VIDEO: DeAngelo Hall interview: Locker room did not want RG3 benched

[jflow78]

Y'all know nothing is gonna get people off their soapbox. Days from now there will probably be another thread about Griffin mean mugging a waiter or something, with the same people, making the same arguments.

There are always people who aren't going to be willing to say, "Okay, I was wrong", regardless of how plain the facts are, but for people like me, who were undecided about the situation, it makes a big difference.  

 

I never gotten into the argument for or against Griffin because I wasn't sure what to think, but after hearing the Cofield statement a month ago, then Garcon the other day, and now Hall, and adding that to the WP article about what a complete ******* Mike was even to his own coaches, I feel completely comfortable believing Griffin wasn't the cause of any of these problems.

[Gamebreaker]

Criticize his play all you want and believe me there's a lot to be critical of.

 

But you have no hard evidence about Robert being a me-first player. And when one of us posts quotes from D. Hall, Fletch, or Garcon that shoots down the "sources" you reply with "Well he's just looking for a new contract"

 

Exactly. If that is how we're going to dismiss the other side's argument. I can just say these anonymous sources are just voices in these sportswriters' heads. Why not? No one is every going to ask the sports media to out a source, so they are safe to make up what they want without any retribution for their lies. 

[ghosti]

http://msn.foxsports.com/watch/fox-football-daily/video?videoId=c7eb9736-4223-41da-ab44-28514df468ba&from=sharepermalink-twitter&src=v5:pause:twitter

 

 

Really wasn’t any hate???  Of course they don’t hate RG but they sure knew he wasn’t playing well.  I think the best thing to do with RG is to remain neutral.  You can’t say he’s great and you can’t say he’s bad.  In honesty he’s had a hell of a 1/2 season out of 2.  To portray him in any other direction other than neutral is crazy to me.  

[Rexx1240]

 

Not saying that's all that you're doing T-REX, btw. 

 

I actually agree with damn near every point you just made. You may have misunderstood the point I tried to make and therefore lumped me in with that group. But the bottom line is this: Yes Shanny had his flaws but you cannot deny the fact that he and Bruce came in here and put this team in a better position for the long term and with very limited resources. But you also cannot deny the fact that this team has been extremely underachieving for over a decade and counting. When you think of the consistently "good" teams in the league, the casual fan will never mention the Redskins. No most fans probably won't lump us in with the Browns or Jaguars but this franchise has consistently been the definition of mediocrity for waay to long.

 

So when I say there are deeper issues than we care to point out, yes I will stand by that statement and back it up with facts if need be. But do I feel like we are in a much better position than we have been in recent memory, Hell yea and Shanny deserves a lot of the cred for that. I know this will sound cool-aid crazy coming off a 3-13 season (especially after winning the division the previous season) but I honestly feel good about the direction in which this franchise is moving. Now I'm not sure if Gruden is the right choice, I honestly don't know and will gladly take a wait-and-see approach. But I'm willing to acknowledge that something does feel good about this team... roster, young promising talent, half way competent FO, tons of cap room, young hungry coach, but the most important thing, a potential franchise QB.

 

So like I said, I'm not being a Debbie Downer here and I'm not trying to discredit anything the previous regime has established. I'm merely stating facts. This franchise has had plenty of problems much deeper than the casual fan will understand and it starts from the top on down. But like I also said, we are leaps and bounds ahead of where we were and I like where we're going.

[TSO]

^^ T-Rex, no hard feelings... I wasn't sure you were anyway which is why I put that sentence you quoted in there.

[sempre_victrix]

Here's the rub though: the "opposing stories" were always leaks and cited "anonymous sources", whereas the articles, interviews etc that refute those and say it was not true are actual players who are in the locker room and said it openly without disguising who they are. I'm going to put much more trust in what an actual person who played with RG3 and spent time with him says over what a leaked "anonymous source" says.

