Did We Really Expect McNabb To Change??

[mikeDinNYC]

stop dwelling on mcnabb's obvious weaknesses (inaccurate throwing at times) and focus on his assets (clutch thrower, mobility, heart, goodness, always keeps you in the game, etc.......)... yes, it's frustrating to see him throw in the dirt, but the dude is one of 3 reasons (shanny, allen, mcnabb) why the skins have changed the entire mindset of the REDSKINS... embrace it and give it time.

[HailToTheRedskins14]

I too haven't been too impressed. He's about average or slightly above average. Definitely better than JC.

And since when is it taboo to talk bad about our QB? Blame the WRs all you want but its tough to catch a McNabb pass when he is off. When he is bad, he is really bad, and for long stretches.

Still, happy with where we are at, but we do need to look at QB in an offseason or two.

[EBoz]

Last play of the game was McNabb to Galloway....

See anything wrong with that?

McNabb is a future hall of famer; and he's ours.

He needs more "serious" weapons though...

At this point he doesn't even need a serious weapon. He just needs someone that will make opposing defenses at least show an ounce of respect. He does not have that guy yet I don't believe.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

I endorse the OP's message:

Jason "8/21 for 83 yards; O TD's; 2 INT's; 1 Fumble against the winless. hapless '9ers" Campbell

Hail..

[Frostx08]

We held Dallas to 7, Philly to 12 and Green Bay to 13, so yes, the D did win those games.

It works both ways. No one applies this logic to other teams...whenever a team comes back like the Green Bay game for example it's said that the offense and the team WON the game because they pulled it out...

Again...overall team effort...

[Duckus]

I'm cool with being in the minority. No problem. I guess it'll take a year or 2 before the rest of you come around. You will, though.

What was a better option for this season? Stick with JC? If not, draft a QB? Okay, who (besides Bradford) did you want to get? If not draft, FA? What FA QB do you think would lead us better at this point.

Specifically break down what you wish the FO had done regarding the QB position this off-season.

We all know that McNabb is not the answer at QB for the next 5-6 years. Most of us know that we are not going to win a Super Bowl with him as QB. A playoff birth would be nice, but even that would be a treat.

The Redskins are not just coming off a 4-12 season and need a quick turn around. We have had 2 decades of complete failure. Embarrassing failure. Lions sort of failure. If you bring a young QB into this environment and ask them to be a leader, they don't thrive. That is a scenario set for disaster. Failure is a disease, once it get deep into an organization it is extremely difficult to kill.

McNabb brings instant leadership and begins the processes of killing that disease. Every single person in the locker room, and the NFL, knows that McNabb is the leader of our offense. Two years ago you might have said JC, maybe Portis, maybe Cooley? Maybe no one. We were leaderless and it killed us for decades.

No we have a leader who can fill in for 2-3 while we groom a young QB. That is priceless. I am so happy we have McNabb.

[mi6]

Donovan, is a decent QB! He is competitive, and far better than the crap we had for QBs the past 5 years!

Our O-line is still work in progress, and our WRs other than Armstrong are too short, too slow, and not physical enough ....

[SonnyJ]

Peyton's weapons are weapons because of him??

Did you see that one handed grab? Have you seen all the circus catches Reggie Wayne or Marvin Harrison has made?? Quarterbacks may grow with receivers but you can't grow with receivers if there's nothing there. You honestly think the Colts offense would be the same if we replaced their receivers with ours??

You think our offense would be different if we had Collie or Garcon? Hell, even Reggie Wayne?

I think Hitman21st pretty much answered your question. Do you really think that receivers don't benefit immensely from playing with Manning?

Manning was a star long before any of these receivers even entered the league. He isn't "growing" with them - they're growing because of him.

Did you happen to see Garcon's drop of an easy pass, too? Same thing Rod Gardner would do - drop an easy one and follow it up with an absolutely incredible catch. An incredible catch does not a receiver make.

[Ghost of]

...you're being sarcastic? Please tell me you are

Do you think the Colts just have great luck with receivers? Wayne is an excellent player but Collie and Garcon would be just another receiver on most other teams, except maybe New England (Brady) or perhaps even on San Diego. They are not elite talents. But through working with Manning, they become better than they are.

Or do you think if we ran with Brady's wideouts or McNABB's wideouts from years ago, that this offense would be much better. Hell, look at Deion Branch in Seattle vs. his first game back in NE! And he was SB MVP YEARS ago!

