Thank Goodness It’s Football: Washington Redskins Robert Griffin III Will Be Better In 2013

 TGIF is a new column that will be published every Friday. The column will typically give analysis on four hot topics — two of which will consistently be Washington Redskins and Baltimore Ravens related.   

“It was a fourth down play — we needed two yards to get the first down, so we ran the speed option play — ran out to the right — tried to cut inside of the safety who was flying down pretty fast — and soon as I planted my foot, there was a little snap in my knee.” — RG3

On September 26, 2009, a promising youth athlete faced adversity. Baylor University’s QB Robert Griffin III injured his right knee on the first drive of the team’s week 3 match-up against Northwestern State. It was a tribulation he mentally overcame that very moment. In fact, Griffin managed to convince his coaches to put him back in the game. “The pain went away after about the first minute,” Griffin recalled to BaylorBears.com. “I thought I would be fine — I got taped up — they told me I wasn’t going to be able to play till after halftime. I begged them to put me back in and they put me back in.” Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

Griffin returned to the game with his knee heavily wrapped. He led Baylor on six scoring drives prior to halftime. After going: 11-14 for 198 yards and 3 touchdowns, Griffin didn’t return to the game for the second half. A next-day MRI revealed the unimaginable — an isolated tear in the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Suddenly, Griffin was faced with one of life’s obstacles. There was no question that this super talented and highly competitive athlete would soon return to sports after surgery. Playing football again — well, that was something Robert Griffin III had to decide was worth his time. Griffin said that prior to the injury, he didn’t love football. The former 400-meter hurdler was among the fastest athletes in the nation. He was an Olympic hopeful. Not to mention, Griffin was well on his way to graduating with a degree in political science. The options were endless.

“I’d like to say that my injury made me love the game,” Griffin announced at Big 12 media day in 2011. “You tear an ACL and you have to go through all of that — anyone who’s ever had a knee issue knows what I’m talking about. It’s tough. When you’re sitting there on the table and your knee looks like a balloon — you have to make a decision. You’re either going to decide if you love the game and try to fight to get back to it. Or you just say, I wanna be healthy — I want to go do something else.”

Flesh fails. But the mind — it can be a dangerous weapon. Robert Griffin III has an invincible mind — unwavering faith. ACL tears sideline more athletes for longer periods of times than nearly any other acute injury. You’re not supposed return stronger and faster than ever one year removed from the procedure.

Robert Griffin III must have missed that memo, because he definitely didn’t conform to that way of thinking.

On September 4, 2010, Robert Griffin III officially returned to football. He led Baylor to a blowout victory over Sam Houston State — throwing for two touchdowns and running for another — all on his surgically repaired knee. Griffin took his first hit on the third drive of that game after a 15-yard run. He was brought down by his legs. But he jumped up and the rest is history.

In 2010, Griffin posted the highest completion percentage, yards and touchdowns of his collegiate career. And he did it all wearing a knee brace to prevent re-tearing his ACL. Griffin surpassed that in 2011 by throwing for 4,293 yards, 37 touchdowns and only six interceptions — without the brace. He took the nation by storm leading Baylor to the most wins (9) in 25 years and the team’s second consecutive bowl game after a 16-year postseason drought. He capped the year off by becoming Baylor’s first player ever to win a Heisman Trophy, College Football’s most prestigious award.

After the knee injury in ‘09, Griffin became a spectator. He watched his Baylor Bears lose four of their next five games. But it gave Griffin an opportunity to learn the intricacies of football. He watched defenses closer and picked up on small tendencies. He listened to his coaches call plays through a headset while on the sideline — changing his perspective of the game. It helped him develop into a thinking Quarterback as opposed to a reactionary one.

“Granted, no one wants that kind of injury, but to sit back and watch for once and slow the game down mentally in my head, it helped me learn a lot,” Griffin said. “The biggest thing that helped me get back were my teammates — just knowing they needed me out there — that they were expecting me to be back — and not just be back, but to be better than I was,” Griffin said at Big 12 media day.

On January 11, 2012, Robert Griffin III declared for the 2012 NFL draft — unaware of the fact he was about to travel down a similar road he blazed with the Baylor Bears. Griffin was drafted second overall by the Washington Redskins — a team that was hampered for two decades with a revolving door at the quarterback position. He helped revive Washington and took the league by storm — leading the team to an NFC East championship for the first time since 1999. He’s undefeated in effort to revive football programs.

All was well in Washington until a week 14 match-up against the Baltimore Ravens. It was 2nd and 19 on their 27 yard line with 1:56  remaining in the fourth quarter when Robert Griffin III dropped back, decided to scramble — gaining 13-yards and then was bulldozed. All 340 pounds of Baltimore’s nose tackle Haloti Ngata collided with Griffin’s surgically repaired right knee.

“I knew as soon as I got hit, as I screamed – like a man, of course – I knew it hurt really bad,” Griffin said. “It didn’t feel like an ACL or anything like that — I told them, ‘Just get me to the sideline, and I’m coming back in the next play.”

