Date published: 12/19/2010

by Steve DeShazo

CHANGE IS IN THE air in Washington-- and not just above the sidewalk Santas' kettles.

Just as Redskins fans were digesting the news of Donovan McNabb's demotion Friday there came a couple of other major bulletins.

The Washington Wizards traded Gilbert Arenas to the Orlando Magic for forward Rashard Lewis, and multiple reports said the University of Maryland is considering asking football coach Ralph Friedgen to "retire."

We'll get to those last two painful but ultimately wise moves at another time. nothing trumps the Redskins and a good quarterback controversy.

McNabb's benching is more a referendum on Mike Shanahan (and his son, Kyle) than on the quarterback himself.

yes, McNabb--like Jason Campbell before him--was a major part of the problem. Mike Shanahan traded two valuable draft picks to the Eagles for an unwanted 33-year-old, hoping McNabb's maturity would help mask some of his new team's many other flaws. The Redskins needed him to make smart decisions and accurate passes when plays broke down.

The results--like many of McNabb's passes--were shaky at best. The numbers speak for themselves: a career-low 77.1 passer rating and a career-high 15 interceptions.

not all of that is McNabb's fault. He has played behind a shaky line, with three different starting tailbacks and a receiving corps that doesn't excel in creating separation.

Perhaps most importantly, his coaches haven't supported him very well, either. Mike Shanahan's rotating excuses for benching him late in Week 8 against Detroit were the first signal that things weren't rosy, and Kyle Shanahan's play-calling last week against Tampa Bay (when he abandoned a running game that was working beautifully) was atrocious.

Yes, praise or blame falls on the quarterback. but Mike Shanahan hand-picked McNabb as his stopgap, and the experiment failed. Eagles coach Andy Reid is looking smarter by the day.

when you err in picking a franchise quarterback, it sets your team back at least three years. Heath Shuler was an unmitigated disaster. Ryan Leaf haunted the Chargers for nearly a decade.

Date published: 12/19/2010