Mike Shanahan certainly has made a series of strange personnel moves this season, from exiling Albert Haynesworth and Derrick Dockery to keeping only two running backs active and watching one get hurt. Still, the Washington Redskins coach’s resume has kept second-guessers away.
But not anymore.
The Redskins fell to 4-4 after a 37-25 loss to the Detroit Lions (2-5) on Sunday — the same Lions who ended an 0-19 streak last year against Jim Zorn & Co.
Shanahan is not supposed to follow Zorn’s follies. But the Redskins looked as bad Sunday as they did in Zorn’s 4-12 debacle last year.
The St. Louis loss looks excusable. Everyone gets a mulligan, and the Rams are suddenly a decent team at 4-4. But now the Redskins have another bad loss. Even worse, they looked terrible, committing 10 penalties, taking seven sacks, losing two turnovers and converting only two of 14 third-down conversions.
Shanahan barked at the media when he was forced to concede the team played poorly. The coach likes to treat the media as novices incapable of understanding the game’s complexities. Maybe that’s true to a point, but we know a stinker when we smell one, and changing quarterbacks in the final two minutes was a horrible move.
Shanahan said Rex Grossman knew the two-minute offense better and gave Washington its best chance to win, which is why he benched starter Donovan McNabb in favor of Grossman late in the fourth quarter with the game still in doubt. Naturally, Grossman was sacked and fumbled for a Lions touchdown on his first snap.
Sports talk radio will spend the next 15 days examining the hidden meaning of Shanahan benching McNabb for someone who hasn’t played all season. Does Shanahan really have so little confidence in his starting quarterback not to trust him to score a touchdown in the final 1:45? After all, McNabb has 24 comeback victories in his career. And if he doesn’t have faith, how does this factor into the Redskins’ long-range plan regarding their starting quarterback?
McNabb won’t start a controversy, but such a snub will be remembered when he considers whether to re-sign in 2011. Suddenly, Minnesota and Arizona look a lot more inviting with coaches who won’t bench him in the final moments.
McNabb didn’t lose this game. He endured repeated hits thanks to offensive linemen who took turns making mistakes. Trent Williams is looking more like a rookie with each game as defenses continue to figure him out. The rest of the line should be replaced in 2011. McNabb is fortunate not to have suffered a major injury given the constant hits, including six on the first nine snaps.
There is bound to be a lot of questions coming out of this game. Fans will be wondering whether Shanahan really is the right guy to lead this franchise. McNabb will be pondering whether he wants to stay. Oh, and there’s a coach who obviously is ticked at the media for seeking explanations.
Once again, Redskins Park has more drama than Broadway.
Examiner columnist Rick Snider has covered local sports since 1978. Read more at TheRickSniderReport.com and Twitter @Snide_Remarks[email protected]. or e-mail
