Shanahan Decision Not to Take Out RGIII

[brandymac27]

I am very sad today not because we lost the game but because everything I believed about RGIII and his leadership was proven wrong. Cuss me out do whatever you want but to be a leader mean making the right decisions for the team. now I understand his demeanor at the Browns game, now I understand his stubbornness. He has a lot to learn and I hope he learns he needs to understand the team is above him.

Mike on the other hand needs to explain himself. For 2.5 quarters he can't that blind to have a one legged QB in there. He can't be that stupid. Reminds me of Gibbs and his insistence in 2005 to keep Brunell in there when he was being owned.

Maybe I don't know much but I do know it takes a man and a leader to say someone might do a better job than me. RGIII tonight proved he is neither.

This post is just beyond ridiculous.

Yeah, man, this situation is just bizarre. I'm trying to collect my thoughts and not jump to conclusions, but...this is weird.

Yeah, something is very odd about the whole knee situation.

[worldpost]

Stupid.. GD stupid.. Cousins can win .. We've seen it.. Winning 14-13 at halftime a ball control attack would have crushed this team. RGIII was unable to even plant his foot to throw the ball. What a horrible end to a great season.
I don't know if it was RGIII or Shanahan, but someone even Synder should have pulled the plug on RGIII at halftime

[Ynot]

Terrible Play Calling. Morris had 8 carries first 2 drives and only 8 carries for the rest of the game. If they had ran him like they did in Dallas we would be headed to Atlanta.. Dominate right side of the line and hardly went back to it.... That first drive no read option they were pitches and straight runs. THey never proved they could stop him. I would have run it 3 times both times we had the call inside the 10 until they proved they could stop me. Plus after they score we come out and pass there was still 7 minutes on the clock. Gibbs and others would have said Hogs hitch it up we are going to run it down their throats..

Big Concern for Next year will be, Have teams figured out RGIII passing game....100 yards last two games. and. Can he stay healthy. Missing deep balls and taking to long to release on deep balls. Lets pray for his health and growth of Kyle... He was a sitting duck.

That is why Cousins should have come in sooner so they could run the ball and use the stretch plays and have him as a sitting duck as RGIII was since they did not want to roll him out it seemed....

We had them were we wanted them and let them back in by not running the ball down their throats.. Team had an incredible Effort even RGIII blame goes to the coaches on this one...

[SkinsGuy]

Dude he was barely able to walk by the middle of the 2nd quarter. he is missing wide open receivers. What do you mean hindsight is 20/20 what else does a coach need to see to make a change? he can't run and can't throw. In the 2nd quarter our offense had what? 20 yards total?

Please, enough with the hyperbole. We were winning going into the 4th quarter.

We were an injured team that got beat by a healthy team. That is what happened.

[Destino]

LOL, I'm so ****ing sick of the coddling and injury excuses. As soon as RG3 starts missing throws it's "oh, he's injured of course". No one here would have had any issue with RG3 playing hurt if he was putting throws on the money. People play hurt in the NFL, many of them play very well with a little pain. RG3's ineffectiveness needs to stop always being blamed on an injury and maybe just that we were going against great D or maybe he's just off.

I'd have no problem with that view if we didn't all see him re-injure it and then look like a different player.

[Metalhead]

I wouldn't be surprised to see some sort of investigation come out of this. It's awfully weird that Dr. Andrews would come out and talk about his concern for RG3's knee, only to see him go down not once, but twice, in agony without being touched by a Seahawk. Something doesn't smell right here......I mean, why would the team keep insisting that the "doctor's" have stated his knee was at 100% for two consecutive weeks only to see something completely contrary on the field?

That's what I don't understand - why intentionally leave your franchise player in the game while badly injured? I don't think I've ever seen this happen before, in any sport. Here it did more damage to the team leaving him in than taking him out.

[SpringfieldSkins]

Wrong grasshopper. I wasn't worried about the game. I just couldn't stomach seeing RG3 out there being a shell of himself. It was pretty sad.
Shame on Shanahan.

Then shame on RG3 putting it all on himself. If that's the way you want to focus your blame that is...

