In his rookie season Robert Griffin III was one of the best players in the NFL and the best offensive rookie. Washington had been looking for a quarterback that could deliver them back to the postseason. Griffin led the team on a seven game winning streak to reach 10-6 and a Division Championship (first since 1999) and a playoff appearance. D.C. sports fans were in love with Griffin and the success he brought back to the Nation’s Capital.
Unfortunately during the seven game Griffin injured his knee in a game against their crosstown rival the Baltimore Ravens. Griffin took a nasty hit scrambling down field from big man Haloti Ngata. The team initially said that Griffin didn’t tear anything and that after getting some rest the next game that everything will be fine. So just like they said after backup Kirk Cousins started for the team at Cleveland, Griffin was back into the starting lineup.
You could tell that something was wrong in the last two games as Griffin limped around leading the team to wins against the Eagles and Cowboys. His season came to a terrible end when the knee gave out in the first round playoff matchup with the Seattle Seahawks. The diagnosis was bad, torn ACL and LCL, same knee he tore at Baylor.
After a summer of doubt and all in for week one Griffin as he said was the starting quarterback opening night against the Eagles. Again you could tell that Griffin wasn’t 100% and the team struggled all year. Griffin also struggled all season never really hitting his groove, and with poor play from the offensive line and not progressing much as a quarterback after missing the whole off season he also took a beating. Many believed it to be more Griffin’s not getting rid of the ball in time more than the offensive line not getting the job done.
All the struggles resulted in Griffin being benched for the last three games and Coach Shanahan getting fired. But what can we expect from Griffin in his third season. The team has brought in Jay Gruden as the new head coach and many believe he can help Griffin progress more than Shanahan and his staff. After seeing how he helped Andy Dalton in Cincinatti you can’t help but be excited to see what him and Griffin could do together.
Second he will have more weapons than he could’ve even imagined last year. Not only will the team bring back Pierre Garcon who led the NFL in receptions last year and Alfred Morris who is quickly becoming one of the best running backs in the NFl. But you also have Jordan Reed coming off a great year and without Fred Davis there to take away from his progression Reed can easily become one of the top tight end targets in the league. On top of all that the team acquired DeSean Jackson and Andre Roberts in free agency making this one of the top receiving corps in the league.
With Griffin having his first whole offseason healthy in the NFL I think you’ll have to see improvement in his footwork, delivery, and knowledge of the playbook. So with the team around him getting better, I’m inclined to think that we should see an improvement in his play. This is also make and break his career, he needs to show the fans in Washington that they can expect more rookie RGIII more that sophomore season. Will the real Robert Griffin please stand up?