If Robert Griffin III is really done in Washington – and with Washington nothing is ever certain – his failure there is not his fault. He deserves better than the last three-and-one-half years have given him.
Expecting Griffin to be the savior of a franchise lacking in fundamental stability was an impossible task. He was always more of an NFL project than Andrew Luck, the quarterback to whom he will be forever linked. But he got little of the support that Luck has found in Indianapolis. Washington was probably the wrong place for him. It was only a matter of time before Monday and the loss of his starting job was going to happen.
The only reason he was in Washington was because Mike Shanahan wanted the Hall of Fame. The team’s former coach did not believe two Super Bowl titles in Denver was enough to guarantee himself a bust in Canton, Ohio. Too many people considered those championships to be John Elway’s legacy while the Broncos’ one playoff victory in the 10 years after was Shanahan’s. He burned to prove he could get back to the Super Bowl. He wanted it so much he was willing to take Dan Snyder’s millions in the belief he could get any team to the NFL’s biggest game – even the one that has been sabotaging itself since 1999.
But in his haste to seize that ring, Shanahan never properly assessed the mess he inherited. He tried to circumvent a massive rebuilding by hoping Donovan McNabb could be the quarterback to get him into the postseason. Then came John Beck and Rex Grossman and a desperation by the spring of 2012 to find his Super Bowl quarterback. This is how he came to trade three first-round picks to the St Louis Rams to get Griffin in the draft.
Shanahan never seemed interested in RG III’s long-term development. Griffin was there to win immediately. Little time was taken to refine his pocket skills. He ran like he did in college because that was the easiest thing to do. He got a concussion that first year. He had his leg squashed by Baltimore’s 340lbs defensive tackle Haloti Ngata. He was never right after that incident. But that didn’t matter. The running Griffin was a star. Washington had their first taste of respectability in years and it was good.
Everything fell apart when the playoffs came and Shanahan stood three wins from his dream. Griffin was not right in the first playoff game and yet he stayed on a sandy FedEx Field against a bruising Seattle defense. He did what every player is taught to do and kept insisting he could endure the aching in his knee. When the ligaments finally snapped, Shanahan blamed Griffin. RG III’s career in Washington has been a fiasco ever since.
Griffin is an easy target on an organization mired in dysfunction. He is different than other players. He is thoughtful, interesting and likes social media. These qualities made him charming when he was playing well. They are used against him when he isn’t.
He is not a great fit for new coach Jay Gruden’s offense. Attempts by Gruden’s staff to turn him into a pocket passer feel forced. It’s hard to get a running quarterback to evolve into a more traditional passer. His injuries have only made that process harder.
Griffin does not look comfortable in the pocket. Maybe in time he will. Maybe given a year on a different team, with less turmoil and a better offensive line he can learn to feel natural as a quarterback who runs less. He has always possessed the ability to throw long with precision. He is bright. He can digest a playbook. He needs to take the time to learn how to be as comfortable as Kirk Cousins is in Gruden’s offense.
Gruden had no choice but to give Washington’s offense to Cousins on Monday. When you are a head coach working for Snyder you can’t afford to lose many games. Cousins is a better fit for Gruden’s offense. It’s an offense that has worked for years; there is no need to change it. Gruden has an obligation to his players to give the team to Cousins now even if Cousins hasn’t proven reliable in the few chances he has had to play full games. He has a feel for Gruden’s system that Griffin still does not.
Monday seemed to say RG III is done in Washington. There is talk of the team trying to work a trade but the chances of getting much if anything for him are slim. The best thing that can happen to him is the team releases him, allowing him to sign someplace where he can learn without the stigma of being Washington’s failed savior.
The franchise of perpetual dysfunction is back where it was in the spring of 2012. It is a team with holes and no clear quarterback to pull it from the muck. The three first-round picks swapped for Griffin will go down as another bad investment like all the other bad investments of the last 16 years.
Griffin will not be a happy chapter in Washington history.
But it’s not his fault.
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