Talking About RG3's Benching, Jay Gruden's Control, And The Future Of The Redskins Organization

 

Schefty - Washington is planning to start Colt McCoy over Robert Griffin III on Sunday at Indianapolis, per a team source.
While Griffin is not a part of Washington’s plan for Sunday’s game, he still appears to be a significant part of the Redskins’ long-term plan, per another source.
Yet right now, Washington is hitting the reset button, though it might not last long, a source cautioned. Washington has high hopes for the coming off-season.
For the first time since it surrendered three first-round picks and one second-round pick for the right to draft Griffin III, the Redskins will have their full allotment of picks in addition to room under the salary cap.
Behind owner Dan Snyder and general manager Bruce Allen, the team will be positioned to strike this off-season, spend big-time dollars and improve its roster.
Plus Washington hired Jay Gruden in large part for his stellar work with quarterbacks, and the team is convinced coaching, cash and patience can help turn Griffin back into the player who won the Heisman Trophy and Offensive Rookie of the Year in back-to-back seasons.
But for now, it has been a battle. Griffin III is coming off his most challenging NFL outing at San Francisco, where he was battererd in the pocket and struggled when he did have time to throw.
It forced Washington to consider a change that is expected to become official Wednesday, when Gruden meets with reporters. On Monday, Gruden said he intended to start Griffin III vs. the Colts, but he never fully committed to it.
Griffin III is scheduled to meet with the media in a previously scheduled news conference at 11:30 am, though it is uncertain whether he still will speak then.

 

Let’s make no mistake about it- I supported RG3. I wanted him to succeed. Why turn your back on the QB that led you to the playoffs and was offensive rookie of the year? That’d be like Chicago turning on Cutler because of one bad season. I saw what Griffin accomplished in 2012. I saw glimmers of hope in his game earlier this season. We all did. But as the season wore on, he regressed. His reads got worse. His technique fell apart. He just did not resemble an NFL quarterback whatsoever. Jay Gruden was given the power to bench Dan Snyder’s prized possession, and bench him he did.

And let’s make no mistake about Schefty reporting that RG3 is still in their future plans. That’s all bullshit and we all know it. Jay Gruden was brought in to turn this team around. And he has decided that Griffin is not his QB of the future. Everything he’s seen in games and in practice have made him want to move on and start fresh. It’s as simple as that. Gruden is a QB guy and he wants his own guy under center. He doesn’t want to be known as a failure of a headcoach because he was forced to use guys who he does not think best run his system.

You can’t help but feel a bit bad for RG3. The guy wants to win, very badly. He wants to be a great QB. Unfortunately, he has had ridiculously bad luck since coming to the NFL that you wouldn’t wish on anybody. Blowing out his knee in the playoff game in 2012. Fighting back from injury but returning too soon, sabotaging last season (albeit that being due to his ego and Dan Snyder’s stubbornness). And then this season, blowing out his ankle in the second game of the season. The things he relied on while he was learning to be a pocket passer- his speed, quickness, and athleticism- were all gone. Think back to 2012, he was a fucking rocket out there. Blazing speed. If you watched last week’s game and never saw him in college or 2012, you wouldn’t even believe me he was a 4.3/4.4 guy.

The fact this leaked last night is ridiculous. The Redskins organization is clownshoe city. It may have been someone from RG3’s camp (keep in mind his dad is a psycho), but it could have been someone who just likes to start drama within the team. The fact they can’t plug this leaks is atrocious. No other NFL team operates this way. Of course, it all starts at the top with Snyder. When the guy in charge has little respect, is a scheming, two-faced asshole, that attitude will trickle down. No accountability, no professionalism.

So what now with RG3? I don’t know. He’s not going to be a backup in DC. He needs to go to a place for a fresh start. Where there is a strong, veteran coach who will walk him through how to be a real NFL QB. It didn’t work in DC because he was too buddy-buddy with the owner who does not allow the coach to have total control and command of the team. So I think they have to say fuck it and trade him, or if need-be, release him. Just cut their losses. And learn from their mistakes (haha, Daniel Snyder learning from mistakes, classic).

As for the organization, are thing changing? Too soon to say. Snyder “allowed” Gruden to bench Griffin. That’s step number 1. It will be interesting to see if he will allow him to now pick his own players. Or perhaps Gruden will influence Snyder into hiring a real GM. Not a businessman who can’t properly evaluate which they currently have, but a real football GM. Because again, they can bench the QB, they can bring in new coaches, but everything trickles down from the top. The whole organization has to change in order for this to be a winning environment. Hopefully we’ll see the necessary changes, but I’m not holding my breath.