SOW| Beck Ready To Show The Redskins He is "Where It's At"

[rd421]

Life’s little ironies are what make it worth living. In August Rex Grossman declared that the Skins were going to win the NFC East, that statement just could be true but it won’t be Rex leading the team to the promised land.

Bad Rex seems to have pounded good Rex into submission and thus the time has come… Beck finally gets his chance and Mike Shanahan puts his reputation on the line.

If you are a fan of the Redskins, chances are you have seen this move coming since the preseason, if not sooner. The legions of Rex Haters in DC can be silenced now lets see how long it takes for the Anti Beck team to get rolling.

I am not going to go into what cost Rex his job, or any of that we have been there done that and read all about it. I am also not going to break down what we know about Beck (We did that in August and you can read it here).

Today we talk about what this means for the team and how it potentially makes them better.

Sadly, we are getting pretty close to the halfway mark of the season and we find the Skins right in the thick of things in the NFC East. If you listened to fans after this weeks loss to Philly you would think that the season was already over…It’s not.

The Redskins have a legitimate shot to win this division, the defense is arguably the best in the East and they have a run game that is always dangerous.

Fact: The Washington Redskins DO NOT need a Tom Brady or Drew Brees type player to win this division. Wisely Mike Shanahan did not sacrifice the season by drafting a “Franchise QB” in April. He upgraded this team at arguably every position and most importantly taught a broken team how to believe in itself again.

John Beck does not need to nor will he be expected to throw for 400 yards and 4 TD’s a game he simply has to manage this offense. Beck is the epitome of a team guy and no one can question his leadership, he just may be what this team needs to continue its march on the East.

You have to believe this week is the perfect week to make this switch. The Panthers are not the scariest defense in the league (ranking in the bottom half in total defense and 31st in run defense). They don’t have a scary pass rush or shutdown corners.

The difference between the Philly Defense that was Struggling and the Panthers is this; Philly had the pieces and were under performing … the Panthers D is just bad.

Even with a beat up (and that’s putting it nicely) Offensive Line, I expect the Skins run game to come back with a vengeance on Sunday which works in Beck’s favor big time.

Mike Shanahan’s whole offense is based on the run period. The run game opens the pass game with play action and QB Bootlegs, something Beck is pretty good at.

Rex, God love him is about as mobile as Ethan Albright with a sprained ankle, while Beck has the mobility that Shanahan has always coveted to run this style offense.

A lot of people don’t realize it but QB mobility is a lot more than just being able to escape sacks. Sure it’s nice to be able to elude pressure and run for a first down, but creating passing lanes is really where mobility comes in handy.

There are times (like with Rex) where a receiver beats a coverage but at the angle the QB is throwing from that WR is not open. This is pretty much the whole point of a QB Bootleg, you want your QB to shift the pocket and create holes in the coverage where there may not necessarily be.

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[fancrazyskin]

I think Beck has a great shoot of turning things around for us, as you mentioned in your post his mobility gives him a better chance of running Mike's offense. During the preseason I thought that Rex and Beck were pretty even in there performance and that the only reason Shanahan decided to go with Rex was the limited experience Beck had running the offense. Let's just all hope that he has learned the offense enough to step and manage to win us some games.

[pjfootballer]

1) We never exploit a teams weakness, i.e. the Panthers supposed crappy defense.

2) Kyle refuses to run the ball.

3) I hope you're right.

[BADKCLARK]

This is a great weak for Beck to take over the reigns. As the OP suggested, Carolina's D is pretty weak, so it will give Beck some time to get in rhythm. He won't have to play perfectly, to start, but he will be able to find the weaknesses. The way he stepped up into the pocket on Sunday was incredible. I was very impressed with his poise, always looking downfield, but able to feel the pressure.

He is an extremely smart QB (in the 06 draft, I recall him scoring one of the highest ever on the Football IQ test they give or whatever it is). He's a gym rat and a student of the game. Skins fans will have a VERY prepared QB come Sunday, and every other Sunday for the rest of this season.

