So RG3 will inevitably get much of the blame for the offensive woes and for holding on to the ball and everything else. I am not excusing his performance entirely. No question he has to improve but to place full blame on him is silly. In looking at the sacks he took against SF, he just didn't have much time to release the ball. Here are the times from snap to sack:
3.7 seconds—On the first one, which came on the second play of the game, Griffin kept his eyes downfield. Rookie left tackle Morgan Moses fended off Aldon Smith for as long as could reasonably expected. Even then Griffin may have had a little more time but he drifted back and right into Smith’s path.
2.54 seconds—On third and nine Griffin dropped back from under center. Ray McDonald was lined up over Moses but he stunted, getting past Shawn Lauvao and then Kory Lichtensteiger. Maybe Griffin had time to get rid of the ball but he appeared to be looking downfield and McDonald was in his face in a hurry.
2.75 seconds—This was another third-down sack, this one with six to go in 49ers territory. Smith got past Moses, who probably should have had some help on the play, very quickly and got Griffin from the blind side.
6.9 seconds—This was the second play the Redskins first drive after they went down 17-13 in the fourth quarter. Griffin looked and started to scramble before being brought down for a loss of three by Aaron Lynch. It didn’t look like any receiver was open but maybe the all-22 will reveal someone that Griffin should have been able to hit.
2.4 seconds—This was in the final, desperation drive. End Justin Smith lined up wide on the right side, went around Moses, and blindsided Griffin, knocking the ball out.
For the record, he was sacked one other time in 2.1 seconds but that was negated on a roughing the passer penalty on Lynch.
Conversely, watching the Dallas/NY Giants game, Collinsworth and Michaels kept on talking about the Cowboy O line and how much time they were giving Romo to throw. On the Cowboy game winning drive, Romo had all day to throw. They even did some replays with a stopwatch in the corner of the screen showing multiple plays where Romo had 7-8 seconds to throw. Give a QB, that much time and any QB should be able to complete a pass.
Again, not excusing RG3 entirely but it's clear he needs some help.
2 comments:
I think you hit the nail right on the head here.
He has no time. The offensive line is not protecting him well enough for him to make plays. No QB will make throws without throwing multiple interceptions with that kind of protection or lack of it.
Its a shame that RG3 is being crucified for this. He is the biggest and easiest target to hit so he gets most of the blame. I think the expectations of him are too high given that this is the DC. The market want quick results. There is almost no patience left.
I think its very interesting that he did not throw any interceptions on sunday. Yeah he threw a few against Tampa but again they weren't entirely his fault and he is still coming off a major injury. Its not like he's Geno Smith or Vince Young. Besides the fumble which was not entirely his fault also, he does a pretty good job of avoiding turnovers. The difference between him and Cousins is that Cousins will throw it when he is under pressure and he will complete some passes and get a lot of yards, but there are the interceptions that kill drives and puts the defense in bad positions allowing other teams to rack up points as the Giants did.
RG3 doesn't do that. It appears that he would rather take the sack than throw a terrible pass that could be intercepted. As a result his production was far less but more importantly the skins were in the game and were even able to have the lead late in the game against an NFC giant. I think that's a positive thing and ill take that any day over an interception prone QB. Look, the 49er defense is very stout. Its one of the better units in the league. Even Aaron Rodgers has struggled against the 49er defense in recent years.
It is unfair to judge RG3 output behind this terrible offensive line facing a top defensive unit. Unfortunately, most people don't put enough thought into it to consider all of the factors equally and as a result RG3 is literally a scapegoat. I mean come on, RG3 did not lose the game for them. They were in it till the very end. That has to count for something.
Its really unfortunate is that RG3 time here in DC may come to an end if this keeps up (which it likely will because I don't see the offensive line improving much)and most of the fault in that does not lie with him. He is talented. We have seen it. We have seen what he can do. He can throw and complete passes effectively when given time. There are many components of the offense that have to come together for it to be effective. QB is not one of the components that needs improving on this team. They need to work on improving the offensive line. Unfortunately, the media and fans don't get that. Running RG3 out of town is a terrible mistake that will set this team way behind. Back at square one in trying to find another franchise QB to place behind a terrible offensive line. You don't replace pieces in a machine that are completely sound even though they aren't working as a result of other broken pieces. You only replace the broken pieces. Pretty simple concept in my opinion.
I do think RG3 has talent but I also believe he needs to play better.
Most fans aren't that bright and just want to push blame squarely on QBs. It is the easy thing to do. Sadly, I think RG3 may very well be run out of town. The Skins will get someone else and the same thing will happen.
People want immediate results. They want Colt in there as he is the QB du jour. Colt is not the answer. He does not have the strongest of arms. He wasn't great in preseason. He had a very good game against Dallas. Fine, put him in, he will struggle and then the Skins fan will turn on him. Only thing is that it will be hard to go back to RG3 at that point.
I think RG3 is struggling. Not sure if he is 100% physically but mentally, I'm sure the pressure and the unbelievable scrutiny and criticism has taken some toll. We'll see if he is able to bounce back.
Heard Bill Cowher today echoing much of what I have been saying. Basically, he has shown talent. Be patient and lets see if he can get back to where he was. He did say that if the relationship between Gruden and RG3 is so poor that it cannot be salvaged than you might as well let him go. Who knows what the truth is regarding their relationship. Everyone seems to think they know but time will tell what will happen.
Honestly, the only thing that can make this better is if RG3 starts playing well. If he were to put together a couple of good games together, everyone will fall right back in love with him.
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