It must be hell to be Robert Griffin III this evening.
Hard as he tried, he could not make his case to be the starting quarterback in Jay Gruden’s offense. Nothing he nor his team tried to do against the Lions worked to wipe away the stink of controversy.
His detractors say he proved their case by his own actions:
- He was hit, a lot.
- He was sacked, a lot.
- He fumbled twice.
- He can’t take the punishment.
- He did this in four drives that gained 11 yards.
Griffin’s defenders stand on two arguments:
- Jay Gruden calls a different game plan for Griffin than for the other QBs.
- The crappy offensive line failed to block for Griffin.
The problem with the argument is that Colt McCoy entered the game and, behind the same O-line, led the Redskins on a five and a-half minute, 10-play, 80-yard scoring drive.
The first three plays of said drive were runs by Matt Jones and Chris Thompson for 45 yards. Even McCoy ran five yards from the shotgun when the receivers were covered. The ‘Skins didn’t rely on the pass at all. See the full drive chart at the end of the story.
So yes, the Redskins do call plays differently for Griffin. They ask him to pass more, because that’s where he needs the work. Griffin is hit a lot when behind the pocket. You could make a case for starting him with the second and third teamers against twos and threes of opposing teams while he works his pocket presence down to an instinctive level.
We come to two conclusions.
- RG is not showing the progressive improvement we should expect by now.
- RG as a pocket passer is not an upgrade over McCoy or Cousins.
Griffin was better in the Shanahan Plan, RG in the Pistol or Shotgun with a lot more runs, though not so much by Griffin, to set up play-action.
Your call, Dan, because you name the starting QB
Mr. Snyder has a decision to make. It is clear by now that Washington is not big enough for both Griffin and the Gruden offense. Griffin is getting (himself) killed behind the pocket. If Snyder wants the Gruden offense, he must give the coach the ultimate flexibility to pick the starting quarterback best able to run it.
But, if he wants to save Griffin, Gruden’s offense must go or be changed.
Hog Heaven wants to see Griffin succeed. To write why he is not and what to do about it is a difficult acknowledgement.
| Washington at 7:31 | DET | WAS | |
|---|---|---|---|
| S.Martin kicks 65 yards from DET 35 to end zone, Touchback. | 10 | 0 | |
| 1st and 10 at WSH 20 | (7:31) T.Compton reported in as eligible. M.Jones right guard to WAS 44 for 24 yards (J.Bynes). | ||
| 1st and 10 at WSH 44 | (6:54) C.Thompson right tackle to WAS 46 for 2 yards (G.Wright). | ||
| 2nd and 8 at WSH 46 | (6:12) C.Thompson right guard pushed ob at DET 35 for 19 yards (N.Lawson). | ||
| 1st and 10 at DET 35 | (5:43) C.McCoy pass short right to R.Bell to DET 22 for 13 yards (N.Lawson). | ||
| 1st and 10 at DET 22 | (5:05) M.Jones right end to DET 21 for 1 yard (J.Worthy; K.Hyder). PENALTY on DET-P.Hunt, Defensive Offside, 5 yards, enforced at DET 22 – No Play. | ||
| 1st and 5 at DET 17 | (4:40) M.Jones left end to DET 15 for 2 yards (J.Wilson). PENALTY on WAS-A.Kouandjio, Offensive Holding, 10 yards, enforced at DET 15. | ||
| 1st and 13 at DET 25 | (4:09) C.McCoy pass incomplete short middle to J.Hamm [N.Lawson]. PENALTY on DET-N.Lawson, Roughing the Passer, 13 yards, enforced at DET 25 – No Play. | ||
| 1st and 10 at DET 12 | (4:04) (Shotgun) C.McCoy left end to DET 7 for 5 yards (I.Abdul-Quddus). | ||
| 2nd and 5 at DET 7 | (3:27) M.Jones right tackle to DET 4 for 3 yards (K.Hyder). | ||
| 3rd and 2 at DET 4 | (2:47) T.Compton reported in as eligible. D.Young up the middle to DET 2 for 2 yards (J.Cudjo; I.Abdul-Quddus). | ||
| 1st and 2 at DET 2 | (2:11) D.Young right guard to DET 1 for 1 yard (J.Bynes). | ||
| Two-Minute Warning | |||
| 2nd and 1 at DET 1 | Matt Jones 1 Yard Rush K.Forbath extra point is GOOD, Center-N.Sundberg, Holder-T.Way. | 10 | 7 |
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