After his afternoon press conference, Mike Shanahan went on ESPN980 with John Thompson and Doc Walker for his weekly radio show and further explained his position of benching Donovan McNabb in favor of Rex Grossman (per Chris Russell of ESPN980):
Mike Shanahan "Rex has earned an opportunity to start. I'm looking forward to him playing." on @ESPNRadio980
Shanahan on ESPN980 "I want to get a good feel for what these guys can do." Says McNabb "has done a bunch of good things." #Redskins
Shanahan: "The reason why I am doing it is because we are not in the playoff hunt." #Redskins
Shanahan once again says McNabb # 2 this week, and # 3 behind Beck in the final two games. #Redskins
Shanahan says "same gameplan" and says he told McNabb "I like what you have done after the first half of the season" #Redskins
Shanahan "The one thing your always working with a QB is his steps. I've never seen a physical speciment in the NFL like Donovan."
Shanahan on Rex/young guys: "What we usually do is we take a look at positions that have competition. You have to earn the right."
It's kind of ironic that Shanahan is praising McNabb in terms of his physical abilities on a day where he announced he was benching him.
And for Redskins fans, hearing "Rex Grossman" and "earned the opportunity to play" in the same sentence doesn't exactly sound comforting.
That's a tough sell for Shanahan, considering the only meaningful play that involved Grossman this year was a fumble return for a touchdown against the Lions.
Skins fans can only hope they don't see more of that.