Robert Griffin III: Heisman Winner Will Experience Growing Pains at Pro Level

After trading up and giving up a lot for Robert Griffin III, it's no real secret that the Washington Redskins have some seriously high hopes for the Heisman Trophy winner.

They have a franchise quarterback in mind. They have touchdown passes in mind. They have winning football games in mind.

But how realistic is it for Griffin to do all this?

I mean, the kid's only a rookie. Heck, he's not even drafted yet.

The expectations for RG3 are just as high as they are for Andrew Luck—if not higher, considering what the Redskins gave up for the Baylor quarterback. And for all those expectations, RG3 should not be expected to drag the Washington Redskins out of misery and into the playoffs in his first season in the NFL.

Let me rephrase that: Griffin will not take the Redskins to the playoffs this year.

Washington will look to do what the Cincinnati Bengals did with Andy Dalton last year as he led them to the playoffs—surround him with a tough defense and let him make big plays. But for all the skills and brilliance of Dalton, it wasn't he who led the Bengals to the playoffs.

It was the Cincinnati defense.

The Bengals ranked seventh last year in total defense—allowing just 316.2 yards and 20.2 points per game as well as 37 touchdowns for the season.

It was this defense that won them football games and took them to the playoffs, not their 20th-ranked offense led by Andy Dalton.

He made good throws at the right time, but at the end of the day, it was the Bengals defense that ultimately led them in to the playoffs.

The Redskins will look to RG3 as the NFL Playoff Messiah when in reality, then need to be looking at him achieving that in three to five years' time.

Give the defense a chance to grow and get better, then expect the Heisman Trophy winner to lead you into the playoffs.

Give Griffin a few years in the National Football League before expecting the playoffs—he's bound to experience growing pains right now, simply because the rest of the Washington Redskins aren't good enough to win football games.

They're not good enough to compete in a division where no other side finished with a losing record.

Not yet, anyway.

RG3 is going to experience some growing pains in the NFL.

It doesn't mean that he wasn't worth trading up for, and it certainly doesn't mean that he won't do it at some point in the future.

What it does mean is that he's more like Cam Newton than Andy Dalton.

Personally brilliant, but the star in a struggling team.

Winner of the Rookie of the Year award, but owner of a 6-10 record.

Cam Newton didn't lead the Carolina Panthers to the playoffs, and that didn't mean that he wasn't one of the most exciting and brilliant prospects in several years.

The same goes for Robert Griffin III.

He will be brilliant. He will be spectacular. He will win football games. He will bring playoff hopes back to the Washington Redskins organization.

He might just have some growing pains along the way, though.

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