Rex Grossman Starting for the Washington Redskins Isn't Total Disaster

Starting Rex Grossman isn't a bad thing.

OK, before you call up an elite team of mental health professionals to tighten whatever screws I have loose for even uttering the phrase, allow me to fully explain why I'm actually OK with the Redskins' decision to make Grossman the starting quarterback over John Beck.

Ironically, I say the above as a card-carrying member of the "Beck for Starting QB" camp. He works hard, he's got moxie, he's more athletic than Rex and he was the one who ran offseason workouts with the team during the lockout.

The coaches see more upside in him, and quite frankly, I would much rather see what he's got instead of watching the movie "Which Rex Will Show Up to the Stadium This Week?" for the umpteenth time.

That said, I totally get why the Shanahans (head coach Mike and offensive coordinator Kyle) feel better about going with Rex.

The one thing Rex has that Beck doesn't is experience. No matter your 40 time, or how well you do in interviews or how pristine your mullet, nothing can trump Rex's advantage in career starts (34 to five). Plus, Rex has an extra year under his belt running this offense (he was also a backup in Houston under Kyle Shanahan).

So when you're going into the first week of the McNabb-less 2011 season, proving to everyone that you were right to discard a six-time Pro-Bowler in favor of playing either a career backup with only some awful spot duty as a rookie to his credit, or a former starter with a tendency for the ill-timed turnover, which way do you go?

Apparently, you go with the latter.

The reason I feel pretty good about the decision has a lot to do with Rex's preseason performance. He looked poised, confident and (for once) he seemed to make all the right decisions in the pocket. Not to mention, he showed that he could get rid of the ball quickly and live another down—something he struggled with in Chicago.

If that translates to the regular season, the 'Skins could be much better than we think.

Stop laughing. This is the league where a nameless Arena League scrub like Kurt Warner went from bagging groceries to bagging Super Bowl MVP. And on a team that went from 4-12 doormat to the 13-3 "Greatest Show on Turf," no less.

This is the league where a career backup like Rich Gannon went from holding a clipboard in Minnesota, Washington and Kansas City to holding the league MVP trophy in Oakland. This is the league where guys like Warner, Randall Cunningham and Brad Johnson all were able to play some of their best football after the age of 30.

All that's required is the right situation.

This wouldn't be the first time Mike Shanahan made a turd into a Snickers; go back and look at the careers of guys like Jake Plummer, Brian Griese and Jay Cutler. Their best days came under Shanahan. 

Even Hall of Famers John Elway and Steve Young played at another level under his tutelage. Guys with a fraction of the talent of Grossman have played well for Shanahan. Remember Bubby Brister? Gus Frerotte, anyone?

Perhaps this article is a means for me to cope with the stigma of having to root for Rex Grossman. Maybe it's "homerdom" at it's absolute worst. This could very well be the first step toward my own mid-life crisis.

Whatever it is, it's not crazy to think the next episode of "NFL Makeover: QB Edition" could happen right here in the nation's capital.

In fact, history tells us the chances aren't half bad.