RGIII's Resurrection Begins and Ends with the QB Himself

A Google search for "RGIII done" sure returns a lot of hits these days.

This is partly thanks to a recent ESPN.com story by Mike Sando in which an offensive coach said Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III is "done," but there are plenty of other news items that turn up.

Head coach Jay Gruden was reportedly "done" with Griffin at the end of last season, according to the Washington Post's Jason Reid. Before that, the drama between Gruden and Griffin caused Pro Football Talk's Mike Florio to speculate Gruden could be "one and done." In November 2014, Yahoo Sports' Dan Wetzel wrote Griffin isn't necessarily "done," even if his time in Washington is short.

Back in September 2014, Griffin's ankle dislocation caused SB Nation's Brandon Lee Gowton to wonder if Griffin was "done."

There's an easy answer to this question. It's the one Wetzel put forth, and one optimists still cling to: A 25-year-old quarterback with breathtaking natural talent, plus a resume that boasts a playoff campaign and Pro Bowl appearance, cannot possibly be done.

But it's a long, painful mountain to climb from not done to quality starting quarterback.

Nick Wass/Associated Press

Let's get this clear right now: Griffin won't ever be the phenomenon he was in 2012; even if Gruden committed to using him in a play-action and read-option-based offense designed to play to his strengths, those packaged concepts are far less novel now than they were then.

Griffin's repeated injuries—a history that goes back to his college days—also seem to have robbed him of a little of that terrifying athleticism.

"There's no going back," one of Sando's coaching sources said. "He is done. The injury slowed his legs."

Even if Griffin isn't capable of jaw-dropping 4.41-second 40-yard dash times, he's still far more athletic than most NFL quarterbacks. If he's merely lost a step, he's got the body of a tall Russell Wilson. Even if he's lost two steps, he's physically a skinny Andrew Luck—the man Griffin once beat for the AP's Offensive Rookie of the Year award.

But Griffin didn't play like a tall Russell Wilson or a skinny Andrew Luck in 2014, did he? Let's take a look at how he actually played and see just how far Griffin has to go.

Griffin's best game of the season was his Week 2 performance against the Jacksonville Jaguars. In just nine snaps on the field, Griffin:

• Kept two read-option runs for himself; gained 10 and 12 yards, sliding to avoid contact at the end of each
• Took a snap from under center, executed a nice five-step drop, pump-faked, and unleashed a perfect 50-yard bomb to DeSean Jackson, who didn't quite come down with it
• Executed a play fake off read-option and zipped it 19 yards between two defenders to tight end Niles Paul
• Ran a play-action bootleg and found Jackson for a gain of 19 yards

Besides being sacked once when right tackle Tyler Polumbus blew his assignment against a Jaguars stunt, Griffin looked wholly like the Superman-besocked force of nature he was when he entered the NFL. Pro Football Focus gave him a plus-3.0 grade for just the six snaps he impacted; his only positive grade of the year.

But Griffin's nice bootleg play sealed his fate: He threw awkwardly across his body and landed wrong on his ankle, sidelining him for nearly two months.

A non-contact injury like that on what should be a routine play reveals a truth about Griffin's freewheeling rookie season: It's not that the quarterback position can't be played like that in the NFL, but that Griffin can't play like that in the NFL. Whether it's durability, coordination or a Harry Potter-style curse being cast upon him from the stands, Griffin no longer has what it takes to play the way he did in 2012.

For Griffin to mature into a difference-making quarterback, he has to prepare the way mere mortals do. This was a strident theme of the anonymous criticism leveled against him in Sando's piece.

"His ego," said the anonymous coach, "will not allow him to hit rock bottom and actually grind his way back up the right way." An anonymous personnel director banged on Griffin's apparent lack of humility, maturity or perspective.

Whether these anonymous attacks on Griffin's character are accurate, the tape makes plain how little Griffin respects his opponents—and vice versa.

Here's a crucial 3rd-and-6 against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with Griffin and company backed up on their own 8-yard line. Griffin comes up to the line and sees:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

The Buccaneers were 1-8 coming into this game. They had the 25th-ranked defense in the NFL. They saw Griffin and company line up in shotgun, three wide, with a pass-catching tight end in the slot; they played single-high press man across the board, with safety Dashon Goldson coming up to press the tight end. Both linebackers are up to the line, showing blitz.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Washington's play is simple: It is running double slants from both sides of the formation. If any of these receivers gets a clean inside release, an on-target throw from Griffin could result in a touchdown.

The Buccaneers aren't afraid of that, though, and here's why.

Griffin gets the ball and immediately looks to the outside slant on his left. His eyes never leave this target, not even to notice that one of the "blitzing" linebackers, Mason Foster, has dropped back and is playing a shallow zone:

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Foster reads Griffin's eyes all the way and jumps the route. Though he's only able to get an outstretched hand on it, the tipped ball ends up in cornerback Johnthan Banks' hands; Banks runs it right back into the end zone.

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Let's pull back for a second and see if Griffin made the right read and was just victimized by a good defensive play. Did he have other options?

Credit: NFL Game Rewind

Oh dear. Yes, as a matter of fact, he did. If he had recognized the coverage correctly and led any of his other three options downfield, this would have been a conversion—if not more.

Griffin's decision-making was terrible in this game and for the rest of the season. He did not diagnose coverages well pre-snap, frequently did not make correct reads, was not confident enough in his correct reads to pull the trigger and frequently ignored wide-open receivers for aimless scurrying and ill-advised improvisation. 

Griffin's failure to prepare himself, mentally and physically, and do everything a regular quarterback must do within the framework of a regular game plan kept him from applying any of his talent, or reaching any of his potential, in 2014.

The talent is still there. The potential can still be (mostly) realized. Griffin's alleged delusions of grandeur don't preclude actual achievement. Maybe Griffin somehow sees Peyton Manning when he looks in the mirror—but if in 2015 Griffin does the half the film study and prep work Manning puts himself through, Griffin will again be the best quarterback to don the burgundy and gold in decades.