Zac Boyer will be entering his third season covering the Washington Redskins for The Free Lance-Star this fall. Make sure to follow Zac on Twitter (@ZacBoyer) for the latest updates or e-mail him with any questions at zboyer@freelancestar.com.
Was Joey Galloway demoted during Monday night’s game?
Redskins coach Mike Shanahan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan in recent weeks have spoken highly of veteran wide receiver Joey Galloway despite his lack of statistical production.
Their praise, however, has rung hollow with many fans and media partly because they almost never publicly critique players and because Galloway’s scant production—only nine catches on 32 targets this season—belies their positive evaluations of his play.
Mike Shanahan’s actions speak the loudest in these cases, and we might have learned his true feelings during Monday night’s 59-28 loss to Philadelphia.
Roydell Williams replaced Galloway as the Redskins’ third receiver after a pass intended for Galloway was intercepted with 5:08 remaining the second quarter. Williams played 24 snaps the rest of the game; Galloway played only one.
The interception occurred on third-and-12 from Washington’s 11-yard line. Galloway lined up wide left and ran what quarterback Donovan McNabb treated as a deep ‘in’ route. It appeared that Galloway did not push cornerback Dimitri Patterson up the field with his route, and his cut in was not sharp.
Patterson broke hard to the inside at the top of Galloway’s route, beating him to the ball for the catch. The play occurred right in front of the Redskins’ sideline.
Galloway’s only offensive snap the rest of the game came on the play after McNabb missed Williams on a deep throw.
Another strike against Galloway on Monday was his drop of a potential third-down conversion. With the Redskins’ offense struggling to keep the team in the game during a horrific first quarter, Galloway would have converted third-and-8 if he had caught the ball, but McNabb’s perfect throw went through his hands.
Galloway, who turns 39 on Saturday, already has been demoted once this season. Anthony Armstrong replaced him in the starting lineup in Week 6.
Mike Shanahan was not asked about Galloway after the game on Monday, and he was not made available to reporters yesterday. We should learn more about the decision today.
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Robert
