I have not done one of these in a long time now, but I think there are two head-scratchers from last night that need to be addressed immediately: The Redskins trade for the second overall pick with the Rams and the Jets sign Mark Sanchez to a three year extension.
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| Could this be the future for Robert Griffin III and the Redskins? Not unless they they find a way to add a lot of talent in order to help Griffin turn around one of the worst offenses in the NFL. |
I recently wrote an article about what the Redskins should do this offseason, and I laid out my reasons why Griffin was the best fit for the Skins and the future of the organization. However, giving up three first round picks and a second round pick for one guy is putting a lot of trust in Griffin to not be good, but great. For this to pay off for Washington, Griffin will have to become at least a top 10 quarterback within the first three years in the league, and that is a lot of pressure for a guy who just turned 22.
While I am very high on Griffin and his potential, it is just that, potential. You really never know what you are going to get with a prospect, especially at the quarterback position. Quarterback is the most difficult position to play out of any sport because you have to be so physically and mentally tough in order to have even the smallest amount of success in the NFL. The pressure of being the face of your franchise can destroy a player if he is not set up for success quickly (exhibit David Carr). Considering the lack of talent the Redskins have on offense, and now the lack of picks they have to add talent, Griffin might have a rough couple of years ahead of him, even if he plays up to the hype.
Also, considering Griffin is a running quarterback, there is a chance that he will get injured early and often in his career (much like Michael Vick). Then your team is down its leader and you do not have those high picks to surround your backup quarterback with enough talent to win without Griffin in the lineup. Griffin has the potential to be an excellent pocket passer, but at least early in his career, he will tend to try to gain first downs with his legs instead of standing strong in the pocket. This could cause him to take a lot of punishment from NFL defenders.
All that being said, Griffin is still one of the best prospects to come out of college in years, and if it were not for Andrew Luck being one of the best quarterback prospects of all time, Griffin would be getting even more attention than he has already gotten. Did the Redskins pay an extremely steep price to move up to that number two slot? Yes, but if they believe that Griffin can lead this team for years to come, then it was a move that this team had to make.
From everything that I have read and from all the interviews I have watched, Griffin seems like not only a great football player, but a fantastic person. He is a guy that everyone should be rooting for (outside of New York, Dallas, and Philly) and hopefully Mike Shanahan has found his next protege. I will definitely be rooting for this guy.
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| Mark Sanchez has to spend much less time on the ground in 2012 in order for him to live up to his $40 million extension. |
The Jets organization has continually gone out of their way to coddle Sanchez, doing everything from color coding the offensive plays to now giving him a huge pay day for having the worst season of his young career. Maybe this will boost up his confidence and help him play up to his potential, but this could actually cause even more controversy in an already divided locker room.
There are players in every organization who believe they are underpaid, and I am sure there are plenty on the Jets. How would you feel if you were stuck with a contact you outplayed and see Sanchez get a ton of money that will inhibit you from getting the salary boost you feel you deserve. I know quarterbacks are always treated differently, but this is a bit much for a guy who many thought might not even be the Jets starter this season, let alone five years from now.
Another downside to this extension is the fact that this kills all incentive for a quarterback like Jason Campbell or Kyle Orton to come to New York to compete for the starting quarterback position. The Jets desperately need a better backup quarterback in order to push Sanchez, but that is unlikely considering players now know they will not have a fair shot at winning the starting role.
I went to USC when Sanchez was their starting quarterback and I have been a die hard Jets fan my entire life, unfortunately. So there is no one rooting harder for Sanchez to be successful, but why extend a guy who has shown so little progress? Even if he had a great 2012 season, Sanchez would not have gotten a contract much bigger than the one the Jets offered him this season, so I do not see why this move was necessary right now.
The best part of this move is that it frees up about $6 million of cap space for the Jets this season, which could be huge if they want to go after a guy like Mario Williams in free agency. However, if they do not make a big splash in free agency, or miss out on Williams or another big free agent the way they missed out on Nnamdi Asomugha last season, this could really come back to haunt them if Sanchez does not make significant progress in 2012.
Sanchez has everything it takes to be a top 10 quarterback (yes I really do mean that), but for whatever reason he has not put it all together to become a consistent quarterback. That consistency is the difference between the best quarterbacks in the league and backup quarterbacks.
Mike Tannenbaum has made a lot of impressive moves as the Jets' General Manager in his time with the team, but he does sometimes tend to try to throw money at a problem and it has hurt the Jets a few times in the past. Hopefully this is not one of those times, but Sanchez will have to prove to the world that he is worth this extension or else he will be looking for a job in another city. Oh and the Jets will have to hand him at least $10 million more than they would have had they not extended him.
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