Why the Sky Isn't Falling regarding the Rams deal

[The Robert Griffin Experience]

Somehow the Ravens a few miles up the road figured that out without a franchise QB since they have been in town.

From 2001 to 2007, the Ravens have had 3 losing seasons.and 3 playoff seasons. In 2008 they acquired a borderline franchise QB in Flacco and haven't missed the playoffs since.

People need to realize that slow and steady doesn't win the race, bold and lucky does. Slow and steady can make you look less bad when you lose...but you still lose.

[fosback]

Everybody just repeat this 3 times....

The Skins gave up just 3 picks spread across 3 years for a franchise QB.

Again...just 3 picks spread across 3 years.

Again... Just 3 picks spread across 3 years.

[Darth Tater]

The 13 and 14 drafts will undoubtedly have certain first rounders the Skins will consider vital. In order to get back into the first round, they will give up multiple picks in compensation. Then, they will have sparse middle round choices to provide depth. Depth has been lacking on this team for years. This is what has kept this team a laughing stock for the better part of twenty years. I hope this move works out, but even a great QB needs a running game and protection.

No, not undoubtedly. If RG3 is just a good QB (about a 50% chance), we will be a decent team with an 8-12 year window that needs depth to be a good team and there is always a chance that some street guy, late pick or UDFA turns into greatness. If RG3 is the elite (about a 10-15% chance), we will be a good team that needs depth to be great and an elite QB increases the probability that vital guys can be found in the mid to late rounds and even off the street.

[martytheman]

it was ALOT to give up for the guy, i hope he does well. one thing is for certain, he will instantly become the most beloved player in the entire Washington area. personally I think he's got the tools and charisma to get it done, and I hope for the teams sake he does.

for the record, I was/am in the price was too high club, but at the end of the day in Shanny I trust.

go out there and knock 'em dead kid!

[IrepDC]

2012: 1,3,4,4,5,6,7

2013: 2,3,4,5,6,7,7

2014: 2,3,4,5,6,7

[isle-hawg]

Prior to this trade I was not in favor of giving up so much to get him. But now that is has happened I admit I am much more excited for the season to start knowing we at least have a CHANCE of finally having a franchise QB under center. Best of luck to RG3 and our Washington Redskins!!

The Redskins marketing department has got to absolutely love this trade!

[SKINS'n'Spurs]

Wow! Beautiful OP... almost got teared up a bit; I'm so ready for this ride (bumpy or not) to get goin'. RGIII is a 110% CLASS ACT and from what I have seen of Luck, he is too; so we really can't go wrong. I stayed up all night last night with just giddy energy thinking about the future and FA and all the great things our franchise has to look forward to with a FRANCHISE QB at the helm, finally.

On a separate note, is there a Brown's message board that anyone has checked?

I would be interested to hear what they thought of their offer (evidently, they were willing to risk about the same as we did plus they had more to offer up front in this years draft).

So the OP is right... 2 probably HOF coaches were throwing everything including the kitchen sink at getting this #2 pick and the Skins came out on top = VICTORY!

[blitzpackage]

Kind of random....but Pat Kirwan said earlier this week we may get a 3rd compensatory from Carlos to SF, based on his production.

Is that realistic or did I hear it wrong?

[SKINS'n'Spurs]

Reeks of a desperation. You would never see a quality franchise make a move like this. This is a huge risk, mortgaging at least 3 years of lost time on this. Not what solid franchises do to build up a stable and long-lasting team.

Oh really?

What solid franchises are you referring to? They probably weren't at the bottom of a 20yr hole! And if you think we were a solid franchise for the last 20yrs you have lost your mind. I am totally fine if other teams and fans around the league think this is a move of desperation; We are hungry for greatness and now we are coming for it guns blazing! They should be scared! We should be confident!

[33]

Can we remember one very important fact about having a QB? They make everyone around them look better. Good/Great QBs do not need great OLs.

[PleaseBlitz]

Oh really?

What solid franchises are you referring to? They probably weren't at the bottom of a 20yr hole! And if you think we were a solid franchise for the last 20yrs you have lost your mind. I am totally fine if other teams and fans around the league think this is a move of desperation; We are hungry for greatness and now we are coming for it guns blazing! They should be scared! We should be confident!

It was definitely a desperation move. If the Skins were willing to take the long view' date=' they wouldn't give away all of these high picks for one player. BUT, they ARE desperate to get a franchise QB [u']RIGHT NOW[/u], and they were duly raped for their inflexibility.

[Voice_of_Reason]

2012: 1,3,4,4,5,6,7

2013: 2,3,4,5,6,7,7

2014: 2,3,4,5,6,7

The extra 4 this year is due to the JC trade.

But I see things missing, I think?

