RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

Like most young people, Robert Griffin III fails to recognize God’s intent in blessing us with two eyes, two ears and one mouth.



I’m an RGIII fan. But I don’t particularly care about having access to him. I got my own friends. And I’m not going to cripple a talented black QB by blowing smoke up his rear.


The Creator intended for all of us to do four times as much listening and observing as talking. That’s how we learn and evolve. When we constantly run our mouths we oftentimes expose ourselves in unflattering ways.

RGIII exposed himself Monday afternoon. Just beneath the tough-guy, ultimate-warrior bravado he trumpets to the media lurks some major, Kirk Cousins-fueled insecurity.

Griffin doesn’t like the way he’s being handled by the Washington coaching staff because he doesn’t want Mike Shanahan, his teammates or Redskins fans to think the backup QB is a viable option as the starting QB.

“I don’t like it. I don’t understand all of it,” Griffin said of the coaching staff’s cautious approach to his return from a major knee injury. “But (Shanahan) gave me his word. ... When you give your word to somebody that’s all they have so I’m just banking that they will stay true to their word and I’m staying true to mine. I’m doing everything they ask me to do without any gripes.”

No gripes? Really? Sounds like griping to me.

“My integration to the team has been fixed without any aspect of how I’m doing personally with my knee surgery and with my knee rehab,” Griffin griped. “It’s pre-determined. That’s the one thing I don’t understand. What coach says, and he’s 100 percent right, I don’t have to understand it. I don’t have to like it. If he plays me Week 1 and I’m ready to go then I’ll give him a salute and I’ll play my butt off for him.”

Griffin is the Golden Child of the NFL right now. The media loves him. He’s an exciting player and a great quote. People are afraid to criticize him because they want access to him and they don’t want to be accused of unfairly criticizing a talented black QB.

I’m an RGIII fan. But I don’t particularly care about having access to him. I got my own friends. And I’m not going to cripple a talented black QB by blowing smoke up his rear.

Griffin needs to talk less publicly and deal with Shanahan privately. Griffin also needs to overcome his fear of Cousins, who was selected in the fourth round of the same draft as Griffin. Redskins owner Daniel Snyder is not going to let his high-priced, meter-moving QB sit just because Cousins looks good in the preseason.

During last season’s playoffs, Griffin stayed on the field long after it was obvious his knee injury made him completely ineffective. I wrote a column at the time stating Griffin demanded to stay in the game because of arrogance. I should’ve pointed to arrogance, insecurity and selfishness.

He wanted the glory of leading the Redskins to victory, and he wanted to deny Cousins a role in it. Griffin’s foolishness cost Washington the game, a contest it led 14-0.

I’m not the only one who knows this. Mike Shanahan knows. Trust me, Griffin’s teammates know. Griffin’s attempt to play hero cost the Redskins a playoff victory over the Seahawks. He should’ve been benched at halftime. Shanahan couldn’t do it because his mouthy, leverage-having quarterback would’ve complained to the media.

Instead, Shanahan absorbed all the media hits for leaving Griffin in the game and jeopardizing the QB’s health. Griffin selfishly jeopardized his own health in that playoff game. He still wants to risk his own health -- in exhibition games.

This isn’t leadership or a sign that Griffin is hyper-competitive. He’s insecure.

His insecurity is starting to make me think Kirk Cousins is a better football player than I think. To me, Cousins is a dime-a-dozen young backup. But, hell, maybe he’s Kurt Warner, Tony Romo or Trent Green.

If Cousins is who we think he is, Griffin has zero to fear. As soon as he’s healthy, he’ll be the Redskins starting quarterback and back on track to compete with Andrew Luck, Colin Kaepernick and Russell Wilson for rulership of the young QB throne.

Right now, Griffin comes across like a kid in love with drama and running his mouth. He wants to be the lead story on SportsCenter more than he wants to build a relationship of trust with his head coach.