[Frostx08]

Lol...well I guess even if we continue to win McNabb will become the scapegoat here too . Then he'll go to the Cardinals or Vikings and win there and people will still say he had nothing to do with the wins

[G.A.C.O.L.B.]

So who would you rather have?

That question is open to anyone. I mean I see people ****ing about McNabb and I'm curious about what their alternatives are.

[IrepDC]

What was a better option for this season? Stick with JC? If not, draft a QB? Okay, who (besides Bradford) did you want to get that? If not draft, FA? What FA QB do you think would lead us better at this point.

We all know that McNabb is not the answer at QB for the next 5-6 years. Most of us know that we are not going to win a Super Bowl with him as QB. A playoff birth would be nice, but even that would be a treat.

The Redskins are not just coming off a 4-12 season and need a quick turn around. We have had 2 decades of complete failure. Embarrassing failure. Lions sort of failure. If you bring a young QB into this environment and ask them to be a leader, they don't thrive. That is a scenario set for disaster. Failure is a disease, once it get deep into an organization it is extremely difficult to kill.

McNabb brings instant leadership and begins the processes of killing that disease. Every single person in the locker room, and the NFL, knows that McNabb is the leader of our offense. Two years ago you might have said JC, maybe Portis, maybe Cooley? Maybe no one. We were leaderless and it showed.

No we have a leader who can fill in for 2-3 while we groom a young QB.

I thought we should have kept the draft pic, drafted another OL maybe or BPA, and sucked it up with whatever QB we had. If that QB was bad, we would be in position to draft a rookie in the next draft.

[Ghost of]

Our O-line is still work in progress, and our WRs other than Armstrong are too short, too slow, and not physical enough ....

Wait, our receivers are too slow? I'd agree with not physical enough (I think Moss tries with what he has and Anthony Armstrong can be physical in going UP but don't know how much fight on the spot he has) but too slow? Galloway is still one of the fastest players on the field at any given moment. Anthony Armstrong is a blazer, Moss is not quite as quick as he used to be but he's still one of the fastest guys on the field. I'm not sure our issue is speed, dude.

[IrepDC]

So who would you rather have?

That question is open to anyone. I mean I see people ****ing about McNabb and I'm curious about what their alternatives are.

Everyone talks about being patient. So why rush to get a QB this past offseason? We could have waited for a better QB in next years draft or next years FA pool. One that didn't cost a 2nd round pick. Especially since the rest of the team isn't built up yet. That was a trade for a team like Minnesota to make. Not a rebuilding team like us. JMO

[TD Riggo]

Dude! The OL is horrible! The problem is NOT McNabb! In fact, if it wasn't for McNabb, we wouldn't even be close in these games! Is he perfect? No. But he's one of the top QB's in the league!

[SonnyJ]

He's about average or slightly above average. Definitely better than JC.

This kind of sums up my feelings on McNabb. I've never thought he was in the upper echelon of QBs. I've always seen him as being the bare minimum of what one would consider to be a "franchise QB".

He makes some god-awful throws and seems to stagnate occasionally. He is light years ahead, though, of what we've had here in the past. He turns what have been negative plays into positive plays. And his leadership is absolutely refreshing.

I'm not doing cartwheels over him, but he is always giving the team a chance. That's a quantum leap away from what we've had here in a long time.

[Frostx08]

Do you think the Colts just have great luck with receivers? Wayne is an excellent player but Collie and Garcon would be just another receiver on most other teams, except maybe New England (Brady) or perhaps even on San Diego. They are not elite talents. But through working with Manning, they become better than they are.

Or do you think if we ran with Brady's wideouts or McNABB's wideouts from years ago, that this offense would be much better. Hell, look at Deion Branch in Seattle vs. his first game back in NE! And he was SB MVP YEARS ago!

Luck? Dude they draft well...a foreign concept to Redskins nation. Do you think drafting Jerry Rice was luck? Did Montana make him too??

Again...watch a Colts game and watch the catches that their receivers make. They're talented...they may not be famous because Manning is seen as the whole team...but they're talented. You don't make that catch Garcon made UNLESS you have talent...

