5 Reasons Redskins Fans Must Be Patient with Robert Griffin III

The Washington Redskins' No. 2 overall pick Robert Griffin III will enter the 2012 NFL season with high expectations, and it makes sense.

He absolutely dominated the college ranks a season ago and seems poised to have an an excellent NFL career. Griffin throws a fantastic deep ball and is a great athlete, capable of throwing on the run with accuracy. 

That said, for a variety of reasons, it would be smart to temper expectations for his rookie year.

Here's why the Redskins faithful should be patient with RGIII.

As Talented as Griffin Is, He's Still a Rookie

We have recently seen a few rookie QB's such as Cam Newton and Andy Dalton experience tremendous success in their rookie campaigns; however, often times, even QB's who end up having excellent careers struggle in their first year.

Peyton Manning threw a record 28 interceptions in his first year. His two-time Super Bowl winning brother Eli completed only 48.2 percent of his passes and finished with a QB rating of 55.4. And 2008 Hall of Fame inductee Troy Aikman threw 18 interceptions to nine touchdowns and lost all 11 games he started.

I'm not implying Griffin will struggle to that degree, but rather to shed light on the fact that the transition to the pro-game for a rookie QB is a difficult one, regardless of talent.

And Griffin does has that elite talent necessary for a long and illustrious career like the previously mentioned signal-callers. Just keep that in mind if he doesn't exactly set the NFL on fire in 2012.

Offensive Line Issues

The Redskins offensive line was decimated by injuries (and a suspension) in 2011, and the team just didn't have the depth to overcome it.

As they should have, the Skins addressed the line in the draft, selecting three, including Josh LeRibeus, who might start in 2012.

But the questions remain, such as be how effective Kory Lichtensteiger will be following ACL surgery and if Jamaal Brown can stay healthy.

As we all know, the offensive line is all about continuity, so it is imperative the Skins don't have to shuffle guys around all season.

Because not only does Griffin obviously need time to throw, he also needs to not be constantly dinged up. He just doesn't have the size of a Newton to the point where we know he can absorb huge hits at the pro level.

The offensive line has potential, but it'd be foolish to call it stable.

And that could inhibit RGIII in the early stage of his career.

The Redskins Lack an Elite Receiver

While the Redskins bolstered its receiving corp this offseason by adding Josh Morgan and Pierre Garcon, and still have Santana Moss and excellent receiving TE in Fred Davis the team still lacks a true No. 1 on the outside.

Going back to Newton and Dalton for a moment, they respectively had Steve Smith and A.J Green to rely on during their rookie year. Both Smith and Green surpassed 1,000 yards and came up with big play after big play when the team was in need.

And for right now, Griffin just doesn't have a guy like that.

It's not as if this dooms his rookie season, but it does limit its potential.

The NFC East Defenses

Like usual, the NFC East is loaded this year, especially on the defensive side of the ball.

Starting with the Super Bowl champs, the New York Giants have possibly the most ferocious pass rush in the NFL headlined by Jason Pierre-Paul who recorded 16.5 sacks in 2011. Even if the Skins' line is healthy, it will be no easy task keeping Griffin off the ground during these teams' matchups in 2012.

The Eagles too have a top-notch pass rush. In 2011, Jason Babin was third in the NFL in sacks with 18 and Trent Cole amassed more than 10 sacks for the third straight season. Also, unfortunately for the Skins, the Eagles grabbed Marshall DE Vinny Curry in the second round of this year's draft.

And lastly the Cowboys have done wonders to their defense this offseason. They signed talented cornerback Brandon Carr to a five-year deal worth $50.1 million dollars, and made one of the biggest moves in the draft by trading up to select LSU CB Morris Claiborne. They also then addressed their pass rush by drafting DE Tyrone Crawford in the third round and OLB Kyle Wilber in the fourth. And oh yeah, they still have DeMarcus Ware.

It'd be hard for any quarterback to thrive in the six divisional games the Skins will play this year, let alone a rookie.

Griffin's Work Ethic

Lastly, Skins fans need to be patient with RGIII because of his tremendous work ethic.

We have heard about young quarterbacks in the past unwilling to put in the work, but that will be far from an issue with RGIII. 

Everything we've seen and heard from Griffin points to a quarterback who is always striving to improve. 

Griffin recently stressed the importance of handwork in an interview with Yahoo! Sports.

"

Hard work pays off—hard work beats talent any day, but if you're talented and work hard, it's hard to be beat. I keep that motivation, and I keep going out and working hard.

"

So if RGIII endures a few bumps during his rookie year, don't worry, he will keep pushing and pushing until he's successful. 

And then he'll push some more.