Ever since Joe Theismann's right leg defied the laws of anatomy on "Monday Night Football" in 1985, the quarterback position for the Redskins has been a bit, shall we say, touch and go.
Doug Williams certainly made the most of his opportunity in Super Bowl XXII and Mark Rypien had a few nice seasons that culminated with MVP honors in Super Bowl XXVI. But other than that, the position has been one unending revolving door for the franchise.
Like a pigskin Nostradamus, Theismann foretold the great terror of the John Beck Experiment last season. He's equally apprehensive of the rumors linking Peyton Manning to the Redskins.
"It's not a good idea, it's not a bad idea -- it's a horrific idea," Theismann, now an NFL Network analyst, told 106.7 FM in Washington last week (via The Washington Post). "It would be one of the poorest things that we could do as a franchise. Are we gonna go find another guy for just a couple of years again? Haven't we done this before? Haven't we seen this act before? And by the way, if you get Peyton Manning, don't you have a concern about protecting him? Don't you have a concern about who he throws the football to?"
Tell us how you really feel, Joe.
"We're tired of looking for stop gaps," he continued. "It's time to draft one of your own, or make a deal for a young one of your own, and nurture him, and then put the players around him. If we're gonna be 5-11, if we're gonna be 6-10, let's do it with somebody who's (learning as he goes), instead of guys that have been here, making mistakes."
Theismann is an unrequited Redskins homer, but he's making plenty of sense here. The 'Skins are in start-over mode, and bringing in a 36-year-old quarterback off three neck surgeries makes about as much sense as, well, putting your trust in Beck.
