Washington Redskins: Mike Shanahan Would Be Insane Not to Start RG3 from Day One

While Washington Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan has two Super Bowl victories on his resume, the coach has been known to occasionally make some questionable decisions, including a rather bizarre propensity to change his starting running back seemingly on a whim. Nevertheless, if Shanahan's comments from Thursday are to be believed then Shanahan may be on the verge of making the most puzzling decision of his coaching career.

At the NFL's annual owners meetings Shanahan relayed to a group of reporters, including the Washington Post's Mark Maske, that while he's open to the idea of the Redskins' first-round draft choice starting on opening day for Washington, it's a possibility that the second overall pick in the 2012 draft, which will presumably be Baylor signal-caller Robert Griffin, will open this season holding a clipboard.

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Washington Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan said here Wednesday he will be open-minded about the possibility that the quarterback the team will draft in April, either Robert Griffin III or Andrew Luck, will be the club’s starter at the outset of his rookie season.

But that’s not a given, according to Shanahan, who said the issue of whether the prized rookie starts immediately will depend on the young quarterback’s progress during the offseason and training camp.

“You put him in there when you feel like he’s ready to go,” Shanahan said at the NFC coaches’ breakfast at the annual league meeting.

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This news comes on the heels of a rather interesting interview that Donovan McNabb gave to ESPN's First Take, in which the former Eagles star, who spent one apocalyptic season as the quarterback in Washington, stated that he doesn't feel Griffin will be a good fit with the Redskins, as reported by USA Today.

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"Here's a guy coming out who's very talented, mobile, strong arm, we've already heard he's intelligent -- football mind. Are you going to cater the offense around his talents and what he's able to do? Or are you going to bring the Houston offense with Matt Schaub over to him and have him kind of be imbedded in that?"

"Is it the spread offense that you try to continue to (have) flourish that he's been successful in? Or are you just going to have him in a foxhole with a makeshift offensive line, (and) you keep bringing in receivers," said McNabb. "What are we going to see?. I don't think it's a great fit. I think the D.C. fan base will support RG3 because they love the acquisition. …. But if this doesn't work this year, if we don't see a splash like a Cam Newton splash (as a rookie last season with the Carolina Panthers) this could be it."

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McNabb's palpable bitterness towards Shanahan aside, he does have something of a point, as there are bound to be some growing pains as Griffin transitions from the spread offense he ran at Baylor to the pro-style attack employed by offensive coordinator (and apple of his pappy's eye) Kyle Shanahan in the nation's capital.

However, those growing pains aren't necessarily going to be mitigated by bringing Griffin along slowly, and it's hard to fathom what exactly Shanahan might expect Griffin to learn from Rex Grossman, who re-upped with the Redskins earlier this month, unless it's how not to play quarterback in the National Football League.

The Redskins paid a king's ransom to acquire Griffin, surrendering their first-round picks in the next three drafts along with a second-round choice in 2012, and after making that titanic investment it's silly to sit the incoming rookie given Washington's other options at the position.

So Coach Shanahan, while it may be a bit of a risk and there will undoubtedly be bumps in the road along the way, the smartest course of action is to get Griffin as ready as you can before September 9, and then let the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner do the rest of his learning on the gridiron.

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