Dear RG3... an open letter and tough love from a fan.

[Mr. Sinister]

Has everyone gone off their meds? 

 

Clearly...

[CGSKINS]

Dude. Do you need to take some meds or something?

naw I'm good bra. Redskins fans are crazy bra. Throwing RG3 jersey in the trash after one year. Some redskins fans needs meds. Calling for trades and benching him? Wow!

If I'm this dude I'm outta here.

[TK]

Enough.

Go take your meds. All of ya.

[Dan T.]

Dear Mad Mike,

 

Thank you for your letter.  I read it last night.  After wiping away the tears, I decided that you are right. I should just shut up.

 

 In the wee hours I popped "Bull Durham" into the BlueRay and watched the scene with Crash Davis and Luke Laloosh over and over.  Now I get it.  I am ready for the rest of the season. 

 

We will play them one game at a time. 

I'm just happy to be here and hope I can help the ballclub.

I just want to give it my best shot and good Lord willing, things'll work out...

 

Signed,

Robert

 

P.S. I took your advice and have been studying Peyton Manning.  As a result, I've dropped my Subway contract and signed on with Papa John's.

[StephenDavis]

If I was RG3 I would demand a trade right now. Redskins fans are crazy. This guy goes out Last season and lays on the line and this is how people treat him?

This guy is going to pull a lebron and I don't blame him. I've seen pictures on twitter and Facebook of people throwing this guys jersey in the trash......really????? After one year????

We as skins fans are so impatient. Yes he has not played well and yes he deservs to be called out on his play but trade him? Cut him ? Come on bra.

We don't deserve this guy and if I'm his agent I would tell him to bounce.

Man RGIII is the best thing that has happened to this franchise since I was old enough to become a fan around 1995.  RGIII is going to be a perennial pro bowler.  To think that people are burning his jersey is just ridiculous, and shows that they were bandwagon fans to begin with.  True Redskin fans know how lucky we are to have RGIII.  This season has just been bad.  Bad seasons happen.  I believe that if RGIII were on the Seahawks that team would still be 10-1.  When you don't have an off season to hone any of your QB skills, and are forced to adjust how you play the game on the fly, you're going to struggle.  Combine that with being on a terrible football team and you get our 3-7 record.  If I saw someone burning RGIII's jersey I would be tempted to punch that person right in the jaw.  I will be at the game on Monday night hollering my a** off.  **** the playoffs.  Redskin fans need to rally around RGIII and this team and show them we're not a fan base full of quitters.  HTTR!!!!!

[KingGibbs]

Saw an interview with Tom Brady where he said even 14 years into his career he is still trying to earn his teammates respect. How impressive is that? You hear that Robert?

 

I've said it before. Robert let one good year completely inflate his ego. It's a damn shame.

[Redskins Diehard]

P.S. I took your advice and have been studying Peyton Manning.  As a result, I've dropped my Subway contract and signed on with Papa John's.

This is pretty funny. 

[steve09ru]

"Dear Mike,

 

Your letter has truly hurt my feelings and I can't let you talk about Robert like that.  He doesn't do anything wrong and is an angel.  Why you were being mean to him is a mystery to me. 

 

I love his commercials and the things Adidas does for him.  I love how he tries to make his life a copy of The Truman Show.  He is never at fault and should not be blamed for anything.  So, to you Mike, please shut up.

 

Sincerely,

 

A bunch of upset fans with their panties in a bunch"

 

 

Good stuff Mike, sometimes the truth hurts.  It's pathetic seeing the same posters jump thread to thread cussing and attacking people who have a different point of view on Griffin. You would think you were on a Justin Beiber Fan Site and said something bad about him with how people react to criticism of Griffin.

 

And to those who are comparing Griffin and Brady/Manning.  Please stop, that's a disgrace to 2 of the greatest qb's of all time.  They have a right to get on their players, they are the leaders of that offense.  Do they make mistakes?  Yeah but they man up to their own mistakes as well.  Are their media contracts hurting them or the team?  No.  Did they do these things before they even started their 2nd season?  No.  There's a point in your career when you earn the right to do those things.  Griffin hasn't earned anything yet and I'm a huge fan of his and hope he has a long successful career.  But the fact is, and it's been said since before he came into the league, he needs to pull back from the media for a bit and focus on his game because right now, there are a lot of flaws.

