June 18, 2013

NFL Draft: Dan Patrick helps us get to know more about Robert Griffin III

February 21, 2012 by 82 Comments

Today, Robert Griffin III talked to Dan Patrick.  With the amount of rumor and speculation regarding the Browns and Griffin, I decided to check it out.  Dan Patrick ended the interview by saying that he thinks Cleveland is most likely going to “go get” Griffin in the draft, but wisely Griffin stayed silent as Patrick only really feigned giving him a chance to respond to the statement.  Mostly I thought Griffin came off very well in the interview.  He shows a respectful confidence mostly.  You get the sense that even though he won the Heisman, he still has a bit of a chip on his shoulder about playing second fiddle to Andrew Luck in all the draft talk.

First on the competition to be the #1 pick, Griffin sounded pretty confident, yet respectful.  Sure, he claimed that moving his pro day so as not to conflict with Andrew Luck’s was him being “the bigger man,” but I don’t have any problem with that.  There is also some selflessness in that.  By moving his day and not going head to head with Andrew Luck, Griffin is protecting teammates by making sure as many NFL scouts as possible are on campus when his teammates showcase themselves too.

Griffin said that sometimes the best player is denoted by the #1 pick, but not always.  He said if he gets a chance to interview with the Colts he will “cherish” that opportunity.  With answers like that, Griffin really did a nice job of straddling the line of respect, confidence and competitiveness.

When asked if Griffin had a favorite NFL team growing up, he spoke of watching “John Elway and Terrell Davis tear it up” in Denver.  Despite the Browns’ history with Elway, it is tough to pretend that you can hold a grudge against a kid who was watching those Broncos teams win when he was sitting at home as an eight and nine year old.

It was a short interview, but it didn’t hurt the cause of trying to imagine Robert Griffin III becoming the quarterback for the Cleveland Browns.  Griffin spoke correctly about getting drafted by a team that wants him and wants to work with him to be the best player on the best team.

That part is certainly telling as Griffin is the kind of athlete that doesn’t fit into a neat little box.  If the Browns do draft him, they’ll be hard pressed to make him the best QB he can be by trying to force him to be something he is not.  Half the negative talk about the Browns drafting Griffin III seems to me to be a vote of non-confidence in the coaching staff after seeing Colt McCoy’s first year in the new offense.

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  • http://twitter.com/bbo13 B-bo

    I award this post ALL OF THE LIKES

  • Jaker

    Don’t trade up, wait for him at 4. Hopefully STL won’t want to move down past 4 because they fall in love with Kalil or Blackmon, so they will stay at 2 and take one of them. Everone just take a deep breath. Even if we do trade up, it wont be for another two months. So lets all just watch and see how he does at the combine this week

  • mgbode

    why is #4 and #22 “the price”?

    #6+#39+2013 1st trumps #4 + #22 I think.
    #4+#37 trumps #6+#39

    I do similar math with the Dolphins and Seahawks.   I don’t see how #4+#22 can be the price because our 3rd pick is better than anyone else’s 2nd pick in this scenario

  • Mansoor Khan

    Those are some legitimate issues. One I’d add is that he’s very much in the Vick mold and it’s likely he’ll get injured and miss sometime. 

    But think of this. He has suffered an injury that cost him a season in college but after he recovered, he came back better than before. On top of that, the kids been on the Dean’s list while graduating in 3 years WHILE breaking several Baylor records. This speaks to his resilience and his intelligence. I don’t doubt that he’s got somethings to work on, but that’s what coaches are for. There will be some growing pains but you get that will all rookie QBs. I’ve no doubt in my mind this kid will be successful.To be honest, I’ve only seen 1 full Baylor game but I have to say, I don’t doubt that he has the potential to become a franchise QB. The way the team he goes to handles him will determine how productive his career is.  

  • Mansoor Khan

    It’s a good thing the Browns don’t run a pro offense. A pro offense is supposed to do things like score points and move the chains and stuff. 

  • Mansoor Khan

    Let me know what you think after the combine, yeah? Maybe RGIII will change your mind after that. 

