ASHBURN, Va. (AP) — The Washington Redskins’ record is a matter of perspective.

Steve Spurrier infamously proclaimed 5-11 was “not very good” after his 2003 season with Washington. He quit the next day, done with the NFL after two years and a 12-20 record.

Mike Shanahan’s spin couldn’t be more different.

“Even though the record may not show it,” Shanahan said Monday, “we’re a much better football team than we were a year ago.”

The Redskins regressed from 6-10 to 5-11 this year, so Shanahan’s mark in two seasons in Washington stands at 11-21. He’s never had a worse full-season record as a head coach, and Washington has now finished in last place in the NFC East for four years running.

“Thank God I haven’t been through any like this before — I might not be in this profession very long,” Shanahan said. “But it’s something that really drives you and motivates you. It’s something that I look forward to doing, putting a great football team together and doing it the right way, and sometimes it takes a little bit longer than sometimes expected.”

Shanahan cited the team’s improved depth as evidence that he has the Redskins pointed in the right direction. Even so, there are significant upgrades needed at receiver, in the secondary, along the offensive line and in a special teams unit that had five blocked field goals this year — the most allowed by a team in the NFL in eight years.

But it all starts and ends with the quarterback, and Shanahan needs to find one.

After failing to make it work with Donovan McNabb last year, Shanahan made the bold statement that he was staking his reputation this season on Rex Grossman and John Beck. Grossman ended up committing 25 turnovers in 13 games, and Beck lasted for all of three winless starts.

“I don’t care what anybody says, I know what I can do and I know what I’m capable of — and I know that I will achieve it,” Beck said Monday before stuffing his belongings into a large clear plastic bag at his locker. “I thought it was going to happen this year. It didn’t. But it’s going to happen. I’m not going to let it not happen.”

Grossman’s self-confidence was just as strong. While Beck is under contract for next season, Grossman is a free agent — but it’s possible he could be brought back to mentor a quarterback taken in the first round of the draft.

“There’s a lot of things that I can do to improve,” Grossman said. “But definitely there was a lot of good, and we’ll see how they evaluate it.”

Shanahan has already starting looking for someone else. For weeks now, he has been spending about a half-hour in the mornings looking at video of the top college prospects. The Redskins hold the No. 6 overall pick in the April draft.

“Everybody’s looking for a franchise quarterback,” offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said. “You want one of those guys that there’s no question about. There’s probably only about five or six of them in the league. Then there’s a lot of guys who can play and there’s some guys who need to be replaced. You’re always trying to find that one and (we’re) still working to do it.”

The Redskins’ noteworthy free agents include linebacker London Fletcher, safety LaRon Landry, tight end Fred Davis, defensive end Adam Carriker and running back Tim Hightower. Shanahan said Fletcher is a priority to re-sign, while Landry’s value is subject to his return from a left Achilles injury and Davis has just completed a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s drugs policy. Davis was one of three Redskins players suspended this season, the latest black eye for the franchise.

But the Redskins, being the Redskins, couldn’t wrap up the season without one final bit of consternation. Shanahan, as is his usual routine, gave his parting words to the players in the locker room Sunday after the final game. On Monday, with the coach not even in the room, the players heard from Navy SEALs and a marine as part of a program mandated by the NFL.

While many players said they found the presentation inspiring and that it helped them put football in perspective, backup offensive lineman Sean Locklear tweeted that it was the “Worst exit meeting ever!” because no coaches or front office people spoke. He later went back on Twitter to apologize.

“I talked to Sean after the game and, obviously, he must not have liked my speech,” Shanahan said with more than a touch of sarcasm. “Obviously he must have been disappointed in it. I’ve only been doing it that way for a number of years, and he must be used to a different way. So I apologize, Sean, it’ll never happen again — at least not with me.”

——

Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan issued a public challenge Monday to left tackle Trent Williams, saying the 2010 first-round draft pick needs to continue his on-field development and demonstrate improved commitment and maturity following his drug-related suspension. The coach also said he sees a change in tight end and /free-agent-to-be Fred Davis, who also ended the season on a four-game suspension for failing multiple drug tests.