[gortiz]

is it just me and my homerism, or was that play to DY for the long TD pass ... just plain sick?  I mean, the scramble was amazing, but the placement of the throw while on the run ... yowza.  But I digress. 

 

I've said this story so many times and I wanted to start a thread. 

 

Cooley a few months back said that after his rookie year having that offseason was so vital and critical to his development.  The thing is, he said what he was able to do was decompress.  He was able to just eat, drink, play video games and shoot the **** for an entire month and he said he needed that in the worse way.

 

He needed that because he felt he put so much pressure on himself during his first year and it was such a whirlwind. 

 

That is how a 3rd round Tight End with almost no fanfare and almost no expectations felt. 

 

How do you think a #2 overall pick  coming to a QB starved fanbase and team felt after his first year??? 

 

Robert's off season kicked off with the dread  that his career was over before it began ... the rigors, pain and overall mess that is recovery and rehab.  The frustration of not being able to take a step forward with his craft, he got married, he got scrutiny from people getting those gifts, the media twisting words around, the debacle about not playing in preseason. 

 

He had no time to unwind, no time to reflect, no time to evaluate. 

 

and no time to be a 22 year old. 

 

It was a **** storm from the word go. 

[StephenDavis]

is it just me and my homerism, or was that play to DY for the long TD pass ... just plain sick?  I mean, the scramble was amazing, but the placement of the throw while on the run ... yowza.  But I digress. 

 

I've said this story so many times and I wanted to start a thread. 

 

Cooley a few months back said that after his rookie year having that offseason was so vital and critical to his development.  The thing is, he said what he was able to do was decompress.  He was able to just eat, drink, play video games and shoot the **** for entire month and he said he need that in the worse way.

 

He needed that because he felt he put so much pressure on himself during his first year and it was such a whirlwind. 

 

That is how a 3rd round Tight End with almost no fanfare and almost no expectations felt. 

 

How do you think a #2 overall pick  coming to a QB starved fanbase and team felt after his first year??? 

 

Robert's off season kicked off with the dread  that his career was over before it began ... the rigors, pain and overall mess that is recovery and rehab.  The frustration of not being able to take a step forward with his craft, he got married, he got scrutiny from people getting those gifts, the media twisting words around, the debacle about not playing in preseason. 

 

He had no time to unwind, no time to reflect, no time to evaluate. 

 

and no time to be a 22 year old. 

 

It was a **** storm from the word go. 

Yep, yep, yep and yep, yep, yep........yep

[SWFLSkins]

Dearest Jim Haslett..........http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_detailpage&v=cHjmIgYLh7I#t=39

[gortiz]

Yep, yep, yep and yep, yep, yep........yep

  I'm telling you, hearing Cooley say that story was eye opening for me. 

 

I'm not naive, I know he reaped what he sowed with the pic of him sitting on all the gifts, the Gatorade show, the posts, the comments. etc. I really hope he learned from that. 

 

I really hope he takes a page out of the Manning school of handling your business off field.

 

Peyton Manning Didn't Even Tell His Own Teammates About Twins

Peyton Manning has made his career out of making the impossible possible. Some of the greatest fourth quarter comebacks in the history of this game are a direct result of his play from the quarterback position. But, one could argue that the biggest feat he has ever accomplished had nothing to do with anything on a football field.His greatest accomplishment might be the near media blackout he has successfully cultivated around his personal life.

 

http://www.stampedeblue.com/2011/5/10/2163902/peyton-manning-didnt-even-tell-his-own-teammates-about-twins

[Mad Mike]

naw I'm good bra. Redskins fans are crazy bra. Throwing RG3 jersey in the trash after one year. Some redskins fans needs meds. Calling for trades and benching him? Wow!

If I'm this dude I'm outta here.

 

Dude. Where did you read anything about trashing his jersey, benching, or trading him away? Because I never said any such thing and I have yet the hear anyone say ANYTHING like the things you seem to think they are. 

