WASHINGTON — Well then. So much for that great RGIII vs. Andrew Luck
showdown.
In a matchup so hyped it spawned T-shirts in the 2012 preseason, Robert Griffin
III won’t make the meeting nearly three years in the making. Instead, you’ll have
to enjoy the symmetry of Colt vs. the Colts.
This was inevitable. Anyone who knows what they’re looking at saw his performance
in the Tampa Bay game and saw an unmitigated nightmare that essentially sealed
his fate. Even before the benching was announced, there were columns written about where he’ll go next and damning breakdowns of
his, um, breakdown against the Bucs.
Furthermore, the Redskins didn’t win any of the four games Griffin played start
to finish, and his decline is steep and glaring. ESPN’s self-aggrandized QBR stat
shows in his three seasons, RGIII’s QBR has gone from 73 to 40 to 27. Injuries
only tell part of the story. He’s getting worse at a time when he’s supposed to
be building on his amazing rookie campaign.
Coach Jay Gruden made the right call. Injuries only tell part of the tale.
Griffin was healthy coming into his third year, running an offense only slightly
different from the one he ran the two years under former coach Mike Shanahan. You
can make the case that four games isn’t a good enough sample size, but the Tampa
game was a complete disaster.
Gruden can’t sell winning as a priority to the other 52 guys on the roster if he
keeps playing a quarterback that’s an obvious liability.
“Ultimately, a lot of people are making it out (as) me vs. Robert,”
Gruden said. “It’s not at all. I have a lot of respect for Robert as a
quarterback and Robert as a person. … They can portray it all they want to, but
my job ultimately is to convince this team that we’re doing everything we can to
win, and to convince this city that, and we’re doing that. I feel like we’re
doing that.”
Wow.
Let’s be honest: It’s not all RG3’s fault. But he’s got to bear a lot of the
blame for his current predicament. It’s not like Griffin has played for Lovie
Smith or Rex Ryan — defensive coaches who have struggled to develop
quarterbacks. RG3 has been coached by ex-QBs Mike Shanahan and Jay Gruden, men
who understand the position better than most and have developed quality passers.
The notion that Shanahan was the problem here is no longer viable.
First, he’s the only one to get a great season out of Griffin.
Second, things went south with Gruden in half the time it took to sour with
Shanny. Couple that with Kyle Shanahan directing a terrific offense in Cleveland
with half the talent the ‘Skins have, and it’s looking like the wrong guy got run
out of town.
The most depressing part of all is that the Redskins spent three 1st round picks
and a 2nd rounder in 2012 for the shine of having the Offensive Rookie of the
Year and one division title. Colt McCoy is a nice stop gap, but he’s not the long
term answer. Without an obvious blue chip player available in the upcoming draft
or the 2015 free agent crop, the answer may not come for several more years.
This much we know: RG3 isn’t the answer. The Redskins organization may want you
to believe he’s got a role here long term, but that’s just to salvage what little
trade value he has left. Griffin is as good as gone.
So here we are again, Redskins fans. We’re having Thanksgiving dinner feeling
like turkeys for buying into the RG3 hype just two years after Griffin authored
one of the greatest wins in Redskins history: a 4 TD virtuoso in Dallas to beat
the rival Cowboys on a national stage.
Batten down the hatches, D.C. It’s going to be another long winter.
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