FanPost

How McNabb fits with Shannahan

If you haven't heard about the McNabb trade by now you probably should not contribute to this website or even be reading this.  This is a trade has shaken the NFC east division and has the spot light back onto the Washington Redskins for better or for worse.  This move has probably caused more separation between Redskins fans, but we can all agree that this is going to be the biggest news of the offseason and might be the most memorable transaction that takes place in this new decade of football.

 

For better of for worse, McNabb will be the starting QB for the Washigton Redskins going into the 2010 season.  A lot of questions come up from this move.  Why did we trade a pick when we have other glaring holes?  What's going to happen to Jason Campbell?  Is there a reason why the Eagles let McNabb go so easily to a team in their division?

Yes there are quite a few questions that arise with this trade but in actuallity, a lot more questions are answered.

1.  Shannahan has no idea what this team has to offer offensively.  After Zorn's two year stint, this offense is a mess.  There is no talent on the offensive line, there was an aged RB coming off an injury who has a lot of questions to address, the #1 receiver is coming off a below average year and there are two young receivers that have not contributed as much to the offense as many had hoped.  The only true locks on offense are our two TEs, Cooley and Davis who both have Pro Bowl level talent.  Shannahan can not have another question mark year at QB or else he has no way of truely evaluating what his team has to offer.

 

2.  Shannahan is following the plan that help the Broncos win.  Most people don't understand this right away, Shannahan never actually traded for a QB of this calabir.  However, Shannahan did inherit one of the greatest QB leaders when he came to Denver.  Elway and McNabb are pretty similar when it comes to history.  Both were the unquestionable leaders of their offense and team, both have lost their first superbowl appearance, and both were heavily scrutinized for their play even though they had a lot of success with their team.  Now McNabb and Elway are certainly not the same player, but if Shannahan traded for McNabb because he saw a little Elway in McNabb, I cetainly can not complain about this trade.

 

3.  We will be competitive with teams but will not dominate.  I don't think anyone is suprised by this, however there is a lot of talk about a huge rebuilding process that will take us 3-4 years to be competitive.  I don't see it.  Shannahan inherited a horrible line when he first arrived in Denver and was able to shape it up quickly.  He has also shown that he can turn almost any RB into a 1000 yard rusher.  While these 6 spots on the roster will not be superbowl worthy players coming into the season, we will see improvements beyond what people are predicting.  McNabb has proven that he can lead a team with little talent into the playoffs.  So our main question is with our receivers.  Is Moss a victim of a bad offense or is he declining due to his age?  How good are Thomas and Kelly?  Truth is no one really knows.  They have all the talent to be great receivers in the league but they haven't shown much of that on the field.  I wouldn't be suprised if another WR was brought in before the preseason started.

A lot of people will still be pretty skeptical about entering the season with this roster but let's look at the Broncos.  Shannahan had that team being super bowl favorites in his second year and having them win it in his third and fourth.  Even in his first year, his team in the second half of the season showed some talent in a few close games with teams that were considered some of the best at the time.  To sum up, the team you see at the end of the season will be much better than the one you see at the beginning.

 

All in all, when you look at Shannahan and how he started out in Denver, this trade is not as suprising as it might seem.  He is certainly not going to be scared off by age and it seems to fit Shannahan's winning mold.  So instead of being in an uproar ofver the trade, let's settle down and relize that "JC lovers", "JC haters", "the cult of colt" and "Collins enthusiests" can get together behind one player and talk about something else besides "who the starting QB should be."