REDSKINS 101

I mean, seriously. I though the wait for last year's draft was killing me. But this year, the end of the football season came so early that it feels like I've been waiting for the draft since the middle of November.

Of course, as was the question last year, the biggest thing facing the Redskins is "Who will be the Redskins quarterback?". And there is no topic more hotly debated (other than that other Manning guy; you know, the one that only has one ring) than whether or not the Redskins should trade up for Robert Griffin III, or sit pat and wait for him to fall, and draft another guy if he doesn't.

I've already written my opinion that yes, the Redskins should do everything that is reasonable to acquire the former Baylor Bear. And in that time, I've debated, and debated, and then debated others on forums and on Twitter over whether or not the risk than RGIII could bust is worth the fact that he could be, for lack of better way of putting it, a completely and totally awesome franchise quarterback.

The thing about the internet is that it has a way of taking two people that only have slightly different opinions, and then forcing a giant wedge between them the more and more an issue is rehashed. Two completely rational people can be turned into Klingons wielding bloody bat'leths (for those who lack geek cred, Google it) by the end of any given debate.

The debates I've seen basically boil down to two things when it all is said and done; those who are pro-trade for RGIII think those who are against trading up haven't really seen enough of RGIII playing and try to nitpick every little thing, knocking him for the same sort of things that are prevalent in other prospects, while those who are anti-trade think Redskins fans are so obsessed with the franchise quarterback they're willing to risk everything to get him, and are unwilling to examine his flaws in an attempt to make him seem like the perfect prospect.

The reality is, both sides are sort of right and both are sort of wrong. Robert Griffin III isn't perfect. He has flaws, just as ever prospect who comes out in the draft has flaws. He is neither a guaranteed "can't miss" prospect, nor is he anymore likely to bust. We shouldn't be willing to trade everything for one player, but it should also be known that it won't (or shouldn't) cost everything to him. He is neither infallible or a train wreck ready to happen.

He is, simply put, a really, really good football player that could help our team. Too often, this fanbase operates on the extremes of one issue, and the issue of quarterback has been a volatile one pretty much since Sonny vs. Billy. Half the fanbase seems so fatigued by the quarterback carousel they'd probably sell their non-writing hand and a kidney for one, while the other half is so jaded that they'll find almost any excuse for why you don't need a quarterback. As with most things in life, the answer usually lies somewhere in between, and needs to be balanced.

So that's what I'm going to attempt to do here; give an unbiased, balanced scouting report of Robert Griffin III's skill, without letting my own bias towards the situation get in the way. I make no promised that I'll let no bias slip through, but trust that I've put a lot of time an energy until this list.

Pros:

A four year starter: Quick question; how many underclassmen have Mike Shanahan and Bruce Allen drafted in the last drafts? Zero. The big goose egg. In fact, Mike Shanahan has only drafted (from what I can tell) three underclassmen since 2006, and none while he's been here. Mike values players who have been in school and produced for all four years in their collegiate careers, in order to better avoid one year wonders and flashes in the pan, unlike a certain ex-general manager who coveted certain members of the New York Giants who now have a ring despite only having two big plays in their career.

Robert Griffin III maybe designated a redshirt junior, but he [i]is[/i] a four year starter. RGIII has started every year in his career a Baylor, but a knee injury sidelined him for much of his sophomore campaign. In order to retain a year of eligibility, RGIII was given a medical redshirt (think of it kind of like being on injured reserve), which is why he's a redshirt junior now. That said, he did start the season every year he's been at Baylor, and moreover, his statistics climbed ever year.

As a freshman, RGIII threw for 2091 yards, 15 touchdowns, and threw three picks with a completion percentage of 59.9. By the time he graduated, his stats increased to 4,293 yards, 37 touchdowns and 6 interceptions. A pretty remarkable improvement.

Mobility: One thing has to be clear about RGIII; he is not Cam Newton, and he is not Michael Vick when it comes to mobility. He's not as tall and big and hard to tackle in open space as Cam, and as a runner, he's not as dynamic and doesn't make people miss like Vick can. He possesses great straight line speed and toughness for his size, but RGIII's mobility is more along the lines of Aaron Rodgers or Jay Cutler than Newton and Vick. 

RGIII displays a better ability than Newton or Vick to move out of the pocket, while keeping their eyes down field with the ball in a throwing position. He side steps, slides and steps up into the pocket and isn't as likely to pull the ball down and go as Newton was at Auburn if he doesn't see his first couple reads there. When the pocket breaks down, RGIII will wait as long as possible to find a receiver down field before taking off. However, if you don't account for him, he will make you pay.