A dejected Trent Williams after the Redskins lost to to the Dallas Cowboys 18-16 on Sept. 26 in Arlington. (Toni L. Sandys/Washington Post)Williams was the first draft pick of Shanahan’s tenure as head coach of the Redskins. Washington selected him fourth overall out of Oklahoma, and Williams this season was picked as one of the team’s offensive captains.

Shanahan said that Williams showed improvement both in his play and his work ethic this season. But the failed drug tests put a dark cloud over any positives Williams produced this year.

“He’s got to be smart enough to understand that if you disappoint your football team like you did, you’d better come back with a passion and the drive to do what we need him to do, especially being the fourth pick of the draft,” Shanahan said. “We know the talent he has, we know he’s a likeable guy. I was pleased with his work ethic coming into his second year, how he was playing, but he’s got to prove that he can do it on a day-to-day basis and set the standard for our football team and our organization.”

Davis, meanwhile, is eligible for free agency after playing the final season of the contract he signed as a second-round draft pick in 2008. Davis had a breakout year this season, recording 59 receptions for 796 yards in 12 starts – all career highs. He also had three touchdown catches.

He and Williams were among 11 NFL players who failed drug tests for recreational marijuana use following the end of the league’s lockout. Only Williams and Davis continued to fail drug tests over the course of the season.

Davis likely has hurt his chances of earning a lucrative, long-term deal. One more failed drug test would result in a one-year suspension for him. (The same goes for Williams, but he is under contract for next year).

But Shanahan said that he isn’t judging Davis more harshly because of the suspension.

“Fred made a mistake. We sat down and talked about his mistake. I do feel very good about Fred as a person,” the coach said. “I like the way he worked, I like his attitude. I like his development over the last year-and-a-half since I’ve been here. I think he’s had a complete change in the way he handles himself off the field, to preparing himself to be a consummate pro, to working out, and hopefully the mistake won’t happen that he made this year.”

ASHBURN, Va. (AP)—The Washington Redskins’ record is a matter of
perspective.

Steve Spurrier infamously proclaimed 5-11 was “not very good” after his
2003 season with Washington. He quit the next day, done with the NFL after two
years and a 12-20 record.

Mike Shanahan’s spin couldn’t be more different.

“Even though the record may not show it,” Shanahan said Monday, “we’re a
much better football team than we were a year ago.”

The Redskins regressed from 6-10 to 5-11 this year, so Shanahan’s mark in
two seasons in Washington stands at 11-21. He’s never had a worse full-season
record as a head coach, and Washington has now finished in last place in the NFC
East for four years running.

“Thank God I haven’t been through any like this before—I might not be in
this profession very long,” Shanahan said. “But it’s something that really
drives you and motivates you. It’s something that I look forward to doing,
putting a great football team together and doing it the right way, and sometimes
it takes a little bit longer than sometimes expected.”

Shanahan cited the team’s improved depth as evidence that he has the
Redskins pointed in the right direction. Even so, there are significant upgrades
needed at receiver, in the secondary, along the offensive line and in a special
teams unit that had five blocked field goals this year—the most allowed by a
team in the NFL in eight years.

But it all starts and ends with the quarterback, and Shanahan needs to find
one.

After failing to make it work with Donovan McNabb last year, Shanahan made
the bold statement that he was staking his reputation this season on Rex
Grossman and John Beck. Grossman ended up committing 25 turnovers in 13 games,
and Beck lasted for all of three winless starts.

“I don’t care what anybody says, I know what I can do and I know what I’m
capable of—and I know that I will achieve it,” Beck said Monday before
stuffing his belongings into a large clear plastic bag at his locker. “I
thought it was going to happen this year. It didn’t. But it’s going to happen.
I’m not going to let it not happen.”

