By Mark Bacon
At approximately 12:30 pm EDST on August 31, 2015, Redskins Coach Jay Gruden approached a podium at the team’s Ashbury, VA facility . He was jovial. “Hello,” he said to several assembled media members.
Then he flipped the franchise on its head.
“We do have news,” Gruden said. “We have announced that Kirk Cousins will be the starter for 2015.”
Naming a starting quarterback is one of the more basic moves a professional football franchise can make, an announcement signaling the team’s direction to players and fans. The Skins, however, do not operate in ordinary ways.
Coach Gruden announced then that Kirk Cousins will be the starting quarterback this season, not Robert “Bob” Griffin III.
Apparently the news that Cousins would replace Bob for the Redskins’ Sept. 13 season opener and beyond was months in the making, featuring more unbelievable twists than a straight-to-video slasher flick.
Griffin — the one-time franchise savior, for whom the team mortgaged its future in 2012 — was benched for performance last season, but reinstated in December. He was told at season’s end that he would face a quarterback competition in 2015 but then was handed the starting job in February.
He was given a full chance to resurrect his career in Washington — symbolized by a baffling one-year contract extension that team President Bruce Allen called “a no-brainer” — and frequently praised by coaches during offseason practices.
Then Griffin suffered a concussion, which he would not confirm, during a disastrous preseason game against the Detroit Lions on Aug. 20. He was cleared to start Saturday’s exhibition before being ruled out 24 hours later in a confusing 66-word team press release, and speculation grew that his final chance had already evaporated.
Radio hosts called the process a circus and a fiasco. And it is. But are the tents finally folding?
The few starters who addressed the situation in the Redskins’ locker room Monday were blase. They treated the news the way they might treat the release of a backup long snapper. Matter of fact responses from those who would talk to media. Primarily defensive players.
“I mean, I see all the stuff on Twitter — sources this, sources that — but that’s the outside stuff,” said Terrance Knighton , a former defensive star in Denver who has been in Washington for just a few months. “We have a culture in this locker room, a unified front, where we’re not going to let the distractions hurt this team. I mean, it’s not going to turn into a soap opera. You know, this is not the Kardashians.”
But if players weren’t acknowledging it, this was a landmark day for the franchise. In Griffin’s rookie year, he set NFL records, shared Thanksgiving dinner with owner Daniel Snyder, led Washington to its only division title of the 21st century and sold more jerseys in one year than any player in league history.
His demotion appears to signal that Coach Gruden and first-year General Manager Scot McCloughan are in charge now, that this season will mark the beginning of McCloughan’s tenure more than the end of Griffin’s.
The coach emphasized that point by saying that Griffin’s benching was based on performance, not health. Gruden said he had named Griffin the starter in February because he “wanted to put all the distractions aside” but that the competition among quarterbacks had continued. He said that Cousins had “done everything right” in practices and games, that he “has taken a giant leap” over the last year and “gives us the best chance” to win. And he said that this was no short-term move, that Cousins “has earned the right to be the starting quarterback for 2015.” Remember, we're talking about the 'Skins.
Amid the decorations of an NFL locker room — board games, empty water bottles, discarded athletic tape — they were asked about spending 10 days at the center of a media storm 10 months in the making.
“We treat the quarterbacks like different players, but at the end of the day, man, it’s a position in football,” safety Duke Ihenacho said. “The good thing is that somebody was named. That’s all that matters to me. Somebody was named, and now we know who exactly to rally behind. It’s just not in the air anymore. Everything’s out there.”
Not everything. Griffin’s future remains unclear despite statements saying there have been no discussions about removing him from the roster. And what happens if Cousins gets injured or plays poorly?
“We’re going to do everything we can to surround Kirk the best way we can,” Gruden said. “Good strong running game, good strong defense, special teams and let him play.”
“I was more worried about how I’ve got to get back out there and practice today,” said outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan, who is recovering from offseason knee surgery. “For us defensively, that doesn’t clear anything up. We’ve got a whole hell of a lot to worry about with us defensively before we start worrying about who’s playing quarterback.”
As players dressed, a team staffer stood with arms crossed in front of Griffin’s locker, telling reporters the former starter would not answer questions.
Cornerback DeAngelo Hall, a team leader, repeatedly explained that he would answer questions only about the defense. “I’m not answering any quarterback questions,” he said. “I’m not even trying to get into that.”
Has the circus finally packed up the Big Top, and is rolling out of town? Hopefully. But Skins do not operate in ordinary ways.
If you like this story look for more great content from the Main
Event Sports crew on our app! Just go to the Google Play Store or iPhone
App Store and search keyword "Main Event Sports Radio" and you will
have tons of blogs, videos, pics, and more!
For Android users simply click on the link below to download the Main Event Sports app today!
No comments:
Post a Comment