There's no denying that something's not quite right with the Washington Redskins and quarterback Robert Griffin III. RGIII is the presumed starter for the NFL's D.C.-based franchise, but if his performance against the Detroit Lions on Saturday is any indication, he's still searching for the form he so easily found during his first season in the league and the Redskins still aren't sure how to form a cohesive blocking unit in front of him. If you were wondering why in the heck Redskins head coach Jay Gruden kept Griffin in the game against the Lions despite the punishment he was absorbing, you're not alone, and the reported reasoning behind Gruden's decision may point to more troubling issues in Washington going forward.
"I have never, ever, on any level, seen a head coach treat his quarterback with such a lack of respect," an unnamed head coach told Mike Freeman of Bleacher Report after the Lions game.
"It's easy to see that the line play was in shambles," the coach continued, per Freeman. "That happens, especially this time of year.
"That Lions front, even without [Ndamukong] Suh, is pretty ferocious. As a coach, you see your guys getting beat, and you see your quarterback especially take that first shot, every coach I know would have taken their quarterback out of the game."
Why, then, did Gruden choose to leave Griffin, who wound up suffering a concussion, in the game? Per the coach, via Freeman, Gruden was trying to send a message, dubbing the move a "personal" one. It's an opinion that is reportedly shared by many in and around the league. Gruden, according to the coaches and Freeman's other sources, left Griffin in the game "to show Griffin who's boss, the way some dog owners stupidly rub their pooch's noses in poop to keep them from eliminating on the carpet again."
If this is true, it's both baffling and troublesome. Gruden and Griffin were never said have a particularly rosy relationship, but if this is true, it likely means that either Gruden or Griffin - or both - aren't long for the Redskins and that 2015 could prove to be a very long season for fans of the team.
Gruden has, in the past, openly questioned Griffin's "fundamentals," suggested he needs to get up quicker after being hit and, reportedly, decided that Griffin was not the signal-caller he wanted to move forward with. Griffin, of course, is very much to blame for much of the issues. He's fallen abysmally short of expectations after lighting the league on fire his rookie year and has, since then, appeared in just 22 of a possible 32 games and tossed 20 touchdowns, 18 interceptions and fumbled 11 times.
In the end, what's most troubling about Freeman's report may not necessarily be the rapidly deteriorating relationship between Gruden and his presumed starter, it may instead be the questions it raises about the culture Gruden is developing in Washington and whether or not he really is the man to lead the franchise out of the NFL's doldrums and to the Promised Land.
Or, at the very least, to a playoff victory, something the team hasn't enjoyed since 2005.