[BobDigi]

Beck Ready To Show The Redskins He is "A Loser, Baby" (Get Crazy with the Cheeze Whiz)

[Son of Gadsden]

I remember when Rex made the statement that the Skins would win the NFC East and it hit Sirius. Adam Schein (though i hate him so) had me laughing so hard i almost ran off the road when he said "Hm. Wow, he must really have a lot of faith in John Beck."

[Slateman]

What the heck, go with Beck!!

[RVD]

Although this may turn out to be a very tough season for the Skins....so far, I like the team rebuilding plan inlcluding the admin. At this point let's see what John Beck brings to the offense for the next couple/few starts. We know Rex Grossman's turnover-prone history which in long-term is unreliable. Unless it's a disaster, I suggest keeping John Beck as the starter and Rex as his backup throughout this season. Let's keep playing hard, looking at our talent and build baby build. Hail to the Redskins!

[Wyvern]

This was a big decision by Shanahan -- I hope he gives Beck at least 5 games to get used to the NFL. I think Beck can evolve into a competitive NFL QB, given enough time. The reps are going to give him so much more confidence. While he's not as good as Brees, he reminds me of Brees the way he moves. And we haven't seen his cieling.

I'll say one thing, Grossman is a quality backup in Shanahan's system -- not all the INTs were on Grossman. I think the deterioration in the offensive line was a big factor in Shanahan's selection of Beck. The best part is that Grossman is hungry -- and Beck better not relax.

One thing that Shanahan has done -- ratchet up the competition mentality on the Skins. Moss should be mindful of this -- because Austin is going to start pressing very soon.

[rd421]

This was a big decision by Shanahan -- I hope he gives Beck at least 5 games to get used to the NFL. I think Beck can evolve into a competitive NFL QB, given enough time. The reps are going to give him so much more confidence. While he's not as good as Brees, he reminds me of Brees the way he moves. And we haven't seen his cieling.

I'll say one thing, Grossman is a quality backup in Shanahan's system -- not all the INTs were on Grossman. I think the deterioration in the offensive line was a big factor in Shanahan's selection of Beck. The best part is that Grossman is hungry -- and Beck better not relax.

One thing that Shanahan has done -- ratchet up the competition mentality on the Skins. Moss should be mindful of this -- because Austin is going to start pressing very soon.

Philly did what they had to they took away the run and then forced Rex to beat them...added the pressure and bingo PICKASAURUS REX.

It's funny thay you mentioned Brees as Beck reminds me of himin regards to how he runs the offense. I AM NOT saying he is on Brees' skill level, just that he has Brees like traits.

[Taylor4Life]

Hopefully his mobility creates more time for our crap receivers to actually get open, as they are unable to do so on traditional 3-7 step drops. This is the biggest advantage that Beck has over Rex, other than the whole interception thing.

[Zazzaro703]

1) We never exploit a teams weakness, i.e. the Panthers supposed crappy defense.

2) Kyle refuses to run the ball.

3) I hope you're right.

4) We always lose to Rookie QBs.

I'm glad we made the switch but it leaves me super nervous. If Beck comes out and plays bad.... then what?

[fancrazyskin]

4) We always lose to Rookie QBs.

I'm glad we made the switch but it leaves me super nervous. If Beck comes out and plays bad.... then what?

How much worst can he play then REX

[kingdaddy]

I agree with everything in this post except I couldn't have worded it as well. Beck's mobility combined with playing the quicker receivers: Moss, Austin, Armstrong, Stallworth(?) will make this offense better by creating more opportunities in the passing game. The QB being able to run is a huge reason why Philly's offense is so difficult to defend. Hopefully Beck can at least plant that seed in the opposing team's defenders minds......we know Grossman can't.

