Quote:
Originally Posted by The Goat
PS I think Mike's history as a returning 2X championship HC has to be taken into account when assessing his performance here. I definitely expected him to come in with a solid plan of action and have the offense, especially the QB situation, moving in a better direction by now.
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Goat:
When Mike Shanahan showed up in San Fran to be the offensive coordinator, the QB was Steve Young. And there was some guy named Rice on the team too... Let's just say, there wasn't much that needed "fixing".
When Mike Shanahan showed up in Denver to be the head coach, John Elway was the QB. And there were guys named Davis and Sharpe on the team too... Let's just say there wasn't much that needed "fixing".
When Mike Shanahan showed up here in DC, he had Jason Campbell to deal with and no WRs worth the time of day, and he decided that was not going to work for him. Hey, if you are used to having Young and Elway waiting for you, I can see how a welcoming committee of Jason Campbell would surely be "disappointing".
The problem is that Mike Shanahan made a bet and
lost that bet. The bet was that Donovan McNabb had two or three good years left in him and that would give Shanahan the time to find a free-agent or a kid in the draft or a guy in the Canadian League or an Arena Leaguer or...
Last year when he benched McNabb in the Detroit game with 2 minutes to play, the most prominent reaction was along the lines of:
OK, he benched McNabb because he wasn't playing well but WTF HE PUT IN REX "BLEEPING" GROSSMAN!!
Shanahan's problem is that he
does not have a top-shelf QB on the roster. He is going to say all the right things about Grossman and Beck and Clemens and any other guy who is here on the roster with a QB label on him; that is what coaches do. Those pronouncements do not change the facts however; he does not have a good QB to play yet.
The effect of his "losing the bet" on McNabb will wear off at the end of this year when he can figure out what his next wager will be. Right now, he is hoping to catch lightening in a bottle with one of these guys getting on a streak where one of them plays WAAY over their heads for a 10-game stretch. It can happen; it's not likely to happen, but it can happen.
Don't be too angry. He actually did have a plan when he came here as to how he was going to make the offense better. He implemented that plan and lost his bet on the key guy in the plan. That is a minor hiccup and not a fatal flaw...