When fans of the Philadelphia Eagles hop on the negative side of the Marcus Mariota debate, the main argument that gets brought up every time is the saga of Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III.
We all know this story. The Redskins gave up a fortune to trade up to the second overall pick. Securing Griffin was a bold move, and bold moves require bold prices. Griffin looked worth the price his rookie year, taking the Redskins to a division title and playoff appearance while looking electric in the process.
But as we’ve all witnessed since that run, Griffin has regressed from stud-franchise-quarterback level to just being barely employed. There’s no doubt that Griffin hasn’t panned out like Washington hoped, and there’s certainly no doubt that the loss of those draft picks held them back from improving the team in a big way.
But that whole situation doesn’t apply to Mariota at all, and here’s why. Washington screwed themselves with Griffin. Mike Shanahan should never have kept Griffin in the playoffs with that gimpy knee. All that lost time Griffin spent rehabbing a completely avoidable injury should have been spent healthy and developing his game on the field. And they never should have taken a spread-style quarterback and tried to force him into a pro-style offense the way Washington did.
If you’re going to spend all those resources to get your guy, you run his offense around him to start out. Get him comfortable on the field, then start working in new concepts gradually. Instead, you have Griffin dropped into a whole new offense, hopping from one foot to the other. He gets psyched out, makes mental mistakes, and with the pressure of being the bell of Washington’s ball, he cracks like an old sidewalk.
So what if Griffin wanted to run a pro-style offense? You go with what works for his skill set and you don’t change it until he shows you he can handle it. Until then, you go with what you know works.
Isn’t Mariota a spread-style quarterback though? Yes, he is. But if he winds up coming to Philadelphia, he’d be walking into Chip Kelly’s offense that we all know works — the fact that the Eagles won 10 games this season despite all their setbacks is miraculous work on Kelly’s part. And you know that Mariota can execute Kelly’s offense to perfection because he’s done it already.
It’s the most familiar system he could possibly be in. Once he learns the new terminology and new wrinkles Kelly has worked up, he’s off to the races. Griffin was risky because Washington tried to use him like he hadn’t been used before. Kelly is going to use Mariota exactly like he’s been used before.
Also, it’s not like Mariota played against cupcake teams during his collegiate career. He’s gone up against pro-caliber players on a pretty regular basis and fared well. The Pac-12 may not be the SEC, but they’re not bottom feeders by any stretch of the imagination.
If you’re against the Eagles acquiring Mariota, be against it because you think the price is too rich. Or be against it because you’re sold on Nick Foles and want to upgrade the rest of the team instead. But don’t be scared of what Mariota would or wouldn’t do on the field. History tends to repeat itself, and Mariota’s history with Kelly is pretty stellar.
Doug Green is a Featured Writer for www.RantSports.com covering the Philadelphia Eagles and the NFL. Follow him on Twitter @DGreenNFL
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