Why The Donovan McNabb Benching Was The Right Decision

For the past two weeks, NFL analysts, writers and bloggers have speculated as to the reason why Head Coach Mike Shanahan would have removed a "healthy" Donovan McNabb, with two minutes left in a winnable game against the Detroit Lions, in favor of Rex Grossman. 

Both Coach Shanahan and Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan have given varied, somewhat incoherent justification for their reasoning. 

I've listened to all the excuses and all the experts give their opinion, but it seems pretty straightforward:  On that particular day, Donovan McNabb stunk.

I knew it, and so did Mike and Kyle Shanahan.

On the day, McNabb was 17 for 30 for 210 yards with one TD and one INT.  A second interception could have turned into six for the Lions if the defensive player had not dropped the pass. McNabb's passes were not sharp all day, and he missed several open receivers with his patented in-the-ground throw. 

The last straw was a pass 2nd and 10 at their own 37 into triple coverage that ended up being intercepted with 5:21 left in the game. 

The Redskins had a five point lead at that point and protecting the ball should have been a priority.  Nonetheless, the Lions took advantage and the lead. 

If it was any other quarterback, that pass would have been the end of their day. McNabb played poorly and then cost his team the lead late in the game by making an ill-advised pass. 

Shanahan stuck with him, however, and gave McNabb one more chance to take back the lead with 3:15 left in the game.  He failed miserably.

The Skins were able to get the ball back one more time, however, inside two minutes.  McNabb had cost them the lead and had failed to succeed in his chance at redemption, so Coach Shanahan made the choice to put the other guy in.

The other guy was Rex Grossman.  Is he a better quarterback than Donovan McNabb?  No.  Is he something different?  Yes.

Step back from the names involved and look at how Mike Shanahan has treated this team from the beginning: 

The highest paid man on the team, who is arguably one of the best defensive players in football when properly motivated, didn't want to show up for OTAs nor compete for his job as a starter.  As a result, he's a backup and has been forced to work his way up with each performance.

Three Pro Bowl running backs were brought in to try and be the starter.  Two of them didn't perform up to par, so they were cut.

A second round, young talent at WR, with all the physical tools, was given a chance to prove he wasn't a bust. He was, and they cut him.

Coach Shanahan has made it his credo since day one.  If you don't perform to the level that he wants, regardless of who you are, who you were, how much they're paying you, or where you got drafted, you're not going to be out on the field. 

If it holds true for Albert Haynesworth, it should hold true for Donovan McNabb.  No one, not even the quarterback, is above the rest of the team.  McNabb stunk, so McNabb was pulled.

You can sugar coat it with all the side talking you want about sore legs or not practicing the two minute drill. I'm sure those are contributing factors, but at the end of the day McNabb's performance dictated the move.

As a player and teammate, you should respect the move because Coach Shanahan is only trying to win the game, and if someone isn't performing, you know he'll find someone new.

McNabb will be back out there at QB when the Redskins take on his old team, the Philadelphia Eagles, on Monday Night Football because he's the best quarterback on the team, and one of the better quarterbacks in the NFL.  Hopefully for Redskins fans, this week, he'll show it.