SPORTS INSIDE: Capitals not satisfied despite unbeaten start. Week 6 in the NFL. C1, C3 | LIFE: C10 ●Slow start dooms defense in ugly game. R2 Week 6 ●Lichtensteiger injury throws line into disarray. R3 Eagles 20, Redskins 13 MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2011 ଁ washingtontimes.com/sports/football SECTION R PHOTOGRAPHS BY ANDREW HARNIK/THE WASHINGTON TIMES ABOVE: Redskins quarterback Rex Grossman is slow to get up after being sacked for an 8-yard loss during the second quarter. Grossman completed just 9 of 22 passes for 143 yards. BELOW: Eagles safety Kurt INColeman pockets one of Grossman’s WITH four interceptions on a pass intended for tight end Fred Davis. THE NEW Beck takes over at QB after Grossman is benched for tossing four interceptions BY RICH CAMPBELL quarter of the Redskins’ 20-13 loss to the Philadel- THE WASHINGTON TIMES phia Eagles Sunday at FedEx Field. “We needed a spark,” Shanahan said. “John has John Beck personified hope for the Washing- been practicing very well the last couple weeks, ton Redskins at the beginning of the summer. He and with four turnovers there, we thought it was was an unknown quantity, an intriguing prospect time to make a change and give John an oppor- on an overhauled roster. tunity to show what he could do.” His arm strength and athleticism drew praise Shanahan wouldn’t immediately commit to a from coach Mike Shanahan, assistant coaches starter following his team’s second straight loss and teammates. Throw in his willingness to to an NFC East opponent. “Make a decision make time for anyone with a camera or micro- Wednesday,” he said. phone, and there was so much to like. Instead of burying the consensus preseason Rex Grossman? Pfft. Everyone knew his rep- favorite, Philadelphia (2-4) resuscitated its sea- utation for turning the ball over. Beck had to be son at Washington’s expense. better than that alternative, right? Right?! But The stats portray a Redskins team with a sig- without a start since 2007, he remained a mys- nificant chasm between it and true playoff con- tery. tenders. They were outgained by 135 yards. They Seven weeks into the season, we might finally converted only 1 of 10 third downs. They com- learn the answer. Shanahan this week will decide mitted nine penalties for 75 yards. whether to start Beck after Grossman threw four interceptions and was benched in the fourth » see REDSKINS | R3 Too many turnovers came at too crucial a position e knew this day was com- there for . has it really been two ing, didn’t we, Washington decades? Naming their umpteen start- Redskins fans? Sooner or ing quarterbacks since their last Super later, Mike Shanahan was Bowl has become a parlor game, and Wgoing to get sick and tired of Rex doing it in chronological order (Mark Grossman being Rex Grossman — just Rypien, Cary Conklin, Rich Gannon as, last December, he got sick and tired . .) should earn you a Jack Kent Cooke of Donovan McNabb being Donovan scholarship, or at least a free topping McNabb. on your next Papa John’s pizza. As it turns out, it happened sooner In the wake of an ugly 20-13 loss to — in Game 5, coming off a bye week. DAN the Eagles at FedEx Field, it looks to be After Grossman threw his fourth inter- DALY Beck’s turn at the offensive wheel. Or ception Sunday (and third to Philadel- rather, it had better be Beck’s turn. phia Eagles strong safety Kurt Cole- Grossman is, after all, what we thought man), Shanahan could take it no longer. he was: a serviceable backup quarter- In went John Beck, the 30-year-old mystery back. Hand him the starting job, though, and man; out went Rex, about whom Redskins Na- you get passer ratings of 74.1, 75.6, 48.5 and now tion knows far too much. 23.7 in consecutive games. And with that, the Washington quarterback It’s hard to win with that kind of quarter- carousel began spinning again — like a Six Flags backing, with Rex (nine INTs, two fumbles) ROD LAMKEY JR./THE WASHINGTON TIMES ride, if you’ll pardon the expression. It’s the turning the ball over a couple of times a week. After coming into the game for an ineffective Rex Grossman, quarterback John Beck capped the most important position on the field, the QB Redskins’ only touchdown drive with a 2-yard run. spot, but the Redskins haven’t much stability » see DALY | R2 EXPANDED REDSKINS COVERAGE: WASHINGTONTIMES.COM/SPORTS/FOOTBALL R2 | REDSKINS ଁ MONDAY, OCTOBER 17, 2011 A TOUGH ONE TO WATCH AT FEDEX FIELD ANDREW HARNIK/THE WASHINGTON TIMES Redskins fans react to a 