I don't really like Robert Griffin. I've explained why many times. I feel like his concussion yesterday against Texas Tech is no coincidence, nor is his leg injury that caused him to miss a year. He's a rough and tumble guy that doesn't see the field well or operate well from inside the pocket and so you've got to run him and get him out of the pocket where he takes shot after shot after shot, and on his frame his body can't take it. You often see him fading in the 4th quarter because of the shots he's taken. You see him slow to get up all the time. It's scary. He might be 6'1" or 6'2" but it's not a solid 6'1" or 6'2" and his instincts don't match up to be the kind of guy that can be that size and get away with it because he's not getting hit.
Then you look at his pocket mechanics which are not at all natural or quick, they're creaky in the extreme, you can practically hear the gears squeaking and hydraulics releasing when you watch him operate back there. You could read a Tolstoy novel waiting for the ball to get out once he begins his delivery. His feet are way too wide in his stance, like a runner not a quarterback. That was a big difference between he and Cam Newton. Newton always had a passer's stance, stood real tall, surveying the field, maximizing his height and relying on his sudden explosion when he felt pressure. Griffin has this wide stance which minimizes his already questionable 6'1" or 6'2" frame. He does NOT see the field from inside the pocket at that height and with those mechanics.
He's a product of the system right now. Look at what Nick Florence did once Griffin got concussed. He came in there and led 35 points in the 2nd half, actually outperforming what Griffin did in the 1st half. They have very fast receivers and a nice wide open run-option system which creates these wide open windows. Kendall Wright is a superb receiver prospect.
If I thought he was trash I wouldn't draft him period, but that's not what I think. I'd draft him in the 3rd round based on his inherent, natural accuracy and sense of timing, as well as his ability to make something happen when the play is extended. I mean, you look at the play he made to end the Oklahoma game, that was RIDICULOUS. That throw, the idea he had to throw it where he threw it, letting the receiver make the adjustment...it was superb. You love that. But there's WAY too much getting in his way and he doesn't have the ridiculous physical qualities that people think he does. The pace he gets on the ball is inconsistent. He's fast but I wouldn't call him elusive, not the way I would call a Cam Newton elusive. He's short and skinny and takes a physical pounding, and can't really dish one out.
If you've got these creaky, ridiculous mechanics, coming from an offense that has very little translation to the NFL, you had better have enormous physical passing potential. Cam Newton was a rarity that way. I was not in any way naturally inclined to like a Cam Newton. If I was, I would have also loved Colin Kaepernick, but I didn't. Newton broke the mold. Robert Griffin does not. He's more of a Dennis Dixon, for me, or a shorter Colin Kaepernick.
On the other hand, I think Matt Barkley is a franchise quarterback. He's got the arm strength necessary to make all the throws. His mechanics are beyond reproach, and they lead to consistent accuracy and probably the best ball placement I've graded in a long time outside of Andrew Luck. He handles pressure very well and is getting better with each game which is kind of scary. He throws on the run very accurately because he's able to keep his balance and shoulders square, and use good leverage and mechanics. He can operate a number of offensive concepts without a problem and is able to see the defense after the snap. He's developed a reputation for being slow footed but he's actually getting quicker and more physically fit as he's gone on in his career, and you're seeing it on the field. You see what he did against Colorado rolling out to his right, or what he did just last night on the fake field goal. He's got great intangibles.
