Looking at the RG 3 Revival in Cleveland - My Two Cents

RG3 Will Revive Pro Football Career – It Just Might Take a Couple of Rebuilding Years in Cleveland

The history of the NFL is filled with stories of high draft choices that turned into busts. For every Peyton Manning, there is a Ryan Leaf. For every Doug Williams, there is a JaMarcus Russell. Part of the intrigue with following the NFL draft comes from seeing which players will thrive, and which ones will fail. The same mentality causes many of us to slow down when we pass by a parked Ferrari, or a car accident.

Four years ago, Robert Griffin III was selected by the Washington Redskins with the second pick of the NFL draft. Immediately, the Baylor product made his presence known. In his debut, Griffin and the Skins throttled the New Orleans Saints 40-32 and the Texas-bred rookie threw for 320 yards and a pair of touchdowns while outplaying veteran Drew Brees. Weeks later, a breathtaking 76-yard touchdown run from scrimmage sealed a 38-26 victory over Minnesota. Riding a seven-game winning streak, the boys from Old D.C. won the NFC East and stormed into the playoffs.

However, Griffin, who had endured two knee surgeries as a collegian, would find misfortune again. Against Seattle, the sight of his knee buckling as he tried to recover a loose ball was only slightly less grotesque than watching Joe Theismann’s leg snap like a twig under the weight of Lawrence Taylor in 1984. The Skins lost to the Seahawks 24-14 to finish their 2012 season, but more importantly, they lost their franchise quarterback.

Griffin’s rushed approach to recovery did not endear him to many fans, especially after he got off to a slow start in 2013. It did not help that he had not played in any pre-season games, instead vowing to be “all in” when the real games started. The marketing campaign behind the “All In’ mantra didn’t do much to earn RG3 many new friends in the Washington locker room.

Forced to wear a cumbersome knee brace took Griffin out of his scrambling, play-action game. An ankle injury in 2014 didn’t help matters, and a public “feud” with Coach Mike Shanahan and his son, offensive coordinator Kyle, led to Griffin being benched, first with the Shanahan’s, then with new coach Jay Gruden, who opted to make Kirk Cousins the undisputed starter just before the 2015 season.

In all, the final three seasons of Griffin’s stay in Washington were rough – a 5-15 record as a starter and no passes thrown in 2015 say everything that needs to be stated.

Nevertheless, the past is the past, and RG3 has found a new home.

Unfortunately, it is Cleveland.

The Browns have gone through almost two dozen quarterbacks in the past 20 years, with a laundry list that reads like a retread roster, dotted by forgettable monikers such as Quinn, Holcomb, Weedon and Mirer. In a couple of years, Manziel will be added to the list. Cleveland is where quarterbacks usually go for hospice care until their pro career officially dies.

Yet not all is lost for Griffin. He has had a year to rehabilitate - his knee and his psyche. He could have taken his benching to the national media and allowed the Skins’ Ashburn training facility to continue being a soap opera, with daily tales of who wronged whom. Mike Shanahan, the supposed grown-up in the coach-player relationship for the first three years, could not seem to resist talking about his former QB to the media from time to time.

Instead, Griffin became a great teammate – a sounding board and brain to pick for Cousins, who excelled over the last nine weeks of the season – partly because he did not have to deal with a whiny, me-first teammate.

Griffin also has new Brown head coach Hue Jackson in his corner. Jackson went 8-8 in his year as head coach of the terminally dysfunctional Oakland Raiders, who inexplicably fired him after the season. Jackson is a player’s coach and a man of integrity. More importantly, he has a history of developing young quarterbacks, and Griffin is still only 26.

Will Griffin excel in Cleveland? My prediction is he will be fair, not an All-Pro, but the Browns will elevate to averageness (maybe 6-10 or 7-9), which still is a huge step in the right direction. However, he will honor his two-year contract, earn some bonuses and make enough improvement to become a solid quarterback, one who has good speed and improved drop back throwing ability. At 28, with his Browns contract completed, I see Griffin finally finding his professional niche when he is traded to the Cowboys to replace the retired Tony Romo. From there, Griffin should enjoy a successful pro career with longevity.