Just as he did at Baylor — Robert Griffin III mentally overcame adversity that very moment. It only took 1 play for Washington’s franchise QB to rest and then triumphantly limp back onto the field – leading the Redskins 37 yards down the field in 4 plays. This before making likely the smartest decision of his young NFL career: Griffin was dragged off the field, as he requested – acknowledging the fact he was too injured to play – putting the game in rookie QB Kirk Cousins’ hands. It was a decision that paid off big time.

Cousins went 2/2 for 26 yards and a touchdown to Pierre Garcon – giving the Redskins a chance to line up for a 2-point conversion – sending the game into overtime where they later won: 31-28.

Unlike his injury at Baylor, Robert Griffin III’s MRI came back negative and the injury was later labeled as a Grade 1 Lateral Collateral Ligament (LCL) sprain. Griffin went on to miss the next game against Cleveland, but played in the last two regular season games — leading the team to a division title and playoff berth.

On September 6, 2013, Washington faced the Seattle Seahawks in a WildCard post season match-up. Washington started off firing on all cylinders, scoring 14 unanswered points. However, the Redskins were not able to get anything going after their first two drives. It was all attributed to the play prior to Washington’s second touchdown with 3:23 remaining in the first quarter. Robert Griffin III fell awkwardly on his injured knee and hobbled his way back to the huddle. It was clear that Griffin had re-injured his knee.

The Washington Redskins were only able to accumulate 63 total yards in the entire second half. It was beyond ugly. Griffin wasn’t able to plant his foot or drive the football. This forced many people to wonder if Head Coach Mike Shanahan should pull the plug and sideline Robert Griffin III because of his inefficient play.

The final straw came on a botched snap in the 4th quarter with 6:25 remaining in the game. Griffin’s knee buckled when attempting to plant his foot in the ground. The Redskins ruled Griffin out soon after the play.

Three days later, Robert Griffin III underwent total reconstructive surgery of the knee for complete tears of the ACL and LCL. Diagnosis was made pre-surgery that ACL graft of Griffin’s 2009 surgery was a complete tear.

Senior Orthopaedic team Consultant Dr. James Andrews, who successfully repaired Griffin’s ACL and LCL released a statement soon after the surgery:

“Robert Griffin III had successful knee surgery early this morning. He had a direct repair of his LCL and a re-do of his previous ACL reconstruction. We expect a full recovery and it is everybody’s hope and belief that due to Robert’s high motivation, he will be ready for the 2013 season.

The goal of his treatment is to give him the best opportunity for a long professional career.”

If he did it before, he can do it again.

Somewhere between August 29 and September 2 — depending on who you ask — Robert Griffin III was officially cleared and viewed ready for the 2013 season. Eight months removed from surgery, Griffin will literally overcome the adversity of what could have been a career threatening injury by starting on September 9 for a Monday night showdown against the Philadelphia Eagles.

“All off-season, I’ve been working real hard,” Griffin said in his weekly presser. “My teammates have seen that and it was real gratifying to get cleared to play. I think everybody’s ready to go. We had a great preseason and the team is just ready to make it count now. So I think that’s what we’re looking forward to – going out there and playing a game that matters and that counts. We’ll be ready.”

While Griffin was able to return better than ever on the collegiate level, he knows it’s a task easier said than done in the NFL. “It’s a different mentality in college,” Griffin said. “You’re trying to get to the pros. There’s a lot more different things you can do at that level that are frowned upon at this level. I just know I’ve got to be safe, slide. I’ll still play fearless. I’m not going to go out there and play scared. That’s just not the way to play.”

Griffin knows there are several elements to his game — or what I call “niche” — that needs to be developed. You’re going to see a different Robert Griffin III. A smarter, wiser player. He’s said all off-season, “I’m leading the league in metal reps.” He will read defenses better, go through progressions smoother and make smarter decisions when running the football. That’s the biggest task — Griffin taking care of his own body. And I believe he will.

2013 Passing Stat Prediction:

In 2012, Griffin threw for 3,200 yards, 20 touchdowns and only five interceptions. He did all of that with a relatively unhealthy receiving core. In 2013, I believe that Griffin will exceed those stat totals. Yes, that unfortunately includes the interceptions. It’s not often a quarterback throws only five interceptions in one season. Attempting to stay as reasonable as possible — I think Griffin is capable of throwing for at least 4,000 yards, 30 touchdowns and seven interceptions. If WR Pierre Garcon goes over 1,000 yards — which I believe he will — that alone would raise Griffin’s yard total up to about 3,500. Add a healthy Fred Davis, Roy Helu Jr. — who will catch his fair share of balls, Joshua Morgan and a number of other guys. Griffin will have the best season of any Quarterback who has played less than a year removed from ACL surgery.

’08 Phillip Rivers is the measuring stick. Rivers threw for 4,009 yards, 34 touchdowns and 11 interceptions the year after his ACL surgery. But his team only won eight games, albeit — made it to the playoffs and lost to the Steelers in the divisional round.

Rushing Stat Prediction:

In  2012, Griffin ran for 815 yards on 120 rushing attempts. I think those attempts, whether dialed up or scrambles, will be cut in half. Maybe in that 60 range, similar to Aaron Rodgers.

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