QB Or Not QB?

Two quarterbacks were newsworthy on Monday, for extremely different reasons.

Tom Brady’s fight with the NFL continued in federal court as he seeks to have his four-game suspension vacated. Robert Griffin III faced the end of his tenure with the Washington Redskins.

Brady and the New England Patriots open the NFL season on Sept. 9 and should be celebrating their latest Super Bowl triumph. Instead, the shadow of DeflateGate continues to cast its pall, eight months after the fact. Will Brady be able to play, either by virtue of a favorable court decision or an injunction? Settlement seems to be completely off the table and Judge Richard M. Berman said he would likely rule no later than Friday of this week.

In the suburbs of D.C., the Redskins were naming Kirk Cousins their starting quarterback for the season, effectively banishing Griffin to limbo. He and coach Jay Gruden clearly do not and have not gotten along, general manager Scot McCloughan has sent hints he’d like to “change the culture” by moving on from Griffin, and the team remains the NFL’s on-going soap opera. (In the interest of full disclosure, I was employed by the Redskins from 2009-2011 as editorial director).

Griffin was acquired at the preposterous cost of three No. 1 draft picks and a second-round pick and had a terrific rookie season in 2012, carrying the Redskins to their third playoff berth of the century. But a serious knee injury changed his game and the way he wanted to play it, and that ultimately led to a change of coaches and a shakeup of the front office. Griffin’s attitude, demeanor and failure to change his skill set have contributed mightily to his downfall.

It is probably fair to wonder if Commissioner Roger Goodell has spent too much time trying to solve a minimal problem with the Patriots when the Redskins might benefit from his intercession.

Wait. What? Never mind. He can’t solve an easy problem, so why try the protracted and difficult one?
 
 
Post By: Larry Weisman, a longtime sportswriter for USA TODAY, blogs for Twistity.com. Follow him on Twitter @MrLarryWeisman .