RG3 rated poorly by Jaworski

The Experts are down on Griffin going into the 2014 season 

(via profootballtalk.com)

The DC Sports Bog talks about Ron Jaworski ranking Griffin as the 21st quarterback and last in the NFC East.    Jaworski even says that Griffin's mechanics have regressed from his rookie season.

But clearly he’s got to learn to play from the pocket. His mechanics have regressed, by the way. They have regressed in the fundamental way of throwing the football: his throwing slot, his footwork, his inability to remain consistent in that. When you and I talk all the time, the word that comes up a lot in my mind is consistency. And we see a lot of players in this league, they make great throws. They can make a great play. But you have to do it on a consistent basis. That’s what separates the great players from the guys that have short careers.”

While RG3 had an awful sophomore campaign, it will be interesting to see Griffin can answer his critics.  It is still too early to assume that Griffin is a below average QB.  He is no longer wearing his brace and he is learning a new offense.  If Griffin hasn't been working on his mechanics this offseason, then the priorities of Washington's front office are messed up.   

Washington Redskins Predictions for the 2014 Season

Here are my season predictions for the Washington Redskins.


Week 1 - @Houston Texans

Griffin enthusiastically accepts coaching from Kyle Shanahan

(via @cbssports)

The Washington Redskins open the season against the only team that picked higher than Washington's second overall pick that went to the Rams.  The Texans add Jadeon Clowney with the #1 overall pick which should improve their pass rush with JJ Watt.  The Texans say goodbye to Matt Schaub but don't get much of an upgrade, if any, with Ryan Fitzpatrick.

Washington and Houston are in similar boats in that they are shifting away from a Shanahan style offense.  Gary Kubiak was an assistant under Mike Shanahan and Kyle Shanahan was an offensive coordinator under Kubiak.  The Redskins in the meantime hired Jay Gruden, best known as being the brother as Jon Gruden, while the Texans snagged Bill O'Brian from the college ranks.

This is a tough prediction not only because of the new coaching staffs but also the guys returning from injury riddled seasons on both sides.  RG3 sat out the best couple of games of the regular season, while Andre Johnson and Arian Foster missed much of the 2013 regular season with their own injuries.

I predict that the Redskins will win this game.  I don't really fear Fitzpatrick although Deandre Hopkins and Andre Johnson could test the Redskins secondary which was bad much of the year.  Of course, things could get out of hand for Washington if they commit turnovers which is entirely possible since Griffin is struggling to learn the offense.

Week 2 - Jacksonville Jaguars

Things have been so bad in Jacksonville that they 

were actually praying for Tebow

(via http://gamedayr.com/)

The Jaguars like the Redskins stuggled last season.  They have a promising quarterback in Blake Bortles but all indications have him sitting out this one.  The Jaguars lose Maurice Jones Drew, known best for being a fantasy stud, and add Toby Gerhart, best known for being a fantasy handcuff to Adrian Peterson.

Washington should win this game since it is at home.


Week 3 - @Philadelphia

Expect to see Jackson's Gameday face for this one

Desean Jackson should be motivated to perform in this one as he faces his former team.  Last time the Reskins played the Eagles close and only giving up 24 points.  It was their offense that failed them which only managed to score its 16 points after being down 24-0.

The Redskins will probably lose this one since it is at Philadelphia.  But I wouldn't discount the possibility of Desean Jackson getting his revenge in front of a Philly crowd.

Week 4 - New York Giants

  Washington lost the last meeting due to the wrong end of a controversy.  The Redskins also managed to give up a 14-0 lead.  And Pierre Garcon fumbled on the last play sealing the Redskins fate.

Eli Manning also had his QB woes last season where he only completed 57.5% of his passes, had 18 touchdowns to 27 interceptions and also coughed up 7 fumbles.  A lot of hits can be attributed to his offensive line, lack of a running game, and even his receivers like Hakeem Nicks, who is now on the St. Louis Rams had an injury riddled season.

This affair is a Thursday night game.  Last season, home and away teams each had 7 wins among the 14 Thursday games.   Then again, who knows this could happen even if the Redskins manage to outplay the Giants



I will take the Redskins but not by much.

Week 5- Seattle

The Wilson vs RG3 rivalry has been rather one sided

(via Seahawks.com)

Washington's first matchup against the Seahawks since their postseason matchup back in 2012.  How the fortunes have changed for the two teams.  At one point, Washington was beating Seattle 14-0.  Then after Seattle found its groove and Seattle finished off a Super Bowl run the following season.

For now we can look forward to Richard Sherman and Trent Williams reunion.



At least Washington isn't playing Seattle on the road where they are nearly unbeatable with their 12th man crowd.  Still, it wasn't that much easier to beat Seattle.  Washington failed to do so in 2012 and Seattle also locked in a 6-2 record on the road with their only losses being to the 49ers by 2 points and to the Colts by 6 points.  Both comebacks came in the final drive by Colin Kaepernick and Andrew Luck.   Meaning a lot of things have to go right for the Redskins, their defense has to keep the Redskins in the game, RG3 has to limit mistakes, and then the Redskins could come up on top if RG3 is clutch.