McNabb was traded, I thought (and reference article here) for a 2012 6th round pick. (http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6807795/donovan-mcnabb-trade-minnesota-vikings-finalized-source-says)

And AH was traded, I thought (and reference article here) for a 2013 5th round pick. (http://espn.go.com/nfl/story/_/id/6811622/albert-haynesworth-washington-redskins-traded-new-england-patriots-sources-say)

I don't know where the extra 7 came from in 2013 (Unless the AH thing was such a debacle it went from a 5th rounder to a 7th rounder.)

Help? Somebody?

[33]

My concern with RGIII doesn't negate the fact to get a guy with the potential to be that player the price will be high. My concern with RGIII is the game's best QBs, at present, are (not in order), Manning, Manning, Brees, Rivers, Rodgers, Brady, Big Ben-ish, Cutler, Romo sits to pee. You have Ryan, Flacco, Stafford who are young guys with rising potential. Until you mention Vick and Newton, you have NO one who has that skill set who factors in. RGIII isn't the tall pocket passer with NO mobility who are the game's best (Manning, Brady, Rivers, Brees) or the tall pocket passer with a LITTLE bit of mobility (Rodgers, Big Ben, Romo sits to pee, Cutler). He's Vick and Newton. Tebow on passing ability roids.

For me, for RGIII to BE a great QB, he has to be one who is NOT in the mold of the great QBs of this, or, really, any other era. Can he?

He has superior athleticism at that position to any other player at that position, probably EVER, save Michael Vick. But, he may already be a better passer than Vick was until two years ago.

I think this is a bit overblown, Art. RG3 is a pocket passer. This is unquestionable. The same could not have been said for Vick or Vince Young. He gets high single digit rushing TD totals. If you see them, they are generally from inside the 10. He only averages 4 yards/rush.

I actually think the way he uses his athleticism compares directly to Rodgers. Being married to a cheesehead has given me more than enough time to watch ARod. #12 has the wheels to run whenever. He uses them to buy time, and occasionally go get it. RG3 is not pre-NFL Vick. He doesn't drop back, put the ball down at the first chance and go. He drops back, pumps fakes, moves laterally to buy time, and if there is a hole and nobody open he runs. He is always looking down field though. There are so many examples of him moving to the LOS with plenty of room, only to throw it 6 yards for a first down.

[SilkyDiamonds]

For everyone yelping about not having 1sts in the next 2 drafts, I have a simple question. What PREMIUM position do we require a #1?

If u say WR, ur more likely to find that in FA or later rds

If u say RT, ur more likely to find that in FA or later rounds

If u say CB, ur more likely to find a good one in FA

If u say Guard or Center Im just gonna laugh

The team is now thrust in a position to not have to pick 2-3 players in the next 3 drafts to mask the hole that is QB.

Most important positions in FB to have premium talent

QB......Check

LT........Check

Pass Rusher........Check 2x

CB.........Not so much

Ummm I think we're fine, CBs unless Deion, Revis or Champ take around 3-4yrs to become good enough to be difference makers (right around the time they become....FAs). Just so happens they also see the FA mkt in more abundance than just about any other position than.........WR.

By the time Griff & the team should be on the cusp of of making true SB noise should be just about the same time we start drafting 1sts again..............3yrs

[SkinsTight]

Bringing in RG3 and drafting Baylor WR Kendall Wright in the third round would be an awesome combo for years to come....

[PeterMP]

It was definitely a desperation move. If the Skins were willing to take the long view, they wouldn't give away all of these high picks for one player. BUT, they ARE desperate to get a franchise QB RIGHT NOW, and they were duly raped for their inflexibility.

The other possibility is that they believe they are essentially a QB away from being good.

I think to a certain extent the Giants were that way w/ the Eli trade. They had some good players. They just needed the QB to get them over the hump and Warner wasn't getting it done. Eli goes 1-6 his first year, but the next year, they are a 10 win team in the playoffs.

[Jeffro]

Maybe I'm crazy, but personally.. I wouldnt be surprised if these type of deals became more common. Why? Because of the rookie cap. Before last year, if you made a trade like this you were staring down the barrel of a contract like Bradford or Staffords. Which limited the teams ability to do much except build in the draft. Now, you can make this trade and basically have a franchise level QB for 4-5 years VERY CHEAP. It frees up money for free agents and allows you to build a team through free agency while waiting out draft picks. Then by the time that QB comes up for his 2nd contract you're back to having your draft picks when you're paying the big bucks.

Just my 2c.

I absolutely love the deal, and I am absolutely excited about this team, Shanahan and Bruce Allen being in charge.

[martytheman]

Bringing in RG3 and drafting Baylor WR Kendall Wright in the third round would be an awesome combo for years to come....

Riiiiigggghhhhhttttt............. nevermind the fact that he's slated to go in the mid 1ST ROUND

what planet do some of you people live on??

3rd round? He wouldn't go in the 3rd even if he had a broken leg! sheesh!!!

[SkinsTight]

Riiiiigggghhhhhttttt............. nevermind the fact that he's slated to go in the mid 1ST ROUND

what planet do some of you people live on??

