I watched the 49er-Redskin game Sunday and was shocked at how terribly RG3 performed. He had zero movement in the pocket. His inability to read the 49er’s defenses lead to him getting brutally sacked throughout the game. His inability to audible in response to what the defense was doing leads me to believe he isn’t spending the time learning what’s necessary to be an NFL QB.
That could be true, what is also true is that Steve Young, a very good NFL QB looked HORRIBLE for a very long time. Once he hit his stride, he was dynamite. I see RG III as a very similar talent, and mind. I think he is suffering from “too many coaches” disease. Overthinking, worrying and stressing over every point. He needs to sit and learn, then come back when there is no worry about his body and its aches and pains. He will not make a huge contract now, but he will if he puts in the work for 1-2 years.
As an Eagles fan, prior home of Randall Cunningham, Donovan McNabb, and Michael Vick I have seen first hand the instinct of NFL coaches to take a guy who is a "run first" athletic QB and tame him into a pocket passer. It never really works. These guys have big egos and they came to stardom by doing it their way, now they are told to throw it all away, be bad for a while, and eventually maybe be mediocre after they learn the system. They resist that, they don't buy in, and it leads to QB controversies just about every time.
It's possible that RGIII would naturally evolve to a pocket QB as he matures but right now he likely feels like he's being picked on, they are setting him up to fail, and he's lost faith. Perhaps a change of scenery where they accept the likelihood of injury in exchange for explosive playmaking is the only real prescription to save his career.