Robert Lee Griffin III is now with Cleveland
Foolhardy or genius? The Browns signing of RG III may give Cleveland the franchise
quarterback they have been seeking, but there’s a good chance it will prove yet
another mistake.
The franchise never appears to learn any lessons. As the Pittsburgh sports reporter said, look
up “incompetence”
in the dictionary and you will find the Browns logo.
Griffin was an outstanding player, both in college and his
first year as a pro. His performances at Baylor
were good enough to earn him the 2011
Heisman Trophy and impress the Redskins
sufficiently to for the team to trade up to select him in 2012.
He missed a large part of Baylor’s 2009 season with a torn
ACL. On his return after surgery, he led
the Bears to a 7-6 record. The following season’s 10-3 took the team to their
first bowl appearance for seventeen years and earned him the Heisman.
Stanford’s Andrew
Luck had been pencilled in as that year’s Heisman winner before Griffin’s
exploits brought him the honour. He was the nation’s most efficient passer,
throwing for 3,998 yards with 36 touchdowns and only six interceptions. He
added 644 yards rushing with nine more touchdowns.
Griffin decided to forsake his senior college year to enter
the 2012 draft. The Browns general manager Tom Heckerts called Griffin a “special
athlete” and with their overall third pick were favoured to select him
if still available.
But it was the Redskins who made the move, trading up with
the Rams to second spot while
Cleveland took Trent Richardson with
the next selection. Both players have failed to live up to expectations
although Griffin had a spectacular first year in Washington.
He finished that season with a quarterback rating of 102.4
(a record for a rookie) and was the NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year after
turning the franchise around from losers to the NFC West division champions.
Injuries then affected his playing ability and last season he did not play a
snap after falling out of favour with Coach
Gruden.
The Browns have gone through 24 quarterbacks since returning
to the league and while seeking the Holy Grail of a franchise quarterback have
wasted a lot of money and effort. If they had succeeded in their quest, the
cupboard would be bare of supporting players and the same old Browns would
still have a skeleton of a team.
Will it be any different with RG III? Cleveland’s coach Hue Jackson believes it will describing
Griffin as “a tremendous talent and a great man.” With the talented
quarterbacks the other teams in the AFC North enjoy, they won’t lose any sleep
over the signing.
Jackson also raved about Cal quarterback Jared Goff
and indicated the Browns may select a quarterback in the draft with their
second overall pick. Does that indicate an attempt to put more than one wheel
back on the wagon or perhaps the Browns have come up with a cunning plan to
change the course of their history?