The Washington Redskins quarterback has endured injuries and criticism over his inefficient playing style.
Since acquiring Robert Griffin III in the 2012 NFL Draft, Washington’s success has followed a bell curve. They now find themselves at the fifth pick in the current draft, and with two bona fide quarterback prospects available at the top of the draft they may be considering picking up Griffin’s replacement.
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Despite this, Washington executive and former Super Bowl MVP quarterback Doug Williams expressed his belief in Griffin’s presence with the team’s plans when he appeared on Sirius XM Radio’s The End Zone.
From Sports Illustrated:
"“This is a young guy that’s got some talent,” Williams told The End Zone this weekend. “There are adjustments that he has to make if think given time, and I think that’s one of the reasons why nobody has given up on him. I think it’s fair to give him that opportunity.”"
In nine games last season, Griffin threw for 1,694 yard, four touchdowns and six interceptions. While he still displayed a great deal of his deep ball accuracy, Griffin still demonstrates a limited understanding of the playbook and of NFL defenses that led to his inefficient play.
Despite his play last season, Washington head coach Jay Gruden recently named Griffin the team’s starting quarterback ahead of Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy, both of whom started games for the team this past season.
Williams fully supported Gruden’s decision.
"“I think being in there and sitting down and talking to Jay, and talking to everybody that’s involved, I think it’s evident that Jay has done what he thought was right in naming him the starting quarterback,” Williams said. “But at the same time, Jay also said that we hope he can improve.”"
A great deal of the criticism placed on Griffin in past seasons has been unduly harsh; while Griffin has not done enough to help his team win games, the lack of defensive adjustments did more damage to Washington’s record than anything Griffin has done.
That being said, Griffin will need to show some progress in his game if Washington is going to get out of the cellar of the NFC East. He has shown a better ability to avoid injury, and if Griffin can develop as a pocket passer the team may be able to move forward with him.
But Griffin has not demonstrated that he has the willingness or understanding to improve on his game; instead Griffin has carried himself as an already fully formed superstar without much on field product to back it up.
Griffin may be arrogant, but vilifying him would be too cruel. Instead, the problems of the team lie in the front office’s inability to challenge him.
[H/T: Sports Illustrated]
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