Washington Redskins: Time to Start Getting Serious About a QB

So my initial reaction to Sunday's loss to the Eagles was probably like a lot of Redskins' fans.  Once again we have a soft team which comes up small in big games, has a good defensive that's not quite good enough to get stops when it really matters and is athletically inferior to the elite teams in the NFL. 

However two days later, I realize that it's not really about those things.  It is about the quarterback position and that year three of the "Shanna-plan" cannot get under way without a young signal caller on the roster—preferably THE young signal caller. 

Sure it would be easy to pile on Rex Grossman today, but I won't.  There will be enough of that going on for the next day or so.  Yes, I was let down and upset by Grossman's four-interception performance Sunday, but that's foolish.  I mistakenly bought into the notion that "Sexy Rexy" would have a Rich Gannon-like career revival in Washington.  My bad. 

There's no need to be upset at Rex Grossman, though, because he's only guilty of being who he is.  To be upset or surprised by Sunday's meltdown would be akin to placing your hand on a hot stove and being surprised by being burned.  It just highlights the larger point that this franchise will not reach elite status without an elite-level quarterback. 

However this season plays out, the Washington Redskins need to get serious and do whatever they have to do to land one of the top two quarterbacks in the 2012 draft.  This must be done even in the unlikely event of a playoff appearance. 

For far too long, this franchise has tried to just get by at the quarterback position.  The results have been spectacularly mediocre.  So that means trading a combination of draft picks and players (even a Ryan Kerrigan) to land Andrew Luck or whomever you deem to be the No. 2 quarterback prospect in the 2012 draft. 

Call me crazy, but I would have no problem trading a first and a second round pick along with a quality young player, in order to land in the top two or three of the upcoming draft.  Who knows if that would be enough?  But that's a good starting point. 

I know what you're thinking.  Isn't this line of thinking the reason we wanted Vinny Cerrato thrown out on his ear?  Not quite.  Keep in mind that the 'Skins drafted well in 2011, with seven players making the opening day roster, four on the practice squad, and the talented DE Jarvis Jenkins on injured reserve. 

In the upcoming draft, they also have eight picks, so I think the time is right to take a gamble.  Cerrato would never have had the Redskins in that sort of position. 

Overall, I'm satisfied with the direction of the program under Shannahan and Allen.  The Redskins haven't had an elite-level quarterback since (arguably) Joe Theismann, and the idea of just having a game manager and relying on your defense is out-of-date. 

Brian Billick, Fox analyst and coach of the 2000 Baltimore Ravens, said (on ESPN 980's "Sports Fix" in DC) last week that he doesn't think you can win a Super Bowl anymore with that formula.  He added that, in that 2000 season, there was a shortage of great quarterback play and his team was able to take advantage. That is certainly not the case these days. 

Bottom line:  You can't win big without a big-time quarterback.  Now is the time for the Redskins to get one.