[Mad Mike]

is it just me and my homerism, or was that play to DY for the long TD pass ... just plain sick?  I mean, the scramble was amazing, but the placement of the throw while on the run ... yowza.  But I digress. 

 

I've said this story so many times and I wanted to start a thread. 

 

Cooley a few months back said that after his rookie year having that offseason was so vital and critical to his development.  The thing is, he said what he was able to do was decompress.  He was able to just eat, drink, play video games and shoot the **** for an entire month and he said he needed that in the worse way.

 

He needed that because he felt he put so much pressure on himself during his first year and it was such a whirlwind. 

 

That is how a 3rd round Tight End with almost no fanfare and almost no expectations felt. 

 

How do you think a #2 overall pick  coming to a QB starved fanbase and team felt after his first year??? 

 

Robert's off season kicked off with the dread  that his career was over before it began ... the rigors, pain and overall mess that is recovery and rehab.  The frustration of not being able to take a step forward with his craft, he got married, he got scrutiny from people getting those gifts, the media twisting words around, the debacle about not playing in preseason. 

 

He had no time to unwind, no time to reflect, no time to evaluate. 

 

and no time to be a 22 year old. 

 

It was a **** storm from the word go. 

 

I agree with everything you said. I would even take it further since as a QB what time he would have had to mentally prep for the new season was taken up by rehab. The guy definitely had the deck stacked against him this year. All things considered he's done pretty well. My only issue is with the way he acted leading up to the season.  The passive aggressive press conferences and daily proclamations that he was ready to go when he clearly wasn't, didn't help anyone.

 

I think it's easy to see this amazing athlete and forget that he is still a very young man. As I've said before, I'm sure he will work it out  and be just fine. I just want him to figure it out sooner rather than later.

[thewagen]

This is really tough for me to write because I truly am a huge fan. I honestly believe that you have all the tools to be the best ever. As someone who was born in Japan to a military family myself, I kind of view you as a brother because of that shared experience.  And it's with that in mind... with all due respect and love that I say....

 

SHUT THE HELL UP. Seriously dude, it's time to shut up and look in the mirror.

 

When you were drafted you were quick to tell everyone who would listen that you were NOT just a running QB. What happened to that dude? Because somewhere along the way you started playing like you were looking for a good ESPN highlight reel, threw caution to the wind, and eventually hurt yourself. Then when you re-injured yourself, you hid the truth from the coaches and eventually did even worse damage to yourself and the team. Did you look in the mirror? NO. You blamed everyone else for your bad decisions.

 

Then this year, we all heard you complain that Shanahan was holding you back. You were ready.... Operation patience.... Cough, cough.... Bull****. You were horrible. You clearly spent the offseason focused on rehabbing the knee which was not strong enough for you to play well. And you clearly used time on your knee, that could have been used in the film room learning to better read defenses an master the nuances of being an NFL QB (more on this soon). It's understandable that classroom study suffered while you were working so hard on your knee... it really is... right up until you open your mouth and complain how someone else is holding you back when as we all have seen, you were not. You can start your mental rehab now by saying it out loud. "I was wrong" I wasn't as ready as I thought I was.". It's OK. We will forgive you.

 

But here's where I'm starting to get really disappointed... After the Eagles game you said: "Obviously, we were able to run the ball effectively, but in the passing game; they kind of had us. They kind of knew what was coming before it was coming and like I said, that is disheartening." Really? We did all right with the run but "they kind of knew what was coming" with the pass. Gosh... You mean it wasn't all of our play calling that we got out coached on. JUST THE PART THAT YOU WERE RUNNING.

 

Here's a thought... Maybe... just maybe... YOU WERE TELEGRAPHING YOUR THROWS. Why do you think it is you keep getting balls batted back at you? Because D linemen have figured out that you are staring down your receivers.

 

Fortunately this is an easy thing to fix with a little practice. Just look the defense off and mess with their minds. I know you can do it. You damn sure are smart enough. The only real question at this time is can you squash your ego, and look in the mirror. Or are you going to blame everyone else and waste the god given talent you have by not being critical enough of yourself to identify the things you need to improve.

