RGIII’s Words To Live By: “No Pressure, No Diamonds”

Browns Quarterback Robert Griffin III spoke with members of the media on Thursday afternoon, and when asked about what advice he would give incoming rookie quarterbacks, the 26-year-old said, “No Pressure, No Diamonds.”

It has become a new catchphrase for Griffin, which is all well and good, but there’s always a ton of pressure on quarterbacks in Cleveland; himself included.

Griffin has a long way to go to try and bounce back from his long history of injuries and the franchise has a long way to bounce back from the 16 straight seasons of mostly failure.

The two storylines of Griffin and the Browns are somewhat similar. Both underdogs being counted out by their surroundings.

Both looking to restore glory to their names.

It’s hard to say how Griffin will react to the pressure that he will be under when Training Camp starts.

If the Browns do draft a quarterback, whether it’s Paxton Lynch or someone in the later rounds, it could put some pressure on him as well as the rookie looking to make a good impression.

Even if they don’t draft a QB, and go into the season with Josh McCown and Connor Shaw on the depth chart, we all know how fast Cleveland turns on its quarterbacks.

Browns fans have a particular fondness of Shaw for showing toughness in Week 16 of 2014 and because the third-string quarterback in Cleveland always becomes the fan favorite by week 10, so who knows how many weeks it could be before Griffin wears out his welcome if there are early struggles?

Either way, not many are expecting the Browns to have instant success regardless of who the quarterback is, so perhaps the most pressure is on Griffin.

I’m sure he’s well aware and holds himself as accountable as any team leader should, but I’m not so sure he’s familiar with just how passionate Browns fans are. Or how fast things can turn the wrong direction.

It’s nice to have a quarterback who appears to have a solid head on his shoulders and a respectable character, something we did not see too much of with the last “face of the franchise” hopeful, but at the end of the day all of Griffin’s quotes and words to live by will be for naught if he suffers the same fate as every other quarterback in Cleveland.

There’s plenty of uncertainty going forward into the 2016 season and I for one am not sure Griffin knows what he’s getting into.