RICHMOND, Va. — The first step toward assuring a major buzz in the Washington area come Week 4 was taken on Monday. The Cleveland Browns named Robert Griffin III their starting quarterback.
It wasn’t any surprise, considering he’s apparently taken most of the first-team snaps this summer. But he still had to earn the job, something I wish the Washington Redskins had made him do last offseason; I always thought it would be helpful to him with teammates if he went out and won the spot. It also would have alleviated a lot of issues and controversy that came later in the summer. But that’s in the past and can’t be undone. The Redskins made the right choice then; Griffin perhaps can benefit from his new scenery and situation now.
We look forward to a possible Week 4 matchup with Griffin in Washington, playing for many fans who still adore him — his No. 10 jerseys are still worn by fans attending camp — and others who were simply ready to see him leave.
The problem for Griffin is that he’s playing with mostly inexperienced receivers. Some of them are talented, but the bottom line is they haven’t played in an NFL game. And he’s playing behind an offensive line that lost two starters to free agency. Protecting himself wasn’t just about sliding, it was mostly about handling pressure in the pocket, something he’ll likely receive quite often. Scheming can help, but a lot of that is on the quarterback.
It’ll be interesting when he returns to see how much Griffin has changed his game and grown as a passer. I’m in no position to gauge how he’s doing now (but my Cleveland colleague Pat McManamon is), but in video clips I’ve seen some different sides to Griffin than he showed here, in terms of interacting with teammates (throwing fade routes to quarterback Josh McCown’s kids after a recent practice, for example). He wasn’t interactive enough with all of his teammates here. Perhaps the new environment, one in which he’s not enabled and not viewed as The Savior, will provide him the chance to get back on the right path with his game.
A lot can change between now and October, as Griffin well knows. But there’s no doubt the coaching staff here will feel a lot of pressure to win that game and remind everyone that the Redskins’ choice was the right one, that they weren’t being impatient with Griffin but simply saw no future. Griffin’s quest, of course, will be to prove them wrong. And to remind everyone of the talent that once made him a revered figure in Washington and elsewhere.