 

One final tip... If you want to be the best, then pattern yourself after the best. You should be studying Payton Manning. If you can get anywhere near as good as him at manipulating defenses and picking them apart through the air, your natural athletic ability would make you unstoppable. And It wouldn't hurt to take notes when he speaks as well. No one says you can't be yourself. Just turn down the volume a little and let your play speak for itself. In the long run, you will be just fine.

Like a reply will be forthcoming Dude..You say what we all think, but it doesn't matter that us fans read your stuff. You need someone close to Robert to go up to him, put their arm around his shoulder, and say : "Let's Talk". It certainly WON'T be his father, who all of a sudden thinks he knows more than the coaches. Maybe his Baylor Coach can have words with him, I dunno. But clearly RGIII is smart enough, skilled enough and seemingly dedicated enough to work his craft to the point of being a NightMare for defenses. It's just the Brain-Mouth thing that needs rebooting...

Dear Mad Mike,

 

Thank you for your letter.  I read it last night.  After wiping away the tears, I decided that you are right. I should just shut up.

 

 In the wee hours I popped "Bull Durham" into the BlueRay and watched the scene with Crash Davis and Luke Laloosh over and over.  Now I get it.  I am ready for the rest of the season. 

 

We will play them one game at a time. 

I'm just happy to be here and hope I can help the ballclub.

I just want to give it my best shot and good Lord willing, things'll work out...

 

Signed,

Robert

 

P.S. I took your advice and have been studying Peyton Manning.  As a result, I've dropped my Subway contract and signed on with Papa John's.

A CLASSIC response! Good onya!!!! LOVE IT!

[Brokenstriker]

I'm getting tired of people telling RG3 to shut up.  You do realize that he has to give these interviews, right?  What do you expect from him?  As for the comment you're referencing, he's not the only player involved in the passing game.  When several of your receivers are down and the line can't protect you, you can say "we".  He's incuding himself, but he's not the only one who deserves credit/blame here.

I expect him to take the blame when he doesn't play well ... and for when the team doesn't play well; to equate himself to the Redskins the organization, the coaches and each player ... and not seperate himself from them; and, to deal with the coaches and the GM in private, not in videos.  The hard part is he says the right things, the "we" and "us" things.  But he also says some wrong things, the "I' things.  He's going to be great as far as I can tell.  He doesn't need to tell us he's great, or that its not his fault.  It will be obvious one way or the other.

 

I don't think he should shut up.  I do think he should stop saying and doing some of the things he's said and done.  In reality there isn't too much of that but when the season starts to stink on ice ... and when its clear he's not playing as well as he has in the past even a little bit of the "It's not just me." stuff and dueling with the head coach in the media about whether he should or shouldn't start the season is too much.  Hopefully its just a maturing process and will come with time.

[gortiz]

 My only issue is with the way he acted leading up to the season.  The passive aggressive press conferences and daily proclamations that he was ready to go when he clearly wasn't, didn't help anyone.

Right ... that's why I posted that Manning article in this thread

 

I think that is the last thing Robert needs to do in order to really take off and build off that great first year. 

 

Tone it down ...be a freaking monk.  He's halfway there, he doesn't drink or smoke or chase chicks ... head down, work hard, for the next 14 years!!!! 

[Boss_Hogg]

Wasn't this thread padlocked last night? Did I miss something? This could've gone in the countless other "Gawd I hate RGIII" **** fest threads.

[Hazel-Ra]

Dear Jim Haslett:

[Vilandil Tasardur]

I've said many times over the years on this board that I was born in Wisconsin and grew up a HUGE Brett Favre fan before moving to DC in my high school years and seeing the light. I think it can be argued that Favre is top 5 all time and maybe one of the GOATs. I will always compare all franchise QBs to Favre with regards to how they handle their business (not necessarily how they play). I realize it isn't fair to compare a 2nd year pro to Favre, and I do not expect them to be equal. I just want to see similarities.

