RG3 OK with Luck at No. 1, but not selling himself short either
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| Griffin welcomes the opportunity to sit behind a veteran and learn. (US Presswire) |
INDIANAPOLIS -- The Indianapolis Colts have the first pick of the draft, and owner Jim Irsay said they'll take a quarterback. He hasn't said which one, but he doesn't need to. If it's not Andrew Luck, we have a story.
But there are nearly three months to the draft, and there are no guarantees. I know because I sat down Friday morning with the second-best quarterback, Robert Griffin III, who may be the second pick of the draft too, and he reminded me of the facts of life.
"I don't think anything in life is a done deal or guaranteed or a sure shot," said the Heisman Trophy winner. "So I'm going to do my best to show every team out there that I'm the best, and that's all I can do.
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"I can't talk bad about Andrew. I like the guy. I've met him many times. He's a good player. I just feel that I'm the best, and that's how I'm going to carry myself."
There seems little chance that Indianapolis would take anyone but Luck, but that's what we thought in 2006 when then-Southern California running back Reggie Bush was a slam-dunk for Houston. Then the Texans passed on the guy, drafted Mario Williams, and so much for virtual certainties.
But there were off-the-field concerns with Bush, particularly with signability. There are none with Luck. Nevertheless, Griffin won't rule himself out of the Colts' picture and said he welcomes the opportunity to sit and learn behind a Peyton Manning -- or any veteran, for that matter -- if that is what is asked.
"I try not to expect anything in life," said Griffin. "I work hard. You expect success. That's about it. You don't expect anything with change. So if you walk in, and I'm the starter, I'm fine with that. If that's what the team needs me to do.
"If I walk in and they say, 'We want you to sit for a few games or a year or two years,' then that's what I'm going to do because you can't go in and be greedy right away. But I'll definitely compete with whoever I get drafted to."
And if that's the Colts and Peyton Manning?
"Then that's fine," he said. "Peyton's a legend, and nobody should take that away from him. He's done a lot for this city, and he deserves to be here. If they draft me here, and he's here I'll take that as an honor and get as good as I can get and get as much information out of him as I possibly can to continue to be successful.
"Obviously, Peyton's situation is a little more ideal ... to sit behind a veteran like him who's been successful and been with a team for a long time. If another team drafts me, and they bring in a free-agent QB or has a guy on the roster who's a veteran, I won't be mad about that. Either way, we're all out there competing. Even if I do sit behind or get drafted by the Colts with Peyton, we're all out there competing to make each other better."
If Griffin sits, I can't imagine it would be for long. The guy is the complete package, an accurate quarterback who is a threat to run, and if he's not going to the Colts, he's going to a club that almost surely needs someone to step in at quarterback immediately.
Plus, look what happened to rookie quarterbacks this season: There was success everywhere, with Cam Newton breaking records and Andy Dalton leading Cincinnati to the playoffs in their first seasons.
"I thought it was great," said Griffin. "I always felt if you can play football at any level and be successful, you can move up a level and be successful too. It's all about what's between your ears and the confidence that you have in your ability. Those guys are extremely confident, and a quarterback's best friend is a coach who loves him and is going to take care of him and never put you in a bad situation."
Griffin's immediate plans included visits with the media Friday, a flight out of town later and a return to pre-combine workouts in Arizona. He said he wouldn't stay for the Super Bowl because "I want to earn my way here."
I like that. I also like that he's willing to wait on success, if that's what is necessary ... and I can't imagine it will be.
"There's no problem with sitting behind a guy like Peyton Manning," he said. "There's also no problem with starting like [Christian] Ponder and Dalton and Newton did. It's all about what that team needs and not necessarily what you want. Everyone wants to play. You'll never meet a football player who doesn't want to be on the field. So that's all you can say."
