For the third week in a row, the Redskins pulled out a divisional win, and this one was the biggest of them all: 17-16 against the defending Super Bowl champ Giants. The Skins' amazing rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III didn't quite put up the numbers he did in the previous wins against the Cowboys and the Eagles-- he only threw for 163 yards and, though he ran for another 72 and didn't turn the ball over, the Skins only put up 17 points, compared to 38 against Dallas and 31 against Philly.
But one part of the commentary that irritated me was the announcers' insistence that RGIII is a "system" quarterback who is only succeeding because Mike Shanahan put him in the right circumstances to succeed. The implication is that, if you stick him in the Colts system or the Giants system, he wouldn't be as effective. That perspective, to me, screams not just ignorance but a kind of subtle racism-- that RGIII is a gimmick, like Tim Tebow, who succeeds because teams aren't prepared for the skill set he brings to the table.
By that standard, there literally isn't a single quarterback in NFL history who wasn't a system quarterback. It's true that Griffin, at this point, can't call his own plays and make adjustments at the line like Peyton Manning. But let's be honest: no one can. What those same critics never mention is that I can more or less guarantee that Griffin would perform much better in the Colts or Broncos systems than Manning would running the West Coast offense the skins run. Yet somehow what Manning does is "real" quarterbacking while what RGIII does is "system" quarterbacking. Now, it's true that there are certain styles or systems that have a surprise element that throws teams off-- the Wildcat worked for a bit a few seasons ago, and now no one uses it. Tim Tebow won a bunch of games last year, but has been utterly useless when he's gotten to see the field for the Jets. And there's a good reason no team in the NFL runs a Navy-style triple option offense. But quarterbacks all have different strengths, and every single system in the NFL is designed to play to those strengths.
And it's not like Griffin is a beneficiary of great talent around him; Alfred Morris was a great find in the 6th round of the draft, but the talent on offense is, across the board, below average. The offensive line stinks (just watch how quickly the pocket collapses on Griffin, which explains why Shanahan rolls him out so often), the best target in the passing game is out for the season with a torn Achilles, and the receivers are mediocre at best. Yet, somehow, the Skins are 8th in the league in total offense, and Griffin has a better passer rating than anyone not named Peyton Manning and Aaron Rodgers (and he's barely a half-point off Rodgers for the league lead). The best comparison for Griffin isn't Tebow, who is obviously not an NFL passer, or Michael Vick, who completed more than 60% of his passes exactly twice and had notable issues with his work ethic, but Steve Young, who was both a great athlete and a great quarterback. But (and here's the racial element) has anyone ever called Young a system quarterback because he played in the West Coast offense?
There's no doubt that RG3's had a great rookie year, but it's not because he's some kind of novelty who Mike Shanahan masterfully turned into a respectable quarterback. It's because he has, in his own way, an elite skill set, and was put in a position to be successful (despite having a mediocre, at best, supporting cast around him!) by the coaching staff. Calling him a system quarterback is like calling Wes Welker a system receiver because he runs primarily short routes and doesn't catch jump balls-- it's silly. Griffin is performing because he's smart, he's got a live, accurate arm, and, yes, because he's a great athlete. But claiming that he's some kind of "system" player because he doesn't throw deep 10 times a game (To who? Aldrick Robinson?) is mind-numbing.
