Build Around the Best
It’s March of 2012 in Washington. Mike Shanahan’s first two seasons as the head coach combined for an 11-21 record after failing with aging quarterbacks Donovan McNabb and Rex Grossman in consecutive seasons, not to mention another free agency blunder that, despite the financial influx and cap growth of the NFL now 15 years later, remains one of the worst in history, the Albert Haynesworth contract. McNabb was a Dan Snyder overreach addition to the team and too free-slinging to operate the precise Shanahan offense correctly. Grossman learned the offense when Kyle was the OC in Houston, although he was the backup QB there and by 2011 had only had one season as a starting QB in a nearly 10 year career. Needless to say, times were tough.
They all thought they were about to be thrown a lifeline in the form of already future first-ballot Hall of Famer Peyton Manning hitting the open market after an injured season led the Colts to the number one pick in a draft with a quarterback said to be the best in the draft since Manning himself, Andrew Luck. There might not have been anyone on the planet more suited to operate the offense, and Manning was interested in the prospect of running it while being protected by a young Trent Williams and reuniting with one of his Indianapolis receivers, Pierre Garcon. However, as Manning was coming to interview, notoriously impulsive Dan Snyder traded for the second overall pick in the draft, for the electric, Heisman-winning quarterback from Baylor, Robert Griffin III.
Instead of adding Manning to the list of Hall of Fame quarterbacks the system had seen (Elway and Young), Kyle Shanahan and his offensive staff of Sean McVay, Matt LaFleur, Mike McDaniel, and Chris Foerster were again tasked with a quarterback not known for his precise throwing abilities, but for his legs. They could have just plugged him in and ran the system as it was intended to be run. Football itself would probably look much different today if they had, because they probably would have had another abysmal year and all been fired, never to be heard from again.
Instead, they adapted their scheme to fit their best players and their skillsets. They learned the zone read game. Not only that, but how defenses played it. They discovered that defenses played off the location of the running back in the gun and had the realization that not only could they prevent defenses from keying that by going in the Pistol, they could also threaten to stretch the defense horizontally by running their entire under center Wide Zone package as well. On any given snap, a defense would have to be able to account for a strong or weak side Wide Zone and a potential option play to either side as well, not to mention the threat of play action.
RGIII’s legs were a large factor, but there were other players and skillsets in play as well. Even though Manning didn’t come with him, Pierre Garcon still came to Washington as a well-rounded Wide Receiver who was great with the ball in his hands, even as the “pitch phase” of some adapted zone triple option schemes. 6th round rookie running back/fullback hybrid Alfred Morris also found his way into the lineup by being an absolute bowling ball downhill, punishing defenses inside for worrying about the threat of RGIII’s legs on the perimeter. Another 6th round rookie, WR Aldrick Robinson, threatened to take the top off of any defense, keeping the intermediate windows open for Garcon and the veteran, versatile Tight End group.
This combination led to Robert Griffin III winning Rookie of the Year honors (over Andrew Luck, the QB the Colts let Manning walk for), and Alfred Morris rushing for over 1,600 yards, second only to MVP Adrian Peterson rushing for over 2,000 yards, nearly breaking the all-time record. All this en route to a 10-6 season, enough to win the division after two straight years of dead last finishes in the NFC East.
A playoff injury to RGIII and massive organizational dysfunction led to 2012 being the peak of Washington football until another mobile, electric, Heisman-winning, #2 overall draft pick rookie Quarterback, Jayden Daniels, would roll into town over a decade later, but the takeaways to us today remain the same. Paid subscribers will have access to those down below.
