Mike Freeman caused quite a stir this week with his Bleacher Report story that at least 10 teams are interested in signing RGIII when the Redskins inevitably release him sometime next week.
Andy Benoit wrote in his MMQB story that Griffin will be out of football before he wins his next ten games.
Both cannot be right, but this is typical of the fog of controversy that envelopes RGIII now.
Freeman argues that free agent QB talent is so scary bad that Griffin looks good to a lot of teams.
“The NFL has become so offense-heavy and has put so much into the quarterback position that it’s created a monster. There are only a small number of human beings on the planet who can play the position competently, let alone brilliantly, and you need one of them to keep up with the times.
“So teams look at Griffin and think: Do I give a talented guy another shot or roll with Case Keenum?”
Freeman got that sense from speaking with a lot of team officials at the NFL Combine. He says 10 to 15 teams are taking a hard look at RG. You’d think that with that many, two or three of them will pursue him seriously. Freeman mentions San Francisco, Houston or Cleveland (Please gawd no, not Cleveland.), but he admits that’s pure guesswork.
https://twitter.com/SInow/status/705428628968964096
Team officials gave Andy Benoit a different sense than whatever they told Freeman. They described the litany of Griffin’s issues we’ve already heard: poor anticipation; wasted motion while in the pocket, falls clumsily when hit and thus, prone to injury. It’s that last part that makes coaches reluctant to call Griffin’s trademark read option plays.
Says Benoit:
“In talking casually with dozens of coaches throughout combine week, there were two camps of ideology on Griffin and Kaepernick: in one camp were those who don’t think they can play in the NFL (more coaches felt this way about Griffin than Kaepernick); in the other were those who think they can play but don’t know in which system.
“Of course, it only takes one team’s final decision-maker to roll the dice. Which is why we probably won’t see the last of either QB in 2016. But as far as RG3 or Kaepernick being a team’s clear-cut starting quarterback? We’ve absolutely seen the last of that.”
Harsh!
We urge everyone to remember that it is NFL lying season. It is not in any team’s interest to be entirely forthcoming in their thoughts.
Nobody has a clue how this will play out until, you know, it plays out.
RGIII in 2012 gave Hog Heaven the most exciting year of football in 52 years of following the Redskins. The Griffin saga will hang over Washington for a year following his release. It will be controversial if he stumbles and more so if he excels with his next team.
Griffin’s best shot at success was right here in ol’ DC. No other team will give him the leeway the Redskins gave him, though we are appalled at how poorly all parties, including Griffin, managed his career here.
Hog Heaven hopes he finds success and happiness at his next landing spot. We have no fear of competing against him. It’s sports. Either the team can use a guy or they have found someone better. You go with whomever best helps the team win now.
I guess that was a soft farewell.
Links
Freeman: The Race is on to sign Robert Griffin III with at least 10 teams in the running.
Benoit: The end is near for flawed QBs Griffin and Kaepernick.
Benoit interview audio vault in ESPN 980 Radio.
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