The second pick of the 2012 BTSC Community Mock Draft is in, and no real surprises so far. Many thanks to BlueLoneWolf for the timely pick and enjoyable writeup. Next up: Minnesota Vikings represented by crosby87. -barnerburner-
********************
With the second pick of the NFL draft, the Washington Redskins select Robert Griffin III from Baylor University.
This is it. The last roundup.
Robert, we’re betting the farm on you. We are trading what is likely to be – but hopefully not – a top-ten pick next year and the year after that. Not to mention the second round pick this year, too. Cheers, gents. That’s the future. All of it, centered on one quarterback from a small Baptist school in Texas. This is near unprecedented. But it was not unexpected.
Shall we, ladies and gentlemen, run down the list of quarterbacks that have started on the Redskins since we last won the Super Bowl with the immortal Mark Rypien? Names like Rich Gannon, Heath Shuler, Gus Frerotte, Jeff Hostetler, Trent Green, Brad Johnson, Jeff George, Patrick Ramsey, Mark Brunell, Jason Campbell, Donovan McNabb, Rex Grossman, and John Beck. Those are only the big or recent names in what has been a parade of misfires and misfits.
George, Hostetler, Brunell, Green, and Johnson were vagabonds or reclamation projects – and Johnson of course has a Super Bowl ring from Tampa of all places, and Gannon came close with the Raiders. Trent Green won a ring riding the pine while Kurt Warner Wally Pipped him, much like he got hurt with us. Green must have had frequent flier miles on ambulances, the poor guy. Brunell was shell-shocked and gun-shy by the time he was in Washington. Our memories of veteran quarterbacks are now further sullied by the bilking the Eagles putting on us for McNabb, who dirted more balls than I can count in his time in Washington. As for Grossman and Beck, which was the most awkward and miscast quarterback competition ever in the history of the NFL, we can only say that they were competing to see who was the least bad between the two of them. Shuler, Ramsey, and Campbell. First round draft picks that went nowhere for so many reasons. Shuler got beat out by Frerotte, which we should have seen coming after he held out of training camp. To Gus Frerotte’s credit, he made the Pro Bowl and had some guts-if not a whole lot of regard for his own head. But that was a seventh rounder beating out a number three overall pick. Patrick Ramsey got utterly shelled behind a bad offensive line, Steve Spurrier, and a lack of skill position players. And poor Jason Campbell; I feel sorry for the kid. Offensive coordinators playing musical chairs must have really screwed with his head. At least every year he threw more touchdowns than interceptions, but he really never got a true foothold in our nation’s capital and enough time with any one system to be markedly better than anyone else. I can only wonder what might have been. A slightly above average quarterback and a great defense got San Francisco to the NFC championship game this year.
But the biggest thing is that this is probably Mike Shanahan’s last hurrah; his last chance to succeed. The past two years have ‘offensive disaster’ written all over them – heck, he hasn’t even managed to do better than Jim Zorn in win-loss record. Granted, I still think the team is in better shape thanks to some decent drafting. Defensive upgrades are needed, certainly, but with our core, we’re relatively solid.
But offensive struggles are just mounting in complexity and severity. Running back is a three-headed monster of a question. Roy Helu, Tim Hightower, Evan Royster: A and B? B and C? A and C? All of the above? The wide receivers got an upgrade of sortes with Pierre Garçon and Josh Morgan, and hopefully Leonard Hankerson comes back after a promising start to his career. Santana Moss is still functional, if not stellar anymore. Chris Cooley’s a good tight end when healthy, and Fred Davis shows a lot of talent when he’s not getting suspended for smoking illicit substances. However, this unit seems like a collection of twos and threes with no clear number one. At least RGIII’s used to throwing to a lot of short, quick guys.
It’s what’s up front that I’m worried about. Will Montgomery’s an alright center, and Trent Williams is alright at left tackle. Kory Lichtensteiger is not something to write home to mother about, and Jammal Brown wasn’t exactly lighting the world on fire at right tackle. And Chris Chester? Again, alright. I’m sick of saying ‘alright’ and ‘mediocre’. Mediocrity is giving up 41 sacks, which is about twice the number you want to see. I’d use the pick on Matt Kalil if he’d have someone worth blocking for. But we’re desperate here in DC, desperate enough that we’d pay a national mint for four measly draft spaces.
Griffin, as a football player, is spectacular. His intelligence is evident – I watched him break down that play with Steve Mariucci and if that is to be taken as fact, he knows what he’s talking about. Ken Starr, the president of Baylor, talked to him seriously about going into law school either immediately or after his career. As for football, his touch and accuracy on the deep ball is impeccable. Griffin’s athleticism is almost unmatched or exceeded at the position – we haven’t seen such a pure athletic talent at quarterback since Michael Vick. Who else at this position can run a 4.4 40 time? No one can doubt the gifts; no one can doubt the talent. There aren’t even any nagging character concerns – I can’t see Griffin pulling a Ryan Leaf and running off to Vegas with his signing bonus to play blackjack and get wrecked partying with friends. This past year was a tour-de-force as he torched almost every defense he played against. The TCU-Baylor shootout was one of the most memorable games of this past season, and it was one of the first games played. ‘Human highlight reel’ is overused as a cliché, but appropriate in this instance. Griffin can do it all. Accuracy. Arm Strength. Intelligence. Intangibles. Athleticism. Griffin’s a five-tool quarterback with the game tape to back up the reputation. Everything you’d want and everything the Redskins need. The athleticism helps him fit into the offense with all the quarter-rollouts, half-rollouts, and full rollouts in Kyle Shanahan’s system, along with the stretch running game that requires a quarterback to actually move. The only kind of rolling or moving Rex Grossman could do was downhill. The deep ball up the seam is an integral throw in the system, and Griffin can drop those in a hat. Grossman could drop them in the awaiting arm of a safety that was there when his receiver wasn’t.
So you see, Robert, you don’t have to worry about living up to high expectations: we expect failure because that’s all we’ve known. You’re not replacing a legend like Luck is in Indianapolis. You’re going to BE the legend. At least, we hope. We’ve got the future of a tired, jaded franchise that wants to live up to its storied past once more riding on it.
We choose to draft Robert Griffin III.
Save us, Superman.
BTSC 2012 Community Mock Draft Picks:
Source: Behind the Steel Curtain
