Football coaches on the verge of getting fired are
compromised and like any desperate man they’ll go into CMA Mode with little
regard for the future. Listen to RG3’s press conference after having to leave a
Play-off game due to injury yesterday, put the words on the screen and think
real hard about every word the young man uttered. Despite being Rookie of the
year and one of the most electrifying players in the NFL he spoke like a player
who was clearly in a rush to show his teammates he’s the kind of leader they
should get behind. Why would a Rookie, the future of the Redskins franchise
speak like this after he’s shown everything we need to see this season?
Robert Griffith sat out one week with his injury and saw in
Kirk Cousins (vs. the Browns) someone who was drafted with his fragility
clearly in mind, and he responded irrationally. Kirk Cousins isn’t a backup,
and Steve Fischer would still be coaching the Titans had he drafted a second
starter just in case Vince Young turned out the way he knew he would. Let’s not
all act like we were on the RG3 bandwagon “after” he kicked ass, the bottom
line is he was not a mortal lock to do what he did because his style of
Quarterbacking isn’t yet considered industry standard despite the excitement.
RG3, once hurt bore the burden of all the whispers about mobile QB’s getting
hurt and the fact that Mike Shanahan; now hailed for his handling of Griffith
drafted an insurance policy. Had Griffith not been looking over his shoulder he’d
have been satisfied with his performance and took the appropriate time to
recover, and it may have cost Shannahan his job. Instead, we saw a Rookie recklessly
trying to prove “this is my team”; just ask yourself how many times the #2 pick
in last year’s draft said those words since he was injured? Did Andrew Luck reiterate
20 times the Colts were his team? Did “Little Muscle” Russell (a 3rd
Round Pick) have to emphasis this over and over despite actually being an
underdog on the Seahawks depth chart?
Mike Shanahan is an RG3 guy NOW, but on draft day he was a
Mike Shanahan guy and he didn’t care that Rex Grossman may have given the kid a
mentor who is no threat to him when he’s injured. The kid is a warrior and he
would have been trying to get back in yesterday’s game no matter who the backup
is but having a decorated young stud who isn’t tainted (as a back-up) can’t help the decision
making process. Robert Griffith just came into the limelight as a Top Draft
choice last year; he didn’t enjoy the 4 years of hype that Andrew Luck did nor
the “can’t miss” draft assessment based on playing a traditional style.
Drafting a game, future starter from a Big Conference was not a threat to
Griffith when healthy but when vulnerable he went “Military” the last 3 weeks
of the season and could have impacted the rest of his career in a negative way.
Without Kirk Cousins RG3’s leadership qualities would have manifested in a
different way, he would have thought about his future differently and been
secure enough to know that future gutsy performances were forthcoming.
RG3 will say all the right things, I expect nothing less but
this isn’t about him, its more about putting valuable assets in the right frame
of mind. Football is already dangerous, especially when you’re a slender dual
threat Quarterback just learning the pro game-why make it more dangerous? Jay
Cutler was blasted a couple of years back for knowing what his body was telling
him and he didn’t give a damn because he knew what he could do in the league.
RG3 is an electrifying rookie in the NFL and he has historical perspective, he
knows that Michael Vick, Vince Young, and Randall Cunningham were all once in the
same place and none of them ended up where he wants to go. Mike Shanahan
drafted a talented conventional quarterback because he wasn’t sure if Griffith
was a meteor like Vick and he didn’t want to be vulnerable if he was. Now that
it’s been proven RG3 is psychologically identical to his physical gifts it’s
time for the Redskins to part with Cousins in favor of a high draft pick. Shanahan
did his due diligence and looked out for himself and now it’s time to look out
for Griffith by drafting a big-time target. Shanahan got away with
destabilizing a young man that didn’t deserve the “competition” and he’ll be
rewarded with an extension.
RG3 was not in his right mind yesterday and he was in no mood to let Kirk Cousins play reliever and nurse the 14 points he put up. If he were playing like crap due to injury and there was a non threatening veteran there to take the Skins home he would have had no problem stepping down. Mike Shanahan let him go so long because he felt guilty about having another stud colt in the stable when it wasn't necessary, and now he'll have to accept some of the brunt of the senseless damage incurred after the first quarter. Hopefully this will be a lesson for him regarding this years draft, to cover the franchise QB's blindside instead of his own investment portfolio.
Update December 14th, 2013
Update December 14th, 2013
After an awful year where the kid never looked the same
Shannahan held the bizarre press conference benching him for the rest of the
season. The leather faced true Redskin of a coach is going out on his shield
and sticking it to the brotha he didn’t want in the first damned place one last
time. Did RG3 get caught up in his rehab D-Rose style over the summer? Yes he
did, but I contend he’s been freaked out and overly defensive about his job
since draft day. Kirk Cousins is the ideal QB for Shannahan and like Jeff Fisher
he wasn’t fond of the "spread em out" black QB that seems to be
encroaching on the old boy viewpoint of how the game should be played.
Michael Irvin called it what it was, and as you can see I called
it a year ago. Nobody knew that John Elway’s caddie was grousing behind the
scenes about drafting this brotha but look for the scenario to happen a lot
more in the future. Back in the day old boys like Shanahan didn’t have to worry
about owners falling in love with African American QB’s and I’m sure a lot of
coaches miss the days when these dudes would just go to Canada or the NBA. What
RG3 is guilty of is common of QB’s but the way he was treated was beyond
anything I’ve ever seen, that is until you look back at how Donovan McNabb was
treated. Oh by the way he (#5) spoke up as well, and I’m sure he can intimately
describe how Shannahan let him know in no uncertain terms he didn’t want to
work with him.
The whole debacle can be described in one sentence.
Dear Robert,
Glad to see you’re in a sophomore slump, and since I’m
getting canned I think I should let you know once and for all I didn’t like
your black ass no damned way.
Sincerely,
Coach Mike
