Shanny had mentioned after the Eagles loss that Beck had got some work in during the BYE week. Of course, it's up to us if "got some work in" means Beck actually took snaps against our 1st team defense or it means he was chauffering Mike Shanahan to and from the tanning salon. QB changes as we know split locker rooms. Everyone has their own reasoning why one guy should start over the other. So, what are the players saying?
"We have a couple days to get on the same page with him," Gaffney said. "We have to take today and tomorrow and Friday real seriously, and hopefully that timing will come quickly."
Wait, what? Do you normally not take Fridays seriously? OK, that's a little harsh, but it's never good hearing the word "hopefully" when articulating your Quarterback as a starter. And if you're not on the same page as John Beck now, does that mean you were on the same page with Rex Grossman? One of those interceptions was right at you.
Fred Davis...
"It's just one of those situations you're put in that you have to go with it and run with it, go out in practice and make the best of it."
That's pretty much everyone's mentality when your friend asks you to take the grenade at the bar so he can have the hottie: Translation: "It sucks. I'm not going to enjoy it. And it can't end soon enough."
Tim Hightower...
"We knew coming into the season that we had two good quarterbacks. I don't think it'll surprise anybody," Hightower said. "It definitely sends a message that they want to win here. That's why you play this game, but with that comes a standard that's set. When you make a quarterback change like that, a standard is set and I think it sends a very loud message to the rest of the guys on offense that, ‘Hey, get your stuff together, we need guys to make plays and it's not later, it's now.'"
By "we" do you mean the Green Bay Packers? Grossman's play, as we've beaten to death here, doesn't really surprise anyone. I'll admit I was a drum beater for Grossman improving being three years into Kyle Shanahan's system (damn you, Kenny), but I should have known better since at training camp he was all over the place.
And of course, there was Orakpo's comments which I posted before "the decision":
"[Rex] had a bad day. There's no reason to go ahead and make changes and all this other stuff that goes along with it.... We're not a team that's just going to throw someone in and hope for the best. Right now we're in a good position."
Well, sh*t!!! Now what? So, obviously Beck is not a guy that can hit the ground running based on what they see in practice. I'm sure Rak will clarify this later, but as I see it, collectively the Redskins do not think too highly of John Beck. And that speaks volumes since the only thing they have to compare you to is Grossman.
OK, so I won't leave it all doom and gloom. Throwing a QB in there can work right? Santana Moss elaborates:
"You never know. It's just the more and more we're out there together, the more confidence we build together. It doesn't just happen over night, but there are times that it does happen over night. I remember Mark Brunell being thrown in at the beginning of the [2005] season, and he hadn't had any reps."
Ah yes!!! Brunell. Who remembers that situation? Patrick Ramsey was the week 1 starter vs the Chicago Bears. The Redskins won the game 9-7 and Joe Gibbs did the unthinkable. He benched Ramsey for Brunell.
"This is something that is extremely hard," Gibbs said. "You don't like doing this. I don't. Sometimes you don't chart the circumstances or what happens. It just happens. Certainly it wasn't the plan I had going in, but sometimes plans change, and I think you do the best you can in dealing with it."
The result? Ramsey immediately demanded a trade, and the Redskins won the next two games and made it to the second round of the playoffs. For more on Mike Shanahan on Grossman, Beck, and admitting the McNabb trade was a bust, read here.
I truly do believe John Beck can beat the Panthers. Why not use the same offense that Philly used against the Redskins? Short drops, quick slants, screens. We don't need John Beck to be Tom Brady. Neither Grossman or Beck are 7-step drop QBs, especially with our WR corps and banged up OLine. My motto for everything I do usually is successful:
KISS = Keep It Simple Stupid