''Once they say he's
healthy and he practices with us, and we feel like he's ready to go mentally
and we have a good game plan for him, then he'll be the starter,'' Gruden said.
''But I don't know when that will be yet. It's hard for me to project. It could
be one week, two weeks. It could be five weeks.''
According to what most
media outlets are saying, RGIII will likely be back on the field November 16
against Tampa Bay, immediately following the Redskins bye week.
This is exciting. It’s also incredibly stupid.
Stop me if this sounds
familiar. RGIII suffers a tough-to-watch
injury, works out like a nut trying to get back into game shape, and then is
rushed back into gameplay. Granted, this
scenario is somewhat different than last season, as back then most Redskins’
fans thought Kirk Cousins could be the starter.
In fact, rumors abounded that Griffin rushed back to stave off a
challenge by Cousins for the starting job.
This season, Cousins
has thrown 10 touchdowns and eight picks.
The vast majority of those interceptions occurred against the Giants
(four) and the Cardinals (three). Not
all his fault, of course, but he’s mistake-prone. Any notion that he might be a long-term
starter, or at the very least that he is a better option than Griffin, appears
laughable at this point.
But, the Skins should
not bring Griffin back. The team is 1-5
now, with games coming up against the Titans, Cowboys, and Vikings before
Griffin would be back. Optimism aside,
nothing tells me the team has any chance to win more than one of those three,
though anything can happen against the schizophrenic Vikings. Once Griffin returns, the schedule looks
rough. The 49ers, Colts, Giants, Eagles,
and Cowboys are all part of our last seven games. We honestly should lose all those games,
giving us three or four wins in total.
And I’m fine with that. While not honorable, tanking is the best idea
for the team’s future growth. This is
particularly true after losing first round picks the past three years. We need some defensive secondary help, and
some offensive line help. Let’s get that
higher in the draft.
There’s always that
“any given Sunday” phrase, which implies any NFL team can beat another team
depending on the week. No argument here,
but does it make sense for the team to endure a terrible season and get those
two extra worthless wins?
I should add of course
that the decision to not start Griffin does not immediately mean the team is
tanking. Theoretically, the Redskins
could come back a la 2012 and rattle off a streak of victories. It’s not out of the realm of possibility,
especially if they can beat the Titans, Vikings, and Bucs in the next four game
stretch. Perhaps I’ll change my tune if
that happens.
But rushing him back
for a particularly difficult stretch where wins look unlikely makes little
sense. This is especially true given the
porous offensive line in front of him.
Kirk Cousins throws the ball quicker than Griffin, so the pass
protection issues we saw in the game against the Giants might be exacerbated
with Griffin in the pocket. Part of this
is not just team performance, but also doing what can be done to protect a
quarterback with an injury history from even more hardship. Imagine putting in your starter for a
meaningless slate and having him get injured?
Crazier things have happened, plenty of them to Griffin himself.
Some will say Griffin’s
ego demands he be in the game. I
understand up to a point. A guy taken
second overall should be given every possible chance. But if we are so worried about offending him
or his camp than RGIII isn’t the quarterback we want for long-term growth. Frankly, he’s led us to a division title in
his one full season, so he’s already done enough to warrant our complete
buy-in.
Others will bemoan the
state of the team, and make comments like “we aren’t the 76ers. This isn’t basketball, no one tanks in the
NFL!” Hate to break it as news, but the
Skins have been the NFC doormat for a while now, so let’s not be prideful. There really isn’t much there. On the second point, NFL teams might tank
more if their coaches knew they were secure in their job. Given injuries, Jay Gruden will be here next
year. Maybe Bruce Allen won’t be, but
the last time Dan Snyder cared about a GM was the Bush administration.
Alright, maybe I won’t call
it “tanking”, as that evokes too many unpleasant NBA memories. But, at the very least, if they want to be
better, the Redskins should play 2014 with a view to the future. Get RGIII fully, fully healthy, and take the
high draft pick for development. At this
point, the playoffs are a pipe dream, and I’d rather not become the NFC’s
version of the Oakland Raiders (some may argue that's happened already).
Don't get me wrong, our best chance to win is with RGIII. But I want those wins to matter, and by now that condition isn't going to be met until next year.
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