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RG3 Development Tracker 2015

Om

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Robert's development or lack thereof is going to play a huge role in determining not just how the Redskins fare on the field in 2015, but what direction the franchise goes at the crucial QB position down the road.

If we can, let's keep an eye out for relevant articles, discussions, signs, signals and other ruminations on his development through the summer, and use this thread to post appropriate links and discuss them in one easy-to-find place.

Saw this from Keim a few minutes ago, and it strikes me as a perfect jumping-off point:

Washington Redskins RG III report: Extending plays during OTA work - NFL Nation - ESPN

It's only June 3, so do not go crazy reading too much into every throw or missed throw. What I try to see now is what he's working on and trying to accomplish. This is not a final grade; consider it a quiz early in the semester.


  • One thing that jumped out is I did see him going through progressions in the red zone on multiple occasions; the hard part to know from our vantage point is whether he should have unloaded the ball or not.


  • When his first read was there, Griffin got rid of the ball quickly. When it wasn't, he tended to hold the ball a little while. It led to a mixture of good and bad plays. Just a guess, but I'm sure the coaches would like to see the ball out quicker. But if he extends and then makes plays? That's OK, too. It's what he can do. The problem last year is that not enough good plays occurred outside the pocket and that must change this season. So it's an area to monitor.


  • One bad play occurred in the red zone when he showed a skill that is useful in this area. The ability to extend a play is vital down here -- it's something they wanted to see more of from Kirk Cousins last year, especially against particular three-man rushes. On this one, Griffin was chased to his right by Trent Murphy and then tried to whip a sidearm pass into the end zone. Bad move. Bashaud Breeland played it well and was running to that area (right at the goal line) and intercepted the ball. Griffin then fell to the ground.


  • Earlier, on a seven-on-seven drill, Griffin connected with running back Chris Thompson over the middle. Griffin did not panic despite Thompson not being his first read; of course without a rush it's easier to stay calm but he's also operating under an internal clock. Griffin gave a little fist pump after this throw.


  • Griffin did a better job than he had in the past of trying to keep the ball alive when he runs. Saw him take off a couple of times and there was a mixture of runs and passes when he did so. But what I liked is that he kept the ball alive; in other words, he did not immediately commit to the run as he often had in the past (sometimes 10 yards behind the line). Quarterbacks should be getting rid of the ball in these drills and not running, but that is part of his game and always will be.


  • Another time in the red zone Griffin looked over the middle, then to the left where he connected with Thompson, who got inside Chris Culliver.


  • Griffin was sacked -- and knocked to the ground -- when the defense ran a little stunt with Trent Murphy and Trevardo Williams. The ball needed to come out quick, but without seeing film of the play it's hard to know if someone was open. I just know he was sacked.


  • A good example of what I was talking about in terms of keeping a play alive: Under pressure, Griffin escaped to his left and rather than take off he set his feet and connected with rookie Evan Spencer over the middle.


  • Now, another time in which he did escape the pocket and probably did what he should have considering the coverage. It occurred during a two-minute drill and the pressure forced him to the left. With the defense in man coverage, a quarterback with good wheels can take advantage and Griffin did, sprinting 20 or so yards to the 30-yard line where he slid (not the prettiest, but he got down). Three years ago he would have tried to get a few more yards.
 
Sounds like a good set of practices. He has things he needs to work on and things he excels at.

Great breakdown as well.
 
I know one thing. He has looked great at practices. But practice doesn't tell you anything. A football guy down on the field will know something. A journalist spectator doesn't know. He needs more pre-season game experience imho. that's when we'll get an inkling whether he "gets it or not". But I for one am sick and tired of the Redskins being wholly unprepared for the regular season when it starts. We need to start fast and to do that, Robert has to have as many plays as possible.

I see Jeff Bostic say last night, "its time for Robert to put up or shut up". The NFL Network saying its a "make or break year" for Robert.

the whole NFL world is watching. If he thinks there is no pressure and its business as usual, then its 2014 all over again.
 
As minicamp begins ...

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs...ot-of-robert-griffin-iii/?tid=pm_sports_pop_b
Even though there’s mistakes here and there in the OTAs, does RGIII look like he knows the whole offense/playbook and knows what he’s doing from your observations?