Seattle is favored as the Super Bowl Champs and should be unless they are diagnosed with a super bowl hangover.  Although the Redskins come into this game with a bye so it could potentially be a close game.

Week 7 - @ Arizona

Larry Fitzgerald vs Deangelo Hall will be a key matchup (via SFGate)

The Arizona Cardinal are certainly a playoff caliber team.  If they were in the NFC East, they may be the division favorite.  The problem is that their division includes two of the NFC powerhouses and two of the potential super bowl contenders with the Seahawks and the 49ers.

I will take the Cardinals.  Their defense is tough and stingy.

Week 8- Tennessee Titans

The Titans are coached by Whisenhunt who lead the Arizona Cardinals to the Super Bowl with Kurt Warner, Larry Fitzgerald, and Anquan Boldin.  The Titans could be a work in progress with a young Jake Locker and the Titans also took Zach Mettenberg in the 6th round.  The Titans offense could be slightly better but the Redskins are at home and have a good chance at a victory here.

Week 8 - @Dallas Cowboys

Griffin and Romo will meet again (via Washington Post)

The Dallas Cowboys are $800 million more valuable than the Washington Redskins according to Forbes.  Whether that plays out as much on the field is another question.  Romo had a very solid season lat year that was cut short due to an injury and the Cowboys were left feeling swindled without an opportunity to play the Eagles for the division in  their season finale.

The Dallas Cowboys had a less than stellar offseason according to the experts.  Still given what they have this is a tough matchup for the Redskins since Dez Bryant and Jason Witten are big time targets that have given the Redskins problems.  It will be up to Redskins offense to have a big game but it may be too much to do it on the road.

Week 9 - @Minnesota Vikings

Washington couldn't slow down Adrian Peterson last time (via AP)

This could be another game where crowd noise is a factor.  The Redskins will face a medicore quarterback in Cassell (if he manages to keep his starting job) but will go against one of the top rushers in Adrian Peterson.  I expect the Redskins offense to suffer here given their preseason struggles.

The last time these two teams met, the Redskins were actually winning 27 to 14.  Then the Redskins proceeded to give up 20 points in the 2nd half to lose the game 34-27.  This will be a big test to see if Griffin has made progress but for now I predict this one as a loss.

Week 10 - Tampa Bay

Josh McNown torched the Redskins last time 

when he was on the Bears

A home game against one of the worst offensive teams from last season.  Josh McNown who played well with the Bears, will try to prove himself as a solid quarterback with Tampa Bay whose Bears' offense scored 41 points against the Redskins once Cutler went down with a knee injury.  The Redskins surprisingly won that game 45-41.

The Bucaneers also add former Bears head coach Lovie Smith who helped lead Chicago to a Super Bowl back in 2007.  It will be interesting to see if Smith can revamp the Bucaneers defense.

I have the Redskins winning this one against the Bucs but it will be interesting to re-evaluate this one and see how much progress Tampa Bay makes with their new coaching staff.

Week 11 - @ San Francisco

We won't see an awkward handshake between

Mike Shanahan and Jim Harbaugh 

San Francisco may be struggling so far this preseason but they have had the Redskins number as the Redskins lost 27 to 6 last time around.  Expect the Redskins to struggle.  

Week 12 - @ Indianapolis Colts

Griffin and Luck will meet for the first time in a 

NFL regular season game that matters via @WJLA

This will feature a battle of the #1 vs #2 pick; Luck and Griffin's first meeting in the NFL.  Expect ESPN to talk about this game a little... OK a lot!

This could be a close game but I'm not sure I expect the Redskins to stop Luck from completing a fourth quarter comeback.  I expect the Colts to win this game

Week 14- St. Louis

Bradford injured again (via Comcast Sportsnet)

The Redskins come off a bye and play the Rams who have already lost Sam Bradford to a season ending injury.  The Rams do play the Redskins tough but this is a game that the Redskins should win.

Week 15-  @New York Giants

Eli returns (via NYDailyNews)

Again the Redskins play the Giants.  I'll go with the Giants and their homefield advantage

Week 16 - Philadelphia

Morris celebrates after rushing for a 40 yard Touchdown against 

the Eagles last season (via Fansided)

And for this game, I think Washington wins at home.



Week 17 - Dallas

Kevin Durant believes the Redskins can beat Dallas

The Dallas Cowboys have lost their last 3 Week 17 games to the eventual division winners.  While I don't expect the Redskins to necessarily be in contention for a division win at this point, my gut tells me to bet against Tony Romo here.

Final prediction- Washington goes 8-8.

