Robert Griffin III has taken the football world by storm over the past two years.
Griffin came out of nowhere last year to torch the record books on his way to winning the Heisman trophy at Baylor and as a rookie he has brought the Washington Redskins their first NFC East division title since 1999. Throughout his rookie season, Griffin has proven to be a consummate professional and a leader after being voted one of the team captain's by other players.
On Wednesday night, Griffin showed again why he has become one of the most popular stars in the NFL to fans and other players after giving Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo some advice and encouragement.
Griffin was heard on Showtime's "Inside the NFL" saying to Romo following their Week 17 game on Sunday night: "Hey, Tony. I just wanted to say to you don't listen to what anybody else is saying about you. You're a great quarterback, man. This game doesn't mean anything,"
There's no information on whether Romo reacted positively or negatively to the comments, but it looks life Griffin meant them whole heartedly. The real point is, here is Griffin, a rookie quarterback, reaching out to a veteran after a hard-fought game and supporting him even though their two teams are rivals.
Griffin doesn't have any type of attitude about himself, which has endeared him to the Redskins, and he has proven to be an excellent player and a winner. This season he has just been fantastic for the Redskins, leading the team to 10 wins for the first time since 2005 and the playoffs for the first time since 2007.
The 22-year-old has thrown for 3,200 yards and 20 touchdowns with just five interceptions while completing over 65 percent of his passes. He ranks second on the team 815 rushing yards and seven touchdowns and missed just one game this season due to injury. While he wasn't great in the game against Dallas, throwing for 100 yards and zero touchdowns, he added production with his feet, rushing for 63 yards and one score in the 28-18 win.
Along with Andrew Luck of the Colts and Russell Wilson of the Seahawks, Griffin helps make the 2012 draft class potentially the best ever. All three of these players deserve to win the award for Offensive Rookie of the Year and it's a bit of a shame that only one can win it.
Griffin is breaking barriers all around the league. He was voted a team captain in November by his fellow players and helped the Redskins come back from a 3-6 record earlier in the season.
"I think it was a change of mindset," Griffin said in a conference call with Seattle media, according to the Seattle Times. "There was no, 'Hey, if we lose a game, we have 14 more, we have 13 more.' We knew sitting at 3-6, we couldn't afford to lose any more games. So everyone's mindset changed, and every game was a playoff game for us. This will be our eighth straight playoff game."
Head coach Mike Shanahan said that it was the first time he's had a rookie as a captain in a leadership position.
"It was significant to me," he said. "It meant a lot. It meant my teammates trusted me as their captain. Even though I'm a 22-year-old young man, a rookie in the NFL, they look to me as their leader. I thought that was huge. It speaks a lot about how they feel about me," Griffin said according to the Seattle Times.
The point being made is that Griffin isn't like other athletes. He wants to win, he is hungry and he is unselfish. For as much as Griffin is asked about his own play on the field by reporters, more often than not he can be heard praising his teammates for their play rather than his own.
Griffin has led the Redskins to seven straight wins, including a 17-16 victory over the defending Super Bowl champion New York Giants as well as a 31-28 win over the Baltimore Ravens in overtime. Griffin has been stellar for the Redskins down the stretch, throwing for eight touchdowns and just two interceptions over the final five games.
The rookie is also known as a jokester and his looseness and love of the game has affected the entire team, which is one reason for their success. Griffin proved to be the perfect prankster this week after posing as a reporter and taking head coach Mike Shanahan off guard in a news conference.
Griffin chimed in and asked a question to the coach about his New Year's celebration, which made Shanahan give off a nice laugh. With an attitude like that and the physical tools that Griffin has, the Redskins might laugh themselves to a Super Bowl.