Mcnabb appears to be done and he is the reason for this loss

[Gtothearry]

Originally Posted by Angry

Speaking of Shanny he did 4 things yesterday that pissed me off which broke my own coaching philosophies. I swear I was cussing at the screen when he did each of these. This is not a hindsight thing.

1 & 2. Never chase points trying to go for a 2 point conversion when in the lead. Points become valuable. Going for 2 to force overtime is OK but chasing points when in the lead is silly. Kicking the extra point it is almost always guarenteed. Being up by 6 is better than being up by 5.

3. There was still more than 2 minutes left on the clock and we still had 2 time outs. Don't go for it on 4th and long deep in our own territory. Punt the ball and give your defense and special teams an opportunity to get you the ball back with some better field position.

4. Don't pull your top offensive weapon with the game on the line.

I don't understand why we were chasing points either. We go for two and miss it which in turn forces us to go for 2 on the 2nd TD.

I never got the feel that the Lions could drive 80 yards on our defense either. They seemed to always be working with 45-50 yards in front of them. Field position made a huge difference in this game. I think if they had consistently had to drive 80+ yards the defense would've had more sack and more to's.

I still can't understand why you would pull Mcnabb. It's done and over but I think they made a mistake.

[MTK]

After sleeping on this the one thing that really bothers me this morning is the message benching McNabb sends to the team. Shanahan has done a great job this year overall, but this one move was a big mistake on his part. He needs to get with Kyle and Donovan over the bye and get this thing fixed. I don't care if they have to modify the offense, just do whatever you've got to do to get everyone on the same page and moving forward... together.

You can see it in everyone's body language out there. McNabb is frustrated, they cut to Kyle and he's frustrated. There's a disconnect somewhere.

[Twilbert07]

Peter King of SI gives a thoughtful analysis of McNabb situation. He shows that McNabb has only successfully led 2-minute drill 1 of 4 times this season. (He does not include "drive" that se up FG at end of first half yesterday.)

Wade Phillips should be fired; Donovan McNabb's time up with Redskins? - Peter King - SI.com

[scowan]

Can we just find some new OL. Rabach is aweful. Hicks and Brown and Heyer are not much better. Maybe Grossman can find and hit the open man better, but Joe Montana couldn't play with our OL.

[MTK]

After reading some stuff around the net, including King's MMQB, I've realized maybe we should question whether McNabb has worked hard enough in learning this offense. Is that the possible message that Shanahan sent out yesterday?

Is it possible that he's calling him out on his work ethic?

[Twilbert07]

Originally Posted by scowan

Can we just find some new OL. Rabach is aweful. Hicks and Brown and Heyer are not much better. Maybe Grossman can find and hit the open man better, but Joe Montana couldn't play with our OL.

And some different receivers, too. Joey Galloway and Roydell Williams scare nobody.

[Twilbert07]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

After reading some stuff around the net, including King's MMQB, I've realized maybe we should question whether McNabb has worked hard enough in learning this offense. Is that the possible message that Shanahan sent out yesterday?

Is it possible that he's calling him out on his work ethic?

Sadly, yes. Looks like a mess in the making. Of course, if McNabb plays well against his old team, this all might could go away. I hate having the bye week after a loss like yesterday.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by Twilbert07

Sadly, yes. Looks like a mess in the making. Of course, if McNabb plays well against his old team, this all might could go away. I hate having the bye week after a loss like yesterday.

Yeah I hear ya, but at the same time after a loss like that having some time off may be just what the doctor ordered.

[44ever]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

After reading some stuff around the net, including King's MMQB, I've realized maybe we should question whether McNabb has worked hard enough in learning this offense. Is that the possible message that Shanahan sent out yesterday?

Is it possible that he's calling him out on his work ethic?

That is the most probable answer Matty but, McNabb has always played up and down. He has always been "unbendable" He is what he is. When you bring in a McNabb, you have to be willing to mold your O around him.

With that said a QB should be able to play to the strengths of the O. I think that is what Shanny is saying here.

[Twilbert07]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

Yeah I hear ya, but at the same time after a loss like that having some time off may be just what the doctor ordered.

That's true. A week from today, maybe all the QB conversation will have calmed, and the Cowboys will be 1-7.

[BleedBurgundy]

I don't love the move, but I DO love that EVERYONE is accountable. There are no sacred cows on this team. Isn't this the exact opposite of the situation in Dallas?

[takethecake]

That is a really good analysis by Peter King. Overall, my perception of the whole "benching" thing is that none of us really know enough information to make an informed analysis of whether Shanahan was right or wrong. Without overwhelming evidence suggesting a judgmental error, I'm going to assume that he had good reasons for such a shocking move.

And for the record, I still am not buying into this whole "Shanahan ego" thing. He's the head coach. He can't let himself be pushed around. You can argue whether Haynesworth should have played against Indy, and that the McNabb benching cost us the game (which it didn't, our OL was terrible), but I would much rather "give up" a couple games in the short term if it maintains the players' respect and enforces discipline for the rest of Shanahan's time in Washington.

It's easy to blame the coach, but I have confidence in what Shanahan is doing. He's the only HC that has looked like he has a plan in over a decade.

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

After reading some stuff around the net, including King's MMQB, I've realized maybe we should question whether McNabb has worked hard enough in learning this offense. Is that the possible message that Shanahan sent out yesterday?

Is it possible that he's calling him out on his work ethic?

I think that they just believe that Grossman is a lot better than he is. Therefore, it was a strategic alternative to replace an ineffective McNabb with a sound backup in Rex Grossman.

Rex Grossman, of course, is the kind of player that helps your roster look good on paper, but isn't actually valuable to the team in a backup role where he has to play. Sort of like Jon Kitna.

[firstdown]

Originally Posted by Mattyk

After reading some stuff around the net, including King's MMQB, I've realized maybe we should question whether McNabb has worked hard enough in learning this offense. Is that the possible message that Shanahan sent out yesterday?

Is it possible that he's calling him out on his work ethic?

I don't think you wait until the 2 minute warning to decide and send a msg to your QB. I just think it was a poor decision.

[MTK]

Originally Posted by GTripp0012

I think that they just believe that Grossman is a lot better than he is. Therefore, it was a strategic alternative to replace an ineffective McNabb with a sound backup in Rex Grossman.

Rex Grossman, of course, is the kind of player that helps your roster look good on paper, but isn't actually valuable to the team in a backup role where he has to play. Sort of like Jon Kitna.

So do you buy Shanahan's reasoning that Grossman knows the 2 minute offense better?