Rams Benefit Most from Trade That Allowed Skins to Draft RG3
(ABC)–The St. Louis Rams got a ton of draft picks. The Washington Redskins got Robert Griffin III.
Neither team is exactly steamrolling through the NFL, but the deal looks better for the Rams as time goes by.
The Rams (5-7) and Redskins (3-9) are getting back together Sunday, and St. Louis will have likely have Michael Brockers, Janoris Jenkins, Alec Ogletree and Greg Robinson in the starting lineup with Stedman Bailey and Zac Stacy also contributing – part of a three-year haul of players stemming from the 2012 blockbuster trade with Washington.
“We had a lot of holes and had a lot of work to do,” St. Louis coach Jeff Fisher said. “So it was an easy decision for us. … We’re building to compete in the division, and, because of the trade, we got off to a great start.”
Griffin will watch from the sideline, benched for the second time in two seasons and now the backup to Colt McCoy.
The Redskins gambled that Griffin would solve their overlong quest for a franchise quarterback. The early returns were promising when he won the NFL’s Offensive Rookie of the Year award while running a zone-read offense, but he’s also suffered two major injuries and has struggled over the past two years to adjust his game.
Now Griffin’s days in Washington appear numbered. And the bounty given to the Rams – three first-round picks and a second-rounder – is starting to represent a lost era, highlighting the danger of pinning a franchise’s hopes around one player.
But every team needs a find a good quarterback somehow. While St. Louis has chosen some good players with the premium draft picks, the Rams’ overall progress has been stunted by Sam Bradford’s knee injuries.
“I think what you draw from (the trade) is, if you don’t have a guy that’s available at quarterback, that’s healthy, that’s durable and consistent, it’s going to be hard for you to win a lot of games in the NFL, no matter which way you go,” Washington safety Ryan Clark said.
Here’s more to know about Sunday’s game:
MOTIVATION BOWL: St. Louis doesn’t look like a team that has been out of the realistic playoff picture for much of the season.
Washington does.
The Rams had wins over San Francisco and Denver last month. The Redskins have dropped four straight, including a 22-point drubbing by Indianapolis last week in which first-year coach Jay Gruden cited his players for “not breaking the huddle with any sense of urgency.”
This is where the edge goes to the veteran coach, Fisher, for knowing how to push his players’ buttons.
“Our challenge this week is to win two in a row,” Fisher said, “We have not done that this year.”
LONG JOURNEY: Rams defensive end Chris Long had a sack last week in his first game since returning from left ankle surgery. He was an impatient patient while he was away, and Fisher joked: “I brought him back just to get him off my rear end.”
Asked how he stayed sane during rehab, Long said: “I didn’t. It didn’t work. I went crazy, so there was nothing I could find really to keep me happy.”
COLT COMFORT: McCoy couldn’t be much of a leader when he was a third-stringer at the beginning of training camp. Now he’s warming into the role as he gets his third start this season.
“I’m starting, and it’s my job to go out and lead our football team on Sunday,” McCoy said. “So a little bit more vocal at practice – and just continuing to play the best football I can play.”
MISCELLANEOUS TROUBLE: It’s not a stat that gets much attention, but the Rams have been bedeviled this year by what are known as “miscellaneous touchdowns.”
They’ve allowed an NFL-high nine: four interception returns, three fumble returns, one kickoff return and one blocked punt return. The Redskins, by contrast, have allowed five, second most in the league.
FERGUSON CONNECTION: Washington’s defensive backs and St. Louis’ receivers will be adversaries on Sunday, but they have a measure of solidarity in one respect. They are the two groups who have come out of the tunnel doing the “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” gesture before games at NFL stadiums this year.
The Redskins did it during the preseason and didn’t get anywhere close to the attention that has been focused on the Rams’ players, who received threats after performing the gesture at a home game last week.
“I think it’s really cool that those guys felt strongly enough and showed the solidarity amongst one another, whether you agree with their stance or not, to go out and actually say, ‘OK, this is how we feel,'” Washington safety Ryan Clark said.