Washington Redskins: Let's Not Forget Who Our Quarterback Really Is...

On April 4th, 2010, the Washington Redskins acquired All-Pro quarterback Donovan McNabb from the Philadelphia Eagles in exchange for a second-round pick in the 2010 Draft and a conditional third or fourth-round pick in the 2011 Draft.

While many Redskins fans dismissed the idea of McNabb being an injury-prone 33-year-old past-his-prime quarterback, simply because they were excited of his arrival, we find him sitting out the remainder of the preseason.

On Monday, McNabb arrived to practice wearing a boot on his left ankle. While many began to panic about the new quarterback, McNabb assured everyone that it was just a precautionary measure and that he would “be fine”. McNabb suffered the ankle sprain in the Redskins’ 23-3 defeat last Saturday against the Baltimore Ravens.

Apparently (thanks to some of your tweets and e-mails), fans are beginning to view Donovan in a whole different light. Suddenly, fans have become critics and critics have become haters. But why?

Have we as fans forgotten about how important Donovan McNabb is to this team, as well as any team he has ever been on? Are we really starting  to question our support and liking for arguably the best quarterback the Redskins have had on their roster in the past 20 years?

If McNabb can assemble a Hall of Fame resume while throwing to Hall of Crap receivers like Torrance Small, Freddie Mitchell, Todd Pinkston, Greg Lewis, James Thrash, Reggie Brown, Jason Avant, Hank Baskett, and Kevin Curtis—I think it’s safe to say that he’ll be just fine in Washington.

Sure he’s older now, but let’s not forget about what Mike Shanahan does with 30-something quarterbacks (see: John Elway). Shanahan wanted McNabb and, from all indications, McNabb is more than happy to be with Shanny. These guys want it to work in D.C. just as much as we do. Let’s stay calm.

Just as McNabb makes his wide receivers respectable, Shanahan makes no-name wide receivers respectable as well. Who’s to say that Anthony Armstrong isn’t the next Rod Smith (an undrafted free agent in ’94 that went on to set NFL records and accumulate 849 catches, 11,389 yards, and 70 touchdowns in just 12 seasons)?

The recent marriage of McNabb and Shanahan should not have us thinking about a simple ankle injury suffered in the second preseason game. Instead, we should be thinking of what can actually happen this season.

Think of how Shanahan takes an undrafted free agent and makes him a two-time All-Pro and two-time Super Bowl Champion. Think about how McNabb led his former team to four consecutive NFC East Division Championships (2001-04).

Let’s not attempt to guess how many games McNabb will play in 2010. Rather, let’s think of how Mike Shanahan takes numerous no-name running backs and turns them into Pro Bowl 1,000-yard rushers. And let’s never forget how McNabb led his former team to five NFC Championship Games (2001-04, 2008).

This is what we wanted in Washington. We wanted to watch a game and not have to harden our fists and grit our teeth in nervousness when our quarterback drops back to pass. We wanted a change, we wanted talent, we wanted a leader.

Now that we have it all, we just need to stay positive and remain patient.