The Beginning Of An Error

With the benching of the much maligned Kyle Orton, it is officially Tebow Time in Denver. As the Broncos continue to search for the heir to John Elway, their search is beginning to look a lot like the Dolphins quest to replace Dan Marino. There have been failed prospects, trades that did not work out, and incompetent coaches which have all served to set back the process of moving forward. And Tim Tebow is merely the latest roadblock.

Is Football Jesus an athlete? Yes. But is he a quarterback? The answer is a resounding NO!!! What Tebow happens to be is a college quarterback who made a name for himself with what he is off the field. If one ignores the name on the back of the jersey and looks at what the person does on the field, then Football Jesus is nothing more than a practice squad player if he’s lucky.

Now, it is certainly possible that Football Jesus will have a good career – in the Canadian Football League. To be an NFL quarterback, you need to be able to actually throw the football without a windup that makes it appear that one is doing the old cartoon windup where the arm spins around several times. Yeah, he can run, but can anyone respect his passing game? Defenses will be playing eight man fronts and contain against him within weeks, and what then? This is someone that fumbled three snaps in his brief time last game, and only connected on four of ten passes. Somehow, I doubt that opposing defenses are terrified of his abilities.

The biggest gripe that supports of Football Jesus have is that he has not been given a legitimate chance. Well, there happens to be another quarterback on the team that has not had a legitimate chance – Brady Quinn. Quinn has starting experience, but it was in the cesspool of football that is commonly referred to as the Cleveland Browns. He has had absolutely nothing in terms of weapons, a line, a defense, or a coaching staff to work with. Unlike Football Jesus, he actually progressed this offseason, showing a firmer grasp of the playbook and the finer mechanics of being a quarterback. Football Jesus, meanwhile, spent the offseason making underwear advertisements and pitching his autobiography. Seems a lot of people really needed to know what it’s like to hold a clipboard in the NFL. Oh, and Football Jesus has actually regressed this year in terms of pocket presence, awareness, and reading defenses. Yeah, that’s what the Broncos need at quarterback, someone that has no concept of how to be one.

So where are the billboards for Brady Quinn? When does the ‘Free Quinn’ movement begin? Where are the people trying to pressure John Fox into making Quinn the starter? That’s right, Quinn isn’t a name with zero NFL pedigree that has inexplicably created a legion of mindlessly loyal fans who will scream prejudice at anyone who even displays the slightest thought that their Chosen One is not a legitimate football player. Well, those people need to wake up.

Football Jesus is not the answer. Football Jesus will not be the salvation of the Denver Broncos. If anything, he will condemn the Broncos to roam the draft boards like the Wandering Jew is condemned to roam the Earth. Enjoy what you have brought upon yourselves, Broncos fans. Sometimes it is better not to receive what you want.

What the Shanahan - Part 2

The biggest moves of the Washington Redskins offseason was to hire Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen as the head coach and general manager, respectively. Shanahan was given the ultimate authority to make football decisions in terms of what players he wanted on the Redskins roster. In theory, having a two time Super Bowl winning coach come over to run a team gives instant credibility. However, a closer examination of Mike Shanahan is truly in order.

Shanahan was originally the coach of the Oakland Raiders, where over a combined twenty games, he went 8-12. Keep in mind that these were not the Raiders of current times, but back in 1988 and 1989, when the team had Bo Jackson, legitimate talent on both sides of the ball, and Al Davis wasn't quite a vampire yet. In fact, in 1990, they went 12-4 and made the playoffs. Shanahan then resurfaced in 1995 with the Denver Broncos, going 8-8 in his first season before winning back to back Super Bowls with John Elway under center. After 1997 and winning his second Super Bowl, Shanahan only made the post season a total of four times, winning only one more playoff game. Following the 2008 season, after he went a combined 24-24 over the past three season, he was fired by the Broncos.

Once in Washington, Shanahan's moves have been interesting. He brought in Donovan McNabb, a player that has a history of choking in the playoffs, and casting away a solid, and respected in the locker room, player in Jason Campbell. He completely changed the alignment of the defense while ignoring the personnel assembled on the team, eschewing the 4-3 in favor of his beloved 3-4. This, despite the fact that the Redskins defense was actually decent last season, ranking 10th in total yards in 2009. This year, they rank 19th in total yards. He has publicly feuded with arguably the best defensive lineman on his team in Albert Haynesworth, forcing him to run a pointless conditioning exercise over and over again as a means of humiliating him. Eventually, Haynesworth was forced off the team and suspended for the remainder of the year.

The roster was constructed using older, veteran players that did not have anything left in the tank. Until recently, Joey Galloway was serving as the number two receiver for the Redskins. This, despite them having two second round picks from 2008 in camp. However, Shanahan, in yet another power trip, demoted both to third string, then subsequently released one and placed the other on IR. Larry Johnson and Willie Parker were brought in, and expected to serve as the backup and third string running backs. Both are no longer with the team. McNabb was given a five year extension, then demoted to backup quarterback, and now, third string. He will be released in the offseason, after Shanahan traded a second round draft choice in 2010 and a fourth round selection in 2011 for him.

The roster is filled with players more interested in padding their statistics than in winning a football game. In the loss to Dallas last week, DeAngelo Hall made an ill advised attempt at an interception, badly misplaying the football. As a result, Jason Witten was able to walk into the endzone untouched. However, had he covered Witten and stayed in position, the Witten would have been stopped at around the ten yard line. Haynesworth wanted no part of the 3-4, in part because his statistics would suffer. On long scoring plays, barely anyone on the Redskins defense attempts to chase down the ball carrier, as most times there are not any maroon jerseys within twenty yards.

Just like the overrated players on this team, Shanahan is also completely overrated. He got his Super Bowl rings riding the coattails of John Elway, and when Elway retired, the true capabilities (or lack thereof) of Shanahan came to light. This is yet another million dollar, flashy mistake by Dan Snyder, who should be kept away from the football team for the Redskins well being.