Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III experienced a sophomore slump last year, but he was still able to net a 4:3 TD:INT ratio and complete 60% of his passes with seven yards per attempt overall. So while he wasn’t anywhere near his beastly rookie line of a 65.6% completion percentage, 8.1 yards per attempt, and a 4:1 TD:INT ratio, he wasn’t completely incompetent either. It was a lost season for RG3 that included character concerns and a team record that exacerbated the level off in his play, but his incomplete recovery from a severe knee injury was the real culprit for the decrease in success.
Former Redskins tight end Chris Cooley and long-time Redskins wide receiver Santana Moss have both taken notice of RG3′s incredible recovery this offseason, which was first noted by the QB guru working with him. RG3 should bounce back and have similar success in his third year as he did as a rookie, because he will be healthy enough to threaten defenses on the ground again with his electrifying speed and athleticism. New head coach Jay Gruden and offensive coordinator Sean McVay (previously the TEs coach) have emphasized the importance for RG3 to display better footwork, and he’s doing that this offseason while he shows off the speed he has regained.
Moss said, via the Washington Post’s Dan Steinberg, that RG3 looks more comfortable without the knee brace that bogged him down last year, “You can already see, when we’re out there in conditioning and stuff, he’s running around, looking like the old Robert Griffin.”
Cooley added some even more effusive praise, “He’s another person right now. I was like, ‘you’re running unbelievably well.’ It was silly to watch….When you watch him run, you’re like ‘You’re a freak. You’re seriously a freak.’ ”
The whole “old RG3″ line was stated by the QB coach helping Griffin out, so the statements from Moss and Cooley confirm that we should expect big things from the Redskins quarterback next season with Pierre Garcon, DeSean Jackson, Jordan Reed, and Alfred Morris around him.
