We’ve said this from the moment he arrived, and we’ll say it again. In fact, we’ll keep saying it.
That is, there is absolutely no quarterback competition on the Browns right now. There never has been one this year. And there will not be one in the foreseeable future.
That is an undeniable fact. You can take it to the bank.
Guaranteed.
Barring something unforeseen, such as an injury and perhaps only an injury, Robert Griffin III is the starter now and will remain the starter.
The head coach, Hue Jackson, recruited him to come here and sign in free agency. As such, the head coach who is trying to make a comeback in the NFL, has joined himself at the hip with the quarterback who is trying to make a comeback in the NFL. If Jackson were not convinced that Griffin could do it – at least to a passable level – he wouldn’t risk himself to the public and professional embarrassment that would ensue if the quarterback failed, thus dragging his coach down with him.
So that train has left the station and it’s not coming back.
Jackson is a smart man. He saw that RG III, the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner who went on to have a great rookie career with the Washington Redskins in 2012 before falling flat onto his face the next three years, was available. He saw that the alternatives were Josh McCown, a well-traveled veteran who is a good locker-room guy and puts up good numbers from time to time but never, ever does anything concrete to win the game, which is the most important thing, and a second-tier rookie, who turned up to be Cody Kessler.
That was an easy decision for Jackson.
Considering all this, then, I am amazed – totally and completely amazed – that anyone is surprised that Griffin has been entrenched as the starter since training camp began.
I am also amazed when people claim that McCown “played well” last year.
Wow.
Like most towns in the NFL, Cleveland is a place that has always loved a good quarterback controversy, even when there isn’t one. That dates all the way back to the early 1950s with Otto Graham and George Ratterman, which is one of those times when there wasn’t one.
This is also one of those times.
When something changes, we’ll alert you. Actually, we won’t need to alert you. You’ll see it with your own two eyes.
More on Griffin in our next post.
