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Thursday, February 25, 2016

The Talk Radio Host's Guide to RGIII

Part of hunting for talk radio jobs is doing research, meaning listening to talk radio from around the country. That allows me to stay current on what's going on in markets around the country (specifically ones that there are openings in), and it's a nice chance to do some research on the craft. When you're working, you don't get to listen to other stations other places. You've got to be locked in on what's happening in your market. Being able to listen to other stations is beneficial not just to stay in tune with what's happening in other places, it's a chance to study how others do the job.

However, no matter where I turn, or how hosts are presenting their material, there seems to be one thing in common: they're all talking about RGIII! It's unbelievable. I can't escape!

What's more unbelievable than a country full of football obsessed people talking about a formerly effective, high-profile quarterback who is about to be a free agent though, is how consistently wrong they are about basic facts of Griffin's time in Washington.

I pause here, momentarily, to establish that I rather like Robert Griffin III as a human being. I've gotten to talk to him quite a bit, even though he was completely off limits to the media the entire year. None of those conversations were on the record and almost none of them were about the Redskins.

We often talked about college football. When Syracuse hired Dino Babers, who was with Griffin at Baylor, Robert found me and said "man, you just got a great coach!"

I really like Robert. I hope he succeeds, and there's a reason that's the near unanimous chorus amongst media members in Washington. He's an incredibly personable human being who takes a genuine interest in conversation. That's a refreshing change from many star athletes who see any media member's presence as a total nuisance.

On the field, he inarguably provided the most electrifying run in Washington sports since the Redskins last Super Bowl, however what's happened since 2012 seems to have not made it that far outside the beltway.

So with that, we come to "The Talk Show Host's Guide to RGIII," which you can bookmark, reference and cite as often as you'd like!

First and foremost, Robert Griffin III lost his starting job in Washington because of performance, not injury. In fact, whether Griffin was even injured or not is up for debate. His camp says he was never concussed after being blasted by the Lions in week 2 of the preseason. The Redskins and the league obviously disagree, as they put him in the concussion protocol and deemed him concussed. For about two weeks, Jay Gruden didn't know what the hell was going on and I can assure you he never wants to hear the words "independent neuropsychologist" again.

However whether Griffin was concussed or not, he was getting benched.

Gruden said that whether Griffin was available or not, Kirk Cousins was going to get some starter's reps in the 3rd preseason game. Griffin wound up being unavailable, giving all the starters reps to Cousins. When Gruden revealed this in a press conference, I asked him to elaborate on what the split would have been and who would've started. He declined to expand, saying it was in the past and there was no real benefit for him to divulge more. For his sake, that was correct. For ours? Meh.

Given that there was now the green light for an open competition, Cousins was going to win the job. He was miles better than Griffin during the off-season program and in training camp. The Redskins coaching staff touted Griffin's progress because they had to. Going into the season saying "we're screwed" at quarterback doesn't do anything publicly, and they had to convince themselves privately so they didn't go to work every day with a defeatist attitude. It was true that Griffin was getting better, but not by much, and he still couldn't operate basic plays in the offense as late as August.

Despite those worries, Griffin had the job because he wasn't allowed not to have it. Eventually, ownership allowed the football staff to put whoever they wanted in place, and Cousins was awarded the job on merit. Also note that Griffin wasn't just demoted to being the backup, he was demoted to third string. While that may have had something to do with his $16 million injury option, he was also their third best quarterback.

However the misremembering of Griffin's history goes back beyond the 2015 preseason. I've heard praise for how Griffin closed the 2014 season, with a 336 yard performance against the Cowboys.

He threw two interceptions in that game and in which Washington lost 44-17. But hey, he threw for a ton of yards.

Earlier in that season was the low point of Griffin's time in Washington, as the Redskins got beaten badly by Tampa Bay. After the game Griffin commented that everyone had to play better, which rubbed many the wrong way. My former co-worker Chris Cooley, who watches tape weekly and grades players, was unable to grade the offense that week because Griffin operated at such a low level. He said the coaches had to completely abandon the gameplan and return to "Day 1 of training camp offense" to try and get anything going. He was that gun shy. His ability to decipher what to do with the football was that low on that given day.