 

Also...you're going to trust your "guess" over what actual players are saying and have said? Really? And Hall isn't the only one saying that the stuff was not true and that they supported and still do support RG3. London Fletcher...is he looking for a new contract? Pierre Garcon...is he looking for a new contract this year? Trent Williams...is he looking for a new contract this year? You lambaste people for only grasping on to articles that support their viewpoints but then you to grasp on to any possibility to discredit what an actual player is saying. "DHall said it was nonsense and they didn't want RG3 benched? Only possible explanation is he is doing it for a contract...couldn't possibly be true."

 

Are you really this naive?

 

Seriously, how often does a player unhappy with another player, especially someone as visible as Griffin, come out in the press to complain about it?  Do you really think DHall was going to go on TV and say that, Yeah, I took a locker room poll and we wanted to give Kirk a shot to see if he was a better QB."?  In all the painful years, with all the flotsum and jetsom that we have had a QB, I do not remember a single player coming out, publicily, to critisize their play.

 

And I didn't say anything about who was grasping at which stories.  Both sides of the coin are guilty of this. 

 

What is getting old is that if anyone dare question Griffin's drive, determination, skill, poise, maturity, arm strength, accuracy, humility, pocket poise, speed, decision making, public relations skills, knee health, sponsor, favorite color, shoe size, or car choice, they are immediately leapt upon by the RG3 sychophants and labeled as fake fans and haters.  Sometimes, I feel sorry for the guy, so many fans have put him on such a high pedestal with such unrealistic expectaions that it is almost inevitable that he fails to meets them.

[Morrison J]

I see DHall is interested in playing safety here next year?

 

Could be an option to fill that gap I suppose if we can get in a talented corner.

[mistertim]

Are you really this naive?

 

Seriously, how often does a player unhappy with another player, especially someone as visible as Griffin, come out in the press to complain about it?  Do you really think DHall was going to go on TV and say that, Yeah, I took a locker room poll and we wanted to give Kirk a shot to see if he was a better QB."?  In all the painful years, with all the flotsum and jetsom that we have had a QB, I do not remember a single player coming out, publicily, to critisize their play.

 

And I didn't say anything about who was grasping at which stories.  Both sides of the coin are guilty of this. 

 

What is getting old is that if anyone dare question Griffin's drive, determination, skill, poise, maturity, arm strength, accuracy, humility, pocket poise, speed, decision making, public relations skills, knee health, sponsor, favorite color, shoe size, or car choice, they are immediately leapt upon by the RG3 sychophants and labeled as fake fans and haters.  Sometimes, I feel sorry for the guy, so many fans have put him on such a high pedestal with such unrealistic expectaions that it is almost inevitable that he fails to meets them.

So you basically just decided to call me naive because I think its quite possible that plenty of players coming out and flat out saying the rumors and articles written about RG3 were false and they support him are telling the truth, while not actually addressing the points I brought up, ie articles with "anonymous sources" vs actual players on the record, guys going to bat for him who aren't even on the team anymore (Fletcher has been outspoken about lots of stuff lately and not all of it has been positive about the team).

 

Using your logic, apparently we can never trust anything positive a player says about anything or anyone when it comes to the team they are on. In fact, we might want to assume the opposite, especially if there are media articles from leaked sources that say differently. So...players (as well as coaches...Art Briles personally refuted the "game tape" story) are liars and not trustworthy, but one sided articles that use only leaked info from "anonymous sources" and many times are from writers who are notorious for looking for reasons to stir the pot on Redskins Land should be seen as legit. And I'M naive?

 

As far as criticism of Griffin, I challenge you to find any instance where I've questioned anyone's fan status or labeled them "haters" if they dare to criticize him. In fact, most of the posters who defend him aren't like that. Sure there might be a few, but you're always going to have outliers. I have no problem with criticism of him; I've criticized his play and some of the things he has done off the field as well. But if you don't know the difference between fair and well thought out criticism of RG3 and simply choosing to believe a bunch of anonymously sourced articles basically saying he is a flat out diva who is uncoachable, thinks he is better than everyone, is emotionally and mentally fragile, is disliked in the locker room, and on and on....then I really don't know what to tell you.