Robert Griffin III has taken a lot of criticism over the past week for the way he carried himself after the Washington Redskins lost to the Philadelphia Eagles. Earlier this week, Santana Moss said he would like to see Griffin take more responsibility for himself after RG3 said the Redskins were out-coached and pointed out that his receivers failed to get open. Hall of Fame running back Marshall Faulk has come to Griffin’s defense.
During Thursday night’s NFL Network pregame show, Faulk said he feels RG3 is not getting the help he needs as a quarterback who is only in his second NFL season.
“This bothers me in so many ways,” Faulk said, via DC Sports Bog’s Dan Steinberg. “I mean, listen, you’re in the huddle with the quarterback. And let’s say the quarterback calls the wrong protection. There needs to be someone in that huddle to know, whoawhoawhoa wait wait wait, we can’t run that protection with that play. Someone needs to know that, to help him out.
“We’re treating RGIII as if he’s a seasoned veteran. This is year two. Not to mention, he didn’t play any preseason. And I’m not making excuses for him, but those type of things don’t make it to the media.”
Griffin reportedly called the wrong protection on the final play against the Redskins, which led to pressure from the Eagles’ defense and a brutal interception. Faulk also questioned head coach Mike Shanahan and his son Kyle Shanahan’s play-calling.
“Let’s not forget, RG3 is a franchise quarterback, and he needs to be treated like a franchise quarterback,” Faulk said. “And if that means the plays that are being called are not to his liking? Guess what you do. You call the plays that he likes, because he has to run those plays.
“Let’s just say that that guy’s first name was Kyle, and he didn’t have a last name. He’d be fired.”
My opinion? Everyone is right. There are plenty of things wrong with the Redskins, including but not limited to Griffin’s unwillingness to take responsibility, his slow recovery from a second ACL surgery, and the Shanahans’ stubbornness. The best thing the team can do at this point is stop playing the blame game.