That, in the end, is the fatal flaw for Griffin in a pro style offense, unless he made a completely remarkable jump while on the bench last year. He hasn't shown the ability to read a defense, because prior to being in the NFL, he didn't have to.

Bryce Petty, who played in the same system at Baylor that Griffin did, described the learning curve to The Wall Street Journal:
Petty admits to grappling with tasks such as hearing and calling the play, identifying defensive backs in coverage and identifying which player in the defensive backfield was the “mike” linebacker, the central part of the defense whose location teams base their offensive line protections on. “As crazy as it sounds, at Baylor, we did not point out the ‘mike’ linebacker,” Petty said. 
Petty was unfamiliar with making adjustments to the play or the formation before the snap. 
“Honestly, I wish I’d done a little bit more as far as being proactive to get into a pro style [offense],” he said, singling out the need to decipher fronts or coverages. “It was things I have never seen before.”
Those are basic, elementary tasks in a pro offense. So how did Griffin succeed in 2012? Two things.

First, Mike and Kyle Shanahan created a hybrid offense that had elements of Griffin's old system in it. This was the definition of putting a player in a position to succeed. The results were solid early, as Washington started 3-3. The third win was sealed with this play:



A coach, who was with the team at the time, told me that play changed changed how defenses attacked Griffin, which leads to the second factor of his rookie success.

Teams started playing very basic defenses, not wanting to risk giving up a similar big play. Griffin saw the same few, easily identifiable defenses for the rest of the season and never really had to concern himself with setting up protections and deciphering pre-snap disguises. Like at Baylor, it was line up and play. Washington lost the next 3 games, and then went on a seven game win streak to close the year. Griffin was great, won rookie of the year and then got hurt in the playoff game.

Before the 2013 season, Griffin told the Shanahans he didn't want to run anymore. His dad even said publicly that any quarterback that wants to run more than pass is a loser. Tension was at an all-time high. You probably know about all that.

With Griffin returning from injury and less likely to run, teams started mixing coverages. He struggled, as defenders were doing things he'd never seen before. His interception numbers sky-rocketed. He was sacked constantly. The team went 3-10 with him as a starter. The Shanahans were fired.

We've now almost come full-circle. Jay Gruden was hired after his stellar work with Andy Dalton in Cincinnati. Gruden and Griffin had some public moments they'd both rather have back. Griffin didn't perform well in Gruden's system. Gruden knew he was not giving his team the best chance to win as better options sat on the bench. Griffin got hurt again. Those better options didn't do much as they hadn't gotten much practice time. Griffin came back. He wasn't good. He got benched. The team stunk, but hey he had that 336 yard game to close the year against Dallas! Now we've finished the circle.

Reviews were mixed behind closed doors of how Griffin handled this season. I can attest to the fact that he wanted to stay quiet and lay low, which he did. He absolutely could've spent the season leaking complaints and keeping himself relevant. He intentionally did not as to not be a distraction. He didn't have a whole lot of ground to stand on because of how well Kirk Cousins was playing, but there was some space early in the year before Cousins turned it up. We didn't hear a peep.

I talked to many of his teammates who said Griffin was a great teammate. I also heard rumblings that he wasn't as happy for Cousins' success as Colt McCoy was, even though McCoy had every right to complain as well. He was the only quarterback not to be benched for performance in 2014, then lost the starting job before he even knew it was available.

Side-note: no one knew it was available until it was. Not McCoy, not Cousins, not Griffin and not even the coaches. The old "compete/prepare like you're the starter" adage was never more relevant than this year in Washington. McCoy absolutely did. He just got beat, but you can understand his frustration. He handled it like the pro's pro he is, publicly and privately.

Griffin absolutely did his job as a scout team quarterback too. Jay Gruden told a story the week of the playoff game about Griffin running around, simulating Aaron Rodgers, before chucking a ball 70 yards down field. He brought the same energy to practice he did as a starter. I talked to one teammate who said he was always engaged as well, showing progress in reading and deciphering coverages from the sideline as Cousins was on the field.

