Washington Redskins: Mike Shanahan's Benching of Donovan McNabb the Right Move?

The Washington Redskins are having a successful season, and it all starts with the changes they made in the offseason by bringing in new head coach Mike Shanahan and veteran quarterback Donovan McNabb.

Thus, it was very surprising to see Shanahan bench McNabb in the most crucial part of the game yesterday.

The Redskins were playing at Detroit against the Lions and were trailing late in the game. The Redskins were down by six points with 1:45 left in the game, and mysteriously McNabb was benched. Shanahan benched the wily veteran in favor of Rex Grossman. Rex Grossman?

Grossman, right on cue, came into the game and fumbled, and the Lions turned it into seven points, sealing the victory.

If that wasn’t stunning enough, it got even more interesting when Shanahan explained the reasons behind the benching.

“I felt with the time, with no timeouts, Rex gave us the best chance to win in that scenario," explained Shanahan.

What? Am I missing something? Donovan McNabb was acquired in the offseason because the Redskins had no quarterback and needed someone exactly for this scenario. No disrespect to Grossman, but he has had his chance in this league and has failed to be a successful starter.

Now as the Redskins enter their bye week, they will be surrounded with questions about the issue at hand.

Does this change the future for the Redskins? McNabb has not had the best season if you look at his pure numbers, but the Redskins have been winning. Shanahan has come out and announced that McNabb will still be the starter, but this has to be sending mixed signals to the team.

McNabb remained professional about the issue when he commented on the benching. "You just have to learn from it and move on," McNabb said. "I did it then, and I'll do it now." Online Sportsbook BetMania has the Redskins posted at 5:1 to win the NFC East. Those odds will change dramatically if Rex Grossman starts making more appearances as the Redskins quarterback.

Several media outlets are already comparing this to the Albert Haynesworth incident and suggesting the benching was a way of sending a message to the aging quarterback. The message will be received since this will make headlines all week and is likely to stir up controversy and drama in the Redskins camp.

The way the Redskins react could be crucial to the outcome of the season. They could come together and respect the decision of the coach, learn to use it as a motivating factor and win ball games. Or they could react negatively to the benching and take it as a sign of disrespect to one of the leaders of the team on the field.

It certainly got the attention of the team and the NFL world, but only time will tell if it will bring success to the Washington Redskins.

Matt Regaw is a B/R Featured Columnist and the founder of BookieBlitz.com, your one-stop shop for sports articles, previews, and predictions. Feel free to contact Matt at [e-mail]