USA TODAY International Edition
Opponents eager to get at Griffin
Rusty QB likely will be tested by blitzes
ASHBURN, VA. Robert Griffin III is ready. Now, what about the Philadelphia Eagles defense? Griffin was cleared by team doctors to start Sept. 9 against the Eagles after having offseason knee surgery. And sure enough, the Washington Redskins quarterback tweeted his return. “Operation Patience... Complete. Cleared. To God Be the Glory,” Griffin wrote.
After he had a 2012 season that had as many winces as wows, Griffin’s vow to be smarter about scrambling will be tested in the Monday opener.
But what can he expect from the guys on the other side of the ball?
Will Eagles defensive coordinator Billy Davis blitz Griffin, who will enter the game without having taken a snap in the preseason? Or will the Eagles, wary of his mobility, treat Griffin as if nothing has changed, playing on their heels and worrying about containment?
“Why not blitz him? ... Who is going to be a fool and not come out blitzing Robert?” wide receiver Santana Moss said to USA TODAY Sports. “Robert has to think when he’s out there: ‘ I’m a marked man.’ ”
Defenses spent the offseason studying how to thwart the read- option attack Griffin ran to eye- popping success last season while setting NFL rookie records for passer rating ( 102.4), lowest percentage of passes intercepted ( 1.27) and rushing yards by a quarterback ( 815).
The consensus antidote? Hit him, over and over. Redskins coach Mike Shanahan expects Davis, who cut his teeth in 1992 under Pittsburgh Steelers zone- blitz gurus Dick LeBeau and Dom Capers, to bring the heat.
“Being a product of that zone- blitz environment, you’re going to do the things you know and know well,” Shanahan said. “Everybody is going to try to keep Robert off balance.”
It’s unlikely Davis will throw the kitchen sink at Griffin, because the Eagles defense has six new starters and is converting from a 4- 3 scheme to a 3- 4 alignment. But Davis probably will throw in disguised wrinkles to gauge Griffin’s comfort level. Sitting back in containment mode goes against Davis’ attacking DNA.
“The great coordinators make quarterbacks see ghosts by taking them out of their rhythm,” Davis said. “We’re going to pressure and blitz. We’re not going to just sit back.”
The most effective zone blitzes disguise which five defenders are rushing and which six are dropping into coverage.
“The Eagles won’t blitz 80% of the time. It will be selective blitzing,” NFL Films analyst Greg Cosell said. “They’ll blitz RG3 to see how he moves. It’s still his first real action since the playoff game. And he’s going to have to do it for four quarters.”
Former Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann, however, thinks an aggressive approach will play right into the hands of Griffin, who obliterated Theismann’s 1984 franchise record of 314 rushing yards for a quarterback.
“They’d be crazy to blitz him, because I think Robert is healthy,” he said. “You’re not talking about an inexperienced rookie who hasn’t played a regular- season NFL down. You’re talking about a rookie of the year who completed 65.6% of his passes and had a phenomenal touchdown- to- interception ratio ( 20- 5).
“You’re talking about a guy who can just flat play the quarterback position very well.”
Griffin had a 56.2% completion rate last year under pressure, according to ProFootballFocus. com, putting him second to Steelers star Ben Roethlisberger. Shanahan expects Griffin to be even quicker getting rid of the ball. But can Griffin be a dynamic runner in Week 1?
“We’ll find out,” Shanahan said. “If they’re going to take away one thing, they’re going to give up something else. It’s our job to find out what that something else is.”
Defenses backed off blitzing late last season when Griffin led the Redskins to seven consecutive wins.
“That first hit is the biggest thing he still has to go through,” Theismann said. “The nation will be watching to see what happens when he gets hit the first time. That’s when the rust is knocked off. After that, it’s game on.”
But no one is sure how long will it take Griffin to shake off the rust.
“He had great success last season against the blitz,” Cosell said. “But that’s because he was RG3. And teams were very nervous about his running when they blitzed. We don’t know if he’s that guy right now.
“If I’m the Eagles, I’d make him show me he can still do that.”