Doing it from the sideline and doing it from on the field are completely different stories though, and that's the question for Griffin moving forward. He has supreme physical talent as a straight line runner, and he has a terrific arm. However a quarterback's success is more reliant on his ability to read and react than it is his physical talent.

If I were in a market with a team looking at Griffin, I wouldn't endorse him as a lone option. I'd love him as a backup with potential, so long that I knew he was on board with that idea, dedicated to learning the system and the starter was entrenched so there would be no controversy. If he were to be brought in to compete for a starting job, I'd want another option. I'd want him to have to earn it. I'd want him to know that nothing is guaranteed.

I'd also know that he very well might lose that job to someone who is far less famous. Griffin is still young. He's only 26. He's completely healthy and has been for nearly a year. Saying "I'd take the risk on him" isn't some moronic opinion.

Just realize what the risk is, how we've gotten to this point and why a player who once looked like the future of the NFL is now going to be available after his rookie contract. Which you do. Because you've made it to the end.

The end.

Wednesday, February 17, 2016

Podcast: Kami Mattioli

I chat with The Sporting News's Kami Mattioli about the recent mock selection she participated in. Plus, we discuss the Peyton Manning story and the coverage.



Follow Kami on Twitter here: @kmattio and read her at The Sporting News here!

Monday, February 8, 2016

The Not So Super Bowl

Super Bowl 50 was the hardest Super Bowl to watch of my lifetime. After years of being treated to great game after great game, the game was choppy and hard to watch, making the fact that I was emotionally invested in the losing team a formula for extreme frustration. The Panthers were the best team in football all year, had every chance to win the game and never came close to breaking through.

Essentially the game was Murphy's Law in action. Anything that could go wrong for Carolina, did.

It started early with the latest, and hopefully last, egregious interpretation of the catch rule in the NFL. The league has a disaster level problem, and it's not new. When average fans can't interpret a rule, you have a problem. When you have analysts who follow the league for a living, coaches and players who don't have a clue how one of the game's most basic pieces works, you're flat out incompetent for not fixing it.

That is the NFL catch rule. No one, except NFL VP of Officiating Dean Blandino, knows what a catch is, and most of the football world disagrees with his interpretation of the rule. Carolina challenged a call early last night that should've been overturned in the eyes of nearly all neutral, informed observers, yet it stayed an incompletion. Mere plays later, Von Miller beat Panthers right tackle Mike Remmers for the first time for a sack, fumble and touchdown recovery by the Broncos.

While it's easy to harp on the rule, and we should until it's changed for the good of the game, Cotchery had no business bobbling the ball in the first place. Carolina should've had an easy first down to get out of their own end, and maybe even throw a drive together, build some momentum, and completely change the game.

Mike Tolbert hadn't fumbled the ball since 2011. He fumbled twice Sunday night.

There was the bizarre punt return, where the Panthers had Jordan Norwood surrounded and then let him run, apparently thinking he had called fair catch.

There were numerous dumb penalties. Pre-snap penalties were consistent. There was a block in the back that took Carolina from guaranteed great field position near mid-field, all the way back inside their own 30.

Graham Gano missed a field goal for the first time in the playoffs.

There were other questionable to down right awful officiating moments, including a missed pass interference that would've been a 3rd down conversion inside the red zone as Bradley Roby mauled Ted Ginn well before the ball arrived. The Panthers settled for a field goal instead of a chance at touchdown to make the game 16-14.

I did not think the game was well coached either. The end of the first half was handled horrifically from a time management standpoint, which is partially on the coach and partially on the quarterback.

I despised the play-calling from Mike Shula, who has been outstanding in his run with the Panthers. He's an excellent coach, and if we could magically replay the game, I'd trust him to do things differently. He just didn't have a good day.

Denver's pass rush is outstanding and so is their secondary. A great way to mitigate both is to run Newton with essentially no regard for the injury risk you take in a regular season game. It's the Super Bowl. There can't be any level of holding back. Newton rushed the ball six times.

It should be noted that there were other called option plays where the Broncos dictated Newton hand the ball off, but there were zero designed quarterback keepers. That seems like a mistake to me. So was not using misdirection more effectively, both in the run and pass games.