Accuracy: In his college career, RGIII completed 66.1 of his passes and only threw 17 interceptions to 78 touchdown passes; a 4.5-to-1 touchdown to interception ratio. (For comparison's sake, Andrew Luck has thrown 82 touchdowns to 22 interceptions for a 3-to-1 ratio). Griffin throws a catchable ball and typically has good ball placement, delivering the ball to his receivers hands rather than putting it into their body or throwing behind them, despite questionable footwork at times. He has also displayed the ability to "throw his wide receivers open", putting the ball in a spot away from the defender in tight windows, a must on the NFL level.

What will make RGIII especially appealing to Mike Shanahan is his deep accuracy. It is, to use a technical term, insanely good. RGIII's seems able to make the deep, bucket throws with startling efficiency, rarely underthrowing his receivers, putting the ball on the correct shoulder and away from defenders. In an offense where the quarterback starts deep and works his way to the short throws, being able to throw the ball deep with that kind of touch and accuracy would be invaluable.

Overall Mechanics: This really could go into it's own neutral category, but for the most part, RGIII's mechanics are good. His throwing motion isn't quite the classic overhead throwing motion like a Tom Brady, Eli Manning or Aaron Rodgers, but reminds me more of Jay Cutler; the throws (at least the shorter and intermediate passes) look like they come more from the hip than from the arm. Which isn't bad or anything; he still has a relatively high release point for his height. The comparison to Cutler isn't 1-to-1 or anything, but when I watch RGIII and his release, that was the first name that came to mind, and on the deeper throws, the motion looks more classic. Maybe I'm just trying to avoid comparisons to Michael Vick as much as possible, as that was another thought that came to mind.

RGIII does get the occasional case of happy feet in the pocket and sometimes throws with too wide a base, mean he has to take a bigger step into his throws, which can lead to accuracy issues. Generally speaking, his footwork his more good than bad. Baylor plays in the spread, but RGIII did occasionally coming from under center. As with most quarterbacks in the spread, he looks a little more comfortable on the play action passes than he does with straight 3 or 5 step drops.

Arm Strength: At least an 8.out of ten. RGIII doesn't have the straight up raw arm strength of Cam Newton, or Joe Flacco, or Aaron Rodgers, but he has a very good arm. He delivers the ball with good velocity and zip, and as mentioned, his deep ball is deadly accurate, and he rarely underthrows his receivers when they go deep.

Intangibles: On top of the football stuff, RGIII is a high character, highly motivated player. He graduates from Baylor with a 3.67 GPA in Political Sciences. He's smart, and a leader for his teammates, and grew up in a stern, military family. Character concerns are not an issue; he's got everything you want in a quarterback.

Cons:

Going Through Progressions: For the most part, Robert Griffin III seems to do a good job of recognizing what the defense is doing pre-snap and delivering the ball accurately. However, like most spread quarterbacks, he has a tendency to stare down one side of the field and wait for his receiver to come open.

It's just the nature of spread offenses, and Cam Newton came out and was able to come in and go through with relatively little difficult. But RGIII will be required to go through his reads and adjust his footwork accordingly in Mike Shanahan's offense. He doesn't have to be perfect (Cutler wasn't in Denver), but it's something that bears watching.

Anticipation and Locking On To Receivers: Another problem with spread quarterbacks is they seem to lack that sense of rhythm that quarterbacks that operate more pro-style offenses have.

In the Redskins West Coast Offense, quarterbacks are expected to read the defense pre-snap, take their drop, and deliver the ball when they hit their back foot in rhythm with their receiver, sometimes before it appears that their receiver is open. If the read isn't there, the quarterback hitches to his next progression, resets his feet and throws then, and then usually moves to his check down or outlet receiver. 

Locking on to receivers in an offense that's based on timing is a good way to get picked off. While RGIII's anticipation has improved in college, he still will lock onto his receivers and wait for them to come open, rather than taking his drop (in the spread, a five-stop drop is basically the snap, then two big steps) and delivering the ball in rhythm. It's something you can learn and work on with time, but, again, it's something that bares watching.

Back to the Footwork: In the Redskins offense, footwork doesn't have to be flawless, but it does have to be on point most of the time.  Again, generally it's good, and he displays a good foundation, but he's going to have to be more consistent on the next level. Sometimes when he gets flushed or has to slide in the pocket, he'll throw off balance. Throwing from different positions and without perfect form all the time can be a positive as well as a negative, and he has enough arm to get away with it…in college. He'll have to work on keeping more consistent footwork while operating in the pocket.

Decision Making: Maybe it's a product of not having a whole lot of time behind Baylor's offensive line, but there are those times when RGIII gets a little gunslinger-ish. When flustered, Griffin will sometimes look for his number one receiver—usually Kendall Wright—and try and get the ball to him regardless. On RGIII's insane tip drill touchdown pass, RGIII tries to force a pass into Wright that should've been picked off. It's not detrimental or anything; he did only throw 6 picks. He's not Rex Grossman. But it's another thing he'll have to work on.

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