20-13 loss to the NFC East rival Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday in Landover. Washington fell behind by 20 points, then saw its rally come up short after John Beck took over for Rex Grossman. DALY Defense doomed by slow start From page R1 The Redskins are fortunate to be 3-2 and still in the NFC oming off the bye today. But it could’ve been a lot worse. It said. “It was more of an attitude and emo- East hunt. The time has come to give the Other Guy a shot. week, facing a des- could’ve gotten even uglier in the first half.” tional adjustment. Coming in off the bye Besides, the Other Guy has mobility that Grossman Cperate team with a It was plenty ugly as it was, with the Ea- week, we may have come into the game flat. lacks, and that could come in handy considering the state of dangerous offense, Wash- gles producing four consecutive scoring We didn’t start as intense as the defense the offensive line. Kory Lichtensteiger blew out his right ington’s defense opened drives, each at least eight plays. There were normally does. That can hurt you against knee against Philly, and Trent Williams suffered a high right Sunday’s game in the three lengthy marches (82, 72 and 69 yards) this team, which is very powerful offen- ankle sprain. So, assuming Williams is out a while, the quar- worst possible fashion — and a short-fielder (41 yards). Washington’s sively.” terback’s blind side figures to be protected — for the short flat and lax. saving grace was tightening up in the red Especially when your own offense can’t term, anyway — by Erik Cooke and Sean Locklear. In that Actually, that’s not zone and holding Philly to field goals on the match that firepower. With Grossman strug- situation, it’s better to have Beck (and his wheels) at QB true. The Redskins held last two. gling to complete more passes to teammates than a sitting-duck type like Grossman. DERON Philadelphia to a three- The Redskins were keeping Philly from instead of defenders, and a running game Shanahan wouldn’t commit to anything, of course. “I SNYDER and-out on the game’s its customary explosive, big plays, but the ef- that failed to produce behind a banged-up would never announce [a quarterback change] right after a first possession. fect was maddening. It was like a new ver- line, the defense was on the field for all but game,” he said. But if common sense holds any sway at Red- But for the rest of half, sion of “Old McDonald,” a dink, dink here 8 minutes, 22 seconds before intermission. skins Park, Beck will be the starter Sunday at Carolina. He the Eagles drove the field like it was their and a dink, dink there. Essentially that was Unfortunately, the lethargic effort on one just has to be. personal HOV lane. And that was enough to Washington’s game plan, but not to that ex- side appeared to affect the other. Listening to Grossman explain his four picks against the secure a 20-13 victory in a must-win game tent. “It seemed like a chain effect,” Cofield Eagles was like one watching of those “Law and Order” for them, as opposed to a woulda-been-nice “The short to medium stuff kept adding said. “The defense was struggling and the scenes where they hand the accused a pad of paper and say, win for Washington. up,” linebacker Brian Orakpo said. “It was offense was struggling, and it shouldn’t be “Here, write down a confession. You’ll feel better.” Gross- Picking on the defense is difficult when it getting a little frustrating because they have like that. We should be two separate entities man didn’t sound too disturbed about the first one, which yields a mere 20 points, none after intermis- such big-time receivers and on film they no matter what’s happening on the other came on third-and-16 at the Philadelphia 38, because it sion. But it’s responsible for the heavy lifting usually throw it down the field.” side of the ball. We have to feel like one big functioned essentially as a punt. (The Eagles would have if Washington is to be successful. No one re- Well, it’s hard to throw downfield when play can change the whole momentum.” started at their 3-yard line if Williams hadn’t been drawn a ally expected Rex Grossman to carry the the cornerbacks give more cushion than a They nearly pulled it off. A third-quarter personal-foul penalty after the play.) And interception No. load, a weight he dropped with a thud Sun- Serta Perfect Sleeper. If they played back interception by Atogwe at the 1-yard line 3, he suggested, might have been the result of some ragged day.