The news that Robert Griffin III, who required surgery on his ACL and LCL, might be ready for the start of the 2013 regular season must be of some comfort to Redskins fans. Earlier reports indicated he could have missed up to 14 months, which would have been quite an emotional plummet -- one week, your franchise has a golden chance with their supernova talent at quarterback; the next, they're wondering if he'll play at all next season. Even if he does make it back in time, there's no guarantee he'll be able to keep up his high level of play, which might result in the return of disappointment in Washington.

Does Robert Griffin III need to change the way he plays in order to avoid further injury?

•  
  26%
  Yes, significantly
•  
  56%
  Yes, a little bit
•  
  18%
  No

(Total votes: 61,219)

Is Robert Griffin III a fragile player?

•  
  53%
  Yes
•  
  47%
  No

(Total votes: 61,868)

Robert Griffin III led Washington to a win wearing a knee brace last week and was back in the brace for Sunday's playoff game against the Seahawks. He appeared to aggravate his injury in the first quarter, but stayed in the game until he re-injured the knee late in the fourth quarter. But should Griffin have even been in the game at that point? Current and former NFL players took to Twitter, expressing their concern.

Felt bad for RG3 today that did not look good think the skins should've took him out after being up 14 nothing

— Roddy White (@roddywhiteTV) January 7, 2013

I would love to see a McNabb tweet about this RGIII situation::: "Told you so"

— Aaron Curry (@AaronCurry51) January 7, 2013

Man definitely praying for RGIII. That didn't look good at all. I know we want warriors but he'd been struggling all game!

— ryan clark (@RealRClark25) January 7, 2013

Courageous effort by RGIII! Many more gr8 days & plays ahead. God Bless & speedy recovery.

— Terrell Owens (@terrellowens) January 7, 2013

• Bizknuckle: "Repeat after me, everyone in Washington:
  
  'THIS is why you ALWAYS listen to Dr. James Andrews.'"
• HURTemHIZZY: "This situation was horribly managed. The organization should be ashamed."
• KelsieCicalla: "Why was he even playing after the first time he aggravated it today ? Dumb coaching"
• Ba-zing: "Dr. Andrews never authorized RGIII to play and Shanahan never asked him. This is 100% percent on Shanahan..."
• cwwilke: "Why would you risk the franchise on 1 game?"
• pyanchura: "I couldn't believe they kept him in after he was limping all over the place. This is their future they're playing around with"

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On Friday, ESPN's "First Take" debated the winner of the Seahawks-Redskins wild-card matchup on Sunday. The game will be a battle of marquee rookie quarterbacks, with Seattle's Russell Wilson taking on Robert Griffin III in Washington. Stephen A. Smith has the Seahawks prevailing because he's worried about RG III's injuries and thinks the Seahawks' defense will smother the Redskins' receivers. Skip Bayless thinks Griffin will step up in his first playoff start and has the Redskins barely winning. What's your take?

While the Giants have a 14.4 percent chance of making the playoffs, according to ESPN.com's playoff predictor , the critics will tell you the Giants don't deserve to make the playoffs after posting a first-half record of 6-2 and then going 2-5 down the stretch. Giants fans, however, will kindly remind you of the 2007 season, when the team went through stretches of 0-2, 6-0 and 4-4 in the regular season on the way to a Super Bowl victory. So maybe it doesn't matter how you get there, as long as you get there. The Giants will be thinking about that on Sunday as they try to take care of business against the Eagles at 1 p.m. ET and then turn their attention to the scoreboard, since New York needs assistance from the Lions, Packers and Redskins.

Of the outcomes needed for the Giants to make the playoffs, which is least likely to happen?

•  
  13%
  Giants beat Eagles
•  
  13%
  Cowboys lose to Redskins
•  
  11%
  Vikings lose to Packers
•  
  63%
  Bears lose to Lions

(Total votes: 6,778)

Which team will win Sunday's game at Philadelphia?

•  
  73%
  Giants
•  
  27%
  Eagles

(Total votes: 20,546)

Which team will win Sunday's game at Washington?

•  
  29%
  Cowboys
•  
  71%
  Redskins

(Total votes: 368,341)

Which team will win Sunday's game at Green Bay?

•  
  66%
  Packers
•  
  34%
  Vikings

(Total votes: 20,131)

Which team will win Sunday's game at Detroit?

•  
  64%
  Bears
•  
  36%
  Lions

(Total votes: 20,719)

The Redskins' close win Monday night over the Giants made the NFC East race a lot more interesting. Robert Griffin III's heroics (along with a little bit of luck -- he's pretty darn good, but when one of your teammates turns your fumble into a touchdown, you can't exactly attribute that to proper preparation) brought the Redskins to 6-6, with the Giants just barely ahead at 7-5. That's not even taking into account the Cowboys, who are suddenly competitive at 6-6 after defeating a disorganized Eagles squad.

Will the Redskins (6-6) make the playoffs?