Redskins' Robert Griffin III needs to cut the drama and focus on the game - NFL News | FOX Sports on MSN

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

I can tell you who I think Cousins is. He is the gonna end up being the better QB drafted by the Redskins last year.

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

Another black "journalist" angry at RG3....big shocker. I don't get it. The media begs for transparency with these guys, and then when they decide they don't like one of them they rip him for it. At the very least, the Redskins got a very athletic COMPETITOR in the first round of last year's draft. He is YOUNG and RAW. If you think for one second that a kid like RG3 is telling a seasoned pro coach like Mike Shanahan that he's playing in that playoff game and coach can't stop him then you're so off the grid there's no returning for you. Yes, RG3 has plenty to learn just like ANY other sophomore in the league, but he's insecure because of Kirk Cousins?! Give me a break. News flash: HE WANTS TO PLAY! Just like every single other player in history that has been injured. Whitlock needs to get off of the faded racial bull**** and try to write a meaningful article that doesn't make me wish I had been miraculously stripped of my reading skills just prior to coming across the link to this article.

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

Robert Griffin III has the potential to be the best QB to ever play. The media doesn't know whether they want a player to shut up or talk. I want a player to be honest. He wants to play. My wrist was broke, i still wanted to play and would have if they would've allowed it. Kirk Cousins is great, and he'll be a starter. But he won't be better then the 3rd. The 3rd is the man.

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

Running his mouth is not the problem. It's running.

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

Wow, I saw that RGIII clip and didn't read anything more into the situation than you had a young, talented & injured QB chafing at the bit to get back in the game and a H/C who is looking to protect the team's investment by maybe sitting the kid a few games. When RGIII said, "I don't have to understand it, I don't have to like it", I took it that he was just expressing his disagreement while acknowledging that he'd follow the coach's decision.

The only way Cousins is ever gonna' replace RGIII is if RGIII goes down for good.

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

You've got a group of blacks who want assimilate into white culture, and a group who wants to fight it. Being modest and quiet is viewed as assimilation by most blacks. So many issues...smh...

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

BS on the racial comments, it has absolutely nothing to do with color... Did Alex Smith run his trap in SF? Please stop dragging race and color into everything that has to do with a black player... It has nothing to do with this.

If Payton tells Drew not to play in preseason you wont see him voicing his "opinion".. Neither would Brady, the Mannings... You don't see Tebow yapping with a negative opinion...

RG III doesn't get it, he is not bigger than the team.


When the coach says sit, you sit and shut up about it.

As my 4yo would say... "You get what you get and don't pitch a fit".

Cutler runs his mouth and the media doggs his azz too.

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

Nah, its not racial. Not even close. But the post I made is a true representation of us. Insight! :)

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

It absolutely is racial. Give me a break. Ever since journalists found out that RG3 is a conservative African-American he has been black-balled by the African-American media. You have guys like ESPN's Rob Parker calling him a "cornball brother" and saying "he isn't one of us", and it has matriculated into this pile of turds disguised as "sports news". Even RG3 has said that while he is proud to be an African-Amerian QB, he does not want to be defined by that. Why does it even have to be mentioned that he is black in this article as if we do not know? Clearly it's because Jason Whitlock, along with other black media sources, have something against RG3 because of the combination if his personal beliefs and the color of his skin. Rez mentioned assimilation. Assimilation goes BOTH ways, and RG3 is suffering the consequences of not assimilating to the general beliefs of his race as a whole. In America, you clearly can not just be who YOU choose to be and escape racial persecution from any race, including your own. It's a disgrace. **** assimilation and **** the haters. Keep doing your thing RG3. You'll be respected even more for it in the end.

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

Jason Whitlock is a racist idiot. And thats an insult to racist idiots.

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

So now it's racial AND political?


I see a young man full of fire that doesn't have enough time under his belt to know when and when to not open his mouth.

