be here this season?
Second, who cares what boxer Bernard Hopkins has to say? He’s not a Redskins player. He’s not a football player. He’s nothing but an aging boxer who has the gall to say McNabb isn’t “authentically black.” OK, I’m done discussing such a stupid comment.
Yes, McNabb again is the buzz of Redskins fans. Conspiracy theorists love to discuss the wristband issue as if it’s the Pentagon Papers.
McNabb is a veteran capable of remembering plays. That is not why the Redskins were 6-10 last season. If a wristband would have been a solution, certain offensive linemen should have worn them so they would know which way to turn on a run block. Maybe some receivers should have donned them so they would know where to turn on a route. It could go on and on.
The Redskins needed a scapegoat. McNabb was an easy target. Maybe he didn’t play his best, but McNabb was en route to a 4,000-yard season without an effective running game to back off defenses, so he obviously didn’t play that poorly.
McNabb didn’t mesh with offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan and coach Mike Shanahan. Unfortunately, the coaches like to play a passive-aggressive game and make the quarterback out as the bad guy instead of manning up and telling the truth.
As a result, McNabb remains in purgatory until the end of the lockout, when the team either will trade or release him. Nobody’s thinking McNabb will be here next season, so why even bother discussing it?
Indeed, whether John Beck should start this fall is the new hot topic. Beck never played a snap during the regular season after arriving from the Baltimore Ravens during training camp. His preseason outings were mediocre, but that was understandable considering his late arrival to the system.
Somehow, Beck impressed the Shanahans enough as a scout team quarterback last fall to merit the first chair. But why didn’t he play during the final three weeks, when Rex Grossman clearly played himself out of 2011 plans? Maybe the Shanahans didn’t want to show whether Beck was any good to avoid offseason speculation. It’s hard to berate Beck when Redskins fans haven’t seen him play.
Finally, the extreme conspiracy theorists now see Mike Shanahan tanking 2011 to get the top pick in 2012 for Andrew Luck. Please, that’s just idiotic. No coach wastes a season; a 3-13 record could mean owner Dan Snyder would fire Shanahan.
The Redskins may be mediocre again this fall, but it won’t be on purpose. And it won’t be because of wristbands.
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more on Twitter @Snide_Remarks or email [email protected].
