John Beck has been making the media rounds, lobbying hard for the Redskins starting quarterback job.
With public opinion of Donovan McNabb at rock bottom, Beck smells blood and is going in for the kill.
“I’m trying to be the starting quarterback,” he said in an interview on NFL radio. “I’ll call whoever, try to set whatever up. If you don’t think like a starter and act like a starter, your teammates probably aren’t gonna believe you’re the starter. So I’m thinking I’m the starter.”
It’s common perception that McNabb will not be the Redskins starter when or if this coming season starts. He’s been accused of being soft by Bernard Hopkins, and was the center of a petty media debate about whether not he refused to wear a wristband with the plays on it. Much of that is a product of lockout media boredom, but it's safe to assume he's done in Washington. (Right?)
Beck seems thrilled with McNabb’s crash and burn.
"If Donovan McNabb stays the starter of the Washington Redskins, I stay a backup, and I do not want to be a backup.”
We can appreciate the competitive sentiment. It’s a selfish statement to make. When the very expensive veteran starter doesn’t play well, it’s bad for everyone.
The Redskins still have the option of Rex Grossman, who has yet to be re-signed because of the lockout. Grossman ran plays alongside Beck at last month’s players-only mini camp, which tells us that he’d like the starting job as much as Beck. He’s just not campaigning to the media about it.
You can look at Beck’s intensity as genuine competitive nature, but more likely it’s desperation. Beck is a 29-year-old quarterback who has yet to hold a permanent starting position in the NFL and hasn’t started a regular season game since the 2007 season.
Beck puts a more defiant spin on his career.
“I’ve been through crappy situations, and I’ve always just tried to maintain through this whole thing [that] I believe I’m a starter in the NFL and I’m not gonna let anybody tell me no. And if they try to tell me no, I’m not going to listen to them.”
We’re picturing a non-starting Beck covering his ears and singing “Lalalala” while refusing to leave the field.
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