OF: RG3 Unspectacular But On Schedule in Preseason Opener

Week 1 of the preseason is less about analysis than it is celebrating The Return of NFL Football. It is for reveling in the moment. It's about seeing your favorite team hit the field for the first time in a seeming eternity. As long as no key player goes down with serious injury, the preseason opener is largely ceremonial.

But now that the initial breathless"here we go" moment has passed, and we have seen with our own wondering eyes young QB Robert Griffin III, in a Redskins uniform, in live action, for the first time, it's time to take a deep breath and begin to narrow our focus.

In that spirit, here are some semi-serious (it is still preseason) thoughts after the warm fuzzies have faded from week one...


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I couldn't agree more. I felt RGIII did all the small, simple, basic things that I look for in an NFL quarterback. No more, no less. I was glad the coaches kept it very simple to start, and even more grateful when they pulled him from the game. I was calling for that as soon as he threw the TD.

Grossman came in and did all the things I look for an NFL quarterback NOT to do. I can't say it was all his fault, given the backups and all that, but it illustrated to me just how fundamentally sound Griffin is. RGIII's passes all hit the receivers in stride.....Grossman's made the receiver's reach back or jump up to catch them. This small nuance is often the difference between a short gain and a long gain. I've been screaming for an accurate QB for so long now that it melts my heart to see one in burgundy and gold.

Let's see what we get in Chicago........hopefully more of the same. I'm not looking for anything spectacular until the regular season. Let's just let him get up to speed right now.

Om, I pretty much think you're spot with one possible minor difference in perspective on my part. I went into the game fully prepared to forgive some rookie gaffe, some misstep, at least one errant throw, the kind of thing one would normally expect from even rookie QBs considered as talented-above-the-norm in their first "firing line" exposure to another NFL team but Robert raised my eyebrows a bit by looking like he'd been playing for, oh, say a quarter of a season or so at least, already in his confidence and somewhat surprising level of consistency. (I'm accepting Royster's admission of blame for the botched hand-off, BTW, so sue me.)

I'm of course not expecting miracles or a mistake-free season on his part by any means, but it still was encouraging to see Griff display the level of competence he did in his first preseason game-better I wager than most rook QBs do in their first one-even the really good ones. I am a bit more hopeful about the Redskins future than I was-not embarrassingly optimistic-but definitely more hopeful if only by a small increment.

LoyalSkinsFan said:

RGIII's passes all hit the receivers in stride.....

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Gotta say I disagree with this - I found Griff's accuracy to be not as pinpoint as its been described, and as I've seen in his college days.

I think things might feel different today had the Bills not shown weakside pressure on the play RG3 ended up changing at the line. Who knows what we'd be talking about if he'd executed his first rollout?

What that does tell me is that coach might not have gone into the game quite as intent on keeping it simple...things might just have played out that way.

For week one, I just wanted to get a taste. Get the butterflies out. NOT see anything that made me say "oh ****." I got that. And truth be told, maybe w/o all the crazy expectations, I would be more in line with serv's take...which I totally understand btw. It WAS pretty sweet to watch him run three series w/o a single blip.

This Saturday in Chicago I expect we're going to see a good deal more, both in terms of "off schedule" plays AND---because you know it's coming at some point---the first "oh ****" play(s) that will have the internet buzzing.

I'm so glad football is back.

I definitely had a different perspective...

While his talent level was undeniable, RG3's readiness to play at the pro level was always deemed suspect. Andrew Luck? He was supposed to be the "pro ready" QB, the guy who would immediately look comfortable and poised behind center...not Bob lol...

Remember, Griffin was a "running QB" from a "spread offense" who "didn't have a playbook", didn't really use progressions, and played against crappy defenses in whatever college division he played in, rarely played from behind center, etc, etc. Lots of reminders floated around about how the speed and chaos of the NFL was gonna take him some time to adjust to...warning Skins fans to not read too much into Griffin looking rattled, shaky or uncertain...he'll eventually get to that point where the game slows down, where he'll be able to go through his progressions, where he'll look calm and composed in the pocket instead of relying on his speed and running at the drop of a hat. "He'll get there" we were all told ad nauseum.

So I was more than pleasantly surprised to see that he's starting off there lol ...

The only thing his performance lacked were "Wow" moments. But we don't need that in the 1st preseason game to be impressed.