Reread it replacing RGIII with Drew Brees and Shannahan with Payton.... Drew would have been roasted in the media.

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

Yes. Doesn't change a starting QB bucking his HC/GM/Owner publicly .

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

It was merely a side note, just in case people forgot what a boobonic moron Whitlock is. :p

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

I agree that he's a young man full of fire with not enough time under his belt, but I totally disagree with the rest of your assessment. Why can't players be transparent? It's what the media and fans want. Why can't a player say, "The doctors say I'm good to go, but coach is following his own guidelines. It sucks, because I want to play. What he says goes though, & I respect that." That's what I'm taking away from it. Just because a writer opines that it's a "gripe" people automatically assume that he's making a correct assumption. It's being blown out of proportion as though he's been disrespectful when it couldn't be anything further from that. This couldn't be any further from T.O. or Ocho Cinco-esque behavior. It's just a guy being candid and showing his passion to play to the media, and the media is taking part in a witch hunt against him. Clearly the player is a bit overzealous, but why would you want anything less in a young player? After everything that has been said about the guy over the past few months, I'm not understanding how it can be seen any other way.

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

NFL Sirius covered the story this morning at 5am on my way to work, that was the first version that came up when I searched to have something to post.


As proven I was fkd either way.... If I had only found a version written by a Chinaman.

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

Because as soon as you give the media that little bit of candid honesty, the next headline is Controversy in Red Skins Land..... Shannahan trying to bench a black player .... RGIII and Redskins Front office not getting along...

Pick one. When you open your mouth, the circus starts. ESPIN had a field day with some honest statements about bounties.

This is not the NCAA, this is a military billion dollar machine, the game is played differently and the stakes are different. When your employer pays you 10M a year he has the prerogative of wanting things under the radar.

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

Well let me see... I, um, yeah - I DON'T CARE.

Players want to play coaches got to coach. Player is young & foolish (who among us was not frippen invincible when we were young?) coach has to do the right thing for.... His career. I don't see Shanahan as a huge Redskins guy. He is more of a Shanahan guy.

Oh, can I say Redskins? :doh:

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

Anyone catch RGIII's statement yesterday? Damage control.

Looks like I wrote it for him doesn't it...

There is a difference between truth and opinion. Truth about how you feel is opinion.

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

He spoke to media when he wasn't scheduled to. That doesn't sound like damage control to me. It sounds like a guy that's pissed off about his words being "twisted and turned" (his quote). If it were damage control I'm sure the Redskins would have made sure everyone knew that he was going to speak to the media. Shanahan has made many comments on the situation as well. Both of them keep saying that there is "no conflict", but the media keeps insisting there is. It's funny how some people live to lap up the media's daily porridge.

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

Oak, the biggest story here is McNabb fully committing himself to the loony bin over these RG3 shenanigans. Dude has gone from "going off the deep end" to becoming the definition of "the deep end". Haha

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

Unscheduled is why it was damage control, mitigation is not a scheduled event.

That twisting and turning is precisely why veterans know what not to say.


At the end of the day, maturity understands that he is not going to play preseason .. period. Voicing his "feelings" will not do anything other than cause drama.

However i will ask the one thing. When RGIII was played last season too early (he wanted to play) and got hurt worse his father came out and said he should have been pulled.... Now he wants to play again and the Team is saying no and here we are with the drama again...