  • Garry_Owen

    Well, I’m certain the kid will be a workout hero. I just generally don’t put much stock in the combine; however, I am looking forward to the freak show.

  • floydrubino

    On your chart and the experts. These are the same people that put jamarcus russell #1 too. Who cares what the experts say to a certain degree. It’s easy to pick players that have talent it’s difficult to find the players that have the je ne sais quoi about them. I do like barkley alot though.

  • floydrubino

    I don’t care how we have to get RG3 i just hope we get him. Obviously we can’t give up a crazy amount but we gotta get him somehow some way. You can tell he is a person that is worth the risk because his talent is undeniable and he is a good person with great work ethic. 

  • C-Bus Kevin

    I just want to know who this magical pick at #22 will be. He sure sounds important…whoever he is.

  • The_Matt_Of_Akron

     Because good people win Super Bowls.  Rapists don’t.

  • The_Matt_Of_Akron

     RG2, is that you?

  • Henry Brown

    There’s a reason Barkley went back to school. 

  • Henry Brown

    Again, not playing under center isn’t that big of a deal as people make it. A lot of college QBs who do play under center are busts (most USC QBs) and many who play in the spread are successful. Doesn’t make quick reads? He’s actually required to make 2 to 3 progessions based on reads.  Holds the ball too long? No, his O lIne is a seive and if anything he held in there against the rush more often than not so that his receivers could get open then delivered the ball (and usually got pounded for it). That’s what you want your QB to do, not what happy feet McCoy does, which is run right a the first sign of pressure. You’re literally just making this stuff up based on what you’ve heard in the past.

  • BIKI024

    “seems to me to be a vote of non-confidence in the coaching staff after seeing Colt McCoy’s first year in the new offense.”

    it seems perfectly reasonable to me to give Shurmur and his staff (especially with beefing it up with Childress) a pass on the mediocre results of the WCO in Year 1.  it’s rare any QB in history of the WCO has had much success in 1st year of the system, even rarer examples, if any, of QBs who didn’t have entire offseason to work with coaching staff and players to fully immerse themselves in learning it..  not to mention the injuries and lack of continuuity with the surrounding cast.  

    but if they take a guy like RGIII (over a guy like Tannenhill, or staying with Colt) they basically have to go through the process again.  of course the coaches can tweak their system to fit Griffin’s strengths as they bring him along, but if he’s a quick learner, like Mike Vick was, maybe it could work with him sooner than later as well..    

  • Garry_Owen

    I should hope so!

  • Garry_Owen

    If it’s something that I’ve heard in the past, how could I be making it up?

  • Garry_Owen

    Nope.  This is your chance.  Jump in now.  You never know when this random subject might come up again, and you don’t want to miss that one random time that Tom Heckert stumbles on WFNY, reads your random comment and says, “Why didn’t I think of that?” 

  • Garry_Owen

    Whoever he is, he’s super (duper) important if you draft a QB in the top 5.  Especially for this team.   

  • Harv 21

    I said IF #4 and #22 is the price. I’m think I’m in the minority here in believing that even if Griffin’s The One there is still such a paucity of offensive talent we’d be setting him up to fail by giving up next year’s high picks too. Fail in the sense of him making heroic plays to get us to 9-7 for a bunch of years while getting the snot beat out of him. This happens to great QBs. It happened to Steve Young in Tampa, Archie Manning in NO, Jim Plunkett in New England.
     
    Today’s mantra is “need the great QB.”  But like the 1990s mantra about great defense, it’s not the whole truth. They might do better with a QB rated 1-B to Griffin’s 1-A but with better surrounding players.

  • mgbode

    I think he is of the belief that there are no original thoughts.  Just that your environment and learnings shape your mind and the way you interpret them can influence how you perceive things.  Therefore, any thoughts you have are just a collection of your experiences and not truly something new.