[bradboyd80]

agree....very proud of Shanahan

I don't understand what there is to be proud of? The HC let a player talk him into a terrible decision despite seeing it for himself on the field! Griffin couldn't run, nor could he plant and make throws to open receivers. That's a pretty easy decision for most coaches.....playoff or regular season game; doesn't matter. At that point, Cousins gives your team the best chance to win....period. Gotta make the tough calls when its in the best interest of the team. Shanahan is a good coach, but damn that was a boneheaded choice.

[SkinsGuy]

And if Shanahan benches Griffin and Cousins wins the game then no one questions his decision to bench Griffin. We can both play the alternate reality game!

Also, it is not hindsight. You can say it 100 times and it still wouldn't be true. People were almost all calling for the change at half time, not after the game.

And if Shanahan had put in Cousins much earlier and he stunk up the joint, folks like you seeing RG3 walking up and down the sidelines would've been screaming why Shanahan didn't give him more of a chance.

Stick to the alternate reality we are talking about.

[Heisenberg]

Then shame on RG3 putting it all on himself. If that's the way you want to focus your blame that is...

I have no doubt that RG3 would go out there and try to play with a broken neck - that doesn't mean he should be able to.

That's why you have Head Coaches and team doctors to make decisions like that.

[Birdlives]

I didn't necessarily think they should have pulled him, but offering him more support by going heavy with the run would have been effective IMO. I was pretty po'd when they tried to throw on 1st down from their own 5. They were running great, they just didn't stick with it. Probably would have allowed us to win this one. On the other hand, if they did win with RG3 in, he probably would have been injured next week or we would have been eliminated in Atlanta by starting Cousins. In reality, and with a little luck he'll be fine to start next season, which is where we are. Past tense what ifs no longer concern me, I'm fine with where we are.

[Heisenberg]

And if Shanahan had put in Cousins much earlier and he stunk up the joint, folks like you seeing RG3 walking up and down the sidelines would've been screaming why Shanahan didn't give him more of a chance.

Stick to the alternate reality we are talking about.

This so stupid.

I don't think most of us are concerned about the game today or the win/loss. Letting RG3 go out there for that long put next season and the future of the franchise needlessly at risk.

[DCthomahal]

Yall act like it's so easy. Your star player, in the playoffs, tell me that's an easy decision. Tell me Shannahan doesn't get the other kind of blame if he DOES put Cousins in and he throws a couple picks. "you have to let your stars play in the playoffs no matter what Mike", or something like that.

The man knows how to use personnel. The judging of our coach is ridiculous. "OHH OHH , HE SAID HIS REPUTATION IS ON JOHN BECK" "OHH OHH, HE SAID HE GAVE UP ON THE SEASON" "OHH OHH HE DOESN'T CARE ABOUT RG3'S HEALTH"

He says a lot of things, and he doesn't care how you interpret it, he knows what he's doing.

Our QB broke, and we weren't likely to win in that situation. That's it.

I agree that Shanahan was in a terrible position and I agree that he knows a thousand times more about football than I ever will. He would be second guessed no matter what he did. It has to be very difficult no matter what you decide.

On the other hand, he is paid $7 million dollars to face tough decision and the second guessing that comes with them, so I am not going to be worrying too awful much about Coach Shanahan in that sense.

Again, to me the entire point is that while it could have gone either way in hindsight, there is an inconsistency here there seems perfectly legitimate to point out: RGIII looked considerably BETTER before the Cleveland game than he did in the second half today ...and he was benched and Cousins given a chance to show what he could do.

Why was a totally different approach taken this time in this must win game?

[SpringfieldSkins]

I have no doubt that RG3 would go out there and try to play with a broken neck - that doesn't mean he should be able to.

That's why you have Head Coaches and team doctors to make decisions like that.

And they made a bad deciscion? According to the fans? The "fans" have been wrong ten times out of ten this season. Sure, throw the coaches under the bus if that's what helps you sleep at night,

[Thiebear]

Cousins should have started the third..
But the Defense had 4 hard nosed kick but series that kept it ctlose.