Here We Go Again? Maybe Not.

I felt I had to comment on the recent HUGE trade that has made Donovan McNabb a Redskin. While my initial reaction , after hearing about it late last night, was here we go again. Another big name veteran, arguably beyond his prime, signed by the Skins. ( see "To Hail with the Redskins", November 5, 2009. ) But after stewing on it all day, I have to say, I'm warming up to it a bit. It was a decision made by Bruce Allen and Mike Shanahan. Not Vinnie Cerrato and Dan Snyder. Football guys making a calculated football decision. They want to win now. Not in three years. NOW. Donovan McNabb brings that to the table. I think. One thing's for sure. He's definitely a step up from J.C. Now the question is, can we protect him and give him time to be the play maker? That's where the draft comes into play. The Redskins need to draft Russell ( I can't spell or pronounce his last name ) from Oklahoma. A BIG left tackle that would immediately fill a BIG void in the O-line. That combined with a now deep running back trio (Portis, Johnson, and Parker) could make for an interesting season. But I think above all, the one thing that encourages me the most about this team is this. The first offer the Skins put on the table was Albert Haynesworth straight up for Donovan. What that tells me is the new smarter management of this team recognizes that the $100 million dollar Haynesworth deal made last off season by Vinnie Ceratto was foolish. They tried to off load that noose around their neck the first chance they got. The Eagles, wisely, turned that offer down. So even if we're still stuck with Haynesworth, we now have a future Hall of Fame quarterback leading our offense. Not a bad position to be in. I think we still need to pick up a quarterback later in the draft to train under McNabb, but I think Allen and Shanahan have put the Skins in the best position to win games this year. And that's what it's all about. I'm ready to be a proud Redskins fan again.