Redskins QB Donovan McNabb will not get a 'dress rehearsal' for Dallas
Traditionally the third preseason game in the NFL is the one in which the starting team plays the most downs and gets the most work in the offensive scheme. While most of the Washington Redskins’ A-Team will be out on the field against the New York Jets tonight in New Meadowlands Stadium, this won’t be the ‘dress rehearsal’ so highly anticipated two weeks ago.
Second string QB Rex Grossman will be starting with the first string tonight. This, of course, means that starting quarterback Donovan McNabb will be meeting the Dallas Cowboys on September 12th having not played against another team for almost a month.
It is difficult to predict how the veteran signal caller will perform against the NFC East rivals. We have only his history with his previous team to make educated guesses. Last season, the Philadelphia Eagles came out in their first regular season game and toppled the Carolina Panthers 38 – 10. Much of that can be attributed to the Panthers’ turning the ball over seven times. But McNabb broke a rib not long into the game and before leaving it with the injury, he completed 10 of 18 passes for 79 yards with two touchdowns.
After missing two games with a fractured rib, McNabb started the game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and completed 16 of 21 passes (76.2 percent) for 264 yards and three touchdowns. His 157.2 QB rating was the second-highest single game rating of his career.
The season before that, Philadelphia started their season with McNabb the healthiest he had been since 2004 according to NFL.com. In that first game, the Eagles beat the St. Louis Rams by 35 points. McNabb was 26 for 39 pass completions and 361 yards that day.
The ability to come out fighting is obviously inherent in this quarterback. His teammates will need that example from him when it’s time to face the Cowboys. McNabb’s humility about how much the team needs him is refreshing.
“I don’t look at it like they need me,” he said shortly after it was determined he would not be playing tonight. “I think we all need each other. And in our case, I wasn’t part of the 4-12 and neither was Mike Shanahan or Kyle (Shanahan) or any of the other coaches. So we don’t look at what happened in the past. We focus on what we need to do in order to be successful this year and the years to come. I think for all of us, we just have to continue to progress and gain that confidence in one another. So when the season does start, we’re hitting it running.”
The former Eagles quarterback’s week one wins over the last two seasons were accomplished with DeShaun Jackson, Hank Baskett and Brian Westbrook; not Devin Thomas, Santana Moss and Clinton Portis. At that point, he had been with Westbrook and Baskett for years in a system he had been playing in for years.
But there is comfort in knowing that Washington’s opening game is against a team that McNabb is familiar with. He has met Dallas twice a year obviously, coming from an NFC East team. This will end up being more important this year because of the injury and the lack of playing time with his teammates.
There’s no doubt that not being in this game is less than ideal. Does McNabb consider it a setback?
“Obviously you want to continue playing with the guys, with the ones and continue to work that timing in game situations,” he said. “Due to this injury, there is a minor setback. I think this is just something for me now instead of it being a physical thing you have to make sure mentally you continue to stay involved and know what you’re doing. Obviously with Rex (Grossman) in there now I still prepare like I am starting, by watching the film, having an edge on the Jets. So I continue to talk to Rex if I see something on the sideline. But I don’t see it as a setback in the progression here.”
McNabb will most likely not see any action next week against Arizona. He probably would not even if he did not have an injury to his ankle. This means he will have to continue to get to know his receivers while watching from the sidelines during the next two preseason games and in practice – when he can practice – at Redskins Park.
Shanahan, while concerned, has faith in his quarterback’s abilities and experience.
“Well, he is missing a half,” the head coach said Wednesday after practice. “We would like him to have that half, but we know it is not possible. But, he has got a lot of reps in the OTAs and he has been working. Those things are going to happen all year round, so you deal with it. He has gotten a few snaps in his career, so I think he can handle it.”
If it were any other quarterback, this situation would cause an enormous amount of anxiety to Washington Redskins fans. But, since we are in it, there is no better quarterback to be in it with than Donovan McNabb.
