Robert Griffin III is back after a year out of the league, agreeing to a one-year deal with the Ravens. Hurray?
The move is interesting in that Baltimore at some point might want to move away from Joe Flacco. He’s been pretty terrible the past two years and is getting up there in years, so the Ravens are among the teams that might think about a quarterback in the first or second round.
I’m not guaranteeing that. Flacco played a little better in the second half of last season. But it’s possible. The way Flacco’s contract is set up, it is more likely that he will be dumped next year.
Griffin might help make that possible. Or maybe they’re just trying to upgrade their backup (over Ryan Mallett) and figured RGIII was worth a look. He had that spectacular season with Washington back in 2013.
The Ravens have Greg Roman on their coaching staff, and he might have some ideas about how to use Griffin. When Colin Kaepernick had the two good seasons in San Francisco (back in 2012-13) Roman was the offensive coordinator.
But I don’t think it’s particularly likely Griffin amounts to much. He’s been pretty atrocious for quite a while. He’s 6-20 as a starter over the last five years, averaging 221 passing yards in those games, with 22 TDs, 21 interceptions and 21 fumbles. Despite the big knee injury, he’s still got some speed – he averaged 33 rushing yards in those 26 starts, with 3 TDs.
Biggest flaw that will need to be corrected is creating a better sense of reading and adjusting to defenses. Specifically, recognizing blitzes. At times, it looks like he was no idea where pass rushers are coming from. Combine that with a tendency to try to scramble out of such plays and the sacks and fumbles start flowing.
Over the last five years, 40 quarterbacks have been on the field for at least 800 pass plays. Of that group, Griffin is the only one who’s been sacked on over 10 percent of his pass plays.
| SACK PERCENTAGES (last five years) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Plays | Sacks | Pct |
| Peyton Manning | 1,638 | 51 | 3.1% |
| Derek Carr | 2,338 | 91 | 3.9% |
| Drew Brees | 3,289 | 144 | 4.4% |
| Ryan Fitzpatrick | 1,877 | 87 | 4.6% |
| Ben Roethlisberger | 2,864 | 133 | 4.6% |
| Eli Manning | 3,085 | 146 | 4.7% |
| Kirk Cousins | 2,151 | 103 | 4.8% |
| Joe Flacco | 2,945 | 143 | 4.9% |
| Tom Brady | 2,996 | 149 | 5.0% |
| Nick Foles | 1,181 | 60 | 5.1% |
| Philip Rivers | 3,088 | 160 | 5.2% |
| Matt Ryan | 3,122 | 166 | 5.3% |
| Case Keenum | 1,329 | 71 | 5.3% |
| Andrew Luck | 2,139 | 115 | 5.4% |
| Brian Hoyer | 1,389 | 75 | 5.4% |
| Carson Wentz | 1,108 | 61 | 5.5% |
| Andy Dalton | 2,662 | 150 | 5.6% |
| Dak Prescott | 1,006 | 57 | 5.7% |
| Sam Bradford | 1,474 | 85 | 5.8% |
| Jameis Winston | 1,639 | 95 | 5.8% |
| Carson Palmer | 2,334 | 137 | 5.9% |
| Jay Cutler | 2,088 | 123 | 5.9% |
| Brock Osweiler | 1,045 | 62 | 5.9% |
| Tony Romo | 1,165 | 70 | 6.0% |
| Matthew Stafford | 3,183 | 196 | 6.2% |
| Aaron Rodgers | 2,382 | 152 | 6.4% |
| Marcus Mariota | 1,362 | 88 | 6.5% |
| Blake Bortles | 2,393 | 164 | 6.9% |
| Cam Newton | 2,604 | 185 | 7.1% |
| Trevor Siemian | 899 | 64 | 7.1% |
| Alex Smith | 2,628 | 192 | 7.3% |
| Ryan Tannehill | 2,331 | 178 | 7.6% |
| Mike Glennon | 834 | 64 | 7.7% |
| Russell Wilson | 2,656 | 215 | 8.1% |
| Geno Smith | 982 | 80 | 8.1% |
| Josh McCown | 1,532 | 127 | 8.3% |
| Teddy Bridgewater | 934 | 83 | 8.9% |
| Tyrod Taylor | 1,365 | 124 | 9.1% |
| Colin Kaepernick | 1,624 | 155 | 9.5% |
| Robert Griffin III | 910 | 93 | 10.2% |
—Ian Allan