Game Girl

Yesterday might be just a bad loss for the Redskins, who could (emphasis on COULD) go on to fix what ails them and redeem themselves this season. Or -- and I sincerely hope and pray this isn't the case -- yesterday could signal the beginning of the end for this season, and maybe the entire Shanahan era.

I can't believe I'm even writing this, considering I've been such a fan of Shanahan since he arrived here back in January and considering how large and in charge he has seemed since his coaching debut. I mean, until the last five minutes of the game yesterday, I was so optimistic that this team was headed in the right direction that I started to forget about the angst we've all had to endure up until this point...the misery, the fear, the worry that our team was headed in the wrong direction, by people in charge who didn't know what they were doing. Until yesterday's benching of McNabb, I had begun to put all that pain and suffering in the rear view and focus on enjoying football games again.

But then, I watched in dismay and anger and total disbelief as Rex Grossman -- REX GROSSMAN -- ran onto the field with the game on the line in the final two minutes of the game yesterday at the urging of his coaching staff, who apparently traded 2 drafts picks for a quarterback they clearly don't trust when the going gets tough. They pulled McNabb out when it mattered most, and then they stood there after the game was lost (which of course, it was, in truly UGLY fashion!) and said they thought McNabb wasn't as smart or capable as Grossman. WHAT??

How is this even remotely possible? How, in the space of 5 minutes at the end of a horrible game in Detroit, could Shanahan and his staff have fallen so far, so fast? Don't they realize the implications of the decision they made? Do they have any clue at all about the can of worms they just opened by pulling their starting quarterback -- a future Hall-of-Famer -- in favor of a washed-up 2nd stringer who coughed up the ball on his first play from scrimmage and wound up costing us the game (and possibly the season?)

This isn't Denver, folks. Or Houston. Things like this don't just fly under the radar here. This is the big leagues. Within 15 minutes after the final whistle, the words "quarterback controversy" had been uttered on every network and radio station both locally and nationally. This was major. Big time. A serious decision that goes WAY beyond winning or losing to Detroit. This decision goes to the heart of their personnel management abilities, their coaching acumen, their leadership. A decision like this, made recklessly, can lose or divide or RUIN a locker room. This is not something to be taken lightly.

I am hoping it was just a mistake. Something Shanahan and his son will revisit today and realize was an impulsive decision made in the heat of battle. I'm hoping they will come out today and apologize, say they made a mistake, and restore order and unity to the team and the fan base. Put McNabb back in charge of the offense where he belongs and let him lead by example. I'm hoping they squelch this "controversy" talk before it does further damage to the team they have been building with such painstaking care.

Stay tuned. If they don't...well, things are starting to look a lot different than I thought.