We have all heard the old saying “Fortune favors the bold”.
Well, if there is one word we can use to describe the move made by Mike Shanahan, Bruce Allen, Dan Synder and the whole Washington Redskins franchise yesterday it is “bold”.
Oh sure, there are a lot of other things it could and has been called in the last few hours. Things like “too much”, “desperate” and “a huge mistake”. But those who use those descriptors admit, at least most of them, that this move was bold.
And bold was called for. Perhaps past called for.
We all know the facts of the past but for those viewers who might just be tuning in, we will do a quick review. Our Skins have had an absurd number of men play the most important position in sports over the last two decades.
20 different men have started under center in the Burgundy and Gold since Mark Rypien last suited up in Washington in 1993.
26 different ones since Joey T was carted from the field on a shocking Monday night in 1985.
30 different men have been “The Man” in Washington since 1974 when Sonny Jurgensen, arguably the last true franchise QB to play for the Skins, walked off the field for the last time.
That is a very long time to go without.
Oh sure, there were some damn good moments in there and some damn fine Quarterbacks. Kilmer, Theismann, Williams and Rypien all provided us with a lot of great memories. All captained the team to the greatest single spectacle in all of sports, coming away with 3 Lombardis between them.
But the Redskins have looked more the Jews wondering in the desert for the last 2 decades than those teams of the 70s and 80s when it comes to play from the signal caller.
However, this bold move could change all that. At the very least, it offers honest, legitimate hope.
The assumption of this writer is that with this move we just secured the services of one Robert Griffin III as quarterback of the Redskins until sometime around the point I want to retire.
I know there are doubts about this young man and he could fail. I won’t sugar coat that. It is very possible. The history of the NFL is littered with can’t miss prospects who did just that.
But I don’t think that will happen here.
You see, this young man has something that the Leafs and Russells didn’t come into the NFL with…character. He shows just the right amounts of swagger and humility. The best combination of “teach me” and “I got this”. Not to mention that all important “IT” factor that Boone so often talks about.
Discuss Griffin with any serious Baylor fan and they will tell you that with him in the game they never really felt like they were out of any game. When was the last you felt like that with a Redskins QB? Shoot, when was the last you felt like the other team was ever really out of it playing against a Redskins QB?
Go ahead, think about it. I’ll wait.
Yeah, that’s what I thought. I can’t remember the last time either. Maybe Brad Johnson but then he was overshadowed by that whole Norvitus factor so it has probably been longer.
So with all that as a backdrop, I don’t see how anyone can say this move was “too much”. It’s a swap of 1st round picks this year so that is a wash. It is giving up 2 first round picks in each of the next two years, something I think a lot of folks were willing to do. The 2nd this year seems to be what hurts the most but the Rams had to pick up something valuable in this year’s draft, especially if they are moving down this far and seriously risking losing on both Blackman and Kalil.
We still have 7 picks in this draft and will likely pick up a compensatory pick for 'Los which should be in the 3rd or 4th rounds.
Injuries last year proved this roster is deeper than any of us thought and I have been very vocal about how this team would have contended this last year if only it had gotten some great play from the Quarterback position. This move is designed to give this team that great play.
The Redskins have been bold. Now all we can do is hope that fortune gets the memo and does it’s part.
Well, if there is one word we can use to describe the move made by Mike Shanahan, Bruce Allen, Dan Synder and the whole Washington Redskins franchise yesterday it is “bold”.
Oh sure, there are a lot of other things it could and has been called in the last few hours. Things like “too much”, “desperate” and “a huge mistake”. But those who use those descriptors admit, at least most of them, that this move was bold.
And bold was called for. Perhaps past called for.
We all know the facts of the past but for those viewers who might just be tuning in, we will do a quick review. Our Skins have had an absurd number of men play the most important position in sports over the last two decades.
20 different men have started under center in the Burgundy and Gold since Mark Rypien last suited up in Washington in 1993.
26 different ones since Joey T was carted from the field on a shocking Monday night in 1985.
30 different men have been “The Man” in Washington since 1974 when Sonny Jurgensen, arguably the last true franchise QB to play for the Skins, walked off the field for the last time.
That is a very long time to go without.
Oh sure, there were some damn good moments in there and some damn fine Quarterbacks. Kilmer, Theismann, Williams and Rypien all provided us with a lot of great memories. All captained the team to the greatest single spectacle in all of sports, coming away with 3 Lombardis between them.
But the Redskins have looked more the Jews wondering in the desert for the last 2 decades than those teams of the 70s and 80s when it comes to play from the signal caller.
However, this bold move could change all that. At the very least, it offers honest, legitimate hope.
The assumption of this writer is that with this move we just secured the services of one Robert Griffin III as quarterback of the Redskins until sometime around the point I want to retire.
I know there are doubts about this young man and he could fail. I won’t sugar coat that. It is very possible. The history of the NFL is littered with can’t miss prospects who did just that.
But I don’t think that will happen here.
You see, this young man has something that the Leafs and Russells didn’t come into the NFL with…character. He shows just the right amounts of swagger and humility. The best combination of “teach me” and “I got this”. Not to mention that all important “IT” factor that Boone so often talks about.
Discuss Griffin with any serious Baylor fan and they will tell you that with him in the game they never really felt like they were out of any game. When was the last you felt like that with a Redskins QB? Shoot, when was the last you felt like the other team was ever really out of it playing against a Redskins QB?
Go ahead, think about it. I’ll wait.
Yeah, that’s what I thought. I can’t remember the last time either. Maybe Brad Johnson but then he was overshadowed by that whole Norvitus factor so it has probably been longer.
So with all that as a backdrop, I don’t see how anyone can say this move was “too much”. It’s a swap of 1st round picks this year so that is a wash. It is giving up 2 first round picks in each of the next two years, something I think a lot of folks were willing to do. The 2nd this year seems to be what hurts the most but the Rams had to pick up something valuable in this year’s draft, especially if they are moving down this far and seriously risking losing on both Blackman and Kalil.
We still have 7 picks in this draft and will likely pick up a compensatory pick for 'Los which should be in the 3rd or 4th rounds.
Injuries last year proved this roster is deeper than any of us thought and I have been very vocal about how this team would have contended this last year if only it had gotten some great play from the Quarterback position. This move is designed to give this team that great play.
The Redskins have been bold. Now all we can do is hope that fortune gets the memo and does it’s part.