John Beck

John Beck took over as starting quarterback for the Washington Redskins three weeks ago, but given his performance the last couple of games, is he on a shorter leash this week?

Possibly.

This week, Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan had Beck split first-team snaps with second-string quarterback Rex Grossman, who opened the season as the starter but was benched four games ago.

Grossman struggles to take care of the football, but he has a better feel for the system, and he has a strong rapport with tight end Fred Davis and receiver Jabar Gaffney, the team’s leading pass-catchers.

Shanahan began giving Grossman more first-team snaps in practice last season before making the decision to bench Donovan McNabb for the final three games of the season.

The move to give Grossman first team snaps also could be intended to put more pressure on Beck. Mike Shanahan likes to create competition in practice to spark improvement.

Generally speaking, Grossman has looked better than Beck, but neither one is a long-term answer for the Redskins or your fantasy team. The best thing to do would be to stay away from both of them.