After arriving in Richmond, Virginia for Redskins training camp, Robert Griffin III had his first press conference in weeks.
On the plan for his activity during training camp and the preseason:
“The current plan is, you know, patience is the key. So, I did all I could in the offseason – working out, rehabbing. I passed all of my tests, with Dr. [James] Andrews, with doctors from the Redskins and with the coaching staff, so they just want to make sure that we aren’t doing anything too soon that we don’t have to do. So let some of these other guys get ready for the preseason. And if it comes around that I’m ready go – maybe in the third preseason game – but as far as my understanding goes, preseason is really not even in the air; it’s not a worry at all, I feel like I can play. I think Coach [Mike Shanahan] feels I can play without any preseason. So there’s no need really for that. But, patience is the key, and like I said I’ve done everything I can. I’m just going to work myself back in to it. And it just feels good to be back out there with the guys.”
On his tweet about the team “easing him in” after being medically cleared:
“It basically means that I’m going to have to opportunity to throw to everyone. I won’t be limited from that aspect. I’ll do everything in practice except for the team sessions. Coach wants to ease me in that way so that I’m not, right from the get go, going from not practicing at all in the OTAs, to right in to team having guys running at you, and you know you react and something like that… That’s basically what it means. We’re going to do 7-on-7 and I’ll get a lot of those reps and I’ll get reps in the walkthroughs. And I’ll be out there at practice doing everything except for the team sessions.”
On going 100 percent and the difficulty of throttling back:
“It’s the perspective you have to take. I’ve been an over-achiever my whole life and that’s not something that I shy away from claiming or not saying that I am. I am an over-achiever but I want to make this decision as easy for everybody as possible. So whether it’s Coach [Shanahan], the doctors, the decision for me to play Week 1… If they want me to be patient right now and ramp it up later, then I’m willing to do that and they know that I’m going to be, I wouldn’t say compliant, but that I’m going to follow those rules, follow those guidelines, do as much as I can within that. And when it’s time to go full-go, then I’ll be ready to go.”
On what he did on the field today:
“We did the conditioning and I ran with the team so that was a good moment, just to be back out there and actually be able to be around everybody without someone being afraid the NFL was going to fine us. So that was good.”
On what he accomplished last preseason and how he would respond to not playing this preseason:
“I’ve only got one year of experience and I know everybody points to that, but that one year was big for me. And last year in the preseason, first year in the league, I kind of got a lot of the jitters out. You get to play against those guys. The preseason, like they say, aren’t real games, but for those snaps for those guys that are playing, they are playing for real. That’s the way I like to look at it. So I got to get those jitters out and just feel that NFL atmosphere. Whether it was a good preseason game or a bad preseason game, you get those out. And then the first game of the season we played the [New Orleans] Saints and it was all-go from there. This year, I don’t get that opportunity to get any jitters out, but I think that having the one year of experience of playing, and there’s no jitters on Monday Night Football.”
On how not playing preseason snaps affects his overall development:
“I don’t think preseason actually matters that much when it comes to that. I think if you talk to a lot of the vets, they don’t even like the preseason. I think that’s a well-known fact. Even I know that and I’ve only been in the league one year. I think you can get that timing, those reps in practice and that’s what I’m going to get later in the preseason. I look forward to that, but right now it’s just about… Everybody is on the same page. We want to make sure that we continue growing as a team. Me and Mike Shanahan’s relationship is paramount to this team being successful.”
On if he thinks he can get as sharp as he needs to get prior to Week 1:
“Oh, yeah. I try to take as many mental reps as I possibly can. I’ll be ready to go and take the mental reps I have to out here as well. I’ll be sharp and I know that they know that I’m not going to let myself not be ready to go, not be sharp out there on the field.”
On what he missed out on the last six months:
“Just that camaraderie with the team. It’s the same thing I went through the first time. It makes you miss the game, it makes you miss your teammates. I know people might question that or say that is a pause-worthy moment, but it’s y being out there with everybody. It’s a special feeling being part of a team. That’s why everybody wants to play football, that’s why everybody wants to make the team. It’s not just about the money. It’s about building those relationships with those guys. I feel good that I got cleared to practice and I can go back out there and do that because standing around watching isn’t very fun and a lot of times you can feel detached from the team. So to actually be in there and doing things with everybody and someone not being afraid to snap me the ball because Coach is going to yell at them because I’m not cleared, that makes things a lot easier.”
On his reception in Richmond:
“It’s been great. We’ve been here for a day and a half now. The fans are really excited that we’re here. I think we’re excited. It’s going to be a lot easier transition going to meetings and coming to practice and just spending time with our teammates getting to know them a little better. Everybody has been really receptive and we look forward to having everybody out here.”
On if he does not expect to play in the preseason:
“Unless it’s a necessity, then I don’t think I’ll play in the preseason unless Coach says so.”
