Washington Redskins: Is Jay Gruden Attempting To Rebuild The Lego House He Destroyed?

The Washington Redskins made a surprising announcement Wednesday when Head Coach Jay Gruden took the stage in Indianapolis at the NFL Scouting Combine. Gruden officially named QB Robert Griffin III the team’s starter moving forward, which was odd considering how things transpired last season.

“We went back and reviewed all the games and all the tape, and obviously, there’s a lot of improvement to do across the board — coaching included,” he said. “We tried to address the coaching needs, and now it’s up to the coaches to address what the players need to do to improve. Robert ended the season as the starter, and we anticipate that going forward, and you know, we anticipate both of them [Kirk Cousins included] coming in with a good frame of mind and eager to get better.”

Naming Griffin the stater wasn’t surprising. However, the timing was a bit odd. Many believed the Redskins would head into camp this summer with a true Quarterback competition. That’s not to say there won’t be one.  But this latest vote of confidence could silence the speculation surrounding Robert Griffin III’s status. Which, in a way, makes this announcement understandable.

What’s weird is that this stems off the apparent Griffin vs Gruden duel towards the end of the season. Gruden appeared to be taking an interesting angle at attempting to humble the star Quarterback and get him together mentally. This was made clear in November when Gruden told the NFL Network, “[Griffin's] his biggest thing, he’s been coddled for so long.” Gruden continued, “It’s not a negative, he’s just been so good, he just hasn’t had a lot of negative publicity. Everybody’s loved him. Some adversity is striking hard at him now, and how he reacts to that off the field, his mental state of mind, how it affects his confidence, hopefully it’s not in a negative way. I read Drew Brees said after a couple interceptions, ‘I’m never gonna lose confidence, I’m gonna come out firing all the time.”

Robert Griffin III is a person who does care about how he’s perceived and he wants people to believe in him. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. But I am starting to believe that mindset is keeping him from taking the next step.

Griffin expressed his dislike for running the zone read in the past, because he’d be perceived as a running QB. In fact, when he was at Baylor, Griffin was featured on an Air Raid magazine and he forced them to place a picture of him passing instead of running — because of perception. He is like that four-year-old who wants to dunk a basketball but can’t reach the hoop. It isn’t necessarily a bad thing. But Griffin has to realize he has a lot to work on to become that Aaron Rodgers-type he aspires to be. He’s never been that and it doesn’t happen overnight.

But not only does Griffin need to realize it will and has taken time — the coaching staff and organization does as well. It takes time for a young Quarterback who has never been a pocket QB — having to read levels of a defense –to become good at it. This is why, in a way, it was important for Gruden to give Griffin a vote of confidence.

“You know, we’ll go into the season with Robert as the No. 1 guy, and you know, it’s up to Robert to continue to grow and mature as a quarterback and as a person,” said Gruden. “Then moving forward, we just want to see some improvement. It’s up to us as a staff to get more out of him.”

It will take an organizational effort to do what this franchise is horrible at doing — being patient. Wait this thing out and see what happens. Help build Griffin back up mentally so that you can get the best out of him. It’s arguable if he’s the best option at Quarterback. But one thing I believe everyone can agree on, he’s undoubtedly the most talented QB on the team.

What Robert Griffin III has to work on is simply becoming a better Quarterback — both mentally and physically. He’s a hard worker, and Gruden mentioned this Wednesday, but there has been rumbles about him not working hard enough to improve as a QB. I don’t think it’s a question about how much film he watches. I think the question should be, does he know what he’s watching and does he know how to translate it to the field?

Gruden eluded to this Wednesday, “well, Robert, obviously, is a hard worker, and he works hard on his body and his strength. But I think that we will have some things drawn out for him — specific things that he can do to get better from the quarterback position, mechanic-wise, throwing-wise, drop-wise. All of that stuff that he can work on. He’s got a pretty good idea of what we did last year at the OTAs and during the season with his footwork and fundamentals that he can continue to grow on and build on as a quarterback. But hiring Matt Cavanaugh as an experienced quarterbacks coach will only help in that process.”

The Washington Redskins are seemingly giving Griffin a gentle push to hopefully propel him to a more successful future. It’s going to take some major work and dedication from all sides. But it has to start somewhere, and I think it began Wednesday when his Head Coach gave him a vote of confidence.

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