subject: McNabb is unhappy with his situation [print this page] McNabb is unhappy with his situation McNabb is unhappy with his situation
After 11 seasons with the Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb left to the Washington Redskins in search of new goals and experiences, but things are not going as expected. In his first season as a Redskin McNabb is facing very though times as he has passed from being the starter quarterback to be the third in line for the last three games of the season.
Losing his place and moving to the bench surely doesn't make McNabb happy, but what upsets him the most was finding out about this situation through the media first, and not in person before it was made public. It was not until Thursday evening of last week that coach Mike Shanahan confirmed what all the rumors had announced: McNabb was going to be benched and Rex Grossman was going to take over as the starter on their visit to the Dallas Cowboys.
Although it may sound awkward that a player who signed a contract extension just last month has suddenly lose his place to Rex Grossman and John Beck to be demoted to No. 3 quarterback until the end of the season.
McNabb is one of those players who always want to be out there for the team and strongly believes that once something is started, it must be finished. But not being able to finish the season is not what upsets him the most. The problem for him lies in not being told earlier "or at least prepared me for it" he said. The 6-time Pro Bowl quarterback felt disrespected with the way in which his issue was handled.
Looking at McNabb's performance this season is good enough not to need explanations about his replacement, as he has a career-worst 77.1 rating, which makes him the 25th-ranked passer in the NFL. But looking at his career you will find a player that led Philadelphia to five NFC title games, which makes him worthy of the necessary respect to find out about his situation face to face, and not through the media.
Despite that he disagrees with how things where handled, McNabb has no harsh feelings for his coach or the franchise. The 34-year-old QB feels good in Washington and with the fans. As a fact he thinks that after this incident him and coach Shanahan still have a "pretty decent" relationship.
He doesn't feel like his substitution has nothing to do with not having playoff chances, since there are other things to play for like "some guys are playing for jobs. Other guys are playing for pride", he said. All he is focused about right now is with moving on and wait until the season ends to talk about these things in case there is a need to. At this moment he knows that throwing the towel is not an option and he has expressed his commitment to the cause by being ready to do "whatever it takes to help to win".
With McNabb out and Grossman in against the Dallas Cowboys, the Redskins didn't get the desire effect, as they couldn't put an end to the three-game loss streak and accumulated one more on the 33-30 road loss. Grossman threw 25 of 43 for 322 yards, two TD and two interceptions, and pretty much guaranteed his spot as starter for the last two games of the season: on the road versus the Jacksonville Panthers on December 26 and at home against the New York Giants on January 2.
