Grossman spreads blame around after Redskins loss

LANDOVER, Md. - A few weeks ago, Rex Grossman was predicting.

Yesterday, he was deflecting.

Grossman said before the season started that he would lead the Redskins to the NFC East title, and, after a 3-1 start, he seemed prescient.

Yesterday, he seemed premature.

Grossman matched his career high with four interceptions. He did it in three quarters. He was benched in the fourth quarter, replaced by training-camp favorite John Beck.

Grossman does not know when he will throw another pass in a game. He didn't make friends after his last pass yesterday.

He blamed his receivers for three of the four interceptions. Two of the first three were intended for tight end Fred Davis.

"I wanted to try to put the ball up so Fred could go and just get it," Grossman said of the first pick. "It was intercepted. The ball should have been on the 2-yard line."

So, Davis wanted it less than Eagles safety Kurt Coleman.

Moving on . . .

The next interception that was intended for Davis, said Grossman, came about because Davis did not perform as expected:

"You have to trust people to cut across the safety's face."

Finally, on the soft floater he dealt down the sideline late in the third quarter, in the general direction of Jabbar Gaffney: "I thought he was coming back for the ball."

Gaffney had no chance, even if he hadn't been 10 yards downfield.

Grossman's comments reflected a stunned, honest assessment of what could turn into a Redskins meltdown.

Tight-lipped coach Mike Shanahan offered even less insight than normal.

Asked if Grossman would start Sunday in Carolina, Shanahan tersely said he would make that decision on Wednesday. Grossman now has six touchdowns and nine interceptions. He completed nine of 22 passes yesterday for 143 yards (including a 45-yard flea-flicker to start the third quarter) and had a 23.7 passer rating.

Asked to assess Beck's play, Shanahan said that Beck played "well."

Beck completed eight of 15 balls for 117 yards, without a flea-flicker.

Meanwhile, the Eagles rolled up 422 yards against a defense that played at home and is top-10 across the board.

"We were playing real lackadaisical," said safety LaRon Landry.

They'll strive to reach that level next week, with several injuries. Tight end Chris Cooley, already limited by a knee injury, will have surgery on his left index finger, which he broke yesterday, said Shanahan.

Left guard Kory Lichtensteiger appeared to have torn ligaments in his knee. Left tackle Trent Williams left the field in the second quarter with a right ankle injury. Cornerback Philip Buchanon missed the game, too, though his four-game suspension for violating the league's substance-abuse policy is over.

Punishing back Tim Hightower's sore shoulder kept him out yesterday, too, and the Redskins' running game disappeared.

As might Grossman's prediction . . . and, for all intents and purposes, Grossman, himself.