RG3, Hue Jackson, and the New Browns

A few years ago, two dumb GMs engaged in a bidding war for...Robert Griffin III.  Mike Holmgren lost.

I was about to say "fortunately", given the preposterous price Washington paid, but actually the Browns didn't accomplish much with the draft picks they saved.

By the way, Haslam should have fired Holmgren right there, for nearly flushing the team down the toilet.

Don't get me wrong.  I wanted RG3 badly too.  So did everybody else.  Some even thought he was better than Andrew Luck.

He was different.  He was a dual threat with blistering speed, but also threw with deadly accuracy and perfect touch, as deep as you want.

And look what the guy did as a rookie in Washington.  For a minute there, those who thought RG3 was better than Luck looked pretty smart.

Then the wheels came off, literally.  He was great, right up until his injury.

Then the bonehead charges back onto the field before he should have (and Shanahan LET him) and immediately got maimed again.

Now, per Mike Shanahan himself, this is what happened next.  He and RG3 clashed over the scheme.  A lot of bad reporters got this backwards:

Shanahan wanted to gradually phase in more West Coast and conventional offense.  Griffin wanted it all at once.

Shanahan said he wasn't ready to be an all-in pocket passer yet.  Griffin disagreed.  Griffin got his way again.

It's been portrayed as a disaster, which is stupid.  RG3 was a victim of his own rookie success.  He didn't dominate as he had before, so his average and above performance in the pocket was treated as an abject failure.  It wasn't.

Shanahan said after Cleveland signed him that he still believes that Griffin should not be a pocket passer.

As Mike Gruden seems to think as well, that's simply not what Griffin does best.

But every quarterback has to be able to play from the pocket sometimes.  It's good that Griffin got that experience, especially in Shanahan and Gruden's schemes.

Now, Hue Jackson is here.  It's a foregone conclusion that he will let RG3 do what he does best.  And what a healthy RG3 does best is what he did as a rookie.

If Griffin hadn't been here, do you think they would have passed on Wentz?  I'm not sure, but doubt it.  RG3 is a risk, certainly.  But Hue saw what he did.  He knows he can do it again.

Instead of the top quarterback, they traded down and piled up draft picks.  

The first player selected in the first round was Corey Coleman, a BAYLOR wide receiver.  Three more receivers and a tight end converting from wide receiver.  Two offensive linemen.

Hue will spew.  But if Griffin isn't the game one starter, it will be his fault.  Cody Kessler may have a bright future.  Josh McCown might even be slightly better, but is old and hurt too much.  But Griffin has all the talent.  He was drafted second overall for reasons.

RG3 redux will be better than he was before.  He will slide, run out of bounds, and throw the ball away.  He will be able to function in the pocket, but won't have to live there.

While he still looks too lean, he appears a little bigger and stronger.

I think the Browns long-awaited franchise quarterback might already be here.