Commentary: Washington Redskins Need “Operation Restraint”

UPDATE: Since the publishing of this article, Robert Griffin, III has released a statement regarding his press conference statements yesterday.  Read it here:

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More people than not agree with head coach Mike Shanahan’s decision to keep Robert Griffin, III off of the preseason gridiron in order to protect his quarterback’s surgically-repaired knee. At first, not playing didn’t appear to be problem for the Washington Redskins’ star. Now, it seems young Mr. Griffin is having second thoughts. This is understandable because, while historically it has been for evaluating talent, the preseason is also a good way for players to get into “football shape.” However, RGIII should not be quite as vocal as he has been when disagreeing with his boss’s decisions.

I hesitate to criticize him at all because he so extremely talented and he makes the Redskins so much better all around. But the fact is, that Griffin’s is a unique situation. Circumstances have conspired (as well as the Redskins organization itself) to cause every move that the young man makes to become huge news. Every single thing he does is monitored, scrutinized, inspected, dissected, analyzed and discussed. If he feels he should play in the preseason — and most good athletes do — that is fine. He just needs to be careful with how he talks about it.

So what, if anything, changed his mind about it? At first, he implied that he was okay with sitting out until the regular season.

“Yeah, I mean I have to be at peace with [the decision],” Griffin said last week before the game against the Tennessee Titans. “It’s harder being out here and not being able to get into the team reps because Coach is holding me out, so to be there at the game and watch, I think the thing that I am going to have to do is take it as a coaching opportunity for the rest of the quarterbacks. Even though Rex [Grossman] is a vet, it is still my job to go out there and watch and make sure he is seeing everything that is happening on the field, just to help those guys be as successful as they can. That’s the way I have to look at it, so I’m not going to really going to fret too much the preseason games because the goal is for a long career and to play Week 1.”

While that was the politically correct thing to say – and perhaps he meant it at the time – he was dressed out in full pads on the sidelines last Thursday evening at LP Field as he “helped” backup QBs Kirk Cousins, Rex Grossman and Pat White “be as successful as they could be” (his words) in their first preseason game against the Tennessee Titans. The explanation for the full adornment was that Shanahan had let him go through pre-game drills with the team. That says “I want to play” to most people and that’s okay.

But Cousins, Grossman and White all played well and, even though he surely wanted his teammates to do well, it must have been frustrating for the Redskins’ young star to watch.

Coaches and fans expected that Cousins, who played the first two series, would play well and he did. He completed six of seven passes for 52 yards and a touchdown. The Redskins’ backup quarterback was poised during the second drive as he took the team 64 yards down the field for the score. The Redskins ran seven plays and ended the series with a 3-yard flip to tight end Fred Davis who was wide open in the back of the end zone. Cousins earned a 137.2 passer rating on the night.

Third-string quarterback, Rex Grossman, played the longest in the game (six series) and completed 10 out of 21 throws for 121 yards and threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to wide out Leonard Hankerson.

Fourth-string quarterback, Pat White, was interesting to watch because he hasn’t played in the NFL since January of 2010. Selected by the Miami Dolphins in the second round of the 2009 draft, it shouldn’t have been such a surprise that he would do well. He was a prolific QB in college (West Virginia), throwing for over 1,500 yards three years in a row. He was in competition with quarterbacks Chad Pennington and Chad Henne for the starting job in Miami and, while he didn’t start any games, he played in 13 of them — usually in Wildcat formations. The point is, while he hasn’t played for a year and was not a starter in Miami; he has been an NFL quarterback.

The former Mountaineer did a good job of scrambling for a 9-yard touchdown with just over two minutes left in the game Thursday night for the go-ahead touchdown, making it 21-20 Redskins, and then — under heavy pressure — put the ball right on the numbers for receiver Emmanuel Ogbuehi – for a two-point conversion and the victory.

It was after that game that Griffin has changed his tune regarding playing in the preseason. During his press conference yesterday, the Baylor grad started a buzz when he openly admitted that he wanted to play in the preseason game against the Buffalo Bills. And it is usually the third game when, traditionally, NFL starters put in the most time.

“You know me too well,” he said when asked if he would try to convince Shanahan to put him on the field. “I’m going to, definitely. I want to play, let’s get that straight. I want to play in the preseason. Coach is just saying that if things go great these next couple of days and next week, then maybe, but it’s a hard ‘No’ right now. It’s my job to make that a soft ‘No’ and possibly a ‘Yes’. But I’m definitely going to push for it. I feel ready to go. The walkthrough was easy, really easy, and I feel like I’ll be ready to go. We’ll see what happens. I’ll definitely push for that third game, but who knows what happens.”