Griffin definitely appears to know the offense. That’s never been an issue, even his rookie season, and his first year with Jay Gruden. The problem has been Griffin’s internal clock, in-game recognition when everything’s happening at high speed, and his confidence. Griffin is working to get better at scanning the field at a faster pace, and making up his mind to pull up the trigger without hesitation. He needs see everything while taking his three- and five-step drops, make up his mind and then get rid of the ball right away. If he holds onto the ball, questions himself, worries about making a mistake and in turn paralyzes himself, then he’ll never make it. It’s still early, but he has at times seemed to settle into good rhythms and get the ball out of his hands quickly. But then there have been other times where he hesitates and hurts the offense. We’ll see how things go this week during minicamp, and at training camp. Hopefully, for Griffin and the Redskins’ sake, by the preseason, when opponents are coming after him, Griffin’s timing and decision making will have improved.


Your co-worker Jason Reid says Jay and some staff members don’t believe in Griffin. Assuming that is true, do you think Griffin can succeed without belief from the head coach and other members of the coaching staff? If Jay doesn’t believe in Griffin then isn’t this whole show of support a sham?

First, while J. Reid is still my buddy, he’s not my co-worker anymore. He moved from The Post to ESPN back in March. But, it’s true that Gruden has had his doubts about Griffin’s capabilities.

However, since McCloughan has arrived, and the two have studied film, talked for hours on end about the quarterback position and the roster as a whole, the two are in agreement that they needed to do more to position Griffin for success. That’s why they brought in a quarterbacks coach, hired a new offensive line coach, drafted to improve the offensive line and made moves in free agency to improve the defense, so Griffin and the offense have better support. Now, they’re trying to position Griffin for a rebound year.

Does that mean that Gruden is completely sold on Griffin? Not entirely. Regardless of the quarterback, those areas needed to be addressed. But Griffin does indeed get another chance. How long of a chance? Hard to say. I expect a rather short leash, especially because of the risk of injury, and the fifth-year option becoming fully guaranteed. Can Griffin succeed if Gruden doesn’t really believe in him? It will be difficult, but it’s not impossible. Gruden doesn’t have a problem with Griffin to the point where he doesn’t want to see him succeed. He’d like to be proven wrong. But, if his confidence in the quarterback is shaky at best, he’ll be far less inclined to give second or third chances this season.
 
Practice Notes: 2015 Minicamp, Day 1

- Robert Griffin III showed his progression in Gruden’s offense on a couple specific plays. On the first play, with time to throw, he stayed in the pocket and scanned his options, eventually delivering a strike to Pierre Garçon across the middle for a nifty 15-yard gain. Then, a few moments later – during the 7-on-7 period – Griffin III showed off his accuracy on a well-placed ball to DeSean Jackson along the far sideline, a pass just out of the reach of cornerback Chris Culliver.

Press Release: #Redskins Head Coach Jay Gruden Quotes

On quarterback Robert Griffin III’s progress:

“Every day he is doing something a little bit better, and that’s all we can ask, man. We’re just taking baby steps right now. We’re all getting better together. You can see that I’m starting to have confidence in the pocket and going through his progressions. That’s got to be a consistent theme with him, and not always is that possible with the pocket the way it is, but for the most part, he’s coming along at a good rate right now. He’s doing a great job of exhausting all of his progressions, playing the quarterback position with good fundamentals and getting better, that’s all we can do.”

On if Griffin has a higher level of confidence in his second year in the system:

“I hope so. You know, that comes. He’s got to continue to just play the position, and the more he plays, the more success he has, the more confidence he’s going to build as a player and the more confidence this whole offense is going to be with him under center. That comes with reps and that comes with time. I don’t think anybody lacks confidence with him as a quarterback. I think the transition for him into a new system last season was a little bit rocky for all of us. But when you have the same system going in for Year 2, I think he’s going to get better. You can see the progress every day that he makes and it’s exciting to watch – it really is – with all three quarterbacks, actually. Robert especially is doing an excellent job every day. He’s not perfect, nobody is. I’m not perfect. But he is really striving to be perfect and he’s doing a great job of working.”

On if he can get a feel for Griffin's pocket presence in practice:

"It's something that is hard to tell when you're not getting tackled and you have a yellow jersey on. But that again, just his feet in the pocket, [Quarterbacks] Coach Cavanaugh and [Offensive Coordinator Sean] McVay and myself, we’re always talking about the feet and the footwork and getting the good base and all that good stuff. But the pocket presence – when they're live in the preseason will tell a lot, but I feel good about where he is going. The big thing is: We're trying to get the ball out of his hands. Let him get the ball to our playmakers. We've got some playmakers on offense. If he can anticipate some throws, get the ball out of his hands, his footwork sound, I think everything will be fine with him."



