Should RGIII Have Played in Preseason?

In short the answer is NO. Now did RGIII look his best against the Eagles? Absolutely not but that doesn't mean he should have played in the preseason. There will be a lot of talk, and already has been, about Griffin and his ability to plant and really drive the ball down field. He seemed to struggle with this during the game against the Eagles but the real problem to me seemed to be timing.

This was Griffin's first game back and it unfortunately came against a fast paced Eagles team that made some plays early on. This only caused RGIII to feel a little rushed and possibly the need to make some plays. The problem with this is it was his first time taking snaps at game speed so naturally his timing was off. His second interception of the game is a prime example of this. Garçon had created space but because the ball came out late it gave Cary Williams a chance to recover and make a good play on the ball. Another example was the safety. Griffin pitched it to Morris but the pitch was done pretty poorly and while Morris probably should have made the play Griffin should take some blame as well.

I will concede that Griffin's confidence in the knee was probably an issue but I think a lot of throws that were inaccurate were more of timing and indecision than mechanics. Last year Griffin often threw the ball without planting because he simply has the arm strength to be accurate without it. This will need to improve but the point is rust seemed to be a bigger deal than the injury. Griffin will get better with his timing and decision making and the Redskins will be fine so there is no need to freak out.

Overall, while these problems are ones that could have been worked out during preseason games that doesn't mean he should have played. This is the NFL and even though the loss to the Eagles seems embarrassing it's only one game. Relax and breathe Redskins fans I promise this team and RGIII will continue to improve. The season is long and I'm still just as excited to see what this team and this offense can do. HAIL!!