Donovan McNabb says He Wasn’t Told He’d be Benched Ahead of Time
"I didn't hear the word benching or anything to that effect."...
On his weekly radio show on ESPN 980 with Kevin Sheehan and Thom Loverro, Donovan McNabb graciously attempted to clear up the aftermath of his benching during Sunday's loss to the Detroit Lions.
All he really ended up doing was making clear that the dialogue between Mike Shanahan and his starting quarterback leading up to Sunday was murky at best:
"If you're asking if I was upset with the decision, yeah I was."
While McNabb admits that Shanahan had spoken with him earlier in the week about opportunities to exit the game for the purpose of injury management, never did he hear in the context of a "benching" with the game still on the line:
"I didn't hear the word benching or anything to that effect."
On ESPN, Tim Hasselbeck claimed that while in Philadelphia "practice tempo" had always been an issue to which McNabb responded:
"I haven't heard anything to that effect. That is new to me. My practice tempo has been the same to rally the guys and to go run the play and make sure we do it effectively. There's nothing more that I can say to that. Maybe I should run up to the line. I don't know. That's a new one."
As for issues within the depth chart itself, McNabb apparently has no hard feeling with his teammates confirming that he went out to dinner with Rex Grossman last night and saying they are "good friends."
He also says he will start against Philadelphia and believes there is no chance he will be replaced in the middle of that game.
On the chances he'll be the starting quarterback for the Redskins next year.
"100 percent."
McNabb continued to be in good humor throughout the 20 plus minute radio show, said he'd be back to do it next week during the bye week, and made a tongue in cheek reference to Randy Moss's bizarre weekend diatribe:
"I'm going to ask myself some questions and then I'm going to answer them. And then you guys will hear the answers."
If McNabb's relationship with the Redskins' organization is irreparably fractured, the guy deserves credit for keeping up appearances at an All-World level.