Shanahan’s plans for his comeback (termed “Operation Patience” by the QB) were discussed during Griffin’s presser and he was asked whether or not he understood it. The second-year man says he does and that, yes, he has to be patient. But he feels that, since he is doing so well, he should be allowed to do more. He doesn’t like that he has not been doing as much as he thinks he can do — this is undeniable. But even further, Griffin speaks as if there is more of an “agreement” to this whole rehab process than the coach will admit. For instance, he referenced the coaching staff keeping their “word” last week during his meeting with the media and then did it again yesterday.

“I can’t BS that answer,” he said on a laugh when asked if he understood and agreed with the plan. “No, I don’t like it, but there is some part of it that I do understand. I don’t understand all of it. But at the end of the day, [Shanahan] gave me his word. We talked privately. I know the plan. I am not telling the whole plan because he doesn’t want the whole plan known and I understand that as well. I don’t understand the whole plan at all. I can’t lie about that, but when you give your word to somebody, that’s all you have, so I’m just banking that they will stay true to their word and I’m staying true to mine. I’m doing everything they have asked me to without any gripes other than with you guys and that’s just the way you have to do it.”

Since arriving in Washington, Robert Griffin, III has never been one to have trouble verbalizing his thoughts. Seemingly mature beyond his years, he is both intelligent and eloquent. But Griffin is also just 23 years old. It may not be such a good idea for him to voice such a strong opinion about how he sees his — and his coach’s — role in this situation. While he is the most important player on this team, he is still — and I hesitate to use the word but will anyway — just a football player. A very popular, very talented and very young football player to be sure. But still a football player.

In his young life, Robert has consistently over-achieved and many over-achievers learn to get what they want. I am not insisting that this is the case with Griffin. It’s just an observation I have made over the years.

Of course, after RGIII’s presser, the head coach was at the podium and Griffin’s statements were brought to his attention. The coach made one thing clear… Griffin will not be playing this preseason.

“No. No possibility.”

No question about his meaning there.

But he did go on to say — like any good coach would — that he loved his star wanting to play. Of course, any player worth his salt will always want to play. Look at how much pain Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams has been willing to play through.

“First of all, I love when somebody wants to play,” Shanahan said. “I love it when somebody wants to be out there. That is a good problem to have as a head coach, when you want people out there, you want people competing and you want people working hard. But my job is to make sure that we do the best thing for Robert and that is what I am going to try to do.”

To listen to the second-year QB, one would think he and Shanahan had signed a formal contract. No doubt about it, the kid has moxy… which, of course, the great ones have. But he pushes sometimes and credit should be given to Shanahan for the way he has handled it. Of course, nobody except the two men knows what goes on behind closed doors but — at least publicly yesterday — Shanahan was calm and positive. Again, he was also very clear.

“First of all, there is no arrangement,” Shanahan declared. “I give him an idea of what… …we talk privately about, what I thought our game plan was before. I don’t share that with anybody. I haven’t shared it with any coaches. There’s nobody that I’ve shared this with. I’ve just shared it with one person, and that’s Robert, my game plan… I’ve already said this: my plan, hopefully our game plan, is to play him Week 1. I want to play him Week 1. But if there’s a setback, we might not be able to play him Week 1, maybe not until Week 5 or 6. I’m hoping that there’s no setback. If there isn’t, I think we’ve got a good game plan. We just have to work it day-by-day.”

There appears to be some sort of subliminal dialogue going on between Griffin and Shanahan through these press conferences. We can only hope that, behind closed doors, they get it straight between them.

Griffin is young and Shanahan is experienced. Perhaps he will recruit wily veterans like linebacker London Fletcher or wide out Santana Moss to “advise” his quarterback on speaking to the press. Robert certainly needs to be honest, yes, but he also needs to be careful about what he says and what that actually communicates to people.

Of course if, on September 9th, the team beats the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football; and then continues to win,  none of this will really matter. In the meantime, young Mr. Griffin is an extraordinary quarterback and good man who has captured the heart of RedskinsNation. He just needs to continue with “Operation Patience” and perhaps, add a little “Operation Restraint” to it.

Hail.