 

In 2 years following RG3, I know more about his personal life than I did in the first 15 of Favre's career. Growing up the biggest Favre homer on the planet, I knew a handful of things about the man's personal life. He was married with two daughters, he had been in a serious car accident while in college, his dad died before a huge monday night game, and he had quit cold turkey to recover from a painkiller addiction. 

 

There was no media, no twitter, or any of that garbage. But Favre has always kept his personal business close to the vest. A wrangler commercial here or there and a picture of him four wheeling or fishing surfaced every now and then, but until the **** in NY went down people didn't know anything about his personal life beyond the obvious. 

 

Guys like Peyton and Brady are similar. I think Manning is married, but I don't know the woman's name, have never seen a picture of her, and don't even know for sure if its true. I've never heard the woman referred to in any media outlet. Brady is married to one of the biggest super models on the planet and, barring the initial hubabaloo around the wedding, the only time we hear about her is when she opens her own mouth about things like drops (and she was chastised heavily for it). There wasn't any "all in for week one" when Brady tore his knee up, Peyton sat out an entire season because of his issues. Hell, even Brees didn't have any hoopla when he left for NO with a torn shoulder. They just kept their head down and quietly went about their business.

 

 

And one more huge, important question:

Everyone knows that when you are rehabbing an injury, there is only so much you can do at once. You can't rehab the knee 10 hours a day until it has been strengthened to go 10 hours a day. So where are people making this **** up about Robert not being able to watch film because he was too busy rehabbing his knee? Most of us who have ever rehabbed serious injuries manage to do it while in school, or work, or both. You're telling me the guy didn't have time to watch film because he was to busy in the gym? Please...

[Mad Mike]

Wasn't this thread padlocked last night? Did I miss something? This could've gone in the countless other "Gawd I hate RGIII" **** fest threads.

 

Sorry to disappoint you but this isn't an "I hate RG3" thread. 

[Mad Mike]

And one more huge, important question:

Everyone knows that when you are rehabbing an injury, there is only so much you can do at once. You can't rehab the knee 10 hours a day until it has been strengthened to go 10 hours a day. So where are people making this **** up about Robert not being able to watch film because he was too busy rehabbing his knee? Most of us who have ever rehabbed serious injuries manage to do it while in school, or work, or both. You're telling me the guy didn't have time to watch film because he was to busy in the gym? Please...

 

I didn't say he did not have time to study. I said he was focused on his rehab more than other aspects of his game and the results appear to back me up.

 

But since you went there I would like to point out that had he not been injured, the time he spent in the gym could have been spent elsewhere. To say otherwise would be the equivalent of my high school social studies teacher who tried to tell the class that Germany had the advantage in a two front war because they could move troops back and forth between the two fronts. (where's that face-palm smiley when you need it?) 

[Vilandil Tasardur]

I didn't say he did not have time to study. I said he was focused on his rehab more than other aspects of his game and the results appear to back me up.

 

But since you went there I would like to point out that had he not been injured that time he spent in the gym could have been spent elsewhere. To say otherwise would be the equivalent of my high school social studies teacher who tried to tell the class that Germany had the advantage in a two front war because they could move troops back and forth between the two fronts. (where's that face-palm smiley when you need it?) 

Now that's funny

 

I didn't mean to sound like I was calling you out. I have a habit of opening up 5 threads in 5 separate tabs, and by the time I get to the last one, I'm ready to type a response to the whole thing I've been reading. 

 

I just feel like, in general, the pain from the injury was probably felt much more in the early season (minicamp and training camp) when things were actually being installed by coaches and so. If RG3 had wanted to study film between February and July I'm sure he could have (and maybe he did). I doubt rehabbing an injury prevented him from making that happen.

[Mad Mike]

Now that's funny

 

I didn't mean to sound like I was calling you out. I have a habit of opening up 5 threads in 5 separate tabs, and by the time I get to the last one, I'm ready to type a response to the whole thing I've been reading. 

 

I just feel like, in general, the pain from the injury was probably felt much more in the early season (minicamp and training camp) when things were actually being installed by coaches and so. If RG3 had wanted to study film between February and July I'm sure he could have (and maybe he did). I doubt rehabbing an injury prevented him from making that happen.

