I have no idea what Donovan McNabb is talking about when he says quarterback Robert Griffin III isn't suited for the Washington Redskins and coach Mike Shanahan's offense. How can a player as talented as Griffin not excel in Shanahan's offense, or in any offense for that matter? Griffin has a unique NFL skill set, which is well-rounded and adaptable to any scheme.
Is McNabb just bitter about his time in D.C.? He has to know that offenses are tailored to quarterbacks, not the other way around.
When McNabb first started with the Philadelphia Eagles in 1999, his skill set wasn't suited for the West Coast offense. McNabb lacked accuracy, timing and quick decision making, and in his first season he completed less than 50 percent of his passes. As Eagles coach Andy Reid learned more about what talents McNabb possessed as a quarterback, he then highlighted those talents, and McNabb quickly improved. It was not until his sixth season that McNabb was able to achieve a passer rating above 100 and eclipse 60 percent of his completions.
There was a long trial-and-error period for McNabb, and once Reid focused on the strengths of McNabb's game, and not trying to fit the system to the player, McNabb became much better. Even though many in Philadelphia claimed the Eagles were running the West Coast offense, in reality they were running the McNabb version of the West Coast, not the pure West Coast. Just because a team runs Y stick or X drive -- both core plays in the West Coast system -- doesn't make it a pure West Coast offense.
So when McNabb makes a ridiculous statement that Griffin can't function in Shanahan's offense, McNabb should know that the skill set of the player shapes the offense. The West Coast offense that he ran in Philadelphia was different than the Joe Montana version in San Francisco. McNabb and Montana clearly had different skills sets, different talents, therefore their coaches made the right adjustments to fit the offense around their individual games -- just like Shanahan will do in Washington with Griffin.
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