Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III spoke with the media follow Monday morning’s practice.
On what strides he’s made in the last week:
“I feel good now. I felt good a couple weeks ago, but I definitely feel better today. Coach is really taking the reins on this one and holding me out of a lot of stuff. I’m doing everything they’re asking me to do right now. I feel like I’m in rhythm out there throwing the ball in the 7-on-7 reps that I do get. And that’s all I can do, just continue to prove to them and to the players that I’m ready to play.”
On if anything has gotten easier or smoother with his timing:
“The first day I got seven reps. and they’ve ramped up since then. But I feel like I’ve been consistent with everything, getting what the defense is giving me out there, whether it’s a check down, a touchdown throw or anything in between. I’m taking everything they’re giving me and I think that’s really making the coaches happy.”
On if he feels consistent planting on his leg:
“Yeah, it’s not anything that I’m thinking about… I feel like it’s consistent. Everything from the timing to the mechanics of everything I’m doing out there that the coaches are asking me to do. Whether it’s a plant throw, a hitch throw, a deep throw, a short throw; I feel like I’m in tune with all of that. The leg is not an issue.”
On defenses preparing for the read option:
“Anytime something new pops up, teams are going to try to adjust to it. Whether it’s multiple tight end sets, the read option, anything you do, teams are going to try and stop it. So we’re prepared for that. We still have our normal offense. We can do a lot of things out of it. So whatever the defense is willing to give us on that day, that’s what we are willing to take.”
On if he can simulate pocket pressure in 7-on-7:
“I don’t feel like that’s something I’m trying to do in the 7-on-7, really. I’m just trying to make sure we get completions, because completions are the name of the game, moving the ball forward. I’m just to get as many plant throws as I possibly can. Whatever Coach and the defense draws up on that day, that’s what I have to go execute and that’s what I feel like we’re doing out there.”
On if he is ready for more reps:
“I’m ready to move on. I mean, you can only do so much in 7-on-7. The completion percentage is there. I feel like the rhythm is there with the guys. We’re finding the holes in the defense when we have to and we are throwing the checkdowns when we have to as well. Coach will tell you something else but obviously I’m ready to move on. I’m ready to go to the team reps and everything. I’ve just got to keep doing what Coach asks me to do.”
On how Richmond has embraced him and the team, including having sandwiches named after him:
“It’s pretty cool. I’ve got to go try those sandwiches out, maybe. Hopefully I don’t die of a heart attack, but it’s really special. The team played so well last year and the Redskins’ fans are just so hungry for success and we are too as players. We want to give them that. We’re glad they’re excited about it, and we’re so glad they’re treating us so well here in Richmond.”
On what would be on an “RGIII Sandwich’:
“Me? I don’t’ know…Subway can tell you that one [laughter]. Thank you, you set me up perfectly for that one.”
On his mechanics during seven-on-seven drills:
“I think Coach said it last week, he feels like my arm strength coming into camp has been something that’s popping off the charts. I’ve worked really hard in the offseason, not just getting my arm stronger but making sure that my arm is ready for days like this in training camp when you’re throwing a whole lot. So, I feel like I have been really consistent. When I miss a throw I come back and I make sure that I get that completion, whether it’s with another receiver or that same receiver on that same day.”
On the role his lower body plays in his arm strength:
“I think your arm strength starts from your lower body, from your core. If you ask any quarterback out there, it starts there. So in order to be able to throw the ball the way I have and the some other quarterbacks have out here, your feet have to be in line and in tune with what you’re doing and I feel like that’s where I’m at.”
On the line between embracing attention and not letting it go to his head:
“Yeah, it really is a fine line. Whenever you’re out there in team drills and stuff like that, you respect the rest of the players that are out there. We are all on the same team so you don’t play with the crowd in those moments. But this crowd is out here for us to interact with them. They are here to watch us, but they also want to see us as people and our personalities. I try to give them that as much as I can. Before practice, after practice, I might do a lap, clap everybody’s hand or just play it up with the crowd. But when it is time to perform, everybody is focused on the field and that is what you have got to do.”
On if he has to be at peace with the decision to not play in the preseason:
“Yeah, I mean I have to be at peace with it. It’s harder being out here and not being able to get into the team reps because Coach is holding me out, so to be there at the game and watch, I think the thing that I am going to have to do is take it as a coaching opportunity for the rest of the quarterbacks. Even though Rex [Grossman] is a vet, it is still my job to go out there and watch and make sure he is seeing everything that is happening on the field, just to help those guys be as successful as they can. That’s the way I have to look at it, so I’m not going to really going to fret too much the preseason games because the goal is for a long career and to play Week 1.”
On the plan for him going forward:
“Hopefully it involves some team reps. I kind of know what the plan is, but it is also up to be changed based on how I feel after this week. So hopefully I can get out there and get out there and get with the team, start doing more team-like activities and just go from there and get back in tune with everything.”
