In front of 75,337 fans at FedEx Field and countless others watching on television, “it” happened. The thing that everyone who’s followed the rise of Washington Redskins’ star rookie quarterback Robert Griffin, III feared would happen… he got hit – hard – and stayed down too long. The youngster was subsequently diagnosed with a concussion and while both RGIII and his teammates have reported that he is doing well, the question of whether or not he is well enough to play this Sunday against the Vikings – regardless of what the doctors say – begs asking.
Quite honestly, no matter how he feels, Griffin should not play this week. The main concern should be keeping this kid healthy for a long, long time. The team gave up an arm and a leg for and the Redskins need him around for a long time. While it’s tempting – because of his amazing ability – to want the instant gratification of having him in this upcoming game; in three years, when the Redskins are in contention for the NFC Championship, RedskinsNation is not going to be thinking about the fact that their team beat the Minnesota Vikings back in 2012.
This brings the conversation around (in a round-about way) to that first description we heard about Griffin’s condition on Sunday… the word given initially in the press box was that he was “shaken up” and there has been some backlash because of the use of the words. Now, there’s no way to know if Redskins’ head coach Mike Shanahan was trying to put a spin on the situation or if that is really what he thought. But what caught peoples’ attention is that being ‘shaken up’ is no where near the same thing as sustaining a concussion. My tendency is to give people the benefit of the doubt in most situations but, as America looked on, noting the time RGIII stayed down, the glassy eyes obvious on the Jumbo Trons at FedEx Field… it was clear he was having more problems than just having his bell rung. The coach was asked about his use of the term during a subsequent press conference.
“I’m not sure what the appropriate phrase is,” Shanahan said. “I use it all the time. Guys look like he’s ‘shaken up.’ Now that doesn’t mean he has a concussion. But that is why they go through these procedures because they don’t let someone like me make those decisions, which they shouldn’t because we are not experts in that area. But the people who are experts, when you think a guy has something wrong with his head, we let the experts look at it.”
With the chances to score that Griffin brings to the field, it would be easy to make him active this Sunday now that he is cleared to practice. When he went down against the Falcons it was third and goal and, unlike in years past, there was every possibility that the offense would score. Griffin took the snap out of the shotgun formation, rolled right while looking downfield, saw no one open and took off . He was heading towards the sidelines and actually looked a little bit like he was either getting ready to slide or that his feet went out from under him when Atlanta Falcons’ linebacker Sean Weatherspoon hit him from the left – hard. As they were going down, defensive tackle Jonathan Babineaux entered on Griffin’s right and fell under the quarterback. As Griffin and Weatherspoon both were going down, Griffin’s head popped off of the former’s helmet and onto Babineaux’s helmet. Watching it over and over again on film – especially in slow motion – shows how really hard both hits to the helmets were.
When he finally got up, it was easy to see that Griffin was not fine. Even though he initially answered certain questions correctly, things didn’t stay that way and, as Shanahan said later, he was grateful that there are experts out there to make the call on whether or not his quarterback had more serious problems than just being “shaken up” as was announced early on.
“When you look at him on the sideline, Robert said to me he was fine,” the coach said as he relayed the story. “I said, ‘You are not fine. I don’t think you are fine. Your eyes look a little glassy.’ The doctors talked to him and he knew the quarter and the score. So they took him back in that little box behind our bench and asked him again, ‘What was the quarter? What was the score?’ The second time he missed it, the first time he got it. That is when we took him in the locker room and administered the test for a concussion. And that is when it was decided he had a concussion because the tests were not the same. That is when the doctor’s knew there was some type of problem.”
Robert sent out a tweet early Sunday evening thanking fans for the prayers and writing that he thought he would play next week. I hope this is wishful thinking. It’s no secret that RGIII is a tough guy and given the choice, would want to play if at all possible. But there has to be thought to his long term health and, even if given the “go ahead” by doctors once he gets to the end of the week with no setbacks, it would be prudent to keep that head of his from getting banged again so soon after this serious injury. While he likely learned a lesson about when to run and when to get rid of the ball, in the heat of the moment with the possibility of moving the chains, well… face it. He’s a competitor. He’s probably going to go for the first down.
He’s also a grown man. Both he and the team are in a tough spot. One of the reasons the Redskins gave up so much for this young man is because of his ability to extend and make plays with his legs. It would be a waste not to use that talent. But a happy medium must be found regarding when his head coach and offensive coordinator call option and keeper-plays – which, actually, looked like was the case on Sunday. Continuing moderation is the key here and Griffin himself must also use good judgment when it’s time to make a decision on whether to scramble or get rid of the ball.
Shanahan feels like his quarterback has a new appreciation of his options now.
“Each game is a learning experience,” Shanahan said this week. “He is going to learn a lot as time goes on. He is very competitive like most young quarterbacks are. You want to make every first down and you want to extend every play to the last second. Part of that is knowing that we have to have you out there so these quarterbacks learn in time when to slide. Now if it is the Super Bowl or you are going for a playoff win, then you take some of those chances. But part of process is staying healthy and obviously being out there for your teammates. And it was a learning experience for Robert.”
Keeping Griffin healthy is a shared responsibility. When it comes to him playing against the Minnesota Vikings this week however, with him given the nod to practice now, Mike Shanahan has some soul searching to do.
Hail.