On what he has left to prove physically:
“In my mind there’s nothing left to prove. That’s the way you have to approach the game when you’re coming off of injury. If you pass the test and in your mind you feel like you’re ready, then you’re ready to go. For me, getting to 100 percent is getting back out there on the field, getting out there with the guys and making football-like movements because you can’t mimic those. You can’t mimic instincts. When a guy is passing rushing you, you can’t really mimic what you’re going to do. You can say you’re going to step up and slide to the right. But sometimes you don’t do that. Sometimes you do something different. That’s what I’ve got to get back to doing out there on the football field. I think gradually throughout the training camp and the rest of the preseason I’ll get back to that and be ready to go.”
On his development as a pocket passer and how having tight end Fred Davis and wide receiver Pierre Garçon healthy helps his development:
“Yeah, I mean, you know, that’s the goal. The goal is longevity in the league, you also want to win. So as a quarterback, I don’t like to conform and say you can’t win outside the pocket. I think you can win outside the pocket, you’ve just got to be smart about it. That’s what I learned over the past six months about myself. It’s about what we need to do to win. Maybe that’s keeping me in the pocket a little bit more. Maybe that’s throwing the ball away a little bit more, sliding, doing all those things that are necessary. Because if it’s the second game of the season, you know, I think I proved how tough I am and the heart that I have on the football field and my teammates know that. But if it’s the second game of the season, and it’s third-and-four and I’ve got two yards I might just run out of bounds and slide, if I have to. If it’s the Super Bowl, I’m going to get those two yards. That’s just the way you have to think, that’s the way I think now. When it comes to having Fred [Davis] and Pierre [Garcon], those guys back, and a lot of the rookies we got that are going to get some action now, you know, it’s just more weapons in our repertoire and our offense is pretty good right now, but to have all those guys back is going to make it that much better. You want to just do it and don’t really talk about it.”
On how close he is to 100 percent:
“I don’t know what number I am right now, I feel healthy. I don’t know if anybody ever plays at 100 percent. I don’t know what the number is.”
On his relationship with Executive Vice President/ Head Coach Mike Shanahan:
“I think we’re on the same page. When we sat down and talked about what I was going to do in training camp and the weeks to follow, it was a good moment for me ‘cause all the hard work that I had paid off and they’re going to allow me to get back out there and do what I do and that’s play football and lead and just have fun with the guys. I think we’re on the same page right now. You know, we all make mistakes. Last season, we all understand that, we’ve all talked about it. It’s time to move on, we’re moving forward and hopefully moving up to a Super Bowl.”
On what he’ll do tomorrow and over the next few days:
“I’ll do everything as far as individual drills. I’ll get to take snaps with the centers, do drills with the running backs and wide receivers. I’ll do 7-on-7. I’ll get to do a little bit of the walk-through that we have. It’s not a two-a-day, but it’s kind of a two-a-day. And after that, whenever there’s 11-on-11 drills, they’re going to keep me out of those.”
On if he was worried about his medical exam this week:
“Last week I tested for Dr. Andrews. He is the guy that did my surgery. I felt pretty confident that if I passed those tests, there was no need for me to just sit around and just watch all of practice. It’s not that I wanted to jump in and do everything right away; I know the smart thing to do is to ease me back in and that is what we are going to do. Once I passed those tests, I was pretty confident. But I had to come back and go through a workout with the coaches just so they felt comfortable with it. I am going to be doing that for the next four or five weeks continually trying to prove to everybody that I am ready to go and I don’t shy away from that. I know everyone is going to question me and doubt me but I guess that is what you guys are supposed to do.”
On if there is a psychological component to returning from injury and not playing in the preseason:
“Yeah, I mean, it is football. I have played for a long time now, just the game. You love the game. It is really psychological. You can’t psych yourself out, you kind of have got to psych yourself up and say I am going to be ready, just the practicing. The way I practice, I practice to make it perfect. So you go out there and you play full speed in practice, and that is how you get those game-time reps. I think the biggest thing for me going against the Eagles aside from them being a really good team will be managing my emotions. I have been able to do that in that past and I have got to look to however I did that this season so that when I play in that first game, I am not too emotionally high and out of control.”
On specific improvements he is looking to make to his game:
“I do not know if there is anything specific. No one is ever perfect. We all can get better at things. Like I tell the guys, we want to dominate. So that’s not putting up a few touchdowns every other drive or anything like that. You want to go out there and dominate teams and we can do that offensively and defensively. So that’s just being more consistent with what we are doing. There were times last year we dominated teams and we let them back in the game. You want to make sure you continually dominate. But as far as being a quarterback, you can always work on everything – footwork, accuracy, just playing smarter, getting through every single read, all those things you can work on all the time. Like I said, I am a quarterback, a quarterback first. I am not a running back, so my job is to throw the ball and that is what I am want to do.”
On linebacker London Fletcher’s career:
“London has been amazing, just his whole career. It is good to see a guy like that come out here time in, time out. I know I have been here for a year, but guys that have been here multiple years [have] seen him do it and it’s truly amazing. I’ve missed one game in my career and hopefully it will stay like that.”
On his conditioning test and if he is going to wear a brace this season:
“I am going to wear a brace. I felt good out there doing the conditioning test so it is what it is. I’m ready to go. Everybody passed the test.”
