Maybe I went to far by calling you dishonest, I apologize for that. He really needs to have more than 8 pass attempts, so if he did two or three of the same type of passes than it almost dominates an analysis of his performance.
3rd and 5 at WSH 25 (13:48) (Shotgun) R.Griffin pass short right to R.Grant to WAS 34 for 9 yards.
This was his first pass, and it was completed for a first down to Ryan Grant. He went through his progressions, with Grant as his third option. A short pass, but definitely beyond the line of scrimmage.
2nd and 5 at WSH 39(12:38) R.Griffin pass incomplete deep left to P.Garcon.
This is the deep pass that has been argued ad nauseum on ES for the last couple of days. Basically it comes down to Garcon changing his route mid-play because the safety wasn't moving and his route was supposed to be a deep curl. He changed his route to a post and headed for the sideline, Griffin checked with him once and saw he was covered, went back to him again after he saw Paul was covered too. Then launched the deep pass which would've been a sure TD if Garcon didn't drop it.
3rd and 5 at WSH 39(12:31) (Shotgun) R.Griffin pass incomplete short left to E.Spencer.
I think this was Griffin's worst pass of the game. Very simple play. Spencer's route is a curl, but Spencer took to long to make his cut. Griffin should've fired in rhythm, but instead he held on too long and eventually threw a pass to the wrong shoulder and Spencer had to bat it down to prevent a potential INT.
2nd and 7 at WSH 23(6:24) R.Griffin pass short right to R.Grant to WAS 28 for 5 yards (T.Williams).
Another short pass to Grant. Almost identical to the one on the previous drive. Went through his progressions and looked comfortable in the pocket the entire time.
3rd and 2 at WSH 28(5:50) (Shotgun) R.Griffin scrambles right guard to WAS 31 for 3 yards (K.Dansby).
Here is another hotly debated play. Griffin had Grant and Garcon open as short pass options which would've been a first down. Yet by the time Griffin completed his drop, a big hole opened in the OL, and Griffin took off through it and ran for the first down himself. Gruden and other coaches have told beat reporters they don't care how he got the first down, they are just glad it was a positive play, still some feel he took an unnecessary risk by running and not sliding.
2nd and 8 at WSH 33(4:35) R.Griffin pass deep left to R.Grant to CLV 45 for 22 yards (D.Whitner) [P.Kruger].
Probably his best play of the night. Griffin run bootleg left, the Browns defense sniffed it out pre-snap and have three defenders coming down on him. Griffin launches a strike right before he's leveled to Grant standing near the sideline.
3rd and 1 at CLE 36(2:44) R.Griffin pass short right to D.Young to CLV 36 for no gain (K.Dansby).
Griffin hit his first option, who was open. Unfortunately, Young didn't make his cut past the first down marker and Dansby made a great tackle.
2nd and 6 at CLE 14
42) R.Griffin pass incomplete short left to P.Garcon.
Just a bad pass by Griffin. Garcon had enough separation to catch an accurately thrown ball, Griffin's was about 7 yards out of bounds though.
3rd and 6 at CLE 14
39) (Shotgun) R.Griffin pass incomplete short left to P.Garcon [K.Williams].
This was actually a different play, but due to the result people thought Gruden just called the same play again. Garcon was not the primary target, but Griffin wasn't able to reasonably assess the coverage and his receivers because Lauvao blew his assignment and allowed a pass rusher to get into the pocket unimpeded. Griffin was throwing the ball away to avoid a sack and lose FG position. Yet since Garcon just so happened to be running the same exact route from the previous play(yet this time he's covered), Griffin's throwaway looks like he overthrew the fade route for a second time. This play, in terms of his development is actually a positive. In the past Griffin has shown a stubbornness when it comes to throwing the ball away, and doing so now shows he's realizing no yards loss is better than 7-8 yards loss on a sack.
So overall, he was 4-8, for 36 yards, but he was good enough to produce a stat line of 5-8, 97 yards and 1 TD if Garcon doesn't drop a pass an 8 year old could catch. So out of 8 passes, two were bad, one questionable, and the rest showed his development in being more comfortable in the pocket, not bailing out on the pocket too soon, not allowing the pass rush to keep him from seeing the field, better footwork and working through route progressions when his first option was covered. It's preseason, so it doesn't mean he's turned the corner. But he wasn't showing us these things this time last year, so some improvement is much better than more regression or none.