Grossman’s self-confidence was just as strong. While Beck is under contract
for next season, Grossman is a free agent—but it’s possible he could be
brought back to mentor a quarterback taken in the first round of the draft.

“There’s a lot of things that I can do to improve,” Grossman said. “But
definitely there was a lot of good, and we’ll see how they evaluate it.”

Shanahan has already starting looking for someone else. For weeks now, he
has been spending about a half-hour in the mornings looking at video of the top
college prospects. The Redskins hold the No. 6 overall pick in the April draft.

“Everybody’s looking for a franchise quarterback,” offensive coordinator
Kyle Shanahan said. “You want one of those guys that there’s no question about.
There’s probably only about five or six of them in the league. Then there’s a
lot of guys who can play and there’s some guys who need to be replaced. You’re
always trying to find that one and (we’re) still working to do it.”

The Redskins’ noteworthy free agents include linebacker London Fletcher,
safety LaRon Landry, tight end Fred Davis, defensive end Adam Carriker and
running back Tim Hightower. Shanahan said Fletcher is a priority to re-sign,
while Landry’s value is subject to his return from a left Achilles injury and
Davis has just completed a four-game suspension for violating the NFL’s drugs
policy. Davis was one of three Redskins players suspended this season, the
latest black eye for the franchise.

But the Redskins, being the Redskins, couldn’t wrap up the season without
one final bit of consternation. Shanahan, as is his usual routine, gave his
parting words to the players in the locker room Sunday after the final game. On
Monday, with the coach not even in the room, the players heard from Navy SEALs
and a marine as part of a program mandated by the NFL.

While many players said they found the presentation inspiring and that it
helped them put football in perspective, backup offensive lineman Sean Locklear
tweeted that it was the “Worst exit meeting ever!” because no coaches or front
office people spoke. He later went back on Twitter to apologize.

“I talked to Sean after the game and, obviously, he must not have liked my
speech,” Shanahan said with more than a touch of sarcasm. “Obviously he must
have been disappointed in it. I’ve only been doing it that way for a number of
years, and he must be used to a different way. So I apologize, Sean, it’ll never
happen again—at least not with me.”

———

Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP

“I couldn’t have handled it earlier in my career,” Shanahan said Friday, not long after the Redskins practiced for the final time this season. “You don’t know the big picture. You’re just trying to survive. Unless you’ve been with different programs or organizations that have been down or have been up, you can’t really relate to where you’re at now. I can relate to this.”

Shanahan opened his Redskins tenure by going 6-10 in 2010. Win Sunday, and he only matches that record. Lose, and he has his worst record as a head coach. Jim Zorn — whose tenure running the Redskins was mocked from near and far — won 12 games in his two seasons with Washington. The Redskins must win Sunday for Shanahan to match that.

Yet ask Shanahan to take stock as he winds down the second of two difficult seasons, and he is unwavering.

“I feel very good about this football team and the direction we’re headed,” he said, “because we’ve got the right people.”

‘We’re doing it right’

Regardless of Sunday’s outcome, the Redskins will finish in last place in the NFC East for the fourth consecutive year. Yet Shanahan can sit behind his desk — tape of a practice session frozen on a television screen over one shoulder, the Redskins’ entire depth chart on the wall he faces — and emphatically restate his belief that the franchise he oversees will win, and soon. He does so, he said, because he can draw on all those experiences, good and bad. What others see? How others evaluate his team? It doesn’t matter to him.

“He doesn’t let perception become reality,” said his son Kyle, the Redskins’ offensive coordinator. “He knows what he’s doing. All of us know what we’re doing, but the difference with him is, he’s so strong in his personality and he’s had so much success his whole career, he’s seen it all. He knows when things are done right, when things are done wrong. And he knows we’re doing it right.”

There are, Mike Shanahan believes, several aspects to “doing it right,” many of which occur far from the practice field. For the past several weeks, he has begun many mornings by watching a half-hour of film on college quarterbacks, a different one each day, maybe 70 or 80 plays. It is a window into his world. The Redskins clearly are searching for a quarterback to eventually replace current starter Rex Grossman. And Shanahan will have the most significant role in selecting that player, be it through free agency or the college draft, this year or the next or the year after that.

