Griffin Not Part Of Redskins Nucleus

Mistake or message? That is the question hovering around the nation’s capital regarding the Washington Redskins quarterback situation.

In a letter sent to season-ticket holders, the Redskins thanked their fans for their support while mentioning the core group of players that will lead the franchise back into winning. One of the names that wasn’t part of this “core” was none other than quarterback Robert Griffin, III.

“Head Coach Jay Gruden, new General Manager Scot McCloughan, and Defensive Coordinator Joe Barry will lead a nucleus of Ryan Kerrigan, DeSean Jackson, plus Pro Bowlers Trent Williams and Alfred Morris. The Redskins are poised to rebound next season!” the letter read, via The Washington Post.

After Griffin’s spectacular rookie season in which he led the Redskins to the NFC East title, things have gone very much south for the Subway spokesperson. After being rushed back from a torn ACL he suffered in Washington’s playoff loss to Seattle his rookie season, he struggled completing just 60.1 percent of his throws with 16 touchdowns and 12 interceptions. This past season Griffin battled a foot injury and then was benched in favor of journeyman Colt McCoy by new head coach Jay Gruden.

“Coach’s decision,” Griffin said following his benching. “I’m here to help this team win.”

It seems abundantly clear that Gruden is not the biggest fan of RG3’s, as he has publicly criticized the starting quarterback that he was handed when taking the job in Washington.

“This position is very difficult, especially when you’re learning new concepts with a new system,” Gruden said. “It takes time. So it’s important for us to try and have some success on first and second down so we don’t have to drop back and throw it 30 times a game. But, eventually, when you get behind, you get in third down. … The drop-back reads and progressions have to be accomplished and that’s something we’re fighting through right now.”

There always seems to be some drama in Washington and it seems to often be created by themselves.

Bucs Ex-GM Likes Mariota

Former Tampa Bay Buccaneers general manager Mark Domenik was always media savvy when he manned his post in Tampa and now he’s a member of the media as he currently works for ESPN.

Domenik weighed in on the Buccaneers quarterback debate on ESPN’s SportsCenter Thursday evening.

“There’s nothing about Mariota that you don’t like,” Domenik explained. “He’s smart, he’s quick with the decisions, he gets the ball out fast, he can understand the playbook, he does all of the things you want him to do. There’s just that debate of whether or not he can take a 5-step drop and deliver the ball and throw a guy open. It’s certainly easier to figure that out then it will be whether you can trust Winston.”

Of course Jameis Winston seems to be the more pro-ready quarterback right now but there are his obvious off the field indiscretions.

Domenik had a failed first-round quarterback with off the field issues in Josh Freeman. His decision to draft Freeman and stick with him into his fifth season and waste $8 million of Malcolm Glazer’s money helped get Domenik the availability to work at ESPN.

Domenik spoke about what his scouts were instructed to do when the Buccaneers were considering wide receiver Justin Blackmon in the 2012 NFL Draft.

“Justin Blackmon is a guy we could’ve considered in the 2012 draft with the No. 5 pick,” Domenik recalled. “Shoot, we went all through Stillwater, we went to a bar. We had a scout who went to a bar for two straight weeks and watched if Justin Blackmon did come in or didn’t come in.

“He (the scout) said that he was in there a lot. That made us decide that was not the player we were going to take. We try to find as much information as possible on a player and sometimes that puts an area scout into doing more than the normal investigation process.”

Domenik finally said what he would do if he were still in charge of the Buccaneers and their No. 1 pick.

“I think Mariota is still the No. 1 pick in this draft,” Domenik said.

Jeter Looked Into Buying Bills

In a report by the Buffalo News, former Yankees superstar shortstop Derek Jeter looked into and strongly considered putting together a proposal to purchase the Buffalo Bills.

Although Jeter is wealthy by anyone’s standards he “only” made roughly $400 million during his playing career. When you consider that Terry and Kim Pegula paid roughly $1.4 billion for the Bills franchise, Jeter would have obviously had to put together an investment team.

The idea of Derek Jeter as a team owner is an attractive one, from a celebrity perspective especially for a team that plays in the snow-belt and holds the longest current playoff drought in the NFL (1999 was the last time they qualified for the postseason).