Reflecting on Robert Griffin III’s Successful Season


Robert Griffin III Washington Redskins

Daniel Shirey- USA Today Sports

When it’s pertaining to Robert Griffin III, all of the talk in the past few days has been about the status of his injured right knee. Reasonably so, as the Washington Redskins 2013 hopes rest on the results of his testing this week. The Redskins also missed their opportunity to move on in the playoffs, after letting a 14-0 lead slip away Sunday. This brings their season to a close.

However, let’s not be so quick to forget how successful of a season the rookie quarterback had. Griffin helped turn a Redskins franchise around which has struggled over the past decade to be consistent. Head coach Mike Shanahan and general manager Bruce Allen made the correct decision by trading up in the 2012 draft to grab the former Heisman trophy winner.

We see it time after time where quarterbacks are high draft picks, and doesn’t pan out to be worth the investment. In this case, the Redskins hit it right on the nose. Not only has Griffin helped bring a winning mentality to Washington, but he has also brought life to the nation’s capital. Not only Redskins fans, but even fans of the Dallas Cowboys, New York Giants and of teams that are absolutely disgusted by the Redskins have come to love Griffin.

He has been one of those players that doesn’t seem to come around often. Griffin knows exactly how to respond to the press, knows exactly when to be humorous, and knows exactly when to turn on the business switch. If you’re a Redskins fan, you have to love that this guy is your quarterback for the next decade (pending he remains healthy).

We haven’t even gotten to how he performed on the football field. His stats were as impressive as quarterbacks like Peyton Manning, Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers and Matt Ryan. Griffin was third in the NFL in passer rating (102.4), fourth in completion percentage (65.6), and first in yards per attempt (8.14). Maybe most impressively for a rookie QB, he threw 20 touchdowns to only five interceptions on the season. Griffin also led his team to a 10-6 record, and a division title for the first time since 1999.

It doesn’t get too much better than that.

Hopefully Griffin won’t have any major setbacks from this lingering knee injury. He tore his ACL in 2009 at Baylor and has incurred an injury to the same knee this season, not a good sign. He is a young, tough quarterback that will work hard throughout the off-season and be back to that 4.3 speed we all came to love next season. That’s being optimistic, but why shouldn’t I be? He hasn’t shown any signs of letting down the Washington D.C. area, and I’m one of many believers in Robert Griffin III.

 

Redskins columnist/Josiah Turner

@EspnsJsiah

Check out the hottest news anchors in the world!
50 players that deserve to be in the NFL Hall of Fame.
2013 NFL mock draft: week 4 update on 1st round.

Sign Up
for the


We Recommend

Rant NFL

Around the Web

Around the Web