 

No problem. I can sound bit snarky myself even when it's not intended.  You're a saint compared to some in this thread.

 

Funny thing I was just reading some redskins news and found this right after my last post...

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/football-insider/wp/2013/11/19/shanahan-eagles-didnt-know-redskins-plays-but-aimed-to-challenge-griffins-passing/

 

 

But Shanahan believes that Griffin will make improvements in these areas. He believes that growth will come in Year 3 following a full offseason to sharpen his skills and make up for this past year’s lost offseason work.

“You need repetition. One of the things we talked about in the offseason, I think the biggest growth from the first year to the second year is those 10 weeks of just going back and doing things that you haven’t done before. That’s what you miss besides training camp,” Shanahan said. “So when you take the first nine, 10 weeks of the season and you take maybe the first three weeks before we start our first game, he’s getting all those reps right now. The more reps he gets, the more comfortable he’s going to be, especially in game-type situations. I think he feels very natural with the zone read and some of the play-actions off of it. Some of the drop-back passing attack will take a little time. But he’s so sharp at picking things up. He can make any throw. Not many people have that ability to do that. The great part about it is the sky’s the limit for him in the future. There is going to be some growing pains. It’s not going to be automatic. We didn’t expect it to be automatic. But there will be growth in what we do with him as time goes on, and I think he’ll keep on getting better and better.”

 

Then there's this... (Talking to everyone here)

 

 

 

Redskins Coach Mike Shanahan said Monday that he didn’t take the comments as a sign of waning trust in the coaching staff on Griffin’s part. Shanahan also dismissed the notion that the Eagles knew what plays were coming. He said they instead opted for a strategy that would challenge Griffin’s pass-coverage-reading skills and take away deep threats.

 

Hmmm, where have I heard that before.

 

To be fair, if you are RG3 and defenses have seen enough film to know that you are struggling with second and third reads, it would seem to you as if they had your game plan figured out. But the reality is that he has not yet mastered the "outs" that would give him the options he needs to beat defenses that sit on his first option.

[Wyvern]

If everyone keeps focus, I strongly suspect Griffin will be able learn from this painful season, and will wind up being the next Drew Brees/Wilson combination --- the elite, franchise QB everyone knew he has in him. Time for him to remember his favorite saying, "no pressure, no diamonds!"

But frankly he needs to stay out of the media circus (safe cliches would be advisable at this point), privately acknowledge self-responsibility to his teammates, and buckle down to learn how to better:

1. Manage his drop backs more quickly, while reading the field

2. Develop good pocket presence.

3. Get past his primary read and really see the field before he scrambles and shakes thing up

4. Regain his accuracy on the long-pass

5. Regain his touch pass, dropping it in the bucket on the corner fade. ( after all, he didn't always throw Campbell flat bullets.)

6. Develop a more reliable and accurate touch in the timing patterns with his receiving corps ( he showed it last year, but this year he's spraying those passes)

7. Recognize that other team's "goons" are gunning for him and really learn to use the rules to protect himself

8. Learn how to throw the ball away safely

I think the media and we fans should remember that it's been a sharp learning curve for a sophomore QB, recovering from a major injury that robbed him of an off-season, a preseason, and a few games into the regular season.

We need to avoid over-reacting to being 3-7, or even winding up 5-11. The Skins' fortunes are tied to Griffins emergence as a franchise QB, so when he founders, this 2013 Skins team just isn't that good enough to carry him. BUT, both Griffin, and the team as a whole are getting better. Assuming everyone can stay the course and not self-implode to satisfy the mediot feeding frenzy... this will be a very competitive team next season.

That said, Shanahan is going to have to candidly evaluate retaining consistency of his coaching staff. He'll need to seriously consider change at Def.Coordinator, at LBs coach, at STs coach, and maybe D-line coach. The defense needs to climb up to the teens in defense ranking, for the Skins to be competitive.

P.S: I think Kyle is a decent coordinator, and one of the better ones Mike Shanahan brought onto his coaching staff. (But that discussion is for another thread.)