[TheGreek1973]

I think we will see 4 things from Beck that we will never see from Rex.

a: the handoff to the running back will be quicker. Is it just me or does Rex "chase" the RB to give him the ball. he just seems sluggish, especially on those running plays going to the left.

b: Much quicker bootlegs, and if the Defense has a defender playing that Beck can either throw the ball if the receiver is open or ovoid the rush of this defender and run or throw. Rex could only throw or get sacked.

c: Having seen Beck in preseason, I know not the same but still, I just don't see him as a QB throwing it up for grabs. Rex has gotten progressively worse on this.

d: Game manager. I just don't think Rex was such a QB.

Now for issues, Beck will need to dust of the rust of his short throws, to many going low reminded me a little of McNabb on Sunday. he got better.

to me this was a logical move by Mike S. it needed to be done because so far Rex has gotten worse in each game. And lets not discount what Beck did against the Eagles on Sunday. In a time of the game that we had to pass almost on every down he scored a TD and Davis and Torrain dropped some very catchable passes. the D makes a stop with at least 2 minutes to go, who the heck knows how this game turns out.

[RAAZ227]

I'm in!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rd421]

Had he led us back to a victory it would have been the biggest story of all time... The world may have well collapsed on itself

[TheGreek1973]

Also reading Beck's college resume, I got to say those are some very impressive numbers. And are some in here saying we may need to pick a QB in the second round if need be. When Beck got picked there and honestly with the numbers he has you got to wonder why not the first round.

For example this I didn't know.

He was ranked by ESPN as the Number 2 quarterback in the nation going into his senior year, seriously (even though they are absolutely KILLING the guy right now). Beck’s senior stats absolutely solid. His QB rating of 116.3 and a 69% accuracy along with putting up 32 TDS to his 8 INTs, earned him honors like;

Two Time First – Team All Mountain West (2005 – 2006 Beck’s Junior and Senior year)

Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Year (2006)

Finalist for the Davey O’Brien Award (2006)

Finalist for the Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award (2006)

[Welcome to DC]

Very happy Beck is the man now, definitely have a more positive feeling going into games now.

[rick7423]

This is a great weak for Beck to take over the reigns. As the OP suggested, Carolina's D is pretty weak, so it will give Beck some time to get in rhythm. He won't have to play perfectly, to start, but he will be able to find the weaknesses. The way he stepped up into the pocket on Sunday was incredible. I was very impressed with his poise, always looking downfield, but able to feel the pressure.

He is an extremely smart QB (in the 06 draft, I recall him scoring one of the highest ever on the Football IQ test they give or whatever it is). He's a gym rat and a student of the game. Skins fans will have a VERY prepared QB come Sunday, and every other Sunday for the rest of this season.

I hope so, but we have all been disappointed before. I will most definitely be rooting for my team and its QB, but I will take a pensive wait and see approach to John. I truly hope he is able to come in and 'not loose' the game, at this point that is all I can really hope for. Anything more is just a bonus.

[TotalRecall]

All Beck needs to do is not turn over the ball. I expect him to manage the game a lot better than Rex did. It's still probably going to take a few weeks for Beck to get into game form. So, playing the Carolina defense in his first start is almost perfect. I'm sure watching Beck play will be like watching Trent Dilfer or Brad Johnson play QB, but that's all Shanahan wants right now. No turnovers.

[rd421]

All Beck needs to do is not turn over the ball. I expect him to manage the game a lot better than Rex did. It's still probably going to take a few weeks for Beck to get into game form. So, playing the Carolina defense in his first start is almost perfect. I'm sure watching Beck play will be like watching Trent Dilfer or Brad Johnson play QB, but that's all Shanahan wants right now. No turnovers.

Couldn't agree more man this defense is good enough to rock the proverbial Casbah and keep us in the game

[stp240]

John Beck has been scheming for a very long time.

[BucketHTTR]

I think Beck could be a surprise addition to the QB position for us. He's an unknown in the NFL and he could sneak up on a lot of teams because nobody really has film on him at the moment either. I wouldn't be surprised if he has a really good game this week.

[Dark Acre]

Being able to roll out with a moving pocket is like castling in chess. It changes the whole dynamic. If you move the pocket to one of the sidelines, you reduce lateral pressure on the QB. If you then roll a WR or RB around the back of the pocket, you have a safety valve.