File this under "What I meant to say was…."
Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III issued a statement ‒ undoubtedly edited by the Redskins ‒ to clarify his comments from Monday's press conference that seemed to challenge Coach Mike Shanahan's management of his injury. Worse, Griffin seemed to question Shanahan's sincerity.
Hog Heaven winced when RG uttered those words and was woozy as DC sports talk radio blew it up as a major rift between the quarterback and coach ‒ with dark hints how this could threaten Shanny's tenure in Washington if Mr. Snyder were forced to choose between the quarterback who lays the golden eggs and the head coach.
To his credit, ex-Redskins LB LaVar Arrington, who thinks there is something to the notion, said that the 'Skins front office would not allow this nonsense to continue. Sure enough, Griffin III clarified himself on the official web site. Here is his statement.
"I just needed to address something that was said, something that’s been going along in the media since my press conference yesterday.
"I just want everybody to know that if there’s any questions about a rift between me and coach, or if there’s a conflict, there is no conflict. Coaches coach, I’m a player.
"Coach has a plan and I’m abiding by that plan. I’m doing everything that they ask me to do. I trust those guys. They want me to have a long career and that’s what this part of this plan is about.
"Yesterday, I voiced my opinion about it because I was asked about it. That’s been twisted and turned and tried to put against this team, and that’s not what we want. Like I said, coaches coach.
"Kirk [Cousins], Rex [Grossman] and Pat [White] have done a great job all offseason with the team, getting in and out of the huddle and making plays. It’s an honor for me to be in the quarterback room with those guys.
"So with that being said, I’m excited about tomorrow."
@RGIII wish you put it that way during your press conference
— Anthony Brown (@SkinsHogHeaven) August 12, 2013
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Let me tell ya, If I as a 23-year-old received the adulation that RG gets, my head would have exploded. We are all human. Hubris creeps in when we are doing everything right and can do no wrong. To put it Biblically, "Pride goeth before the fall."
It's odd, but a swelled head may be the biggest risk to Griffin's persona, if not his career.
Griffin has accomplished so much, has won us over so completely, has expressed so many good values in a way that seems so genuine, that it is easy to project our expectations of perfection onto him. I worried about how all this unabashed love would mess with the young man's head.
Something was bound to pop.
Griffin voicing his doubts about the Shanaplan for his return opened the door to a media frenzy by the commentariat (less so by the straight sports reporters).
Donovan McNabb thinks the Redskins are brainwashing RGIII.
McNabb may have a point, but anything he says about @RGIII and the Redskins is suspect…because he's McNabb http://t.co/h8vGrPFjx2
— Anthony Brown (@SkinsHogHeaven) August 14, 2013
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Jason Whitlock thinks Griffin displays an attitude of arrogance, selfishness and insecurity about Kirk Cousins.
DallasNews.com: Redskins Robert Griffin III, Mike Shanahan not seeing eye-to-eye on QB's prep work. And I bet they loved reading that in the land of the wicked.
You get the idea.
Football is the most team-oriented of team sports. It's the most hierarchical, too. The teams that win football titles have unity between coach and quarterback. Conflict kills it.
RGIII/Shanahan "rift" may be fake, may be real. Bottom line? The fact that this is an ongoing story = bad for organization. #Redskins
— Daniel Shiferaw (@dshif) August 14, 2013
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It's Mike Shanahan who seems to apply the lessons learned from the Seattle game. Griffin, ever eager, is as anxious to get into a preseason game as he was to return for the second half of the Seattle game. It's Shanahan's head we will scream for if he allowed Griffin to return too soon only to be lost again.
Son, back in aught-six, when we thought the 'Skins would make a Super bowl run, we watched Clinton Portis wreck his knee in a preseason game, and he wasn't even a quarterback.
Hog Heaven already wrote that RG should cool it. Nobody cares that he wants to run 11 on 11 drills and play in preseason games. We want proof that all the parties are doing it right this time. This preseason is a replay of decisions made in that Seahawks game, complete with Griffin's eager to return to action.
The royal baby does not belong to his mother. He belongs to Britain. Well, the royal knee does not belong to Griffin, it belongs to the Redskins. It belongs to us.
That's what happens when we make you king.
Meanwhile in real football news, Redskins safety Phillip Thomas is OUT for the season with a Lisfranc tear.
Wikipedia: Lisfranc injury.
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