He took Cutler without bringing him to Denver for a visit because he did not want teams to know he was interested.

So you’re saying McNabb was another of Snyder’s wonderpics, and Shanahan was playing Mad Max to show the gang there was a new sheriff in town?

I’ll buy Snyder’s interference. Working for him must be like trying to run a team owned by Richie Rich. But some situations require more finesse than others. McNabb is no Haynesworth. Just feel Shanahan could have handled it better.

And I disagree with you on the TO thing. Thought Donovan handled that with a lot of class. That’s why I’ve always liked him. Throughout his career people have dragged him into their own dramas, but he’s always taken the high road when it would have been easier to tell everyone to eff off.

Guess we’ll have to wait and see how Shanahan handles the team this year. If he morphs back into something reasonably human, I’ll be more inclined to accept your theory

I see we don’t understand the difference between speed and athleticism.

Jay Cutler, regardless of his forty time, is a very athletic quarterback with better game speed then timed speed. If you’ve ever watched him play, you would have noticed that his foot agility and his ability to move out of the pocket are two of his prime assets, and they are two of the reasons he was able to lead his team to an NFL Championship game in spite of having one of the worst lines in the league.

So…to summarize….no he doesn’t have Michael Vick’s speed (only Michael Vick has that) but yes he is a very athletic QB.

Plummer wasn’t athletic? Again….wow. That was just about all he brought to the table when he played in Denver. He was capable of extending plays with his legs and throwing effectively outside of the pocket, that was pretty much it.

To the guy who said that Shanahan couldn’t have moved into position for another QB, they picked Cutler one pick after Leinhart, so he didn’t have enough ammunition to get one slot ahead? Nonsense. Shanahan prizes mobility more then most, because he loves to call stretch zone runs, then compliment that with playaction boots. That’s why he traded for McNabb, and that’s why Ryan Mallett would be an odd choice.

By the time Shanahan coached them, Elway, Plummer and McNabb were no longer very “athletic.” Cutler ran a 4.76 40 at the 2006 Combine, and Brian Griese was never seen as highly mobile.

The point is that there’s no strong evidence that Shanahan has favored “athletic passers” as a head coach. Like everyone else, he’s taken his best guess on QBs, and had his greatest success with the QB he had no choice on, Elway.

So, does Shanahan have a thing for athletic QBs or have some of his last QBs just happened to have been athletic.

Shanny Jnr used Matt Schaub effectively, who isn’t exactly the second coming of John Elway, and the offense looked better under Grossman (statue) than it had under McNabb.

The other commonality between Elway and Cutler (the two QBs Mike Shanahan really seemed comfortable with) is that they both have strong arms. Mallet has a cannon. He might well be the one Shanahan wants.

As a Skins fan I’d be happy to have Mallet, as a second rounder, or if we could trade back in the first. He would be a big reach at 10.

John Elway wasn’t athletic….Jay Cutler isn’t athletic….amazing…….it is not only a prerequisite to not have a working knowledge a football in order to post on this site…but apparently you should also not be aware of the gray area between Ryan Mallett and Michael Vick when determining which QB’s are athletes and which are not.

Like someone is really going to pass on a 6’7″ QB with a big, strong, accurate arm, just because he liked to party a little in college. R U Kidding?

Now you know your owner is bad when you can see Al Davis on draft day laughing at your selection!

Shanahan is supposed to be one of the top coaches in the business–which usually indicates an ability to evaluate talent. He should have had a good idea what McNabb had left in the tank and how well he’d fit into his system. No one forced him into that trade.

He brought in McNabb and built him up as the guy, but started jerking him on and off the field and publicly bad-mouthing his work ethic. McNabb’s teammates have said good things about his film study, etc. But whatever Shanahan thought of his performance, mature coaches deal with those issues privately. Shanahan seemed to get off on humiliating players in public.

He’s playing QB Roulette between McNabb and Grossman … then suddenly he’s signing McNabb to a ridiculously overpriced contract we all know the ‘skins will never honor. No one will trade for a QB that age at that price. So they’re just going to release him. How was that contract a big benefit to McNabb? It was just more chain-jerking.

When the ‘skins hired Shanahan, I really expected good things. But the guy really seemed schizo to me.

We might look back in 5 years to see 6 out of 10 busts in the top ten…

There are so many desperate teams for a qb that Eminem might get drafted in the top 10!

Okay, I’ll bite. Just exactly what did Shanahan do to McNabb. The Skins gave up a second for him and made him the starter. On top of that, Washington commited to a huge contract restructure. McNabb is due a $10 million bonus next year. McNabb responded by going, what, 5-8 with more INTs than TDs and with a pretty run of the mill QB rating. When Sexy Rexy looks like a viable option, you’ve got QB problems. So just how much of McNabb’s “suck” last season is Shanahan’s fault?

The Redskins need so much help in other areas I wouldn’t want to play QB for them. McNab will be AMF, Cutler will be in an emergency room by the 3rd game, and this kid will get thrown in there and destroyed behind an offensive line that couldn’t block a 90 yr old man in a wheelchair!