Granted, Grossman isn’t capable of leading the Redskins where they ultimately want to go. I’m sure Shanahan knows that. But Shanahan inherited a franchise with a battered psyche, so bringing in a guy with Grossman’s upbeat mind-set made sense.
Shanahan still erred in staking his reputation on Grossman and John Beck being able to effectively lead the offense. I’ll never waver on that point.
Grossman’s effect on the team’s attitude, however, is a positive development in an otherwise awful situation. Might as well take something from it.
Then there are the rookie running backs. The Redskins definitely have found something in the hard-working Roy Helu, who had three consecutive 100-yard games, and have seen encouraging signs lately in Evan Royster as well.
Making his first career start for the injured Helu, Royster rushed for 132 yards with a 6.9-yard average. For the first time in Redskins franchise history, two rookies have rushed for at least 100 yards — and that’s an impressive fact, period.
“I thought Evan did a great job,” Shanahan said. “Any time you average nearly seven yards a carry, against a defense that has been doing very good against the run, you feel like you’ve had a great day. He’s got to feel good about his performance.”
Not just Royster. The entire franchise should take satisfaction in anything that’s going right. Obviously, the Redskins haven’t turned a corner. With only a game left, they haven’t found it yet.
“We have to put several games together, not just playing one good game, and we didn’t put three or four games together to show we’re a good team,” special teams captain Lorenzo Alexander said. “Are some good things happening? Yeah, you can see it. I think we all see it. But you’ve got to see more. Until we do that, we’re not a good team.”
With each season, it gets harder to remember the last time they were.
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