Feinstein on the Brink -- This time as McNabb's anti-Rush.

Well, at least John's established himself as the anti-Rush, but there are too many mitigating factors in McNabb's benching to play race.

Mitigation 1: As Jaws mentioned about his time in Tampa, only knowing half the playbook in your first half season doesn't mean you're an idiot. Donovan shouldn't know the playbook as well as Rex.

Mitigation 2: OCs love their system men. Saunders had his Collins. Spurrier had his Wuerffel. All three are, as you say, about as big headed as it gets south of those in the BCS. They need their man for their system to work. Shanny wants Elway. Shanny Jr. has Rex. What all three of those guys don't do is tailor their system to talent, which explains part of why Rex gets in over McNabb.

Mitigation 3: I'm writing off the bad conditioning line to McNabb's injury, which did keep him out of practices, and a Freudian slip. There's enough smoke for McNabb's work habits that Shanny might believe it. McNabb was hurt. Shanahan did tell Rex to be ready to go as a back up -- Czarniak got that out of him. They really thought McNabb was only marginally ready to play. Look, Shanahan loves to hide things from the competition and the media. What these sorry excuses say is that he's not as good at covering things up as Belichick.

Look, to be race, you either need a suggestive pattern over a significant period of time or a smoking gun. If Shanahan continues to make decisions like this one, maybe Feinstein's got a point.

But with the evidence we've got, Occam's razor tells us to think that Shanahan's simply not a double-G genius. He got mad, has a big head, is a system-first guy, and pulled his QB. In his attempt to save some face for his QB, he's instead made the hold deeper and deeper.

Maybe Family Shanahan should hire Zorn as a PR guy. That fellow could take any two ideas, Southpark/Family Guy mantee style, and make 'em logically (?) connect.

PR Nightmare: Bench McNabb, work out Ryan Leaf, ur, JaMarcus Russell

Redskins Insider - Kyle Shanahan on JaMarcus Russell: 'We'll take a look and we'll evaluate him':

Quarterback JaMarcus Russell, considered arguably the biggest bust in NFL draft history, worked out for the Redskins on Tuesday at Redskins Park.

The real question, however, is whether, with the sort of protection Grossman got, if McNabb would have really wanted to be out there anyhow.

Grossman's another Wuerffel, and Shanny's another Spurrier

Benching McNabb for Grossman reminds me too much of Al Saunders and Steve Spurrier. If the only people that work in your system are inferior athletes who have experience with you, perhaps the problem is less the QB than the coach. Adapt to your talent. If you're really better off starting Rex, Todd C., and Wuerffel, the problem isn't really the roster, is it?

Makes me wonder if Shanny and Cutler would have gotten along if the Skins had finished the Jay trade.

PS -- Okay, let's be honest.  If Favre's injury means he's got his jaw wired for the next six weeks, we wish him the best, sure, but are we really upset?

PPS -- Okay, I feel bad about my PS.  But, um, I can't stop thinking that a cut tongue or broken jaw is a little karmic, if not for Favre, then for the Favre-media conglomerate that's dominated my sports news coverage the last, um, three years?

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