•  
  55%
  Yes
•  
  45%
  No

(Total votes: 61,878)

Which team will win the NFC East?

•  
  55%
  Giants (7-5)
•  
  10%
  Cowboys (6-6)
•  
  35%
  Redskins (6-6)

(Total votes: 65,032)

Which quarterback is having the better rookie season?

•  
  44%
  Robert Griffin III
•  
  56%
  Andrew Luck

(Total votes: 105,924)

Robert Griffin III's exceptional season continues, as he was appointed as a team captain for the Redskins for the rest of the season. Is it a good idea to give leadership roles to first-year players, even ones as accomplished as Griffin?

• King Lewey 13: "If RG3 isnt captain, who should be? Alfred Morris(Rookie)? How about Santana Moss? Oh wait he isnt on the field half the time. He is the logical choice."
• fuzydeth: "He has given life to the Redskins. Well deserved."
• Texas Jim Bob: "Shanahan is delusional if he thinks a 3-6 Rookie starter is a Captain. What a joke!"
• steelsittyswammi: "3-6, a rookie, and made a captain? I bet the real veterans on that team are shaking their heads again. Griffin has potential but look at Cam last year. Great stats, losing team. Lots of praise/hype and now he drapes his head unter a towel every time he gets a chance. When Griffin has actually done something worthy of being selected a team captain, then give him the honor."
• DocDawg84: "Remember when defenses and certain defensive players actually scared their opponents.......those days are far gone. Suh plays the game that way......from the old school and I bet the old guys from that era secretly contact Suh and gives him their best for reminding everybody HOW the game SHOULD be played. I miss QBs and teams being afraid of defenses."
• MMatthews10: "Veterans are praising him, not shaking their heads. Guy is a leader."

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Robert Griffin III has accused the Rams of engaging in "extracurricular activities" during their matchup last Sunday. Do you consider the Rams to be a dirty team?

• OPENLYUGLY: "NO....... even if you did take cheap shots, you don't come out and say it! That means they got into your head and other teams will be doing what they can to get in there too."
• chasefan31: "I don't blame him one bit for talking about this. It wasn't hard shots he took during game play that were the problem, it was the three or four times the rams would start to get up off of him and then slam his head back to the turf with their forearm 5 seconds after the whistle. That is NOT NFL football. There would have been about 15 personal fouls and two or three ejections if the regular refs were in charge."
• pgofen: "Welcome to the NFL, rookie."
• lostsol777: "Having actually watched the game, I have two thoughts on this. 1. Maybe RG3 should watch the game tape and see all the extracurricular hitting his own D was laying down after plays. It was just as bad if not worse. 2. Grow up. It's football.'"
• RJGJR1959: "Obviously, teams are taking advantage of the replacement refs..RG3 was treated no different than any other QB during the past 2 weeks."

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On Thursday, "First Take" discussed John Madden's comments about Robert Griffin III and Tim Tebow. The Hall of Fame coach said Griffin reminds him of Tim Tebow, except Griffin can pass. Skip Bayless thinks the comparison is ridiculous, but Stephen A. Smith finds it more apt because no one is actually worrying about Griffin's ability to throw the ball. What's your take?

No. 2 overall pick Robert Griffin III made his NFL debut Sunday against the Saints and quickly had the league buzzing with his outstanding performance. Griffin completed his first eight passes -- including an 88-yard touchdown -- en route to 320 passing yards and a pair of touchdowns, leading the Redskins to a win over the Saints. The 320 passing yards were the second most for a rookie QB in Week 1, behind only Cam Newton's debut last season.

RGIII is a BEAST RIGHT NOW!

— LaVar Leap Arrington (@LaVarArrington) September 9, 2012

Kids, hop on the @rgiii bandwagon early.in hostile Superdome, 10/11 155 yds and 2 TD passes. has put up points on all 3 drives

— trey wingo (@wingoz) September 9, 2012

RG3!!! Baby!!!#Redskins

— Jerry Stackhouse (@jerrystackhouse) September 9, 2012

RG3 is going Crazy Right Now 2TD passes!!! Where yall Saints Fans at? #TrueRedskinFan

— Mike Kidd-Gilchrist (@MikeGillie14) September 9, 2012

It's great to see @rgiii start his #NFL career with a 40 pt, winning performance on the road against the Saints.

— Desmond Howard (@DesmondHoward) September 9, 2012

• MKULTRA1414: "If RG3 continues to play like this through the season, all those people who were screaming that he is gonna a bust in the offseason will need to find new bridges to live under."
• ZTx Ghost: "I'm not even a Skins fan, yet I'm rooting for them because RG3 is AWESOME!"
• TXRangerfan1980: "As a Cowboy fan i have to tip the hat to RG3 hes on fire right now.. If you are a REDSKIN fan i think it might be time to get excited that you might have a winner here!!"
• Vinh7785: "RGIII > Cam Newton"



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