Daily Madden: Decision To 'Shut Down' RGIII Remains A Head-Scratcher
SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – After some strong comments on Wednesday regarding the Washington Redskins benching of starting quarterback Robert Griffin III, John Madden said he had no regrets in what he told the KCBS Radio morning crew.
On Wednesday, Coach Madden said that the decision by Mike Shanahan to "shut down" Griffin was confusing and that it hurt the integrity of the game. And a day later, he said he still feels the same way.
Daily Madden: Reaction To RG III Comments
"It's hard to explain how your franchise quarterback is shut down with three games left to go, and you're 3-10. Now, if they wanted to see Kirk Cousins play or give him a game to just see where he is, maybe you trade him in the off-season or something, I can see that," Madden said. "But taking the guy that is your franchise quarterback and just shutting him down, then not taking him on the trip or putting him on the scout team, none of that stuff makes any sense to me."
Madden said that unlike baseball, where pitchers with an injury history are sometimes shut down before the season is over, he has never heard that phrase used in football. He said the Redskins would have been fine if RG III was injured, but he has already played in 13 games this season, and they could have shut him down earlier if they were truly concerned about his health.
"My whole point was, if this were pre-season or training camp, you can do those types of things. But this is the regular season, and you're obviously affecting your team, but you're also affecting other teams, and you're affecting other team's playoff opportunities," Madden said. "You're just not messing with a practice schedule, you're messing with a whole league."
Despite saying he was disappointed about the move, Griffin said he would support Cousins and vowed to work as hard as he can to become the best quarterback he can be.
Listen to the John Madden segment live weekday mornings at 8:15 on KCBS All News 740 AM/106.9 FM. And catch John's extra report at 9:15 am Mondays and Fridays on KCBS during the NFL season.
(Copyright 2013 by CBS San Francisco. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
