The Washington Redskins continued their march toward irrelevancy with a closer-than-expected 30-33 loss to the Dallas Cowboys. The only thing good at this time is that, despite the loss, the Redskins are still ahead of the ‘Boys in the standings due to their better conference record – not that they still won’t end up in the cellar.
The Skins made a lot of noise this week with the benching of quarterback Donovan McNabb. The 34-year old was not only benched, but demoted to third string.
I’m no McNabb fan but you can’t put all the blame on him for this horrible season. No, that distinction belongs to Redskins owner Dan Snyder. I concur with The Virginian-Pilot’s Don Luzzatto on this one:
Under his tenure and meddling, a parade of coaches and players – most of them with some history of success – have come to Washington and thoroughly embarrassed themselves.
Snyder even turned Joe Gibbs, a coach in the same breath as George Allen and Vince Lombardi, into someone I barely recognized. The conventional wisdom was that Gibbs was out of his depth in the modern game, but a guy that smart, that successful (he mastered NASCAR), could’ve figured it out.
You can now fill all-star teams and front offices with guys who have happily – with bulging pockets – left Snyder’s employ and discovered they could still play the game after all.
Since he bought the Redskins in 1999, Snyder has turned the franchise into one of the most valuable enterprises in sports, even while overseeing some of its worst years on the field.
I think benching the Skins – not just for this season but until Synder is gone – is an appealing idea.
I just have to figure out who I’m going to adopt as “my” team. One thing is for certain: it won’t be the Cowboys.
VIVIAN J. PAIGE | All Politics is Local 
Vivian,
There’s still time for you to jump on the Ravens bandwagon. We’re 10-4 and nearly certain of making the Playoffs.
Go, Eagles! What a victory THAT was!
Ravens? Probably not. Eagles? Naw – too close to the Skins. Have to admit that was an amazing win – I didn’t see it happen, just the highlights.
I used to call the Chargers my West Coast team because so many former Redskins players & staff were there. But when it comes to the team I like the most right now, it has to be the Colts – but only because of Peyton Manning. I’d hate to start to closely follow the team now, though, because Peyton doesn’t have many years left.
I can understand Shanahan wanting to look at his other options at QB with the season basically in the toilet. But why would you look at Rex Grossman, who’s had about ten years to prive he’s not an NFL level quarterback and has succeeded admirably in proving that point (I’m a Bears fan who holds a grudge)? They should be looking at the kid quarterback they have. Rex Grossman is not your quarterback of the future.
Shanahan is lying. He was lying when he benched McNabb earlier in the season, and he’s lying now.
McNabb is a horrible fit for an offense that isn’t designed around him. I’ve watched an overwhelming number of his games. He throws two passes – a rocket to a stationary receiver and a short pass to a running back.
If you don’t have a running back who plays like a tight end, and you don’t run post routes all day, McNabb stinks.
Totally agree. Shanahan is the kind of coach that tries to fit the players into his system, instead of modifying his system for the players he’s got. And that’s true for almost all the coaches. The only one I ever saw operate differently was the Big Tuna, Bill Parcells.
I wouldn’t bench ANYONE for Rex Grossman. He had a good game in the loss Sunday, but in general, he is just awful. Definitely not the answer.