4 Washington Redskins Who Need to Step Up Against Carolina Panthers

The quarterback controversy in the nation’s capital is over for now.  John Beck will take over as Washington’s starting quarterback when the Redskins visit the Carolina Panthers on Sunday, replacing the turnover-prone Rex Grossman under whose leadership the Redskins opened the season with an unexpected 3-2 record.

It should come as no surprise that Shanahan chose to go with Beck. It was Shanahan who brought Beck to Washington in the first place, and both he and his son, offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan, have often raved about Beck’s potential. This is somewhat odd considering Beck has only started five NFL games—all back in 2007—and has never thrown for over 200 yards or achieved a quarterback rating over 100.

But Shanahan is somewhat of a contrarian when it comes to choosing personnel—his move to trade for Donovan McNabb prior to the 2010 season was rightly questioned by smart football analysts. Grossman always seemed one or two bad games away from the bench, and even though teammates rallied behind Grossman following his horrendous four-interception performance against the Philadelphia Eagles, most pundits expected Beck to get the starting nod.

The Redskins need to move on. They need to rally around Beck and find a way to come out of Carolina with a victory. A loss to the Panthers would further eradicate the good feelings generated by the team’s solid early play and could rattle the confidence of a young team beyond repair.

Washington still has a chance to contend for a playoff spot. After six weeks, it’s safe to conclude that the NFC East lacks an elite team. The division is ripe for the taking by a team that plays smart football down the stretch. 

The Redskins have a stout defense, above average special teams and a trio of running backs that give their offense needed diversity. If the team can cut down on turnovers, they can make a playoff run.

Here are four players that need to step up for the Redskins this Sunday.

John Beck

Let’s start at quarterback, since it is the one position that has been a spot of inconsistency in Washington since Mark Rypien left town in 1994.

The primary argument for benching Grossman was his penchant for turnovers: He is currently tied for most turnovers in the NFL with 11.

Beck is not a great passer—as I already mentioned he has only started five NFL games and never put up impressive stats. He played so poorly in the preseason that Shanahan, despite favoring Beck at the beginning of training camp, was forced to start Grossman. Against the Eagles, Beck looked off-target on several throws. And while I am fully aware that general managers and owners in all sports are capable of making very poor personnel decisions, the fact that Beck was passed over by NFL teams for four seasons is somewhat telling.

It shouldn't come as a surprise that Redskins receiver Santana Moss adamantly backed Grossman this past week, because Grossman is the better pure passer and wide receivers want to play with a quarterback who can deliver the ball in the perfect spot. Grossman has the ability to do that—his deep pass to Jabar Gaffney to open the second half against Philadelphia was perfect—he just tends to make bad decisions and to float the ball, and these mistakes result in interceptions.

Unlike Grossman, Beck does not commit a lot of turnovers. He doesn’t force throws or make costly mental mistakes. This is critical because eliminating turnovers is the key to the rest of the Redskins season.

This Redskins team is never going to resemble the offensive juggernaut Shanahan ran in Denver for 14 seasons. They simply lack the talent at the skill positions. The Redskins formula for success is classic NFC East football: play hard defense, control the clock with the ground game and take advantage of limited scoring opportunities. Committing turnovers is the easiest way to undermine this type of strategy.

Beck can step up by simply taking care of the football. Doing so will put the Redskins in a prime position to win, even if he fails to connect with his receivers for big plays.

The Offensive Line

The Redskins lost offensive linemen Trent Williams and Kory Lichtensteiger to injury early in the Eagles game, and the team’s running game fell apart before Grossman could throw his second interception.

This came as a surprise to some analysts—though I’m not sure why anyone would expect a team to run the ball effectively after losing two of its best run blockers—and Williams and Lichtensteiger’s back-ups did a horrendous job of opening holes for running backs and protecting the quarterbacks.

That has to change this Sunday. Back-ups Sean Locklear and Eric Cook are slated to start, and they have to do a better job. No one should expect the Redskins running game to explode without Williams, arguably Washington's most important offensive player, but the offensive line has to give the running backs and Beck a fighting chance.

Carolina has the 22nd-ranked defense in the NFL. Considering this, the Redskins should be able to put some points on the board. It starts with the offensive line.

Fred Davis

The most interesting comments this past week came from Redskins tight end Fred Davis, who voluntarily took the blame for two of Grossman's interceptions in what seemed like an attempt to absolve his maligned quarterback.

Whether Davis sincerely believes those plays were his fault or whether he was just trying to be a good teammate is anybody’s guess, but the fact that he made that statement shows he is ready to be a leader.

Davis is the Redskins' most talented offensive player. He’s stated that he wants to be considered one of game’s best tight ends and has the physical talents to become such a player.

But as well as Davis has played this season—he ranks fourth in receiving yards for tight ends—he needs to play even better in the coming weeks. That may sounds like an unreasonable request, but Beck is going to need Davis to be stellar.

Davis’ combination of size and speed makes him an easy target on the field. You can be sure Beck will be looking for Davis on Sunday, and if Davis can step-up and make some plays, he will take a lot of pressure off his inexperienced quarterback.

DeAngelo Hall

It’s been somewhat of a rough season for the Redskins' most notorious defensive back.

After bragging that he planned on targeting Tony Romo’s injured ribs, Hall got burned by Dez Bryant on a key play in the Redskins-Cowboys game, then foolishly blamed defensive coordinator Jim Haslett’s blitz schemes.

Since then Hall has thankfully kept his mouth shut, but his play has receded from the level that got him into the Pro Bowl last year.

Against the Eagles, Hall struggled to keep receivers Jeremy Maclin and DeSean Jackson in check. This week, he’ll have to contend with Panthers receiver Steve Smith, who is second in the NFL in receiving yards and is averaging an absurd 21.1 yards per catch.

It’s unreasonable to think Hall will shut down Smith, but he and his teammates—you can be sure Haslett will dial up plenty of double coverage on Smith—need to take away Smith’s deep routes and prevent the big plays. Cam Newton may be on pace to have the greatest rookie quarterback season ever, but like all rookie quarterbacks, he is still prone to throwing interceptions.

If the Redskins defense can force Carolina to execute long, deliberate drives, they will maximize the number of passes Newton has to throw and the number of chances to intercept him. If they let Smith run wild down the field, Newton has the arm strength to burn the Redskins with big plays.

It’s up to Hall to prevent that from happening.