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Donovan McNabb is in such a unique spot as the Redskins' starting quarterback this year. On the one hand, he's expected to be the leader of a Redskins' offensive core that features several players who are either young, lost, or both. On the other hand, he himself is getting up there in years, and the team has surrounded him with several other older players in an attempt to try to win right away. Throw in the fact that he still doesn't have a new contract, and he's definitely in an odd spot.
I'm not making a value judgement on the McNabb trade here or what he'll mean to the team, to be clear. I honestly don't know whether I think last April's deal was a good or bad one. I'm just throwing this out there because, in reading about McNabb this morning, I realized that nobody represents the Redskins' own dichotomy better than him. On the one hand, he's supposed to be the teacher than inspires the other players, but on the other hand, he himself also needs time to learn a new offensive system. He's alternatively the rock of the team and its biggest unknown.
That's a good way to describe the team as a whole this year. There are a lot of "sure thing" kind of players; veterans who have produced in this league and can be counted on to be themselves. Yet there are also a ton of unknowns, not only with the younger players, but also with how the older players fit with a completely new regime. It's even unclear whether management is taking a long-term approach, as they should have been doing for years, or whether they're just gearing up for another short-term fix under a different name.
I guess we'll just have to wait and see how it plays out with this team, just like we have to wait and see how it plays out with McNabb.
Today's must-reads from around the SB Nation network:
- SBNation.com's Andrew Sharp was out in Las Vegas for the NBA Summer League and wrote about his experiences here. Check it out for some thoughts on John Wall and Sam Cassell.
- Hogs Haven has been working on a magazine to preview the Redskins' season, and it included a contribution from Rick Snider that got dropped for space. They reposted the article here.
- The Wizards still need a small forward and the market has dried up. Bullets Forever has a list of remaining options.
- The Las Vegas Nike Summer Showcase is this weekend, and Testudo Times breaks down what it means for Maryland recruiting.