Re: Official 2015 Starting QB Watch
Posted: Mon Sep 14, 2015 9:48 pm
Interesting, especially since Kevin Sheehan has also pointed to the Cleveland game in 2012 as a potential turning point in the relationship between Griffin and the Shanahans:
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000525938/article/nfl-execs-weigh-in-aaron-rodgers-andrew-luck-rule-qb-roost
Four Downs
1) Where the wheels came off the bus for RGIII. Many folks look at Robert Griffin III's ACL tear in January of 2013 as the turning point for his career with the Washington Redskins. Those who were there actually believe the wheels started spinning off three weeks earlier. Subbing for an injured Griffin, Kirk Cousins threw for 329 yards and two touchdowns against Cleveland in December 2012, with Mike and Kyle Shanahan rearranging the offense from the Baylor-styled attack they'd built for RGIII into their more traditional scheme. Coaches there then remember Griffin's camp making noise after Cousins' breakout performance that RGIII wanted to be deployed more like Cousins was -- and less as a read-option quarterback. The staff explained to Griffin and Co. that he wasn't near the point he needed to be to play the position that way. Word got back to owner Daniel Snyder. Shanahan explained to Snyder that making Griffin a pro-style passer would be a four-to-five-year process. And after all that, Griffin blew out his knee, had a rough 2013 season to follow, and Shanahan was fired. Snyder stuck by his young quarterback after that, but over time, got the same assessment Shanahan initially gave him from others, like Jay Gruden and Scot McCloughan, and it became harder and harder to fight the idea that Griffin was just an incredibly raw prospect. Exacerbating the problem: The fact that, despite RGIII's stated desire to become a better pocket passer (Gruden's harped several times to me how much Griffin needs "reps"), the progress just hasn't come. In fact, to some degree, Griffin actually has regressed as a pocket quarterback. The Redskins are trying to figure out what happened now. Colt McCoy will be the No. 2 quarterback this week. The plan, from there, is to let Griffin try and earn his way back up the depth chart.
http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000525938/article/nfl-execs-weigh-in-aaron-rodgers-andrew-luck-rule-qb-roost