Washington Redskins: Full Position Breakdown and Analysis at Quarterback
If everything hinges on the play at quarterback, the Washington Redskins could be in for another tough season. The situation under center is still a tangled mess, and only a sudden and significant surge from Robert Griffin III will offer a long-term solution.
Pinning the team's hopes on the light switch suddenly going on for Griffin is a dangerous game to play. But it's the same roll of the dice the Redskins have made for the last three seasons.
At least some smart heads are prevailing at Redskins Park this offseason. The team has done all it can to mitigate the risk of yet more regression from its supposed franchise quarterback.
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Adding young talent and better coaching to a porous offensive line, along with a bigger commitment to the running game, should at least put less onus on Griffin to win games, as will new general manager Scot McCloughan's efforts to build a nastier, more physical defense.
Those were necessary refinements, but the supporting cast around Griffin is already strong. Few quarterbacks in the NFL are surrounded with weapons the quality of wide receivers DeSean Jackson and Pierre Garcon, tight ends Jordan Reed and Niles Paul, and running back Alfred Morris.
Now is the time for Griffin to deliver. He's simply out of excuses. That includes lamenting the injuries that have plagued him for most of his three-year career as the sole reason for his stunted development.
Not even Griffin's first pro coach, Mike Shanahan, is buying that. He told 106.7 The Fan's Grant & Danny (h/t CSNWashington.com's JP Finlay) how learning a system not suited to what he can do has held Griffin back:
"In college he didn't have a route tree, didn't have a playbook. That does take some time.
If you take a QB like that you must run the kind of system that allows them to be successful.
I really believe Robert thought he was more of a drop back quarterback.
He hasn't done things the NFL asks you to do. It does take some growing pains. You better really work on it inside and out.
"
It's not a stretch to believe Shanahan might have an ulterior motive in painting the picture that bad coaching has been Griffin's true downfall. On his watch, Griffin was the Offensive Rookie of the Year, a sensation who took Washington to an NFC East title and the playoffs in 2012.
But the blame for Griffin's second-year collapse was largely laid at Shanahan's door, according to NFL.com writer Chris Wesseling. That's hardly the ideal job reference for a coach who says he wants to return to the sidelines, per the Denver Post's Nicki Jhabvala.
Shanahan's possible motivations aside, there is still plenty of merit in what he said. Specifically, few fans would likely argue with the notion of crafting a scheme to suit the quarterback.
That the Redskins haven't done it consistently for Griffin makes a mockery of last offseason's decision to replace Shanahan with Jay Gruden. It made no sense to pair a read-option quarterback with a coach rigidly faithful to a pocket-based offense. This decision alone rules out team president Bruce Allen and owner Dan Snyder setting up their own matchmaking service anytime soon.
But the idea of crafting a scheme tailored to Griffin can only go so far. As I detailed in another article, no quarterback is going to last long in the pros if all he can do is run a college-style scheme.
Sooner or later, said signal-caller has to come to grips with the demands of the big leagues. Three years on from when he was drafted, that's still the challenge facing Griffin and, by extension, this franchise.
Major improvements are needed with footwork, reading defenses, taking what coverage offers and making quick, smart throws. The problem with that list is the fact that it's a catalogue of the basic mechanics all competent pro quarterbacks must possess.
That Griffin doesn't is a stark reminder of the fact that Washington still needs to build its starting quarterback from the ground up. Essentially, the Redskins have started the last three seasons with a rookie under center, something that hasn't changed headed into the new campaign.
Of all his failings, Griffin's biggest is how long he holds on to the ball when he's in the pocket. Real Redskins blogger Rich Tandler recently cited an article from Pro Football Focus' Steve Palazzolo that stated Griffin was under pressure 44.9 percent of the time in 2014—more than any other passer in the league.
For those who suffered watching Washington's dire O-line last season, the answer would be, well, duh.
Tandler followed up with Palazzolo and gained some crucial clarification regarding the statistic and its criteria. Here's the writer's own revealing response:
Essentially, Griffin created a hefty portion of the pressure he faced last season. He brought heat upon himself with his reluctance to get rid of the ball. It's a reluctance tied to an inability to make quick reads as well as a seeming pathological frenzy to hit the big play on every throw.
