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Washington Redskins should not bench RG3 yet

By Kevin Parvizi

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The Washington Redskins seem to relish every opportunity to stick the middle finger to Robert Griffin III, and while RG3’s public statements and on-field play have been wholly underwhelming over the past two years, it’s hard not to feel bad for the guy. I mean, he was basically hung out to dry in his last preseason game, getting drilled repeatedly by a dominant Detroit Lions front seven that was blitzing at will against an offensive line that included roster longshot Willie Smith and rookie guard Brandon Scherff.

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Head coach Jay Gruden has spoken about RG3 publicly in ways that no head coach in NFL history has, and it’s becoming obvious that he doesn’t respect Griffin as a player or person. We thought the Redskins had hired Gruden to help get the most out of a player who was beyond brilliant as a rookie, but he’s only behaved the same way Mike Shanahan did before his unceremonious exit from Washington.

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This paints a damning picture of Griffin and re-enforces the idea that he lacks the requisite leadership chops to be “the guy” for the Redskins, and yet every hit he took last week is a reminder that things have also been stacked against him.

Even after last week’s injury, there was never any doubt in most people’s minds that Griffin would be the Week 1 starter, as 2015 has been widely tabbed as a make-or-break year for a guy who somewhat surprisingly got his fifth-year option picked up despite a lack of public support from the coaching staff.

Although the smart money had Griffin starting this season on a short leash with a benching coming only if he struggled during regular season games, it looks like the Redskins aren’t even planning on playing the former Baylor star at all.

ESPN’s Dianna Marie Russini, who is as tuned in to the Redskins as anyone, dropped a bombshell of a report on us this morning, tweeting that the team plans on starting Kirk Cousins- not RG3- in Week 1 against the Miami Dolphins. So not only will he start tonight’s preseason game against the Baltimore Ravens after Griffin’s rough outing last week, but it seems like Gruden and the organization will ride him as the starter until he falters.

Cousins’s 8.4 yards per attempt and 61.8% completion percentage in 204 pass attempts look solid on the surface, but he also threw nine interceptions and repeatedly put his receivers in trouble over the middle of the field with dangerous throws. He has shown that he has the potential to start in this league with good arm talent, but the 27-year-old Michigan State product doesn’t have the best ball placement and was dreadful when it came to taking care of the football last season.

Even without 2014 breakout tight end Niles Paul, the Washington Redskins have plenty of talent surrounding their quarterback, so Cousins will have weapons like Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson, and, hopefully, Jordan Reed to work with in 2015. That said, we can’t forget that he was benched relatively quickly last season, so he’ll have to shine tonight against the Ravens in order to truly confirm this report that he will be starting against the Dolphins.

As with Griffin, Kirk Cousins would have a short leash, though it’s fair to wonder if the Redskins coaching staff and new GM are indeed higher on the second-string QB from the same draft class.

Either way, I don’t agree with the logic here, simply because the Redskins need to see what RG3 can bring to the table. They’ve done nothing to support him, Gruden hasn’t showed any desire to help get the most out of his QB (instead, he’s pigeon-holed him in a system that he’s doomed to fail in), and it doesn’t seem like they care enough to even see him sling some regular season passes in a more functional offense.

Look, it’s not about whether or not RG3 is a good quarterback, because for as much as I like him, I also think he’ll fail this year. There’s too much working against him, and what’s working against him the most is the organization itself. A change of scenery would be best for Griffin, but, until then, the organization needs to at least see something from him before giving up.

They’ve given up on Griffin before even giving him a real chance- and no, allowing him to get bashed repeatedly by the Lions is not a “real chance”- and that’s why this decision wouldn’t make sense. Perhaps Cousins is the better option, but let’s see RG3 first and then bench him if he doesn’t play well despite getting sufficient help. It looks like the Redskins don’t want to meet any of those conditions, and this reflects extremely poorly on both Gruden and the franchise. There may be more to the story, but I’m not holding my breath just yet for an appropriate justification.

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