RG3 Has Been Set Up For Failure From The Beginning

Photo Credit: AP Images

When Robert Griffin III was drafted, it looked like he was going to save the Redskins franchise and he did at first, bring excitement back to FedEx Field. Then, with all of his injuries, overconfidence and the pressure of saving a franchise, RG3 has finally reached his breaking point. With all of those factors, it seems that RG3 has been set up for failure.

RG3 has been labeled as one of the worst things as a professional athlete, injury prone. After a stellar rookie year that resulted in him making the Pro Bowl and being named Offensive Rookie of the Year, it looked like he could have another successful year. His two ACL and LCL injuries that both occurred to his right knee kept him from actually participating in the Pro Bowl and started his downward spiral. In his sophomore season, Griffin failed to live up to his rookie hype which leading to him being benched for QB Kirk Cousins midseason. Last year, Griffin ended up with a dislocated ankle during Week 2 and didn’t end up playing until almost the end of the season, but still failed to take the Redskins above their 4-12 record.

Griffin was also replaced by another Redskins QB, Colt McCoy in the 2014 season. The most recent injury that Griffin suffered occurred on August 20^th in a preseason game against the Detroit Lions. After taking a few hard hits, Griffin was taken out and it was then announced that Griffin had a stinger in his shoulder along with a concussion. The regular season hasn’t even started yet and Griffin has already had two injuries which are not a good sign for what’s to come.

Griffin has struggled slightly in the NFL and part of it has to do with his overconfidence attitude. His rookie year was very productive and very much worth bragging about. Unfortunately, he has kept the attitude, but not much of the talent. RG3 could be talented if he didn’t have such a chip on his shoulder. It seems that the chip hasn’t gone away, especially of late.  Since their training camp started, Griffin had been having a pretty productive camp and it would have been the only news, but Griffin opened his mouth and made himself look stupid.

Griffin talked himself up a little too much, “I feel like I’m the best quarterback in the league, and I have to go out and show that. Any athlete at any level, if they concede to someone else, they’re not a top competitor, they’re not trying to be the best that they can be. There’s guys in this league that have done way more than me. But I still view myself as the best because that’s what I work toward every single day.”  The remarks have been generating a lot of publicity and debate throughout sports media and have led to the Redskins revoking RG3’s media privileges for now.

RG3 has only addressed the media once since the initial comments which involved him discussing the comments briefly and answering other unrelated questions. Griffin has not apologized or taken the comments back, “I know what I meant. I think everyone in this circle knows what I meant, It’s unfortunate that my name keeps getting used for headlines for people to click on stories. I know what I want to be, and I know what I strive to be. I’m not going to make any apologies for that.” Regardless of what Griffin was trying to say, he should have known that it would be taken out of context and blown out of proportion.

The last but probably the most important factor was the fact that RG3 was and still is dealing with trying to rejuvenate a franchise. With a less than successful season behind them in 2011, RG3 was a breath of fresh air to the franchise and gave them a glimmer of hope that soon turned to disappointment. Considering that RG3 was an explosive athlete in college, he was supposed to bring that exciting energy to the franchise, but now it looks like the Redskins are just trying to bring life back into their franchise. The pressure of carrying a franchise can be daunting for anyone and with Griffin’s lack of experience, the pressure only seemed to make him worse instead of motivating him.

If you’re a Redskins fan or not, it’s hard to ignore that RG3 has been declining since his injuries. His overly confident attitude has only seemed to worsen both his reputation and the franchise has moved to one of their lowest points in recent history. It looks like RG3 will continue to fail if he refuses to change or refuses to acknowledge that he is part of the problem.