For those that love RGIII's running, his father is on the record stating he knows that is going to lead to the end of his career earlier than normal.
Robert Griffin III’s dad: Running quarterbacks are*losers | SI Wire
RGIII’s dad: run-first quarterbacks are losers


However the inability to keep quiet and smile seems to run in the family.
VIDEO: RG3's Father Questions Mike Shanahan's Use of His Son | The Kevin Burke Project

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

You have clearly formulated some sort of opinion against players that are candid with the media that I respectfully disagree with. Not a single quote of his leads me to believe that he said anything damning about his team or coach. It seems to me that it has only become damning because that's what the media wanted it to be. Everyone knows that you can't control how the media wants to spin things, and guys should not be forced to keep their mouth shut just because of a few idiots with press credentials. RG3 gets paid a lot of money to produce on the football field, and all he has done to this point is shown an intense desire to do so. It clearly has not caused any kind of inner turmoil with the team or coaches, and every source that I've seen has suggested that Robert spoke to the media yesterday under his own volition. NOT because the team had him on some "damage control" mission. Even NFL.com has an article this morning entitled "Much Ado About Nothing" pertaining to the situation. The only legitimate story here is how disgusting some representatives of the media can be when they are desperate to spin a story out of nothing. If you think for one minute that I couldn't spin some BS from Drew Brees quotes all day long if I had it out for him you're sorely mistaken. Anything a person says can be misconstrued by a good writer. It happens every single day, and no one should have to be held to a standard of just "shutting their mouth" in an attempt to dodge negativity-mongerers. RG3 did absolutely nothing wrong. A handful of people with jobs in the media that have it out for him are solely responsible for this hullabaloo. Believe me when I say that I totally respect your opinion, but we will have to agree to disagree on this one.

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

Spin Drew.... I challenge you. Search his quotes during his contract negotiation, his injury in San Diego....

1. Damage control has absolutely nothing to do with a team directive and I never said that. I gave him credit for seeing how his words were being misconstrued and taking it upon himself before the team had to tell him to do so.

2. I completely understand your point of view, people should be allowed to be honest, I am not taking anything away from his ability or what he has earned. That being said..... When you become the face of a billion dollar franchise, a manager of people, a leader of men, even a parent.... The ability to practice discretion is an absolutely valuable skill set. Discretion; the quality of being discreet or cautiously quiet, over proving your courage by speaking your mind. "The better part of valor, is discretion."

It's knowing when to allude to not being on the same page as your boss. In his office, good time. In front of reporters, not so much.


Hopefully my reframing helps you to see I am not saying he was wrong, I'm saying he could have made a better judgement call.

Do you have children? While you may not agree with your wife when your child standing in front of you, the worst thing you can do is let that child know that you think her decision is bad.

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

Promall..... What's your age? Married, girlfriend, significant other?

On honesty:
What do you say when you are asked by your significant other if you like the new outfit or hair style or nail color? Do you dare say you don't like it..... Or perhaps the honest truth that you really don't care? Me either.

You say the media spins, yes they do but they are not solely responsible... Fans interpret quite differently also.... If Drew changed cleats the interpretation would range from "so what" to "better traction on his plant foot to prevent INTs".


Discretion prevents all that.

Re: RGIII needs to man up and shut up
 

I'm 29 today actually! :-) Been married for 3.5 years to the love of my life. We're a "rare breed", of sorts. We genuinely tell each other the exact truth over EVERYTHING. We do so to the point of making others, that aren't familiar with us, feel uncomfortable because of their adherence to certain relationship "honesty taboos". Your analogy probably doesn't fit me very well, and that tidbit of information about me should help you understand why I feel the way I do. I don't believe in inferences or speculation when it comes to the spoken word unless it's clearly obvious that a person is suggesting something other than what they are saying. We (my wife included) take things at "face value" and generally give the benefit of the doubt until otherwise is clearly evident. That's why it bothers me when media does these sort of "sensationalist" articles, and that's why I feel like the problem is not people needing to keep their mouth shut but instead people needing to keep their interpretations that lack any validation to themselves. Once again, I do not think that anyone that has followed certain media members' unprovoked bashing of Robert over this offseason would argue that there are not some that seem to have it out for him. Also, it absolutely disgusts me to see any respectable journalist of ANY race feel it necessary to mention a player's race unless the sole intent of the article is to discuss race in general. No physical characteristics that we do not control should ever define us as a person, and that was the dream of Dr. King himself.