There are, IMHO, basically two ways to – well, building anything.
- A: You have a plan, a schematic, and you find the best parts or widgets to fit that scheme.
- B: You have the best widget in the world and you build a schematic to match what that widget does.
With A: You generally get to choose what you want to achieve, which parts to choose. You can even plan to be successful with more than one goal in mind.
With B: You generally get to do only whatever the widget chooses to do, or in other words, what that particular widget is good at.
You may think, if executed properly, that A stands a better chance for success than B. In reality, no matter which one you choose, it’s still possible to end up with a well-oiled-machine. You just have to pick one and stick with it.
However, when you mix the two together . . .
You often get something like this . . .
For years, the redskins have had coaches who profess to plan A and an owner who professes to plan B.
Way back in 2012, the Washington Redskins drafted RG3. He was a much hyped and physically talented QB who basically wowed anybody who met him or watched him play. To watch him on the field, you were wowed by his phenomenal physical ability to run and throw. To listen to him in person, or on social media, you were wowed by his smile and cliché’s .
He was viewed by some to be the one missing piece of the puzzle which would help propel an organization to greatness.
So Dan Snyder traded a king’s ransom and drafted him.
Imagine Kyle Shanahan’s surprise when he realized RG3 couldn’t drop back, read a pro-defense, sense a collapsing pocket, and step up and make the throw like a professional franchise pocket QB should.
His dad must have known this even before the draft, because he drafted Cousins.
But it was Kyle’s job to make the offense work. To his credit, he was smart enough to throw out plan A and design plan B. The Read Option. He did it so well that it was a huge success and RG3 won rookie of the year and was nominated to the pro bowl.
But injuries, confidence, trust issues, power struggles, egos, thru huge monkey wrenches into both plans and things quickly fell apart and the Shanahan’s and the Redskins organization parted ways.
So by this time last year we had a broken widget that needed fixing.
Dan Snyder, at the request and advice of his trusted GM, hired Jay Gruden who had a long and storied history of building up QB’s and running high powered offenses. He had the confidence and trust of the organization to right the ship. To fix the prized widget. Only problem with this plan was . . .
Gruden is a disciple of plan A.
Imagine his surprise when he realized RG3 couldn’t drop back, read a pro-defense, sense a collapsing pocket, and step up and make the throw like a professional franchise QB should.
But instead of choosing plan B, he was tasked with the daunting task of reshaping wonder widget into a pro-style QB.
By now we have pretty much realized that that is not going to happen any time soon. RG3 has now been benched by two different coaches for essentially the same reasons.
RG3 is smart, and talented, and could be taught all these wonderful abilities that make up a good quality QB. But as of right now, he is a one trick pony with a broken delivery. OK maybe two tricks if you count the smile and cliché’s….
Chris Cooley analyzed the “brokenness” of RG3 and described that things were so bad that his confidence and basic mechanics were so shot and that he was throwing the ball with a “YIP”.
A yip is something which is mostly associated with golfers and their putting, or occasionally with baseball players and their pitching. A yip is when an athlete suddenly becomes unable to do a basic skill he or she has done thousands or even millions of times before.
During the 2000 MLB playoffs, St. Louis Cardinals’ young star pitcher Rick Ankiel suddenly lost the ability to aim his pitches. Ankiel never recovered and eventually reinvented himself as an outfielder.
So now the talk about town regarding RG3 is not how he will save the organization, or how the organization will save him, but rather when and how they will trade him. It’s not that RG3 no longer fits, true as that may be, but rather, RG3 never really did fit at all and ultimately became the shinning poster child and example of what is truly wrong with this organization. We keep trying to shove square pegs into round holes with disastrous results.
If and when RG3 get traded, maybe RG3 will be lucky enough to land in a system that supports the Read-Option or at least a coach who will change his schematic to do so. If he stays, then he will become a very expensive project.
If neither works out, then it may be up to RG3 to change his own schematic, to reinvent himself. He will need to find a niche where his dynamic running ability and necessity for limited contact (to help extend his career) could be put to good use.
Hmmm, maybe he could become a wide receiver?
I blog about two of my three favorite things in life, Sports and Stocks. Ok, mostly about stocks....
Passing Perfection 
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