DjTj Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 We have only won one game in the past three years when Cornelius Griffin has been hurt. Since Joe Gibbs arrived in 2004, there are 12 players on our roster that have been starters for all three years: Mark Brunell, Clinton Portis, Chris Samuels, Derrick Dockery, Randy Thomas, Chris Cooley, Cornelius Griffin, Joe Salave'a, Philip Daniels, Marcus Washington, Shawn Springs, and Sean Taylor. Only Samuels, Dockery, Cooley, and Washington have started all 38 games. Every other player has had to deal with injuries of some kind. I looked back over our starting lineups to see how injuries affected our record. For example, Brunell has played in 30 games with 14 wins and 16 losses. He missed 8 games from the end of 2004 to the beginning of 2005, and we went 4-4 in those games. Here's the rest of the stats: Mark Brunell starting: 14-16; not starting: 4-4 Clinton Portis starting: 17-18; not starting: 1-2 Randy Thomas starting: 16-19; not starting: 2-1 Cornelius Griffin starting: 17-14; not starting: 1-6 Philip Daniels starting: 15-12; not starting: 3-8 Joe Salave'a starting: 12-16; not starting: 6-4 Shawn Springs starting: 15-16; not starting: 3-4 Sean Taylor starting: 17-17; not starting: 1-3 Just for fun: Lavar Arrington starting: 6-4; not starting: 10-12 The numbers for Griffin are striking. He has missed 7 games - we lost both games he didn't start in 2004 (@PHI, @PIT). Those were tough games, but when he went out in 2005, we went 1-3 (PHI, @TB, OAK, SD) and we lost last week with him hurt (TEN). Some of those were tough games, at Philly and Pittsburgh, but the only game we won without Griffin was actually against the Eagles last year. We really shouldn't have lost those games to the Bucs, Raiders, Chargers, and Titans, and Griffin's absence was certainly a factor. The numbers for Daniels I did not expect, but he was out of the lineup for most of our 6-10 season in 2004 and he played in every game of our 10-6 season last year. Everyone else is pretty much a wash. I think we would probably be pretty bad without Marcus Washington or Sean Taylor on defense or without Clinton Portis or Chris Samuels on offense, but they haven't missed enough time to really tell us anything. Among our players that have had to deal with injuries, Cornelius Griffin is clearly the biggest difference maker. When he's healthy, we have a chance to win. When he has been hurt, we have almost always come up short. Perhaps more than any other player, we need Cornelius healthy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
illone Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Man, nice find Tj. And nice post, too. Just for chits and giggles, where did you compile this info from? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flexxskins Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Well, now that you broke it down for us like that, seeing Griffin listed as questionable just worries the hell out of me even more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andre The Giant Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 You are absolutely right. Griffin is the key to our defense. By taking away the run up the middle, he forces teams to have to try to run outside on the Ends, or throw. He alone takes away the part of the field that Tenn attacked last weekend. Let's hope he gets back soon. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TSO Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Oh man... this just makes everything nerve-wracking. Great find. I hope he's back. If not, I really hope Golston/Montgomery really pick it up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grhqofb5 Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 hmmm... looks like a well thought out argument supported by statistics. What I can gather from this is that if we don't have Griffin, we will most certainly lose. But if we have him, we still may lose. What's your confidence interval?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Art McDonough Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 I have always said the defensive cornerstones are Cornelius Griffin, Marcus Washington, and Shawn Springs. When they don't play, the defense always suffers. Now all three are injured. Griffin's out, Springs is day to day, and Washington is hurting. Peyton Manning's got to be licking his chops. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ironmic Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 We need Baby Jesus Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tr1 Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Starting rookie tackles last week probably had something to do with our loss...something many here have overlooked. Thanks for the post...Griffin is very important to us right now. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cooley4President Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Great post man. We all know that Griff is important, but it's driven home even more when you look at the numbers. Here's hoping to a quick recovery for him and coming back with a little more push up the middle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DjTj Posted October 19, 2006 Author Share Posted October 19, 2006 Man, nice find Tj. And nice post, too. Just for chits and giggles, where did you compile this info from? Thanks, illone.I started out wanting to try to analyze the whole roster, so I was going through all the gamebooks on NFL.com: http://www.nfl.com/scores/2004/week1 Partway through, I realized there was no good way to compare the players that left (Pierce, Smoot, etc.) with the players that were still here, and there was no good way to really look at bench players, so after I had all the wins and losses straight, I just went to the individual game logs for each player to see whether or not they started: http://www.nfl.com/players/playerpage/187552/gamelogs/2004 I actually might be a game off on a few players, so if anyone wants to double-check me, feel free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CPortJGibbs89 Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Great post man, good to see some well thought out post with the information backed up. That type of thing is becoming few and far between here lately. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chachie Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 Very interesting stats, Tj. The most glaring, of course, is that we don't win a lot no matter who starts. :-( Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
darrell1106 Posted October 19, 2006 Share Posted October 19, 2006 We have only won one game in the past three years when Cornelius Griffin has been hurt. Excellent post Tj. Really insightful and thoughtout unlike many posters over the past 2 weeks. To add to your theory the WP wrote a piece about the Line Backers and quoted Griff about his injury - written by Jason LaCanfora: Griffin, by far the team's most effective defensive lineman, missed Sunday's game and, while eager to get back by the weekend, realizes he is coping with a potentially long-term injury. A cautious approach might be best in this situation, he said, even with a bye Oct. 29. "I've got to be smart," Griffin said. "It's one of those things where I could play one game and then miss four, and then that hurts the team more. I have to be smart about what I do, and I don't want to hurt the team doing it." While the injuries to linemen and defensive backs have major repercussions for the linebackers, Lindsey is focused on his group. "That falls on me and I'm trying to get it corrected," he said. The linebackers have combined for two sacks all season, with one fumble recovery and no interceptions. Eleven linebackers from other teams have surpassed that sack total individually -- although many play in 3-4 defenses that allow for more big plays from that position. The league credited the Redskins' entire linebacker group with 11 tackles in the loss to the Titans, and not having Griffin and Salave'a in front of them at Indianapolis would not make life any easier. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DjTj Posted October 19, 2006 Author Share Posted October 19, 2006 You are absolutely right. Griffin is the key to our defense. By taking away the run up the middle, he forces teams to have to try to run outside on the Ends, or throw. He alone takes away the part of the field that Tenn attacked last weekend. Let's hope he gets back soon. He's definitely essential to our run defense, but I think he's pretty important to our pass rush as well because we're so dependent on blitzing. When he can occupy two blockers in the middle of the line, it's a lot easier for a blitzing linebacker or safety to get through. While the injuries to linemen and defensive backs have major repercussions for the linebackers, Lindsey is focused on his group. "That falls on me and I'm trying to get it corrected," he said. The linebackers have combined for two sacks all season, with one fumble recovery and no interceptions. Eleven linebackers from other teams have surpassed that sack total individually -- although many play in 3-4 defenses that allow for more big plays from that position. The league credited the Redskins' entire linebacker group with 11 tackles in the loss to the Titans, and not having Griffin and Salave'a in front of them at Indianapolis would not make life any easier. I think one thing that happens when Griffin is out is that we don't even call linebacker blitzes anymore, especially not blitzes up the middle. It definitely changes what the coaches can call and what other players can do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hailskinz1991 Posted October 20, 2006 Share Posted October 20, 2006 LETS GO CG !!! WE NEED YOU MAN!! If we sack Peyton four times we win! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DjTj Posted October 23, 2006 Author Share Posted October 23, 2006 Now we're 1-7 without Cornelius Griffin Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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