At the end of a dark era, RGIII

By Jason Bacaj

The Redskins gave up an unprecedented amount for Robert Griffin III, but it's worth it to reverse decades of offseason futility.

The Redskins have not had a franchise quarterback since Joe Theismann's eight-year run from 1978 to 1985. Doug Williams was a great talent and won the Super Bowl in 1987, but injuries limited him to three seasons with the team. Mark Rypien was not a franchise player either, though has a special place in my heart for being the only Redskins quarterback to win a Super Bowl in my lifetime. I was four years old at the time and the memories are somewhat hazy, but I relived them throughout my youth thanks to the Sports Illustrated Year in Sports: 1991, and then every day of my adulthood through the "Super Bowl Champions" poster tacked by my bedroom door.

Heath Shuler was the first quarterback I recall the Redskins drafting. He lasted two seasons and was the biggest bust in Redskins history and, along with Gus Frerotte's headbutt, qualified among the franchise's most significant setbacks. That is, until beloved owner and Canadian Jack Kent Cooke died in April 1997. Dan Snyder bought the team then, sold the naming rights to Jack Kent Cooke Stadium and, in a stunning feat of incompetency, hired coaches who gave the offensive reins to the likes of Tony Banks, Shane Matthews and Danny Wuerffel.

That history is why March 9, 2012, prompted the reaction it did among Redskins fans. And it is also why it caused the ensuing backlash.

The Redskins have made terrible offseason moves. This is not up for debate. The most recent was Albert Haynesworth and his $100 million contract, which contributed to the Redskins losing $36 million in cap space over this and the next offseason. But trading two future No. 1 picks and a 2012 second rounder to swap places with the Rams and potentially draft Robert Griffin III is not one of those moves.

Aside from being a highly-rated quarterback, he has nothing in common with Ryan Leaf, the draft bust to whom naysayers have drawn comparisons. The much-maligned Leaf was a 6'5" white guy from Montana with a partying reputation who showed up out of shape to his predraft workout with the Colts and was chided for being fat and out of shape by a San Diego Chargers teammate. 

Griffin is a 6'2" black guy from Texas who grew up in a military family, was senior class president in high school, finished a political science degree in three years, is on track to get a masters in communications this summer, qualified for the U.S. Olympic trials as a 400-meter hurdler, doesn't drink or smoke and is engaged. And he won the Heisman Trophy while bringing the Baylor University football team to national relevance for the first time in recent history.

A more accurate comparison is 2004 draftee Eli Manning. Manning was highly rated, had a stable personal life and was traded on draft day when the 4-12 New York Giants swapped '04 first-rounders and traded the Chargers an '04 third rounder and '05 first and fifth rounders. In turn, he led them to two Super Bowl championships.

We're entering a different era in the NFL. Rule changes have made the quarterback the most important position on the field by far. Each team that's played for the Super Bowl the past four years has had a franchise quarterback. Drew Brees broke the single-season passing yardage record, had a 71 percent completion rate and still didn't win the MVP. Three quarterbacks threw for more than 5,000 yards.

The Redskins need a franchise quarterback to compete in this type of league. They had a big rookie haul in the 2011 draft, with 11 of 12 picks sticking with the team and six of them making notable contributions. The Redskins were ranked 10th as late as Week 6 before injuries to the offensive line derailed the season. It's not a great team, but it's certainly not the helpless team some have made them out to be, and a quarterback could make all the difference. We've already seen that with the Colts, who finished 10-6 in 2010 with future Hall of Fame quarterback Peyton Manning and 2-14 last season without him. A franchise quarterback is worth whatever price a team has to pay, even if it's two future first rounders.

Robert Griffin III might not turn out to be a two-time Super Bowl MVP like Eli Manning. But of all the quarterbacks in the draft, the political science major nicknamed The Ambassador is most likely the one best equipped to handle the pressure of being the Washington Redskins' starting quarterback. It's even rumored he may harbor political aspirations, in which case he might fit in in Washington better than your average NFL player. We'll have to wait and see. In the meantime, allow Redskins fans to bask in the glory of potentially having a true franchise quarterback for the first time in 27 years.

And as for the NFL leadership that decided to punish the Redskins — even retroactively writing a rule into the CBA so it can't be appealed by the NFLPA — for treating an uncapped season like an uncapped season, you're all a bunch of colluders that have managed to hold the Redskins back during their most pivotal offseason in at least the last 23 years. Either it's uncapped or it isn't. Don't good drafts and smart free agent signings also provide a competitive advantage to teams? Isn't that the point? Haters gonna hate.

Jason Bacaj is Began in '96's Out West correspondent and an abundantly optimistic Redskins fan.