QB Apocalypse: The Seventh Sign

[GTripp0012]

Originally Posted by skinsguy

But anyways, everybody and their brother has said that the Redskins MUST land a quarterback this year, or it's curtains for Shanahan. Those same people will say, "It's the same old Redskins if they pick up Peyton Manning." If the Redskins don't pick up Manning and don't trade up for RGIII, those same people will say, "The Redskins had to settle for another stop gap until they can truly find their guy. <Insert Name Here> just isn't a franchise quarterback." And yet, the same people who say the Redskins are too many players away from making the playoffs are the ones suggesting the 'skins MUST trade up to land RGIII. Doesn't make sense to me, personally. If you're going to argue that the Redskins are several players away from being a good team, then you'd support a move in landing Peyton, because you keep your draft picks and can still draft a good quarterback who could take over in a couple of years. You also have other picks to address those other areas of need.

It is really a remarkable conundrum that Mike Shanahan has built for himself.

Ultimately what people say doesn't matter. If he trades up for RG3 and doesn't have enough depth to win, he's gone. If he sits tight at the quarterback position and builds depth and can't win close games because he doesn't trust the fifth quarterback he handpicked, he's gone. If he goes after Peyton Manning and bypasses a QB in the draft again and Peyton doesn't work out, he's gone.

And yet, if he completely and totally screws up the offseason but leads the team into a 10-6 finish in the regular season, then he gets his contract extended and everybody loves him. Because that's how the NFL works.