Baltimore Ravens tale of two QBs: Lamar Jackson and Robert Griffin III

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Robert Griffin III, 2013 Analysis, Washington Redskins

First, let’s take a look at the statistics, where Griffin actually regressed as a passer in his second NFL season. His QBR went down 18 points from 68 to 50.4, went from 20-5 to 16-12 on his touchdown-interception ratio, and only threw 3 more yards total on 63 more passing attempts. This regression only continued into year three, worsening as the years went instead of improving with his passing ability.

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For Griffin’s second-year tape, I took a look at one of his best and one of his worst performances, being week 2 against the Bears and week 14 against the Chiefs respectively.

In both games, Griffin struggled with footwork, maneuvering the pocket and feeling pressure. Any time there was pressure, he would not notice it until it was within his vision or in contact with him (many times being too late) and would immediately scramble out instead of stepping into a safe area of the pocket. When running out or adjusting around the pocket, Griffin also fails to set his feet on most throws, either resulting in his hips/feet being too closed or too open to the target (much of the time it is too open).

His reads were questionable at best and he never truly demonstrated the ability to put the proper touch on the ball on intermediate throws. This lack of touch and ability to read the field resulted in many unnecessary turnovers or stalled drives.

Griffin’s throwing mechanics were never a major talking point, but there were issues that could have been addressed to improve his touch and placement. He would commonly leave his hips too open for the release, moving his left foot outwards when turning his hips through and losing control and power on the ball.

When throwing, a quarterback’s hips should either be pointed to the target or slightly open. As the motion comes through, the front foot will be pointed to the target or just open to the target, and the player will bring their hips through their body towards that front foot. Since Griffin has such an open stance at the beginning of his throwing motion, he is unable to gain as much power and control on the ball. He is throwing the football almost like an adjusted shot put.

Throughout his second-season, Griffin not only did not show improvement, he actually showed regression since the Redskins college-like scheme was no longer a new thing to the league.

NFL teams had found ways to counter the third dimension of the offense (quarterback runs) and forced Griffin to beat them through the air, which he failed to do time and time again. Quarterback spies and other containment concepts flattened future production and a lack of development through the air kept his ceiling low at the NFL level.

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