Browns Film Room: What went wrong for RGIII?

The Cleveland Browns — once again — lost their season opener, falling to the Philadelphia Eagles, 29-10, on Sunday. Not much went right for Cleveland, including the debut of quarterback Robert Griffin III.

In the game, Griffin completed just 12 of 26 passes for 190 yards and one interception. Beyond his poor performance, however, is the news of his shoulder injury that will sideline the quarterback for at least the next two months.

So what went wrong for Robert Griffin III? Of the variety of items that plagued his performances versus the Eagles, inaccuracy, slow decision-making, poor field vision, dropped passes, and receiver mistakes were the biggest culprits. With that, our first Film Room of the 2016 season will serve to illustrate these problems and show what went wrong for RGIII in Philadelphia.

Inaccuracy

Robert Griffin III’s biggest struggle in the game was arguably his accuracy. He completed just 12 of 26 passes—a 46 percent clip. This is not good enough to be a successful quarterback. Here is an example of his inaccuracy from the third quarter on Sunday.

This play should be a touchdown. In fact, it isn’t much different than the play in which the Eagles scored moments earlier in the game. Griffin, however, overthrows receiver Andrew Hawkins in the end zone, the ball sailing well over the veteran’s head.

Hawkins is stymied at first when he runs his quick curl route, but makes something happen by surprising the defensive back with a quick turn up field, getting behind the coverage. He is wide open for the easy touchdown, but Griffin drifts it too far over the head of the receiver. Griffin’s arm action shows that he tried to be too perfect on the throw, throwing too stiff and exaggerated in the incompletion.

Slow Decision-Making

Robert Griffin III was late on a few of his throws, showing very slow decision-making. Here is an example of this happening in the third quarter on Sunday.

This is an excellent play call and very good execution by receiver Terrelle Pryor. Pryor is running a hitch-and-go route. He runs a really good route, selling the hitch route and then cutting up field to get over top of the corner. Griffin makes a good shoulder pump fake at the beginning of his drop back, which gets the corner to freeze a second. Unfortunately, he waits way too long to throw the ball.

The ball should be out of his hands right before Pryor plants his right foot at the 10-yard line and cuts up field. Griffin, however, holds onto the ball until Pryor is a couple yards up field after cutting. This delay shortens the room for the pass to be completed and allows the corner to recover, squeezing Pryor against the sideline. Another play that could have gone for six, but Robert Griffin III was a hair too slow.

Poor Field Vision

Robert Griffin III did not show great field vision in the loss, missing available receivers and opportunities. Here is an example of his limited field vision missing an opportunity. It is actually the play in which he gets injured in the fourth quarter.

This play was late in the game with victory out of reach, but it shows Griffin’s inability to use the whole field. He faces little pressure, but still quickly looks to scramble when he sees the lane open up. Yet, he misses a big opportunity.

This shot shows that Griffin missed a wide open receiver on the left sideline. Corey Coleman is running a streak down the sideline. The Eagles are in zone coverage with a corner covering underneath and a deep safety covering over top. The Eagles safety was too deep and allowed there to be a gap in the coverage for Coleman to fill in and get open. But, Griffin completely misses this.

This clip shows that Griffin’s eyes on the play. He was not even looking toward the left side of the field. It looked like he went through a quick progression and then took off when he saw the open running lane. He completely neglected the left side of the field, missing Coleman wide open.

Dropped Passes

Robert Griffin III’s poor game was not entirely fault. One of the biggest contributors to the bad performance was the multitude of drops by Browns pass catchers. Here is an example of a drop causing a missed opportunity.

This is an excellently designed play by Hue Jackson. The Browns used a mass shift from most of the players on the field, ending the shift with three blockers in the middle of the field and then a blocker and two pass catchers on either side of the line. The play confuses the Eagles defense and allows a possible advantage to happen on the bottom of the field with three players guarded by just two defenders.

The key route is Corey Coleman’s slant route. He runs a quick slant towards the center of the field. Griffin throws an accurate pass in stride to Coleman, but Coleman drops the ball. If he had caught the pass, he had a chance to break through the secondary and make a huge play for the offense. This was just one of a few drops in the game.

By spreading out the blockers, the defenders have to guess who the ineligible men are. If you watch the play above once again, the other missed opportunity comes in the way of the defensive back charging at the ineligible lineman, allowing a receiver to streak uncovered down the sideline. Griffin, unfortunately, had already made his mind on the targeted receiver.

Receiver Mistakes

As I noted above, Robert Griffin III was not the only problem on offense. His poor performance was enhanced by some poor performances around him. Here is an example of a player on the offense not helping Griffin out much.

The Browns run two deep routes on the play. Corey Coleman is lined up on the left and is running a post route. Terrelle Pryor is lined up on the right side and is running a deep crossing route across the field. Coleman’s post route draws the single deep safety to the right of the field, so it leaves the entire left side open. Pryor runs his route across the field and the corner covering him is covering him underneath. That leaves a huge opportunity for Pryor.

No. 11 should have went down field on the route, rather than making a straight line toward the sideline. Pryor’s route was too sharp horizontally, negating the open field downfield and allowing the corner to stay with him and recover to catch him. Yes, Griffin overthrew the receiver, but he could have a huge play had Pryor cut up field toward the 40-yard line, filling the spot vacated by the deep safety. Pryor’s inexperience was a culprit on this play.

Highlight of the Game

DL Carl Nassib

The highlight of the loss versus the Philadelphia Eagles was rookie defensive lineman Carl Nassib. He really showed up and played well for a defense that struggled for the most part.

Nassib had three tackles, one tackle for loss, one pass defended, two quarterback hits and a sack. He showed his athleticism and length throughout the game, showing production in run defense and pass rushing. He was one of only a few consistent pass rushing threats in game. It was a great start to his rookie season.

Lowlight of the Game

QB Robert Griffin III 

It may look like I am completely blasting Robert Griffin III, but his poor performance was just so disappointing that he was by far the lowlight of the game. He completed just 12 of 26 passes for 190 yards and one interception in the loss. I had so much hope in him, but he just flat out laid a dud in the game. Griffin solidified his lowlight of the game status in the fourth quarter, when he took off and got blasted on a tackle. The tackle broke a bone in his shoulder and really blew up the Browns’ plans regarding the evaluation of Griffin. So, the lowlight even affected the rest of the season, along with Sunday’s game.