(AP Photo/Rob Carr)

I wish I could muster more outrage at Graham Gano. Statistically, he’s the worst kicker in the NFL, having made less than 70 percent of his field goals — so expecting him to fail isn’t an unreasonable position. But when Graham and his six-day beard lined up for the potential game-tying extra point yesterday, it wasn’t that I knew it was going to fail — it’s that I was prepared for it to fail. Over Thanksgiving weekend, my alma mater had the chance to tie their hated rival late in the game, only to have the damn kicker miss the PAT. Having already experienced that emotional experience, my brain recognized the situation and could immediately fire the appropriate synapses. That’s why you might have heard me laughing hysterically when the snap went through the hands of Hunter Smith and Gano got slammed to the ground. Detroit and Washington have been in a neck-and-neck race all season to find the worst way to lose, but I submit that yesterday definitively tipped the scales for the burgundy and gold.

Life’s too short to get mad at a kicker, though, so let’s think about who should leading the Redskins into 2011.

Here’s a list of names that should scare Redskins fans: Michael Vick, Troy Smith, Alex Smith, Matt Leinart, Tavaris Jackson, Matt Hasselbeck. Those are the names of players who will be unrestricted free agent quarterbacks this coming offseason, assuming that Donovan McNabb will (rightfully) be cut and Peyton Manning stays in Indianapolis (if only for the Concrete Mixers at Culver’s). Let’s scratch Vick off the list right off the bat, because even if he leaves Philly, I doubt a second stint with a former Broncos coach is high on his wishlist. Hasselbeck was a good quarterback in 2006, which might actually improve his ranking in the Redskins front office. What about some of the lesser names that will be available? Bruce Gradkowski? Brodie Croyle? Kerry Collins? Yikes.