Mike Shanahan said last week that he was sticking with John Beck, so it was a bit of a surprise to see Rex Grossman under center against the Dolphins today.
After the game, Shanahan was asked to explain his decision. He said he thought Grossman, who was told he’d start on Saturday, gave the team their best chance to win. Grossman was 21-of-32 for 215 yards and threw two picks in the 20-9 loss and Shanahan was asked if he was going to get the start next week.
“Well we’re still going to do the same thing. We’re going to look at the scenario, what gives us the best chance to win, and make the decision based on that.”
Mike Jones of the Washington Post has the rest of Shanahan’s post-game comments about the quarterbacking, including an emphatic denial that veterans came to him and asked him to make the switch. The coach struggles to convey just what it was about Grossman that gave the team their best chance of winning, although, to be fair, the overall state of the Redskins offense would make it hard for a lot of quarterbacks to win games right now.