When the post-mortem is written on the 2013 Redskins, seems to me the play of the quarterback should be nowhere near the top of the list.
1. Defense. All of it--DL, LB, S, coaching--is simply not up to NFL standards.
2. Special Teams. As ineffective an NFL unit as I can recall.
3. Offensive LINE. Run blocking is solid. Pass blocking is not up to NFL standards.
4. Coaching. Hazlett continue to prove he is not a viable NFL defensive coordinator. History does not lie, nor does his record. Mike Shanahan has failed to raise the overall professionalism to a level that a coach of his experience and stature should have this group four years in. His team still commits too many crippling, brain-dead penalties, mental mistakes, etc. Kyle Shanahan is still raw and inconsistent, but of the three is the least of my worries. Give him a competent pass blocking line for a season or two, and a QB with a chance to grow into an NFL passing scheme, and then we'll judge.
5. Cap hit. This aspect will fade into the fog of war over time, and people will not give it due consideration when judging the 2013 team. But it is a HUGE factor. Wins and losses in the NFL are dictated by a handful of plays a game. By a couple of matchups. Two straight years of inability to meaningfully upgrade at their weakest positions cost the Redskins dearly. And that won't magically cure itself next year, either. The two lost years could take several offseasons to "correct." Many will diminish the impact, now and then. I will not.
6. Robert Griffin III. The injury, physically and terms of the offseason it effectively cost him, was incalculably damaging to his performance in 2013. Add to that the rest of the NFL spending an offseason scheming to force him to try to excel at the things he is not yet adept at, including, most damagingly, learning how to operate smoothly within an NFL level passing offense. Baylor did not prepare him for that. Last season did not prepare him for that--the team ran pistol and read option to allow him to compete while learning. That learning curve was halted, completely, due to the injury. This year he's trying to learn on the fly, while trying to get himself physically right and get his legs back, and also trying to drive the length of the field, over and over, with the pressure of having to score on just about every possession due to awful special teams a defense that simply cannot get off the field.
The QB is not without fault. He needs to see the field better and throw on rhythm. He needs to make sound decisions under fire about protecting himself and the football. We won't know what the future holds for him in those areas for at least another season or two.
Meantime, even with all of the above conspiring against him, he has managed to QB a competetive offense that, with even competent defense and special teams, would almost certainly have the 2013 Redskins in the thick of the playoff hunt, with as good a chance to 'catch fire' at the right time and make a January run as anyone.
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