The Washington Redskins need to clear the deck and bring in some new QBs for the 2012 season.  31-year old Rex Grossman was 5-8 (38.5%) as the Redskins’ starting QB in 2011.  He played in 13 games (all starts) for the Redskins last year and he completed 265 of 458 passes (57.9%) for 3,151 yards with 16 TD passes and 20 INTs (72.4 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 20 times for 11 yards (0.6 ypc) with 1 TD run last year.  Grossman has now played in 54 games (47 starts) so far in his NFL career and he has completed 863 of 1,562 passes (55.2%) for 10,232 yards with 56 TD passes and 60 INTs (71.4 QB Rating).  He also has carried the ball 81 times for 106 yards (1.3 ypc) with 4 TD runs in his NFL career so far.  Grossman is now 25-22 (53.2%) as a starting QB during the regular season in his NFL career.  I can see the Redskins bringing Grossman back as a backup in 2012, but they need a new starting QB.

30-year old John Beck was a bust for the Redskins as they were 0-3 in his starts.  Beck played in 4 games (3 starts) for the Redskins last year and he completed 80 of 132 passes (60.6%) for 858 yards with 2 TD passes and 4 INTs (72.1 QB Rating).  He also carried the ball 10 times for 43 yards (4.3 ypc) with 2 TD runs last year.  Beck has now played in 9 games (7 starts) so far in his NFL career and he has completed 140 of 239 passes (58.6%) for 1,417 yards with 3 TD passes and 7 INTs (67.6 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 19 times for 55 yards (2.9 ypc) with 3 TD runs in his NFL career.  Beck is now 0-7 as a starting QB in his NFL career.

The Redskins have placed 27-year old starting safety LaRon Landry on the Injured Reserve List, ending his season due to groin and Achilles injuries.  He played in 8 games for the Redskins this year and he had 48 tackles, 2 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, 1 forced fumble, 1 fumble recovery and 1 pass defensed.  The Redskins are going to replace Landry in the starting lineup with 22-year old rookie corner DeJon Gomes.  Gomes has played in 12 games for the Redskins so far this year and he has 24 tackles and 1 pass defensed.

The Redskins should stick with 31-year old QB Rex Grossman the rest of this season as the starter.  He has played in 7 games for the Redskins so far this year and he has completed 138 of 235 passes (58.7%) for 1,636 yards with 8 TD passes and 12 INTs (70.1 QB Rating).  Grossman has also carried the ball 13 times for 13 yards (1.0 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year.  Grossman is wildly inconsistent as he is either really good or really bad.  Still, that is way better than 30-year old John Beck, who is mostly bad.  Beck has played in 4 games for the Redskins so far this year and he has completed 80 of 132 passes (60.6%) for 858 yards with 2 TD passes and 4 INTs (72.1 QB Rating).  Beck has also carried the ball 11 times for 43 yards (3.9 ypc) with 2 TD runs so far this year.

59-year old head coach Mike Shanahan was supposed to get the Redskins back on the right track, but it hasn’t happened yet.  Going into this season with Rex Grossman and John Beck at QB was a recipe for disaster and things are starting to get ugly for them after a fast start.  The Redskins are now 3-5 on the season and they are only scoring 15.9 points per game so far!  That isn’t going to get it done this year.  The Redskins are now 9-15 (37.5%) in Shanahan’s first two years in charge.  I just can’t see owner Daniel Snyder sticking with Shanahan if he doesn’t starting seeing improvement in his team’s play.

The Washington Redskins aren’t getting enough out of the return game so far this year.  WR Brandon Banks has returned 22 kickoffs for 525 yards (23.9 avg) and he has also returned 19 punts for 177 yards (9.3 avg) so far this year.  Logan Paulsen (1 kickoff return, 0 yards) and WR Niles Paul (1 punt return for 0 yards) are the only other players besides Banks to return a kickoff or punt this year.  The Redskins have now returned 23 kickoffs for 525 yards (22.8 avg) and 20 punts for 177 yards (8.9 avg) so far this year.  The Redskins need more out of Brandon Banks and the return teams going forward.

#1 WR Santana Moss has caught 25 passes for 301 yards (12.0 avg) with 2 TD grab, but he is going to miss a big chunk of the rest of the year due to a fractured hand.  Jabar Gaffney will take over as the #1 WR for the Redskins until Moss is ready to return to action.  Gaffney has caught 23 passes for 361 yards (15.7 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year.  Anthony Armstrong will likely replace Moss in the starting lineup.  He has caught 5 passes for 47 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year, but he proved what he could do in 2010 for the Redskins, so chances are good that he will step up.  Terrence Austin (4 rec, 58 yards), Donte Stallworth (5 rec, 46 yards) and rookie Niles Paul (2 rec, 25 yards) are also going to have to step up for the Redskins.

Starting RB Tim Hightower is having an MRI today to see if he has a torn left ACL.  Hightower has carried the ball 84 times for 321 yards (3.8 ypc) with 1 TD run and he has also caught 10 passes for 78 yards (7.8 avg) with 1 TD grab.  If Hightower is indeed out for the season, Ryan Torain and Roy Helu will share the load in the running game.  Torain has carried the ball 31 times for 152 yards (4.9 ypc) with 1 TD run so far this year, but he has yet to catch a pass.  Rookie Roy Helu has carried the ball 27 times for 131 yards (4.9 ypc) and he has also caught 9 passes for 72 yards (8.0 avg) so far this year.  Losing Hightower would be a blow to the Redskins’ offense but at least they have a couple of capable replacements in Torain and Helu.

UPDATE:  The MRI Hightower took today confirmed that he has a torn left ACL.  He is done for the season.

The Washington Redskins will be without WR Santana Moss for the next 5-7 weeks due to a fractured left hand.  Moss has played in all six games for the Redskins so far this year and he has caught 25 passes for 301 yards (12.0 avg) with 2 TD grabs.  Jabar Gaffney and Anthony Armstrong will be the starting WRs until Moss returns to action and the Redskins need them to step up.  Gaffney has caught 23 passes for 361 yards (15.7 avg) with 1 TD grab so far this year and Armstong has caught 5 passes for 47 yards (9.4 avg) with 1 TD grab this year.

The Washington Redskins are making a change at QB for this weekend’s game at Carolina.  30-year old John Beck will be the new starting QB.  He has played in 1 game (0 starts) for the Redskins so far this year and he has completed 8 of 15 passes (53.3%) for 117 yards without a TD pass or INT (79.0 QB Rating.  Beck has also carried the ball 2 times for 14 yards (7.0 ypc) with 1 TD run this year. The Redskins hope that Beck is more careful with the football then Rex Grossman was.  Grossman has played in 5 games (all starts) for the Redskins so far this year and he has completed 92 of 165 passes (55.8%) for 1,132 yards with 6 TD passes and 9 INTs (66.5 QB Rating).  Grossman has also carried the ball 10 times for 3 yards (0.3 ypc) so far this year.  This move makes perfect sense for the Redskins as Grossman has been awful lately.

31-year old QB Rex Grossman is kind of like having Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde running the show.  He is either really good or awful and it changes from week to week.  Grossman has played in all four games for the Redskins so far this year and he has completed 83 of 143 passes (58%) for 989 yards with 6 TD passes and 5 INTs (78.7 QB Rating).  He has also carried the ball 10 times for 3 yards (0.3 ypc) so far this year.  Despite him being up and down, he still has the Redskins in first place in the NFC East with a 3-1 record.