Early
reports from an MRI done by Dr. James Andrews in Pensacola, FL are that Robert Griffin III could have suffered partial tears of his Anterior Cruciate (ACL) and Lateral Collateral Ligaments. The initial backlash over how Head Coach Mike Shanahan and Griffin himself handled the situation has been intense. Unfortunately, everyone is intent on looking for someone to blame and the fact is there isn’t anyone to blame. Sorry folks, that’s football.
Despite all the outside voices chiming in, and all the speculation flying around now that hindsight is available for us to abuse as we see fit, this remains a simple issue. RGIII on the field gives the Redskins the best chance to win the ball game, period. As a player, you are obligated to go out and perform if you can play. You owe your teammates that much. As a coach, you have an obligation to put your best guys on the field and to give your guys the best preparation you can possibly give in the days leading up to a ball game. It didn’t work, they came up short, RGIII went down, that doesn’t mean they made bad decisions, it simply means the Seahawks were the better team.
Had RGIII not played, coming off a game against the Cowboys in which he did play, and win, they would be lambasting him to no end in Washington now for being a coward, for not caring enough about the game. Now that the dust has settled and the Redskins season is over, there is an overwhelming urge to place blame on someone, it simply isn’t necessary.
I say hats off to RGIII for going out there and leaving it all on the field. Furthermore, hats off to Shanahan for giving his QB an opportunity to go out and be a legend. I don’t blame anyone in this situation; instead I tip my cap to the Seattle Seahawks for playing a good ball game in all phases over four quarters. RGIII will be back, he has suffered a similar injury before in college and he has the best of the best looking after him now. I think this is more a testament to his toughness than it is any one person in that organizations bad decision. You win some, you lose some, but you have to play the game.
