On this day before Thanksgiving, my sports fan world isn't doing the best right now. The Patriots are a machine, the Broncos are somewhat idling by, the Devils still can't score, and the Astros are still a few years away. Still, if there is one thing I am thankful for, it is that the Colts picked Andrew Luck and not RGIII.
RGIII was just benched for Colt McCoy. This is the 2nd time a healthy-enough-to-play RGIII has been benched. Last year, Shanahan benched him late in the season for Kirk Cousins (they claimed it was to protect RGIII). Cousins played horribly. This year, Jay Gruden is benching RGIII for Colt McCoy, a QB last seen losing his starting job to Brandon Weeden in Cleveland in 2011. McCoy was actually competent in leading an upset of Dallas a few weeks ago, but chances are he will play horribly as well. Still, the RGIII rift is there. How did this all happen so quickly?
In 2012, RGIII was a very good player. Sure, he was a very good player in a limited, easy system that fit all his skills but made life and decisions easy, but he was undoubtedly a very good player. He threw accurately, threw a gorgeous deep ball, and ran for ~55 yards a game. He won the Offensive Rookie of the Year ahead of Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson. He was the toast of the NFL. Two years later he will likely be traded in the offseason, despite the boatload of picks the Redskins already spent on him. A lot of people will point to one moment that ruined RGIII. That goes back to the Wild Card playoff game in January, 2013, when RGIII tore his ACL trying to recover a bad snap. He was already hobbling earlier in that game. RGIII was cleared on the sideline, so Shanahan put him in and it all went to shit. But is that the real reason?
Considering similar 'And He Was Never the Same Again' moments have happened with other QBs (Carson Palmer's 1st ACL tear being the best example), it is easy and convenient to point to that event. Still, we should look deeper. What is becoming more and more clear is that RGIII is not physically able (or mentally able) to run like he did in 2012 again, and because of that, it is exposing the fact that his mental abilities are still a work in progress.
RGIII came into the league with a highly touted mental ability to handle the QB position, but that just does not seem to be the case. Many people have started dissecting his performance on the field in terms of his handle of how to be a pocket passer (including his own coach). He doesn't take good drops, he can't read defenses quickly, he is gun-shy to throw the ball. He has routinely missed open receivers to hold onto the ball and then end up taking a sack. He plays like Blaine Gabbert used to: making his bad protection all the more worse. He just is not a good QB right now.
Combine his on-the-field struggles with this ever-growing belief that he has acted like an entitled little SOB the past two years, and was coddled by upper management in Washington, and you get a serious issue. Griffin started out OK, but when things went sour following that ACL tear, his behavior really started to change. He essentially forced Shanahan's hand by proclaiming himself healthy prior to last season, and then complained when Shanahan didn't defend him. Last week, after his terrible performance in a loss to the Redskins, he blamed himself, but then blamed the rest of the team as well, which was met with shaking of fists and heads, even from his head coach.
RGIII is not a finished product, but he's not finished either. He may have a future in the NFL in another city, maybe even St. Louis (the same team that got a bunch of draft picks for trading away the right to pick RGIII). He may discover what made him great in 2012, but it becomes more and more clear that 2012 was more a good coach adapting to his talent than it was RGIII lighting fire on the NFL. That was a true coaching job - but the ramifications of that early success cost Shanahan his job in 2013. Jay Gruden cut the cord before it was going to cost him his.
RGIII was just benched for Colt McCoy. This is the 2nd time a healthy-enough-to-play RGIII has been benched. Last year, Shanahan benched him late in the season for Kirk Cousins (they claimed it was to protect RGIII). Cousins played horribly. This year, Jay Gruden is benching RGIII for Colt McCoy, a QB last seen losing his starting job to Brandon Weeden in Cleveland in 2011. McCoy was actually competent in leading an upset of Dallas a few weeks ago, but chances are he will play horribly as well. Still, the RGIII rift is there. How did this all happen so quickly?
In 2012, RGIII was a very good player. Sure, he was a very good player in a limited, easy system that fit all his skills but made life and decisions easy, but he was undoubtedly a very good player. He threw accurately, threw a gorgeous deep ball, and ran for ~55 yards a game. He won the Offensive Rookie of the Year ahead of Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson. He was the toast of the NFL. Two years later he will likely be traded in the offseason, despite the boatload of picks the Redskins already spent on him. A lot of people will point to one moment that ruined RGIII. That goes back to the Wild Card playoff game in January, 2013, when RGIII tore his ACL trying to recover a bad snap. He was already hobbling earlier in that game. RGIII was cleared on the sideline, so Shanahan put him in and it all went to shit. But is that the real reason?
Considering similar 'And He Was Never the Same Again' moments have happened with other QBs (Carson Palmer's 1st ACL tear being the best example), it is easy and convenient to point to that event. Still, we should look deeper. What is becoming more and more clear is that RGIII is not physically able (or mentally able) to run like he did in 2012 again, and because of that, it is exposing the fact that his mental abilities are still a work in progress.
RGIII came into the league with a highly touted mental ability to handle the QB position, but that just does not seem to be the case. Many people have started dissecting his performance on the field in terms of his handle of how to be a pocket passer (including his own coach). He doesn't take good drops, he can't read defenses quickly, he is gun-shy to throw the ball. He has routinely missed open receivers to hold onto the ball and then end up taking a sack. He plays like Blaine Gabbert used to: making his bad protection all the more worse. He just is not a good QB right now.
Combine his on-the-field struggles with this ever-growing belief that he has acted like an entitled little SOB the past two years, and was coddled by upper management in Washington, and you get a serious issue. Griffin started out OK, but when things went sour following that ACL tear, his behavior really started to change. He essentially forced Shanahan's hand by proclaiming himself healthy prior to last season, and then complained when Shanahan didn't defend him. Last week, after his terrible performance in a loss to the Redskins, he blamed himself, but then blamed the rest of the team as well, which was met with shaking of fists and heads, even from his head coach.
RGIII is not a finished product, but he's not finished either. He may have a future in the NFL in another city, maybe even St. Louis (the same team that got a bunch of draft picks for trading away the right to pick RGIII). He may discover what made him great in 2012, but it becomes more and more clear that 2012 was more a good coach adapting to his talent than it was RGIII lighting fire on the NFL. That was a true coaching job - but the ramifications of that early success cost Shanahan his job in 2013. Jay Gruden cut the cord before it was going to cost him his.
