Dan Graziano of ESPN.com ran an article on Wednesday contradicting the notion that the Redskins plan to start John Beck at quarterback next year because they want to "tank" and lose as many games as possible.
The piece appeared on the site's NFC East blog, and the over-arching point of it seems to be that the Skins won't tank next year because "NFL teams just don't do that." Beyond that, Graziano speculates several other reasons why the Redskins might be starting Beck, like the high price to trade for a veteran starting QB, or last year's weak QB draft class compared to next year's.
I think the explanation for starting Beck is simple: the Redskins decided that the difference between Beck and whoever they could acquire via trade or a high draft pick is not enough to merit going after another quarterback. In other words, their best chance to win this year is with Beck under center, if for no other reason than sticking with him allows them to improve other aspects of the team.
I stand behind the Shanahan Planahan on this one.