Washington Redskins: 5 Biggest Challenges for Mike Shanahan

Mike Shanahan is facing one of the toughest challenges of his career in leading this year's Washington Redskins.

With a quarterback decision to make, a new defense still in its formative stages and the media constantly spewing negative opinions in regard to his team, Shanahan will have to do one of his best coaching jobs to succeed this season.

As such, here are the five biggest challenges for Mike Shanahan in the 2011 NFL season.

5. Replacing Jarvis Jenkins

By now, we've all heard that defensive end Jarvis Jenkins has torn his ACL and is out for the season. The rookie out of Clemson was doing quite well in his first month of NFL football and was going to provide some nice depth along the defensive line.

Now there is not much stability behind starting ends Adam Carriker and Stephen Bowen.

The defensive line was a rough spot for the Washington Redskins a season ago, and this season looked to be one of their strengths with the pickups of Jenkins and Barry Cofield.

Mike Shanahan will now have to look to Doug Worthington or Darrion Scott to replace Jenkins in the two-deep rotation.

4. Winning the Home Games

There's nothing that annoys a fanbase more than losing home games. A large portion of supporters devote significant time and money to seeing their team play live.

The Washington Redskins have had a bad run recently at Fed Ex Field. Last season, the Redskins were a pitiful 2-6 at home, while 2009 (3-5) and and 2008 (4-4) were not much better.

Unfortunately, the 2011 schedule presents a tough home slate for Mike Shanahan's crew. Along with three games against their tough NFC East rivals, the Redskins host the improved Arizona Cardinals and the New York Jets and New England Patriots in consecutive weeks.

Shanahan will have to find a way to keep his team focused each and every week to successfully navigate them through a tough home schedule.

3. Splitting Time Between the Offensive Weapons

There are plenty of guys looking to get their share of touches on the offensive side of the ball for the Washington Redskins.

At running back, recent acquisition Tim Hightower has wowed in the preseason and taken over the starting job. But rookie Roy Helu Jr. looks good, and Ryan Torain could come back and challenge them.

At receiver, Santana Moss will still want the majority of balls thrown his way, but recent acquisition Jabar Gaffney has looked solid and Anthony Armstrong is still around. Not to mention Donte' Stallworth and draft pick Leonard Hankerson.

Even at tight end, Chris Cooley (once he returns) and Fred Davis will require a fair amount of a attention.

It will be a big challenge for Mike Shanahan and son (and offensive coordinator) Kyle to spread the ball around enough to keep the playmakers happy and maximize offensive production.

2. Beating the NFC East Rivals

The Washington Redskins have not had a winning record in division play since the 2005-2006 NFL season.

Last season, the Redskins were 2-4 in NFC East games, and the year before that they were a miserable 0-6.

That has to be changed this season. Division games are more important to the players, and they're certainly more important to the fans.

Turning the franchise around all starts with beating the Philadelphia Eagles, New York Giants and of course, the Dallas Cowboys. Mike Shanahan needs to gear up for this games and at least come away with a 3-3 record this season. This will be no easy feat with the strength of the NFC East this year.

1. Rex Grossman or John Beck? Picking the Right Quarterback

Both Rex Grossman and John Beck have shown flashes this preseason. While Beck looked very sharp against the Indianapolis Colts, Grossman looked better (for the most part) the next week against the Baltimore Ravens.

Grossman has more experience, but John Beck has more potential and seems like the logical choice as the starter at quarterback for the Washington Redskins this season.

Still, I can't blame Mike Shanahan for biding his time. It's a tough decision, and he really, really doesn't want to make the wrong one.

A quarterback switch halfway through the season doesn't help team morale or chemistry. Shanahan needs to make the right decision and stick with it because he can't waffle about his quarterback choice a year after the Donovan McNabb debacle.