It wasn’t turning out to be a banner weekend for DC area sports fans, what with the Nationals’ 9th inning meltdown in game 5 against the Cardinals (makes the game 4 dramatics seem pretty anticlimactic now) and the Redskins’ once seemingly insurmountable lead dwindling away late in the 4th quarter against the Vikings. A once 19 point lead had been trimmed to 5, as the Skins’ bend-but-don’t break defense had a little too much bend to it in the 2nd half for my taste.
However, RG3 had different ideas. With just under 3 minutes remaining in the game and Washington facing a 3rd and 6 from their own territory, the Vikings chose to blitz, and Griffin broke containment. Even at this early stage in his career, I have seen enough RG3 to know that when he gets to top gear if you don’t have an angle on him, you’re not going to touch him. 1st down, move the chains, and continue milking the clock…but when a 2nd Minnesota defender took a poor angle, possibly underestimating Griffin’s world-class track speed, it became almost instantly clear that Griffin could go the distance. No flags…game over.
Through 6 games of watching RG3 as a Redskin, there is 1 thought that keeps popping into my mind: this is what it’s like to have a real playmaker on your team. I don’t know if anyone really knows what Griffin really is yet. He’s not Peyton Manning or Tom Brady or Drew Brees. In fact, he may very well be something the likes of nobody has ever really seen before (only time will tell). But for the 1st time in my lifetime, the Redskins have a guy on their roster who actually has the ability to take over a game.
If you forget about schemes and injury concerns and what his teammates have done around him, you would have to give Griffin a very high grade in each of his 1st 6 games. Sure, maybe he has taken too many hits, but he has played great by almost any measure. It’s that playmaking, take-over-a-game ability that makes you think the Redskins have at least a chance to win every week. And that’s with a lousy defense, a makeshift offensive line, and, despite Alfred Morris’ surprising start, a collection of skill players that isn’t exactly awe-inspiring. No more was this on display than last week, when Griffin was knocked out of the game. Both my heart and my head say Washington beats Atlanta if he doesn’t get concussed…the Falcons are the last unbeaten team in the NFL by the way.
As it stands though, the Skins are 3-3 and only a game behind the Giants, who they will play next Sunday. If you asked me before the season started, I would’ve taken that place in the standings through 6 games. The Giants in the Meadowlands will be Washington’s toughest test to date, but as long as RG3 can avoid getting bludgeoned by Jason Pierre-Paul, Justin Tuck, and company (no easy task in and of itself), Skins’ fans at least have to think they have a chance again. They know they have 1 guy who can make a play.
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