  • mgbode

    my point is that I keep hearing that #4+#22 is the likely price, but I  can’t come up with a reasonable scenario that it is unless we are giving away much more than that (and I am running away from such an overpayment).

    anyway, I agree that if we don’t also fix some other spots on offense, then getting a brand new shiny QB won’t work too well because it’d be like driving a Rolls around in a demolition derby.

    those spots:
    RT
    make sure we have a better plan at RB (re-signing Hillis can work but  I still worry about injury history there)
    add a speed WR
    possibly a TE who can both block and catch for Watson insurance

  • MIKE

    Trade the #4 pick down,but not outa the top 10.Get as much ammo as we can for it.Take Coples with the 1st-pick and dont worry about the D-Line starters for the next 10 years.Our run defense was horrendous,he will make everyone else better.The 2nd-1st rounder take Kendall Wright.If somehow Lamar Miller falls to the #37 pick grab him as fast as we can and thank lady luck.If hes not there grab the best pass catching RB left on the board.Then take the best RT left.then OLB then CB.Point being this team is awful on both sides of the ball.The good pass defense stat last year was a mirage.Teams didnt have to pass a great deal once they got the lead because  any team in the league can run at will on the BROWNS.If our defense was much further ahead than what it is,ONLY then could we consider making a push for the franchise QB.I agree that McCoy is not going to impress anyone watching his regression this past season,but were a great draft away from being a major contender possibly 2 away.If McCoy falls on his face this season,THEN sell the farm for the Barkley sweepstakes.

  • Garry_Owen

    All things are wearisome, more than one can say.  They eye never has enough of seeing, nor the ear its fill of hearing.  What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun.

  • Harv 21

    the reasonable scenario is that a player coveted by St. Louis will be there at #4 but possibly gone by #6. Whether that is a likely scenario is well beyond my pay grade. 

  • MZ

    mgbode,
    I wholeheartedly agree, and St. Louis won’t want to drop as low as #6, anyway, because they need to come out of the draft with either a left tackle (Matt Kahlil) or CB (Clayborn) and at #6 they won’t get either of those two and might even lose Blackmon if things get crazy.  Their #2 pick for our #4 and the second round #37 makes sense for all involved.

  • mgbode

    let’s hope they want whoever drops to our spot.

    one thing they could do though it would be extremely risky is to select RGIII.  it does a few things.

    1) Rams get to see who the Vikings pick to see who is there at #4 and who could be there at #6.
    2) Rams eliminate the Vikings as a potential rival in the trade down war
    3) Rams eliminate the Browns from potentially scaring off other teams from a bidding war (since we have the most ammo) – w/ the Browns true intention of having RGIII drop to #4

    But, if they couldn’t land a “good” deal after they did that, then they’d have some explaining to do.

  • Henry Brown

    That makes more sense. As I suspected, you haven’t watched him, you’re just rehashing what a couple of talking heads have said. They may have slightly legit points but the overwhelming evidence really says they’re wrong.

  • Garry_Owen

    Wrong again. 

    Hey, when are you moving out of your house?  I’d like to move in this weekend, if possible. 

  • http://twitter.com/bbo13 B-bo

    Tony Mandarich changed lots of minds at the combine. JaMarcus Russell tore it up–had the scouts drooling. The history of the draft is littered with workout wonders. Not so sure that should be a deciding factor for anyone.

  • Mansoor Khan

    People are certain we should trade up for him BEFORE the combine. By solely looking at his tape, people are almost certain he’ll got 2nd overall. What he’ll do in the combine is confirm what’s on tape, not establish himself. 

  • crobarred

    I read somewhere that when Holmgren talked with Lerner about what it took to build a playoff contender he said 30-35 high grade players.  The Browns in their current form don’t fit that bill.  Heckert and Holmgren said that they are going to build through the draft.  I don’t see why they would trade a first rounder to move up two slots.  It doesn’t fit the mindset of what they are trying to do.  Unless RG3 is can’t miss material then I don’t see it happening.

    I think the Browns will stay put at 4 and draft the BPA on their board and do the same for pick 22.  There are a ton of holes on the team and they are not going to make a huge splash in free agency (although I’d love to see Mike Wallace in the brown and orange sticking it to the “stullers” twice a year).  I’m of the opinion to give McCoy a chance in the system with better players surrounding him but I don’t coach so if the powers that be think that RG3 is the guy then I’ll go along with it.

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