Pierre Garcon: Robert Griffin III is slowed down by his knee brace

Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III is still trying to shake off the rust in the wake of his second major knee surgery. Through the first two weeks of the season, he has been horrible. Thanks to RG3’s shaky play and an incredibly porous defense, the Redskins are 0-2. Wide receiver Pierre Garcon has found at least one thing to blame for the slow start — Griffin’s knee brace.

“Robert obviously can’t run as fast as he did last year because of his knee brace and his knee,” Garcon told ESPN980 Radio on Tuesday. “But it’s the same offense, to be honest with you. It’s nothing different. It hasn’t changed at all.”

The play calling may be similar, but the offense is hardly the same. Griffin is either too timid to take off and run or Mike Shanahan and Kyle Shanahan are not calling as many designed runs in order to protect him. Whatever the reason, opposing defenses simply don’t have to worry RG3 taking off on them at the moment.

“Well, when you’re walking around with a knee brace or playing with a knee brace, obviously it’s slowing you down a little bit,” Garcon added. “It’s just natural. I don’t know how much it weighs, exactly, but you always think about it when you have it on there, and it’s a constant reminder.

“It’s not gonna let you be the guy you are without the knee brace. When you have something around your knees — the more equipment you have on, it’s obviously distracting you or slowing you down from being as free as loose as yourself without any equipment on.”

And then there’s the fact that RG3 has to deal with calls from the league telling him to cover the brace up during games, but that’s a separate discussion in itself. Growing pains are to be expected, as Griffin did not play or practice at all during the preseason. The problem is the Redskins are digging themselves into an early hole. If RG3’s legs are not a threat, Washington simply isn’t going to win many games.