Time for RG3 and the Redskins to just stop talking

The most talked about knee in America continues to draw comments from every corner of the Redskins organization. This time, former Redskins’ quarterback Joe Theismann decided he needed to voice his opinion on whether he felt Robert Griffin III would be ready for the opener against Philadelphia.

“If you ask Robert, he says he’s right on schedule,” Theismann said. “I fully expect him to be dressed on Monday night against the Philadelphia Eagles when the Redskins open their season. I would be very, very surprised if he’s not.”

Why, oh why do people continue adding fuel to this fire?

When Griffin went down on that fateful night in January, Daniel Snyder, Mike Shanahan, and Bruce Allen all saw their football futures flash before their eyes. So much had been put on their young quarterback, the thought of having to start over without their budding superstar would have been an unbelievable blow to the team and franchise.

Whether or not Shanahan should have kept Griffin in that game against the Seahawks has been exhaustively debated. At this point, you’ve chosen which side of the fence you stand on. What I think we can all agree on is that everyone needs to be extremely cautious when it comes to the Griffin’s recovery.

Yet, every single person close to Griffin runs to the media as fast as they can and declares how far ahead of schedule he is.

Dr. James Andrews got the parade started when he took off his bauble hat and declared that Griffin seemed “superhuman”. Then Griffin got in on the act himself with his All in for Week 1 Adidas campaign. Shanahan even said that Griffin would “set a record for coming back”.

STOP!

By constantly hyping Griffin’s recovery, the team is setting expectations that Griffin may not be able to meet. The question of whether Griffin will be ready for the season has shifted to whether Griffin will be ready for training camp. This is crazy.

The problem with constantly talking about how great Griffin looks and how fast the knee is healing is that it puts pressure on Griffin over something he has no control over. Granted, there are things he can do to help his recovery, but at the end of the day the body will heal at its own pace.

From the several projected recovery times I’ve seen, his recovery could take anywhere from six months to a year. It is great that Griffin seems to be recovering so well, but there is still a chance he will not be ready for the opener.

Is there any reason to try and rush Griffin back for camp? No. That’s not to say that camp is not important, but it is simply not worth risking any sort of setback only six months removed from the injury.

After all the superhuman talk, how will fans react if he is held out of camp? How will Griffin react? This is a quarterback who tried to hide the fact he was hurt in the playoffs, who has been declaring he is ‘all in’ for Week 1. Now everyone is telling him that he is superhuman and ahead of schedule. If Dr. Andrews thinks Griffin is not ready to play for camp or if, Heaven forbid, he is not ready for the start of the season, then what?

The Redskins have painted themselves into a corner.

At the beginning of the offseason they needed to decide as an organization to play this close to the vest. Sure, the media would get their glimpses at OTAs and ask their questions, but ultimately, if the team kept expectations low, so much the better.

If Griffin is not ready to play by training camp or by the season opener, the team risks angering their young star who suddenly is not living up to the pressure and expectations put on him by their own glowing praise.

Please, just stop talking.

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Redskins consider suing NFL

The Washington Post reported last weekend that the Washington Redskins were considering suing the NFL in an attempt to have their $18 million cap penalty overturned. As part of the lawsuit, they would file a motion to block the March 12 start of free agency.

The Redskins hinted that they were not done fighting the cap penalty, but this seems drastic. The cap penalty assessed to the team is a blatant act of collusion and completely unfair, but so far the courts have disagreed. I am not sure the legal arguments of the situation, but I don’t know how 30 organizations can have an “unwritten rule” regarding the types of contracts teams can offer players without it being labeled as collusion. Still, the Redskins have lost every legal challenge to the NFL’s ruling thus far.

It may be unfair, but the Redskins need to swallow their pride and accept it. Suing the NFL and disrupting free agency is just a bad idea.

The Redskins do not operate independent of the NFL and the other teams or in a vacuum. The team should want to have good relations with the league, the owners, the players, and their agents. Basically, if you make life tough for everyone else, they’ll make life tough for you.

Remember the late Al Davis? He wasn’t always considered a pariah. He sued the NFL in 1980 so he could move the Raiders to Los Angeles. The Redskins need to avoid having a similar type of relationship with the rest of the league, especially with the team facing numerous potential problems in the coming years.

The Redskins are under attack over their team name. Thus far, the NFL has not voiced a strong opinion either way, but that could easily change if the Redskins choose to go forward with this lawsuit. They may feel sudden pressure to rebrand themselves despite how committed to the name the organization currently is.  The condition of the field at FedEx is a disgrace; do not expect any help from the league in improving those conditions.

Mike Shanahan was able to orchestrate a trade last season with St. Louis in order to draft Robert Griffin III. The Cleveland Browns were reportedly willing to give up just as much, but the Rams instead choose to deal the pick to the Redskins. I do not see the Redskins being able to make these type of deals in the future if they choose to pursue their lawsuit.  Teams will be much less inclined to work out trades, agents will try to steer players away from DC, and whatever vain hope Daniel Snyder may have had about bringing the Super Bowl to FedEx would be completely extinguished.

Perhaps more troubling than the logistical nightmare of suing the NFL is the fact that the Redskins have not taken any measures thus far to free up cap space. They remain approximately $3 million over the salary cap with holes on the roster to fill and numerous free agents left to sign including Fred Davis. The Redskins need to prepare for the next season, but they’ve seemingly put everything on hold. The last thing the Redskins should want is for their pending free agents to hit the open market.  If the team does not make room for the players they need to sign, then they will simply sign somewhere else. The Redskins risk making things worse for themselves if they are not prepared to absorb the cap penalty.

The first reports of this lawsuit began surfacing about a week ago and since then nothing has happened. It could be that the Redskins are hoping the threat of a lawsuit will be enough to force some kind of settlement from the league and they do not intend to actually go to court. If they do, they should first consider the long-term ramifications of such a move. Saving $18 million now could cost them a lot in the future.