Why RGIII Is Great

Here's a wonderful story from the first Eagles game, courtesy of the Washington Post:

"Griffin made what could have been a crucial mistake — calling for a pass play out of the wrong formation. But he improvised, and hit Young, the fullback, for a six-yard touchdown pass ... Rather than celebrate on the field as he usually does — with a quick kneel-down, a short prayer and an index finger pointed to the sky — Griffin immediately sprinted to the sideline and apologized to Kyle Shanahan for getting the formation wrong."

Back in March we argued that RGIII was the right QB for the Skins not just because of his physical tools, but because he is "a student and perfects the little things." History is filled with immensely talented QBs who fizzled because they did not have the discipline or desire to perfect the details.

The Washington Post story might confuse those of us who were not serious students in school.  We might feel RGIII just wants to be a goody two-shoes, wants to impress his coaches.

But I take this story at face value.  Sure, RGIII was glad of the result.  But, crucially, RGIII knows what many talented QBs did not: talent will get you a good play here and there, but the long haul requires getting the details right.

JaMarcus Russell had an unbelievable combination of size, arm strength, and mobility, but he didn't value details.  Our original post on RGIII compared RGIII and JaMarcus on something simple, the fake hand-off. We provided video analysis, which made it clear: Even in college RGIII's attention-to-detail was apparent.  And JaMarcus' lack of attention-to-detail was also apparent.

When we think of the top NFL QBs -- Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Drew Brees -- we think of mental qualities as much as physical.  Peyton may have a "laser-rocket arm", but he's also renowned for his attention-to-detail, his understanding of his own offensive scheme, and how to exploit defensive schemes.

The Skins are lucky to have someone like RGIII who pairs elite talent with with PhD-like attention to study and detail.  This is the recipe for greatness.