ASHBURN, Va. (AP)—Instead of playing for the playoffs, Mike Shanahan is
playing to match Jim Zorn.

The Washington Redskins must win their regular-season finale Sunday against
the Philadelphia Eagles for Shanahan to equal the two-year record of his
predecessor, a coach who was undermined by management and fired in the middle of
the night.

But, unlike Zorn, Shanahan is not a condemned coach playing out his final
days on the job under owner Dan Snyder. As the Redskins (5-10) wrap up a fourth
consecutive last-place NFC East finish—an unprecedented run in franchise
history—there is no sense that change is coming.

“There’s no doubt in my mind. Hopefully, there’s no doubt in Dan’s mind,
too,” Shanahan said Thursday. “Like I talked to him about when I first got
here, I said: `Dan, if you don’t plan on me coaching here five years and doing
it the right way, you’re hiring the wrong guy.’ It’s going to take some time to
do it right.”

Although Shanahan is 11-20, he has had it easy when considering what it was
like before his arrival. Zorn’s 12-20 record is somewhat remarkable given that
he was at the mercy of a front office led by Snyder and personnel chief Vinny
Cerrato, whose dubious drafts and free-agency choices weakened the roster and
whose faith in the coach was so tenuous that Sherm Lewis was hired out of
Bingo-calling retirement to call the offensive plays.

“I actually enjoyed playing for coach Zorn, and I enjoy playing for coach
Shanahan,” defensive lineman Kedric Golston said. “I think the difference is
that right now we’re building something not to be a flash in the pan. We’re
rebuilding something that would be able to compete and sustain for years to
come. I often look at it like building a building: the higher the building, the
lower you’re going to have to dig the foundation.”

After dismissing Zorn following a 4-12 season in 2009, Snyder gave Shanahan
a $35 million, five-year contract and full control over football matters.
Shanahan is likely safe for at least another year if only because another
coaching move would again validate Snyder’s reputation for impatience and thus
make it difficult to find a quality replacement.

Of course, nothing is a guarantee, given Snyder’s track record in 12 years
of ownership. The owner has stayed mum all season, declining to answer questions
about the team when appearing at various functions. Spokesman Tony Wyllie said
Snyder was unavailable for comment Thursday.

Records aside, the Redskins appear in better shape than two years ago.
Shanahan has instilled a sense of order and professionalism lacking under
Cerrato and Zorn. Washington had the oldest opening day roster in the NFL last
year, but a large draft class has added in some promising young talent.

Shanahan’s major stumble has been his choice of quarterbacks. He wasted a
year with Donovan McNabb, and neither Rex Grossman nor John Beck has proven this
year to be the long-term solution, a significant setback to the rebuilding
process.

“I’ve been here 3 1/2 years, and it’s always been `hopefully next year,’ so
you definitely get tired of it,” cornerback DeAngelo Hall said. “And hopefully
that won’t be the case next year.”

But at least he’s not expecting any offseason chaos.

“I feel like from the top down we know who our coaches are going to be next
year,” Hall said. “That’s a complete 180 from what happened with Zorn.”

It’s been decades since a Redskins coach had a winning tenure. Norv Turner
went 49-59-1 and was fired. Interim replacement Terry Robiskie was 1-2. Marty
Schottenheimer was dismissed after one 8-8 season. Steve Spurrier quit after
going 12-20, and Joe Gibbs was 31-36 before retiring a second time.

The players and coaches are confident Shanahan will buck the trend—as long
as he’s allowed to continue his work.

“There’s some stability,” said safeties coach Steve Jackson, another of
the dwindling holdovers from the Zorn years. “And the biggest thing is you know
who the guy in charge is, and he sets the course. Regardless of how it looks
right now, we know where we’re headed.”

———

Joseph White can be reached at http://twitter.com/JGWhiteAP