On how he analyzes what is a good decision for Griffin:

"Yeah, every situation is different for the quarterback. There’s some plays where they scramble out of the pocket and you would say he should have stayed in the pocket. For the most of the part, it's playing the position, and doing what he feels is natural and a lot of those things you can't coach. He's a very gifted quarterback – we know that. I'm not going to criticize him forever for aborting a play and getting out of the pocket and trying to make a big play. The big thing is we're just trying to work on: Here're the fundamentals, here's these fundamental plays that match these concepts. Let's learn from there. But once the pocket breaks down, Robert's going to be Robert and do the best he can to make the play work."
 
"Baby steps" has hit the social media shit fan and everyone is thinking those 2 words mean gruden doesn't like or think he can figure it out so they've had to slow everything down for him.

I hate people sometimes lol
 
Gruden's comments about Griffin today are probably the most positive I've seen from him since very early on. Anyone reading into a phrase or two just has an agenda.
 
Thanks for summing it all up here. I'll refrain from social media on this topic. ;)
 
Idk sounds like Bob is showing well so far.

Free Serv!
 
Meh.

Gruden doesn't like RG3, and Keim doesn't like RG3.

"Baby steps" in describing a three year veteran is patronizing. Gruden should just say he's seeing progress and likes what he sees...period.

At first, in contrast to the Shanny sealed lips, I looked at Gruden's style as refreshing when discussing players, but now it looks like a character flaw...covering for his own deficiencies.

Which has also become apparent to me. RGIII may take a huge leap forward this year or wind up being cut before his 2016 option even applies. No one knows yet. We do know Gruden just plain doesn't like him, regardless. Neither does Keim. Keim has a kindred spirit in Gruden and will use it to his own advantage. Gruden needs to realize that he is also on the hotseat and that McLovin will be analyzing him even more than any player on the field.

Rookie HC or not last year, his team devolved during the season and had zero discipline. Whether the players continue to tune him out remains to be seen, but his ego certainly isn't deserving of the crap show he has coached. Limited on talent, but you don't need talent to be disciplined.

Nick
 
Aww shaddup tr1. The discussion was around social media seizing on a single phrase and going off in ridiculous directions as to it's implications. No intelligent adult can read Gruden's comments as anything other than positive. Whether Gruden likes Griffin or wishes he had other QB options wasn't the topic.

And to be fair, Griffin is still a young QB, without question one who had his growth stunted by a bad injury he probably should have rehabbed for another 6 months (not to mention a dysfunctional head coach). He's had a single season in a new offense so, yeah, there are some baby steps being made. I've cooled on my RG3 enthusiasm, and I don't give him a free pass on his poor play. But that doesn't give me the right to twist facts and words to suit my world view.
 
I'm not sure what "baby steps" meant either. I suspect it has something to do with grasping Gruden's playbook rather than techniques.

I have yet to read or hear what those specific concerns Gruden had that caused him to bench Griffin. Whatever they were, it will be those concerns that Griffin must overcome for him to keep his job. I don't think Jay is going to announce those and hold them up as some threshhold for Griffin to maintain. But I'm sure he has made it top priority for his QB coach and OC to see that they get him "up to speed"
 
Considering last year Gruden didn't even have a QB Coach, which is a staple of the other 31 teams...

Nick
 
Meh.

Gruden doesn't like RG3, and Keim doesn't like RG3.

"Baby steps" in describing a three year veteran is patronizing. Gruden should just say he's seeing progress and likes what he sees...period.

It is not patronizing when talking about a guy who has all of two years in a pro style offense (no, I don't count year 1) and didn't even have a playbook in college.
 
Well, we got through OTA's and minicamp, and Robert is

1) uninjured
2) dialing back the social media, and
3) universally being credited with tangible progress

I'd say all in all that's a win.
 
He also was able to slide by a couple of "grenade questions" about if he had heard what Gruden said about him during OTAs. He said something like "you just try not to listen to anyone so you can focus on what you're doing. I believe Coach Gruden and I are on the same page" or something to that effect that shut it down immediately.

When are people going to realize coming in that DC is a ****ing lightning rod for controversy and sound bites?
 
From the team dot com, sounds like his footwork might be a little more unique than the average joe so comments by 'insiders' in this regard might be taken with a grain or two. If he gets the ball to the open guy on time.... I don't care what his feet look like.

Specifically, Griffin III has been working with Cavanaugh on his base and finishing off his throwing motion.

“My base might not be the same as everyone else’s, but once I find that, and I have found it, I know what I have to do to throw the ball consistently and be consistently accurate,” Griffin III said. “That’s what we’ve talked about and I feel like I’ve made big progress in those areas. Not everybody can make the off-balance throws but you’ve got to make your lay-ups – that’s what we say.”
 
He also was able to slide by a couple of "grenade questions" about if he had heard what Gruden said about him during OTAs.

Yeah, but when he slid he looked really awkward.
 

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