Ashburn, Va. — In light of both the losing and the latest reports about what’s going on between Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden, quarterback Robert Griffin, III and the franchise’s front office, Gruden has been criticized much more in the last few weeks than I ever would have thought possible when he first arrived here in Washington. People talk about Griffin’s fall from grace… look at Gruden’s. Like Griffin, the former Cincinnati Bengals’ offensive coordinator arrived in Washington to such hope and optimism that it boggles the mind that before his first season is over, people are ready to jettison him out of here because he won’t start Griffin despite the QBs current issues, because of the losing and because, being a refreshingly transparent person, he is only just learning why it is important to bite his tongue here in this market.
Every week Gruden speaks via conference call to the opposing team’s media just as the Washington media speak to opposing head coaches. In an interview with Nate Latsch, Gruden said some things in support of Griffin that indicated an optimism in his abilities (as well as Kirk Cousins’ for that matter) that is contrary to what has been assumed and reported. He also indicated a determination to only start the guys on his team that deserve to be started. Isn’t that they way it should be?
“Robert and Kirk [Cousins] are just new to the position, new to the terminology and Colt [McCoy]’s got a little bit more experience and it shows,” Gruden said in the interview. “I came in with an open mind. Obviously we wanted to do everything we could to get Robert ready and give him the job and get him all the reps necessary to get that job, take that job and keep it. He had a pretty good training camp, struggled a little bit in preseason games. Then against Houston he struggled a little bit and obviously got hurt against [the] Jacksonville [Jaguars] and missed five weeks of valuable time as far as practice is concerned… of continuing to see these concepts and plays and all of the necessary things you need to do at the quarterback position. Then when we put him in there [against the Minnesota Vikings] we thought he was ready and the offense struggled. So I thought it was important to go back to Colt.”
Gruden’s unwillingness to play Griffin just to help him develop through the end of the season is justified. A common attitude among those outside Redskins Park however is, ‘At 3-9, who cares? Let’s see how Griffin does and if he’s terrible, we’ll get a better draft pick.’
Is that really a good enough reason to go on losing when there is a player on the roster than gives the team a better chance to win instead?
Gruden sees Griffin every day in practice and in meetings. He sees him on the team bus and in the cafeteria. Believe me, he knows more about the Baylor grad than most people. Granted, there are people in the building that believe Gruden is finished with Griffin but is that “finish” qualified? Does it really mean forever? What if Gruden is only finished with Griffin at the position for now? How about Gruden refuses to be pushed into playing Griffin just because of what the team gave up for him? If he is being pushed for that reason, that is badly conceived thinking when you consider that, as Gruden says, it’s a performance-based league.
Below are the National Football League’s Employment Values on Performance and Teamwork:
We expect from everyone in our organization the highest level of performance and commitment to our mission and values.
We set the highest standards and challenge ourselves to keep improving.
We are accountable for our results and consistently measure our progress.
We make smart and informed business decisions.
We work together, sharing knowledge, information and other resources to attain the best results.
We focus on organizational objectives, not individual agendas.
These values are interesting considering the key argument for keeping Griffin on the field — even though he clearly is not comfortable at the position right now — is to see what he can do because of what was given up for him. If one person on a squad is making it impossible for 10 other guys to do their jobs and Gruden continues to let that person start, then he is not focused on “organizational objectives” as opposed to “individual agendas”.
Playing out the season with McCoy so that guys on the offense can do their jobs is the logical way to ensure that the upcoming off-season is easier and better for the entire organization. By ensuring adequate quarterback play, Gruden, General Manager Bruce Allen (if he is still involved, which is likely going to be the case) and the scouting/coaching staff can get a good look at the rest of the offense. Therefore they’ll have a better idea of who should stay on this team and who — if any — should not.
It is also logical that Gruden would have wanted Griffin to succeed from the start. Why would he not? It would have made his job throughout the year easier. But, as he said, Griffin struggled so badly at times — early on and then during the Vikings and subsequent Tampa Bay Buccaneers game — that the coach had to make a move. That doesn’t mean he doesn’t want the third-year QB to ultimately succeed.
“It’s been entertaining for ‘people,’” Gruden said of the circus-like situation surrounding team, “It’s not been entertaining for us. The team understands that we’re trying to play the best people at each position and if you are a starter, you’ve got to earn that every day. And unfortunately, the quarterback [situation] has been a little bit up and down.
“These guys all work hard,” he continued. “I’ve got a lot of respect for all three quarterbacks, I really do. It’s just a production-based league and obviously, the guys that produce [are the ones that] play. And if you don’t produce, you just have to wait your turn patiently, continue to work and when your turn comes again, produce. I think that’s what will happen with these quarterbacks, Robert and Kirk.”
What brings the Redskins’ situation to the spotlight is the amount that the franchise gave up for RGIII. But were that not part of the equation, none of what has happened would be so unusual. This is why, as painful as it may be for Allen and owner Dan Snyder to let Griffin sit, they must just forget about the draft picks, etc. right now. Those picks are gone… history. ‘That ship has sailed’ as they say. It’s time to start acting like a normal NFL franchise and get on with today. Griffin has… the team has.
Robert has behaved professionally though out this entire thing and is working hard at his craft. It is not uncommon to see him working on the practice field long after the rest of the team has gone into the locker room, sometimes with teammates and, as was the case this past Friday, sometimes alone. He was out there for at least 45 minutes working on fundamentals (drops, etc.). This shows a desire to do what has been asked of him by his coach and a maturity that is necessary.
“He’s not the first talented quarterback to have gone through this,” Gruden said. “There’s been other talented quarterbacks in the NFL, if you look up, that have had to sit on the bench a little bit and just get a feel for the offense and progressions and terminology and all that stuff and playing the position in a little bit different way than he’s accustomed to.
“I just think it takes a little bit of time and with time he’s going to be fine,” Gruden began in closing… once he has that confidence in the plays and how they are developed and anticipates patterns and routes and letting the ball go, he can play, for sure.”
It’s time for the Redskins as a team to let go of all of the scrutiny and just focus on football. McCoy is the quarterback for now and, unless he gets hurt or plays so badly that he must be pulled, he will likely remain so through the end of the season. Players have indicated that Gruden has been preaching this all along and it is right that he has. The St. Louis Rams are going to present a huge challenge that will require all of the concentration and motivation they can muster.
Hail.