RG3 Sliding

Robert Griffin attempting to slide 

and it still needs work

The Washington Redskins are less than 3 weeks from opening their season.  Yes, the Redskins are 2-0 in the preseason, but the Redskins were also 4-0 last preseason and were only 3-13 in 2013 which was good enough for the Redskins to give up the #2 pick in the NFL draft to St. Louis Rams because of  the Robert Griffin trade.  

Now Griffin is having trouble sliding.  This isn't the first time that that a Redskins quarterback has had trouble with going to ground- Jason Campbell had issues with this is as well..  Zorn commented on Campbell (via DC Sports Bog)

"I don't want him to get hurt," Zorn said. "Obviously, nobody does. But you know, if he can't learn to fall better, he's gonna hurt himself."

Other teammates  who commented on Campbell was Colt Brennan who called Campbell's technique "hilarious".  In the meantime, the Redskins currently employ Colt McCoy on their preseason roster.   I wonder if Brennan is also making fun of RG3's sliding technique.

Jay Gruden has similar concerns as well about Griffin (via The Associated Press' Howard Fendrich)

It's something we have to continue to talk to him about—how important he is to this team and this franchise. When he gets out of the pocket, he needs to protect himself. He's had a habit in his career of being able to get himself out of those predicaments with his speed and his athleticism. But here it's a 16-game season, with the great talent across the league in the NFL, (and) he's got to pick his shots and learn how to get down a little bit better.

Granted Griffin is a superior player to Campbell but the fact that is a discussion is still an underlying concern of Griffin having a long and healthy career.  Last year with a knee brace,  RG3 was surprisingly athletic rushing for 489 yards but only completing 60% compared to 65% during his rookie season.  Griffin probably will not be able to match his 989 rushing total ever again given his body size and past knee issues.  So Griffin is going to have to take less risks and learn to give up plays rather than expose himself to injuries.

The Redskins are adopting a new offense which has been blamed for RG3's slow start.  Previously, Griffin and his camp were blaming the Shanahans.   Then again, this is preseason, while RG3 isn't on track, it's not like the Washington are calling the best possible plays for him.  Guys like Eli Manning also had trouble running the offense early in his career.  Still, Griffin skill-set as a pocket passer needs to develop quickly for the Redskins to become a playoff caliber team.  

Sim Bhullar signs with the Kings

Sim-Bhullar is Canadian but his parents are Indian which makes him the player of Indian descent to make it to the NBA.

Dreams do come true! Officially signed my first NBA contract with the @sacramentokings !! pic.twitter.com/3TZc7O4Meu
— Sim Bhullar (@SimBhullar2) August 14, 2014

The Kings owner, Vivek Randive is Indian.  Hopefully, this move isn't simply just a publicity stunt and Bhullar made it because he deserved to.  

RG3 vs Kirk Cousins

RG3 will probably be the unquestioned starter going into week 1 of the NFL season.  Still, New England Patriots players have been saying that Cousins has a better grasp of the offense than RG3 (of course they said this anonymously).

Still, there isn't much to take away from this game given that RG3 only was in the game for one drive and threw 4 passes.  RG3 also wasn't going to to show off his biggest strength which is rushing the ball because it would risk injury.  Furthermore, Cousins has had impressive preseason performances last year but really wasn't anything more than average to close out the regular season.

This could still be something if RG3 doesn't step up his game in a town that loves quarterback controversies. 

Demarcus Cousins vs Mason Plumlee

Somehow, Mason Plumlee has entered the conversation of making Team USA over Demarcus Cousins.  A growing majority is confused by the logic.  Cousins is a 20 and 10 guy while Plumlee doesn't even start for his own team.

Working against Cousins is that Plumlee was a former Duke player and Coach K is the current coach. Bryan Colangelo who is in charge of current player personnel has been known to pick guys with squeaky clean reputations.  Cousins has been clinically diagnosed as bipolar, and fairly or unfairly has earned the reputation as a malcontent and not giving a consistent effort, although he has improved upon this as he has seasoned as a player.  He is among the leaders in technical fouls and has a few beefs going well on with players like Chris Paul.

Cousins is a better offensive talent than Plumlee.  He is better at creating his own shot in the post, drawing double teams, hitting open jumpers, and a superior rebounder. 

Plumlee supporters may have a case even with all of Cousins advantages.  Plumlee knows his limitations so he is more likely to concede opportunities to superior teammates than Cousins. This could mean that Plumlee will not take statistically unfavorable mid range jumpers or try to make crazy passes that could lead to turnovers.  Perhaps Plumlee supporters see him as more likely to give a consistent effort by playing without the ball in his hands or with limited playing time.  Maybe Plumlee has been doing a better job of playing defense without the ball.  Plumlee isn't a slouch defensively; he has even had game saving blocks against LeBron James.

Whichever Team USA chooses, they could open themselves up for criticism if they end up losing to Spain.  Personally, I would go with Cousins whose deficiencies can be coached up although I'm not there behind the scenes.