The Washington Redskins are going through an interesting time with blame going around to quarterback Robert Griffin III and head coach Mike Shanahan after a recent skid and when that happens, reporters start to circle like vultures and that is why a story came out about how Shanahan wanted to possibly sit tight when the team traded up to take RG3, to take quarterback Ryan Tannehill instead.
According to Pro Football Talk, Mike Florio wrote about a story about a tweet that was mentioned on the radio about Shanahan wanting to stay in the original number six spot in the draft to take Ryan Tannehill instead of trading up to take Griffin. Shanahan and Griffin are often portrayed as having an icy relationship and with the way things are going now, that's likely why a story like this comes out. The team traded up to the number two spot in the draft to take Griffin by sending the Rams a second round pick, two future first round picks and they swapped spots in the draft from number six to number two and while that is a big package, last season showed that it was likely worth it.
The report from PFT says that Shanahan wanted to stay at the six spot to take Tannehill, likely thinking that giving up that many draft picks was too much for one player. While this doesn't mean all that much, since teams always think through every possibility, it makes the selection of Kirk Cousins in the draft in the fourth round more interesting. Florio speculates that he may have been some insurance for the skeptical Shanahan, but either way, it''s another wrinkle into all of this. The Redskins pulled out of a tough 3-6 hole last season with seven straight wins, but this year the team is in last place in the NFC East and criticism is mounting for quarterback Robert Griffin III and head coach Mike Shanahan and based on how RG3 has played, will Shanahan be fired before next season?
That question will likely be answered with how the Redskins finish the season, but so far things have not been good and now the team is behind the Giants, who started off the year 0-6 and now are very hot after winning four straight games. The teams will play twice in the back stretch of the season and the latest issues for the Redskins come after a loss to the Philadelphia Eagles and are after Griffin made a terrible play that clinched the game, throwing an interception on a deep ball in the end zone that he said he was trying to throw away.
According to ESPN.com, Santana Moss hit the radio and threw some criticism at Griffin, saying that RG3 needs to take the blame and responsibility more often, something that has been said in the past numerous times. Moss said that he should take blame even if it wasn't his fault because he is the franchise quarterback and he has a point, as Griffin pointed fingers at everything but himself after tossing the terrible throw. He blamed the play calling, coaching staff, defense for trying to sack him and while he said he was trying to throw the ball out of the endzone and it didn't go where he wanted, he still didn't take blame. Griffin has some attitude issues and this is nothing new.
This is not a new issue for Griffin, but one that has been sort of pushed back and ignored by many fans and the media after the great season in 2012. Griffin has always had this sort of "attitude" about himself and it can be heard often when he is speaking in press conferences and to the media and it's hard to put an exact word on it about what he says and how he says it, but it's there. I apologize that I can't describe it how I would like, and don't get me wrong, I think Griffin is a great player, but there has always been an element missing - maybe it's leadership, maybe it's about taking blame - but there' always been an air of (I don't want to say entitlement) but something that makes Griffin not look so great and clearly now it's starting to build up.
Griffin and Shanahan have never been the best of friends and Moss highlights a good point in the fact that Griffin NEVER comes out to say that things were on him. As argued on PTI on Tuesday, it doesn't matter what a quarterback does or whose fault it was, being a leader and ebbing a QB in the NFL means taking the blame even when it's not your fault.
The Redskins had a great run last season and many wanted to anoint them Super Bowl champions this season without any thought, but clearly that has not worked out. The team plays San Francisco on Monday night football this weekend and that is a huge and must win game for the team.