Fran Tarkenton was selected to nine Pro Bowls, won the 1975 NFL MVP and NFC Offensive Player of the Year and was a three-time NFC champion. So, Tarkenton knows what it takes to be a successful quarterback in the league. On Friday, The MMQB published an interview with the former NFL great where they discussed everything from the state of his former team, the Minnesota Vikings, PEDs, Johnny Manziel, Adrian Peterson and more.
Where things got really interesting is when Tarkenton discussed his stance on Robert Griffin III. Take a look at the excerpt below
"I said two years ago that RG3 would not make it. This guy comes from a good family, a good background, a good school, Baylor; he’s a smart young man, physically gifted, he can throw it. But he came into the league with an arrogance. He goes into Washington, which is the worst place for him to go. They have been so hungry for a quarterback, and for winning, they worshipped him. Here’s RG3; he’s our savior, he’s our guy. His father gets involved and is in the locker room—I have never seen a father in a locker room on Sundays. The owner, Dan Snyder, adopts him and becomes his best friend. So RG3, at 21, 22, thought he was Jesus, right? And he was making pontifical statements about how he approached the game. I was listening to him the offseason after his rookie year, which was not a bad year, and I’m saying, “Holy s—, this guy is out of control with his ego.” That was the first sign you saw that he lacked leadership. Then, he was so into himself. You know a quarterback’s job? Make his teammates better. It’s not about you; it’s about your teammates. You’ve got to make them better, and if you don’t make them better, you have no chance. And he was all about RG3. I sympathize with Jay Gruden. Gruden came out and pointed out, which is right, that he has no mechanics. He is a terrible passer, has no accuracy, he doesn’t understand the offense, he doesn’t read defenses, and he has no discipline. When he is supposed to take a three-yard drop, he takes a one-yard drop; if he is supposed to take a five-yard drop, it’s a three-yard drop. There’s no discipline and understanding of the defense because he is a pontificator. He will never make it. He will be out of football. He will be in the same graveyard as JaMarcus Russell and Vince Young."
Right now, it seems like it's only a matter of time before RGIII is no longer a member of the Washington Redskins. Maybe that reality check is what Griffin needs to improve his game. So, the whole "same graveyard as JaMarcus Russell and Vince Young" line may be a little too soon. But who knows?
[via The MMQB]