3rd round? He wouldn't go in the 3rd even if he had a broken leg! sheesh!!!

hahahha...i was just playing dude. smoking a lot of weed does make you think you are from mars at time...hahaha.

[PeterMP]

I think this is a bit overblown, Art. RG3 is a pocket passer. This is unquestionable. The same could not have been said for Vick or Vince Young. He gets high single digit rushing TD totals. If you see them, they are generally from inside the 10. He only averages 4 yards/rush.

Vick never had more than 8 rushing TDs a season in college.

Vick had more yards/carry, but per a game, they are pretty similar (right around 50 with Vick being a the higher of the two). Vick's last year in college his passing rating was 184. Griffin's passig rating last year- 189

(Sorry, I actually got that wrong. Vick was better his 2nd to last year, and only had a 127 rating his last year.)

[SilkyDiamonds]

Vick never had more than 8 rushing TDs a season in college.

Vick had more yards/carry, but per a game, they are pretty similar (right around 50 with Vick being a the higher of the two). Vick's last year in college his passing rating was 184. Griffin's passig rating last year- 189

(Sorry, I actually got that wrong. Vick was better his 2nd to last year, and only had a 127 rating his last year.)

Would you like to mention Vick had 342 total passing attempts in college and RGII had 1149 career and 402 LY alone

[sempre_victrix]

And i don't think people realize the net effect on the rest of the team. Don't you think Moss Gaffney and AA are gonna have a better year solely because this QB is going to make better decisions, place the ball for these receivers unlike beck or grossman. There is a dual threat at QB along with a speedy RB in Helu

Not really, they can't get separation now. I don't see how a new QB is going to significantly change that.

[PleaseBlitz]

The other possibility is that they believe they are essentially a QB away from being good.

I think to a certain extent the Giants were that way w/ the Eli trade. They had some good players. They just needed the QB to get them over the hump and Warner wasn't getting it done. Eli goes 1-6 his first year, but the next year, they are a 10 win team in the playoffs.

Yea, that is certainly true and a great QB can make up for a lot of other deficiencies. I personally don't see it, I see a pretty horrible team with few above-average players, but I'm also not an NFL coach. :whoknows:

To me, it looks like they gave away the opportunity to add 4 really good pieces in the future so that they could add 1 really good piece right now. And that stinks of the old way the Skins operated that yielded terrible results.

[TSO]

This trade is worth it on so many levels, as mentioned by KDawg in the OP and as stated by numerous others within this thread as well as others, but I think one level has been overlooked. That is, how cool would it be if this were to end up as a factual statement:

The next African-American QB to win a Super Bowl did it on the same team as the first.

How cool would that be?

[Voice_of_Reason]

So, I've been thinking about this trade for about 18 hours now.

At first I thought it was bad. Then I thought it was not bad, but not good. Then I thought it was ok. Then I thought it was good. Then I thought it was great.

And now, now I think it's FREAKING BRILLIANT. And further, I think I'd be really really unhappy if I was a Rams fan.

I now believe that the 'Skins actually "won" this exchange. Sure, they are giving up 1 #1's and 1 #2. But here's why it's so FREAKING BRILLIANT:

They are only giving up one pick this year.

So let's look at this completely rationally from both standpoints:

The 'Skins need to pick up a number of players through FA and the draft. They need a QB, but they can't afford, this year, to give up a bunch of picks, because they need those 3rd and 4th rounders to add depth.

The cost to the 'Skins this year, in an off season that is absolutely critical, is that they gave up 1 second round pick. THAT'S IT. Overall, they gave up more. But this trade really doesn't prevent them from doing ANYTHING they want to this year.

The cost to the 'Skins next year is ONLY 1 #1. Ok, that's steep. But, they still have picks in every round, and an additional pick or two from trades. They still can do basically anything they want in next years draft.

The cost to the 'Skins in 2014 is ONLY 1 #1. Again, they are not limited because they still have picks in every other round.

This trade doesn't limit the 'Skins in pursuing any other draft trades. they still have a bevy of picks, including a 3 and 2 4's this year, and they can still move up and down the board if they want to. And they can still add, this year, 3-4 starters from the draft, including a starting QB.

Now let's look at this from the Ram's perspective:

They stink even worse than the 'Skins, but they do have a pretty good QB. They need to surround him with as much young talent as they can.

This year, they traded down 4 spots, probably losing out on the best OT, DE and WR. And all they picked up THIS YEAR was a stinking #2. If I'm a Rams fan, I'm thinking, DAMN. I just lost the ability to pick some great players, and this year, I only get a #2? Really?

Next year I get a #1, but who knows where that pick is going to be. It might be #1 overall, or it might be in the late teens. But that one pick doesn't help me this year.

And the pick in 2014, hell, that's so far from now, I can't even think about it.

The REALLY bad deal for the 'Skins would have been giving up multiple picks in the same draft. If they had given up a #2, #4 and a #5, that would have been tragic. The 'Skins need a bunch of players. Giving up a bunch of draft picks would have been worse.