On if he is applying lessons learned while rehabbing at Baylor to his recovery now:
“No, I mean, I was doing a whole lot more at this time after my recovery at Baylor. Obviously with this situation and what we have to deal with here and the DMV and D.C., there is a lot of scrutiny, so Coach also has to account for that. In college, you are trying to make it to this level, and in the pros, you are trying to make sure you stay here for a long time. You can say whatever you want about what he is doing. I can feel any kind of way about it, but at the end of the day, we all have to be on the same page and that is what I am trying to do, just do everything the coaches ask me, show them that my rhythm and timing is there, show them that I can play. And at the end of the day they have to come through for me and play me Week 1 if I do everything they ask me to do.”
On team bonding:
“Team bonding wise, we’re around each other a lot. It’s 90 guys, eventually it will be 53, and when they cut the team down, it makes the tie even stronger. But I feel like being here in Richmond – not that guys go out and party at all because we’re in the NFL and We don’t party at all – guys go out. They get to be together. Do those kind of things. Go to dinner. Being away from your families, you kind of have to bond with your teammates unless you’re a loner and just sit in your room all day. It forces you to hang out. It forces you to create those bonds and try to meet somebody new and learn a little bit about them every day.”
On fulfilling his promise to be back for training camp:
“It was truly a blessing to go to Dr. [James] Andrews and pass all those tests and just come back knowing that I did everything I said I was going to do, that I was a man of my word. It might not have turned out that way. There could have been setbacks along the way, but God helped me to fight through all the pain and make sure that I got to those games that I needed to get to. It’s a blessing to be out here and be here for the fans, be here for my team. The hardest part along the whole thing was just knowing that everyone was going to doubt me, knowing that everyone was going to try to hold me back. But at the end of the day, I had to look at it as if I don’t believe in myself no one will. And I know my teammates believe in me as a player and they want me to be out there healthy so that’s what I’m trying to do for them.”
On his role in the first preseason game despite not expecting to play:
“Basically, just go through the game plan with everybody. You’ve got to get back into that kind of mode as well. You don’t game plan as much with the preseason games but there is a little bit of a game plan, so you go through that. Try to make sure they’re on all their keys and everything and then maybe Kyle [Shanahan] will let me call a quarter or something, I don’t know [laughter].”
On his opinion of preseason games and how ready the team is for the first game:
“The first preseason game is exciting even though the starters don’t play that much. You just get excited to play against somebody else. I know defensive lineman get excited to hit the quarterback so I feel for all the quarterbacks in the preseason. My opinion is it is valuable. I think the preseason is valuable, but at the same time if you do not need to be in the preseason, you don’t have to do it and that is my situation. Everyone has a different situation. Last time I checked, there have been some guys who had some pretty good seasons, some teams with some pretty good seasons when their quarterback didn’t play in the preseason.”
On if his arm strength is better than it was coming off his rehab at Baylor:
“I do not know if it is a greater arm strength, I just know when your legs are taken away from you, you have to rely on your arm. That is something I learned from at Baylor and we came back the next year and threw the ball a lot more. Maybe that is something that is in the future for us here in Washington. Because of the injury, maybe we will sit back there and throw the ball a little more. That is all up to the defense and what they want to give us… You do not want to isolate yourself and say, ‘Hey, we are not going to do this. We are not going to do that.’ But at the same time, there is going to be a target on my back. The injury that I had, I know that, everyone knows that. You still have to go out there and try and win football games. You just want to be able to do it in multiple ways and I think we can.”
On how much he reads into the depth chart:
“What we try to tell the guys is don’t cut yourself. Whether you’re fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh on the depth chart, don’t cut yourself, don’t look at that and say, ‘Well, I have no chance.’ For some of these guys the preseason is a big deal, like Coach said you evaluate talent in the preseason and I saw a lot of guys last year make the team and not make the team because of what they did in the preseason and not just because of what they did in practice. Coaches want to see you in game-like situations, so from that aspect I’m excited about watching some of the guys on this team go out and fight for their position.”
On if there is any fatigue in his right leg:
“I talked to Coach about it. Fortunately I haven’t had any soreness or any swelling in my knee, particularly to the injury, and I haven’t had any sore legs so that’s also a good thing. I’m one of the guys who hasn’t had a day off and that’s not just because I’m stubborn or hard-headed, it’s just because my body has felt good. So from that aspect, I’m just doing a good job with the trainers, taking care of my body and just going out there every day and trying to give it my all.”
On quarterback Kirk Cousins:
“Kirk’s looked good. The one thing about Kirk is he’s a really good teammate and that’s what people have to realize. He’s going out there and he’s going to play in the preseason and he’s done a good job out here in practice and I’m proud of him.”
On the attention he receives from fans:
“It’s like I’ve always said, you want it to get worse because that means you’re doing better. So the attention from the fans is only going to get more and more drastic because you want to go out there and succeed and be a great quarterback. The only thing I worry about, and I talk to my teammates about it every day, I don’t want them to feel bad because the fans are cheering my name and not theirs. I don’t want them to feel bad because a little kid comes on the field and is supposed to be with them and comes to me. That’s the stuff that makes me feel bad. But as long as they don’t mind, then I don’t mind either. But the second that starts getting on their nerves then we’ll curb that real quick and make sure that all these guys get the appreciation and the attention they deserve.”
