Here we go. It’s the NFL offseason, so expect a spate of stories about Robert Griffin III and his “issues.”
We will see it less often in 2015 offseason because Griffin himself is providing less ammunition for his critics.
Wise move, but the few quotes he now gives still raise eyebrows.
Tim Brown kicked off the latest round when he implied that Griffin is an odd duck who has trouble relating to people. Brown did not question Griffin’s cultural identity by calling him a “cornbread brother” as Rob Parker did a few years ago.
Griffin’s fault is that he is not just “one of the guys” in the locker room.
The Redskins might have made that easier to be if they treated RG as just a guy on the team instead of the savior of Redskins football. (Hog Heaven is equally guilty.)
@SkinsHogHeaven @yardbarker I think it’s a little more then him not having a good season. He rubs people the wrong way
— Donnell Wilson (@Nelford) February 3, 2015
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Griffin himself added fuel to the fire by his comments on DC’s ESPN 980 radio last week.
Asked if there were takeaways he could glean from Russell Wilson and Tom Brady, Griffin said:
“I think it just comes with the organizational support that [Brady and Wilson] have as well to be the players that they are, to understand that this is our guy no matter what. I think the [NFC Championship] game with the Packers shows that more than anything. When a guy goes out there and throws four interceptions and then leads them to a victory, I think that guy knows in the back of his head that his entire team has his back, and the entire organization has his back.”
~ Quote from Jamie Oakes’ story on 247sports.com from here.
RG is much put upon these days and he feels it. Oakes seized upon this portion of a longer interview that covered his injury, Deflategate and Marshawn Lynch interviews. Yet I wish Griffin avoided the whole “team support” thing because he is misses the point.
Teams do not support Rodgers, Wilson and Brady because of their status. They support them because they are winners who win games even if they throw multiple picks.
The Redskins did not swap multiple Draft pick to give Griffin support. They swapped those picks to get a winner. It’s his job to lift the team. He has not delivered on that promise for two years.
There is more doubt about Griffin going into next season than there has ever been.
I’d like to hear statements from RG that show he gets it.
This is big boy football. To butcher a recent adage,
We don’t care how much you know until we know how much you win.
The less said by Griffin this offseason, the better.
Just win.
Prove it.
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