Griffin's issues are more cerebral and temperamental than they are physical. Those issues explain the other troubling stat from Palazzolo's article, as detailed by Tandler: "But you look at Griffin’s score when he is not under pressure, and it's minus-7.9. Yes, he was worse when he was not under pressure than he was when he was under pressure. (For the record, [Kirk] Cousins' PFF score without pressure is a plus-2.7)."
The harrowing reality that stat reveals is the fact that it's as bad for Washington when defenses give Griffin time as when they apply pressure. With time to survey the field, he still can't read coverage.
That thought should scare the decision-makers at Redskins Park. In fact, it should terrify them. Even average NFL quarterbacks are supposed to look good when there's no pressure.
These struggles could well be at the root of the decision to draft fourth-round slot receiver Jamison Crowder. They may also be at the heart of the search for a diminutive and versatile backfield weapon, a role Trey Williams and Chris Thompson are competing for.
Playmakers whom Griffin can quickly flip the ball to underneath and turn short dump-offs into long gains can eliminate a lot of the quarterback's reads. Crowder and whoever wins the third-down running back role will be just as important for Griffin and Washington's success as any scheme tweaks along the O-line and in the running game.
Whether a so-called dink-and-dunk offense will keep downfield threats such as Garcon and Jackson happy is another matter. The same holds true for Gruden, a play-caller who rarely resists the urge to try to stretch the field.
But if he wants that kind of offense, Gruden may need to look further down the depth chart for his quarterback.
Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy Set to Feature Again
Gruden's best bet for the expansive, game-breaking and pocket-based passing game he wants is Cousins—that's despite the penchant for interceptions and rash decisions that sent 2012's fourth-round pick to the bench last season.
Cousins has the arm, quick release and distribution skills the Gruden playbook demands. Incorporating so many weapons was a problem for Gruden in 2014, but it was a problem because of the merry-go-round under center.
A look at Cousins' distribution from his fine Week 2 performance directing a big win over the Jacksonville Jaguars reveals the kind of template Washington should aim for through the air:
Spreading the ball around is a must on a team overloaded with quality pass-catchers. It's not just about keeping players happy; it's also about keeping defenses guessing and attacking every level of the field.
Of course, Cousins wasn't sent to the lumber because he went from caring and sharing to a scrooge. Instead, Gruden ditched him in favor of Colt McCoy because of those pesky interceptions.
Cousins threw nine picks in only five full starts last season. There's no doubt that when the pressure is on, Cousins can force a throw or two. But if Griffin's bad habits are expected to be coached to a cure, why can't the same thing happen for Cousins?
One person who does still believe in him is the man who drafted him. During the same interview on Grant & Danny (h/t Finlay), Shanahan pinpointed what's been missing to help Cousins be a more efficient quarterback: "I've seen it firsthand what he can do. Once he gets a team with a little balance, he will have a very successful NFL career."
Anyone who has rightly screamed in frustration at how quickly Gruden abandons the running game would surely find this an easy point to agree with. It should also be easy admitting Cousins is the best dropback passer on the roster.
If it's a pocket game Gruden wants, he'll give the quarterback (Cousins) who spent this offseason working with the coach's older brother another chance.
That would leave McCoy out in the cold even though he was the only quarterback to engineer more than one win last season. The veteran also seemed to have the best grasp of the playbook Gruden has struggled to make second nature.
McCoy's command of the calls and audibles was particularly noticeable at times during Week 13's road loss to the Indianapolis Colts. But while he can get the team over the line, his lack of arm strength also demands the kind of scheme Griffin, for different reasons, will require.
Ultimately, this is still Griffin's job to lose, even though not many quarterbacks would be so lucky after floundering as much as he has. But with more pieces in place to make his job easier, this surely has to be his last chance to make the grade as the leader of this depth chart.
Screenshot courtesy of CBS Sports and NFL.com Game Pass.
All statistics and player information via NFL.com.
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