Since winning Offensive Rookie of the Year honors in 2012, Robert Griffin III has seen his star fade in the nation's capital. Two years of struggles and injuries have led to significant change in Washington, including the dismissal of head coach Mike Shanahan after the 2013 season. Now, Shanahan is talking openly on sports radio about why Griffin hasn't been able to build on his early success.
Mike Shanahan thinks he knows why RG3 has struggled
And, no, it has nothing to do with blowing out his knee, says the coach who watched him blow out his knee.
Benny Sieu-USA TODAY Sports
“I don’t think getting hurt has anything to do with [Griffin’s struggles],” Shanahan said Friday on 106.7 The Fan, via CSN Washington. “In college, he didn’t have a route tree, didn’t have a playbook. That does take some time.”
Griffin entered the NFL after a 2011 Heisman run with the Baylor Bears, one of the many college teams that utilize a spread offense attack. Griffin did not have to perform many of the duties required of quarterbacks in the NFL such as huddle, make play calls or make significant pre-snap adjustments. He also did not have to read coverages to figure out the route a particular receiver will run, a staple of the West Coast offense employed by Shanahan and now Jay Gruden in Washington. Shanahan feels Griffin’s lack of familiarity with those concepts has been more problematic for the former No. 2 overall pick than a torn ACL and other injuries that have cost him playing time.
“If you take a QB like that you must run the kind of system that allows them to be successful,” Shanahan said. “I really believe Robert thought he was more of a drop-back quarterback. He hasn’t done things the NFL asks you to do. It does take some growing pains. You better really work on it inside and out.”
Griffin’s most successful season in the NFL came with Shanahan and his son Kyle constructing a version of their offense that included spread concepts the quarterback ran at Baylor. However, the offense shifted to a more traditional approach in 2013, and Griffin made far fewer plays. He ran into the same issue this past season with Gruden at the helm.
Now entering his fourth season, Griffin must prove that he can once again be a transcendent player or else force Washington to move in a different direction. The quarterback is under contract through 2016.
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