Washington Redskins: Fast Start Proves Rex Grossman, 'Skins Are Contenders

Rex Grossman is still under fire for having more turnovers than touchdowns at this point in the season.

However, this team is 3-1, and the haters should back off, and take a look at how the season has gone thus far.

The Washington Redskins opened their season with a victory over the New York Giants, which is currently the only loss the Giants have to this point in the season.The most incredible part about that victory, is that it was the first time since Sunday, December 16th of 2007 that the Redskins knocked off the Giants.

For those keeping track, Todd Collins was the QB for that game, and Clinton Portis was still a 100-yard running back.

The Redskins came from behind against the Arizona Cardinals, and held on to defeat the St. Louis Rams. For those that have followed the Redskins over the years, they know those victories were instrumental in proving that things are different this time around.

In past years, the Redskins would not only have played down to competition, but would have lost both of those games. They wouldn't have come from behind against Arizona, and they would have found a way to blow their lead against the Rams, much like they did against the Detroit Lions last year.

Grossman is by no means a premier QB, he currently ranks 23rd in the NFL in ESPN's Total QBR, but is ahead of QBs such as Ben Roethlisberger and Kevin Kolb. It's also tough to be sold on this new Total QBR method of ranking QBs as Philip Rivers is ahead of Tom Brady, and Tavaris Jackson is in the top 10. Jackson currently has one more interception than touchdown, the same as Grossman, and has only topped 200 yards passing once this season.

Bad Rex has reared his ugly head a couple times, including against the St. Louis Rams and Dallas Cowboys, but two of his interceptions are far from his fault. Anthony Armstrong and Santana Moss both let catchable balls go through their hands, which led to interceptions.

However, when Grossman has had time in the pocket this year, he has been quite effective. When he isn't under pressure, he has done a good job of finding Fred Davis, Santana Moss and Jabar Gaffney down field.

Redskins fans shouldn't be expecting Grossman to be a top 10 QB, that's not who he is. The Redskins need him to be a game manager, and if you take away just a couple bad throws, Grossman has been exactly what the Redskins need.

Their defense is elite, they have a three-headed monster at running back, and Mike Shanahan is the coach this team needs.

Things are different this time around, and Grossman has led this team to a 3-1 record, so stop calling for his head.