ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Imagine living in a time when everyone thought the world was flat, and to suggest otherwise was blasphemy — before Galileo was called on the carpet at the Vatican for suggesting such a notion.
You had a different idea — that the world was round — but dared not voice that opinion publicly for fear of being ridiculed, or worse. Maybe you scratched it on a wall inside the Vatican anonymously, and, like you expected, once people learned of it, you were ridiculed — but safe in your anonymity.
So when everyone finally figured out the world was indeed round, wouldn’t you want to come forward and say, “I told you so,” when everyone was making fun of the fool who turned out to be right?
That must be how two unnamed NFL scouts feel. Back in 2012, when everyone was fighting for a place on the Robert Griffin III bandwagon, they expressed a much different opinion on Griffin’s ability. The wheels eventually fell off and the wagon was left on the side of the road on Monday, when the Washington Redskins released Griffin.
In a lengthy breakdown of the quarterbacks in the NFL draft in 2012, two scouts anonymously told the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel that the Heisman Trophy winner out of Baylor, the player the Redskins had already traded three first-round picks and a second-round pick for the chance to select, has “a little bit of a selfish streak.”
“Everybody was laying on Cam [Newton], but for some reason this guy has become gloves off,” one scout said. “He doesn’t treat anybody good.”
That same scout went on to say that “as much as is written about his athleticism, his athleticism under duress in the pocket isn’t even close to Cam Newton’s. This guy, the only way he gets big plays with his feet is if he’s got a wide-open field and the sea opens for him.”
Here’s what the other scout said about Griffin:
“Everybody is just assuming because of the Heisman and the socks and all that BS … they are ignoring a lot of bad tape that he’s had. I don’t think he has vision or pocket feel, which to me are the two most important components of quarterbacking. He’s just running around winging it. He’s [Michael] Vick, but not as good a thrower.”
Don’t you think both of those scouts want to stand up and tell the world, “That was me, that was me! — especially since they turned out to be so right? Especially after the ridicule and criticism they received for voicing such contrary opinions?
They were very contrary opinions.
At the NFL combine that year, Denver Broncos general manager John Elway, when asked about Griffin and Andrew Luck, said, “I look at both of them as two unbelievable prospects. Two tremendous talents, tremendously mature, intelligent guys. Those two are going to have a lot of success in the NFL.”
Former Baltimore Ravens coach Brian Billick, whose team won the Super Bowl after the 2000 season, said then, “when you talk about the Michael Vicks or the Cam Newtons or the athletic quarterbacks, this is the best throwing athlete I’ve seen come out in a while.”
ESPN analyst Ron Jaworski declared after Griffin’s pro day in Waco, “there’s not a flaw in his game.”
Those were the standard opinions, and anyone who suggested otherwise was a fool.
The two scouts who used words like “selfish” and flaws” — words that define Griffin now — were thought to be fools.
ProFootballTalk weighed in with its own ridicule of the two scouts.
“In our assessment, Griffin has been treated well by the media because there has been no evidence of anything to suggest that there may be a problem with his interpersonal skills,” Mike Florio wrote. “Newton had off-field issues, along with a certain sense of entitlement/grandiosity that bled through from time to time in the things he said. Griffin has performed well whenever in the media spotlight, coming off as down to earth and well-adjusted, even as the trophies and attention and hype have piled up at his doorstep.
“If there are scouts who view Griffin as selfish and as someone who ’doesn’t treat anybody good,’ … they haven’t previously said so. And now that the Redskins have long since locked on to Griffin, how can anyone regard any anonymous criticism of Griffin as inherently credible?”
“Inherently credible?” They were clairvoyant.
If these two men — the Galileos of NFL scouts — who believed in a different world of Griffin than everyone else would step forward, I’d like them to receive the apologies they deserve. There will be no inquisition for them now. And, if I owned an NFL team, I’d hire these two scouts — especially if I owned the Redskins.
⦁ Thom Loverro is co-host of “The Sports Fix,” noon to 2 p.m. daily on ESPN 980 and espn980.com.
• Thom Loverro can be reached at tloverro@washingtontimes.com.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.