As Om mentioned, the incomplete pass to Paul was impressive for all the reasons mentioned...I loved his other incomplete pass to Garcon, that was close to a perfect throw. His poise was impressive, he almost looked bored lol...his progression reads were nice to see as well...Keim timed RG3's performance and said he went through his 4 reads in 2.5 seconds. For a guy who was supposed to work UP to the point where he could adequately go through progressions at all, that says a crapload. I loved that he made the Bills jump offside with his count--something he had been causing our own defensive players do to during camp.

I loved that he recognized the coverage and realized Garcon would cut his route short and turn inside, and delivered the pass on time and (mostly) on target. I loved seeing RG3 already having chemistry with his #1 WR...I loved hearing that the Bills players were so worried about RG3 taking off that it effected their gap control...I loved seeing Bills defenders hesitating slightly before pursuing down the line after a RB because they wanted to make sure ol' Bob didn't still have the ball--and then see them NOT hesitating when Rex was behind center...

I love that not a single throw was off target...no overthrowing a guy on the sideline, no pretzel-twisting movements from WRs to catch balls thrown behind them...no hoppers or near-picks--all of which we were told to prepare for and not commit suicide over.

And I loved that the game in no way, shape or form looked "too big" for him.

None of the stuff I was told would happen, happened...almost all of the stuff I was told RG3 would eventually show down the road, he showed in game one.

We didn't need "wow" moments...we didn't need pin-point accuracy in tight windows...we didn't need three consecutive scores on his first three drives of the preseason. We just needed to see proof that he could handle the position...because he has the talent.

Like the post, Cali. No real disagreement either ... just a sample size thing mostly. That and the fact he wasn't pushed. And he will be. When I seem him deal with that as deftly as he dealt with the opening appetizer, believe me, I'll have no problem joining you usin' the L word.

The other thing I loved about the game: after watching RG3 against the Bills, Hugh Douglass from the Eagles came down to training camp because he had to see RG3 in person lol...

Om said:

Like the post, Cali. No real disagreement either ... just a sample size thing mostly. That and the fact he wasn't pushed. And he will be. When I seem him deal with that as deftly as he dealt with the opening appetizer, believe me, I'll have no problem joining you usin' the L word.

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I actually expect RG3 and the offense as a whole to look "meh" against the Bears...seems more times than not, whenever we have anything good happen with the 1st team offense in the first preseason game, the 2nd preseason game the Skins look more like dog poop lol...

Lanky Livingston said:

Gotta say I disagree with this - I found Griff's accuracy to be not as pinpoint as its been described, and as I've seen in his college days.

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Fair enough.....to be honest, I never went back and re-watched his throws to back up my statement. I'll adjust - It appeared to me that his throws were pretty much on target and at the VERY least made Grossman's throws all that more glaring. To me.

LoyalSkinsFan said:

Fair enough.....to be honest, I never went back and re-watched his throws to back up my statement. I'll adjust - It appeared to me that his throws were pretty much on target and at the VERY least made Grossman's throws all that more glaring. To me.

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Well, at least they went to the guys in Redskins jerseys...can't say that for the other two!
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I mentioned this in another thread, but I'll say it again.

I was as impressed with him drawing the defense off sides with a hard count, as I was with anything else. Maybe my Sometimer's is getting worse, but I just don't recall many rookies, in their 1st NFL action, preseason or not, having the where-with-all to think about it. And, even if it was called from the sidelines, it still showed how quick the kid seems to be picking things up, and the confidence coaches have in him.

Don't get me wrong - I was impressed with Bob's performance. For a guy seeing his first "NFL" action, he was remarkably poised, went through his progressions rapidly, seemed to understand the offense and also the general flow of the game, and had "it" - you know, the thing you can't really define, but you can instantly tell if someone has it? For instance - Rex Grossman, does NOT have it.

I just thought his passes were a little off is all - but that is something that will get better the more he runs the offense.

I agree OM. The sample size is too small. It's not a fair comparison yet......but RG3 looked very capable. Luck was jaw-dropping.

Ax,

Good point on the offsides draw ... I overlooked that one when writing the piece. Carrying that thought forward, one can begin to imagine how a QB with RG3's skill set could set a defense on edge enough to create all kinds of pre-snap problems.