Browns head coach Hue Jackson said the other day that he has not yet seen enough from Robert Griffin III to name him the team’s starting quarterback.
That may – or may not – be true. It’s hard to say.
But here’s something you can say: Whether it happens tomorrow, next Tuesday, next week, the week after next, next month, two months from now or five minutes before the start of the regular-season opener, Jackson will name RG3 the starter at some point unless something drastic happens, such as an injury.
You can count on it. You can bet on it. You can take it to the bank.
Guaranteed.
It’s not going to be Cody Kessler – not at the start of the year, at least – and it’s not going to be Josh McCown, Austin Davis, Connor Shaw, Robert Shaw, the Shah of Iran or anyone from the movie “Shawshank Redemption.”
It’s going to be the guy Jackson brought in and then tied his horse to.
That’s RG3.
Now it’s time to stand back and watch it all play out.
In the meantime, let’s evaluate the situation.
Here are five reasons why RG3 will be successful in Cleveland:
1.
DINNER TIME – He’s hungry to prove himself after hitting rock-bottom the last several years with the Washington Redskins.
2.
HUE IS HUGE – RG3 has the quarterback whisperer tutoring him in Hue Jackson.
3.
HUE 2 – Jackson’s presence is big in another way in that along with being able to build quarterbacks, he also is smart enough not to ask RG3 to try to do too much, too soon. He will buffer RG3 with a real emphasis on the run.
4.
BEEN THERE, DONE THAT – There was a time several years ago – in 2012, to be exact – when RG3 was the be-all and end-all for young quarterbacks, so if he did it once, he can do it again.
5.
FOOL ME TWICE, SHAME ON ME – RG3 learned a lot about the NFL and himself while in Washington, so because of that, he should be able to avoid a lot of the mistakes that sacked him there.
And here are five reasons why RG3 won’t be successful with the Browns:
1.
THE ELEPHANT IN THE ROOM – In case you hadn’t noticed, the Browns haven’t exactly been crazy good in the expansion era when it comes to developing quarterbacks.
2.
FLYING SOLO – There’s not much around RG3 when it comes to talent, and he can’t do it alone.
3.
HE’S GOOD, HE’S NOT DEVINE – Jackson is a fine offensive football and quarterbacks coach. But he’s not God. There’s a limit on how much he can do to transform RG3.
4.
SAFETY FIRST – Last year with the Redskins, RG3 was relegated to playing safety – on the scout team. To go from that to being a winning NFL quarterback is not just taking a quantum leap forward, but rather soaring to the moon in a single bound.
5.
IT HURTS TO SAY THIS, BUT …: RG3 hasn’t been able to stay healthy in his career, and neither have Browns quarterbacks. To think that RG3 will still be standing at the end of the season is like thinking that Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will call a cease-fire in this campaign.