McNabb's wideouts from last year were speed merchants. They're great for big plays...but they fail when it comes to bump and run physical coverage. That's the reason why McNabb had success with Owens...because he's that kind of receiver that can catch passes in tight coverage. That's the difference between top receivers and them...which is why I've never considered Desean Jackson a top receiver. Just a guy with plenty of speed but he can be handled

Now on to New England with Brady. A few things of note....contrary to popular belief the Patriots receivers from years ago were legit. They weren't allstars...but they were SOLID. Belicheck would settle for nothing less on his team and his receivers made plays for Brady...that's a fact. Their defense didn't hurt either...notice they haven't sniffed a deep playoff run since that defense disappeared and Vinatieri left...

[Special K]

I can't even decide which aspect of this thread is more ridiculous...we are 3-3 because of our defense, McNabb sucks, the fact that this thread was even started...

[Rufus T Firefly]

Everyone talks about being patient. So why rush to get a QB this past offseason? We could have waited for a better QB in next years draft or next years FA pool. One that didn't cost a 2nd round pick. Especially since the rest of the team isn't built up yet. That was a trade for a team like Minnesota to make. Not a rebuilding team like us. JMO

That's basically my feeling too. We ain't gonna win a Super Bowl this year or next and then we're looking at a 36 year old McNabb. Giving up two good picks for him was just not the way to build.

[SirClintonPortis]

His biggest flaws all relate to the short passing game. Either he slams one in the dirt or he chooses the less probable deep play instead of the sure checkdown for a near first down. That's why he needs a run game to get those sure yards.

[Gold Pants]

I can't even decide which aspect of this thread is more ridiculous...we are 3-3 because of our defense, McNabb sucks, the fact that this thread was even started...

You realize that our defense is ranked next to last in the NFL, right?

[Frostx08]

I think Hitman21st pretty much answered your question. Do you really think that receivers don't benefit immensely from playing with Manning?

Manning was a star long before any of these receivers even entered the league. He isn't "growing" with them - they're growing because of him.

Did you happen to see Garcon's drop of an easy pass, too? Same thing Rod Gardner would do - drop an easy one and follow it up with an absolutely incredible catch. An incredible catch does not a receiver make.

"An incredible catch does not a receiver make"...

Really??

Okay let's look at it this way then. Do receivers benefit from playing with Manning? Sure...but Manning benefits from his receivers...

Does Peyton Manning get that TD pass in the Texans game if Reggie Wayne doesn't turn his back shoulder and catches it?? I'll look for the video....it was on the highlight reel constantly...

Do you really think Peyton Manning would want average receivers? So receivers become damned good just from having a great QB? That's ridiculous...those diving catches...those tight catches in coverage...those one handed grabs by Marvin Harrison in the past...being a Wide Receiver is a SKILL position. It isn't simply about catching the ball and running, a good wide receiver can position themselves for the ball and make catches that shouldn't be made

There are plenty of over and under throws thrown by "Elite' Qbs that get saved by a great receiver. You can watch a simple tape of some of the top QBs and watch the catches their receivers make. Then upon watching that, ask yourself if you could see our receivers making those catches

[SonnyJ]

Wayne is an excellent player

It was really striking listening to the Buchanon interview and hearing him say that what made his old teammate from the U difficult to cover was Peyton Manning throwing him the ball. He didn't try to sugarcoat it or anything.

Hey, Wayne is a good player. But, would the opinion on him be the same if he had been drafted by the Redskins or Lions? What if Moss had of played for the Colts for his whole career?

[Gregpeck99]

McNabb is a rental QB.

The Brain Trust will not extend him cause they know what the Iggles know ... they can not win consistently with him.

Fortunately, the 2011 Draft is QB rich.

[Gibbs Hog Heaven]

Everyone talks about being patient. So why rush to get a QB this past offseason? We could have waited for a better QB in next years draft or next years FA pool. One that didn't cost a 2nd round pick. Especially since the rest of the team isn't built up yet. That was a trade for a team like Minnesota to make. Not a rebuilding team like us. JMO

The problem lies in the NFL being a "win now" business.

As much as Coach Mike is looking to the future, he has to take into account the present; and McNabb was the best option out there to get enough wins in the later, to build toward the former. Hell knows he tried to get Braford. We just didn't have enough.

But let's say for arguments sake we stood pat, and went with what we had. Who starts? Captain Checkdown? Geez, with the amount of pressure McNabb's faced all year we'd be 0-6 now under Campbell, and people would be calling for Shanahan's head. An ageing Collins? Colt who's never taken a snap in the NFL? And never likely to. I hate not havinjg the 2nd next year too, but given what we had, and what wasn't out there; McNabb was worth the cost to help establish the new regime.

Hail.