The Panthers had the most diverse run game in the league this year, yet ran very simply against the Broncos. There was some basic read option and that's about it in terms of variety. In the pass game, there were a few wide receiver screens, but none that I can remember to running backs, which is a great way to take advantage of the Broncos aggression and speed on defense.

Yet despite all of those things, Carolina was in the game until the very end. If any of those things had gone differently, the end result might have too.

That's what made the game so frustrating. It felt like if the law of averages would have just kicked Murphy's Law out of the way for just a moment, Carolina could've come through. It did not. They did not.

That's not to take anything away from the Broncos though. They are a worthy champion. They fought through pretty remarkable quarterback adversity with ease, making the switch from Peyton Manning to Brock Osweiler and back seamlessly thanks to a historic defense.

For all the plays Carolina didn't make, the Broncos did. Von Miller was outstanding. DeMarcus Ware, who should've gotten more attention on the broadcast after waiting 11 years for a title, also made some incredible plays. They shut down Greg Olson, something that almost no other team was able to do this year.

In short, they needed to play their A-game and have Carolina help them out because of how poor their offense was. The Broncos defense played an A+ game and the Panthers made the requisite mistakes to send Peyton Manning out a winner.

Through orange colored glasses, that is the beauty of one game deciding a champion. You don't need to be better, you just need to be better for a day. The Broncos 100% were.

From the other side, that is the frustration. The Panthers were so close, yet not even.

Saturday, February 6, 2016

The Devil's in the Details

Professional sports are largely played in incredibly small margins. Those margins become even smaller when the talent gap closes. A receiver running a route at the proper depth could be the devilish detail that decides the Super Bowl.

Last night in Cleveland, I watched as the Cavs consistently failed to execute a number of small things, leading to a heartbreaking home loss. The Celtics stole a game they had no business winning at the buzzer as Avery Bradley hit a three for a 104-103 win.

Many Cavs fans pointed to the missed free throws as the reason their team lost. That’s certainly a part of it. Cleveland missed 14 free throws in a one point game, shooting just 21-35 from the line.

Others donned in wine and gold lamented a late foul on JR Smith. They too were correct. When three points is the only thing that can hurt you, you have to defend like it. Run any player off the three-point line and then let them go. Even if there wasn’t much of a foul (the NBA league office said there was no foul on Saturday), there’s no chance it’s called if Smith does his job.

The mistakes didn’t stop there though. Timofey Mozgov, who is a literal giant at 7’1”, can’t let Marcus Smart, a 6’3” point guard, beat him on a free throw boxout. Smart should be applauded for making a great play, but Mozgov simply has to execute a basic basketball play.

So does Iman Shumpert on the ensuing inbounds. He ball-watched, letting Bradley free for the game winner.

All of those details led to a loss. Listening to radio today was interesting as Cavs fans seem to think the solution is tinkering with the roster, whether by shuffling the rotation, or changing the parts altogether.

The reality is, there’s no magic button to press that will give the Cavs a chance against Golden State. There is no move to be made. The move is to play better.

What makes Golden State (and San Antonio) great, is they don’t make those mistakes. They execute the gameplan at a higher level than their opponents nearly every night. They make the right pass. They hit the shots they’re supposed to. They don’t make defensive mistakes.

The goal for Cleveland, Oklahoma City and any other contender, should be to simply find what makes them their best, and then drill that as much as possible to give themselves the best shot. As of now, it doesn’t look Golden State is losing. That would involve them losing at home. The Warriors never lose at home.

However, sports are unpredictable, predictably injuries. If the Warriors lose Steph Curry or Draymond Green, the entire equation changes.


Instead of looking outside for a solution, the Cavs need to look within, clean up the mistakes and forge forward. The margins are small on a championship level. There are no shortcuts. There’s merely execution at the highest level.

Thursday, February 4, 2016

Podcast: Super Bowl 50 Preview

The podcast reboots with a mega-sized Super Bowl 50 preview. Kevin Brown joins me as we discuss the build-up, how Cam Newton is treated in the press and key matchups in the game.



Check back soon for more podcasts, blogs and more!