Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III, answers questions from the media on the upcoming season and his injury recovery.
On the development of the wide receivers:
“I think those guys are doing a great job right now. It’s a strong group together and what they are all doing is refining their skills so that they can all play any position on the field, which is going to help us with matchup problems. Santana is still Santana Moss. He is still doing a great job, coming in ready every offseason. It has been a pleasure to work with those guys and to see from a different perspective, not practicing, see those guys work, see the little things they are working on it makes me excited to get back.”
On what he is able to do this week:
“You saw me running a little bit. Started some cross-fields, got cleared to do that by Doc [Dr. James Andrews]. Doing that stuff, I ran two miles this week, out here when you guys weren’t out here. So that has been a good part. Still trying to make sure I stay focused on not just the rehab part but also paying attention, getting the mental reps and just knowing it like the back of my hand.”
On the feeling of the team this offseason:
“I think there is a totally different feeling within the team. I still feel like outside of the team people still doubt us. That is the way you want it to be. I feel like the guys come out here a lot more confident. Last offseason, with the addition of myself, Alfred [Morris] and a couple of the other rookies and just the expectations before the season last year, I feel like the OTA practices were pretty game-speed like and a lot of guys were trying to prove to the coaches that they should be here. They are doing the same thing this offseason, but I think there is a little bit more confidence going about that this offseason. Not a false confidence, we know with the guys we have coming back, with the guys that we added that we can be really good this year.”
On what he learned from last season as a passer and what he needs to do:
“It is hard to grade it that way. I mean I am not a big stat guy, I am sure Coach [Mike Shanahan] can tell you the stats if you want to know. What we were No. 1 in and stuff like that, but me personally, you just work on everything: footwork, you can always be more accurate. I don’t think I have ever seen anyone complete 100 percent of their passes throughout a whole season so you can always do that. For me the biggest part was mastering the offense first, so that I can continue to beat teams with my mind, get guys in the right position. Really it is just about getting the guys around you to play better and play for you.”
On if he was pleased with his play last season:
“You try not to second guess. The touchdown-interception ratio was pretty good. Yeah, there were some throws that you look back and today could I have made them? Yeah, I probably could have made them, but that is why you play the game. The more you play, the better you get. You can always get better. You never rest on what you did last year.”
On what he was able to work on during his rehabilitation process:
“A lot of film work, watching film alone and with the coaches, within the rules of the CBA. That part of it helped. I was talking to the guys towards the end of last year, being slowed down by the knee kind of slowed the game down for me because I had to slow down and it made me have to get through a lot of my reads. That is what I am looking forward to doing this upcoming season is getting through every single option that I need to get through and while at the same time still being able to use my legs as a weapon.”
On what it would be like to have a healthy Pierre Garçon:
“It is a blessing in disguise that some of the guys I have been able to work with these past couple of weeks, throwing to Fred Davis, Pierre Garçon, Jordan Reed and Chris Thompson. Those are guys we are going to lean heavily on during the season. So I get to build that chemistry with them, get a feel for how Jordan and Chris play and then continue to work with Fred getting back and Pierre, he is the guy. Like I told him a couple of weeks ago, he’s my Kendall Wright. When I was in college I had Kendall Wright, Terrance Williams and a couple of those guys. Pierre is going to be that guy for me, so I’ve got to make sure me and him are on the same page and he is a big play receiver and he can do a lot of great things. It is good to see him back healthy out here doing some of the stuff. It is a pleasure being able to work with him, not that I wanted him to get hurt or anything.”
On if he is bigger going into this season:
”I don’t think I’m bigger. I think it’s the spandex. I mean it’s definitely the shirt. I am about 225 [pounds] now. I was 224 last year. You kind of slim down. You slim down throughout the year, so I probably slimmed down to 218. You know, around this time you do put on more muscle and you maintain the weight throughout the year. That’s probably why my pecs look amazing. [laughter]”
On what he has noticed about Alfred Morris coming into this season as a veteran:
“We are both one of the veterans after one year, but it’s a calm confidence about him. If you talk to some of the guys from last year, when we were working with him fresh out of the draft, he didn’t know what he was doing. We didn’t know what we were doing. Everybody was all over the place, and coming in this offseason, you look at him, from day one he just looked a lot more fluid [and he] knows what he’s doing. He ran for so many yards and had so many carries, so he had so many reps at it and some of the other backs are starting to feed off of what he has been able to do. He just comes to practice every day ready, hard-worker. We’ve got a lot of funny stories about him running over people in walk throughs cause he never walks through, but he’s done a great job and he’s a great teammate, I saw that from day one, and it’s just truly a blessing to see the player that he is today.”
On what goes through his mind when putting together music for sessions:
“I try to play to the masses. Obviously rap is where it’s at. I tried to put some country on it. Some of my linemen wanted country, so I had to make sure I took care of them and R&B during walk through, during the stretch part, which is to keep them calm. But you know those guys are like bulls in a cage, so I just turned the rap on [and] pumped up some Biggie [Smalls].”
On how much of Morris’s success was attributed to Griffin III’s ability to run:
“I think that’s real selfish of anyone to say. You don’t take anything away from Alfred’s talent. What he was able to do was not entirely on him. You can say the offensive line, you can say me, you can say the receivers blocking, but that doesn’t take away from the player that he is because it doesn’t matter how big the hole is, there are still guys out there ready to hit him and he’s bouncing off them. So I wouldn’t say that, myself. I wouldn’t say that.”
On his impressions of Thompson:
“Great guy from what I have been able to see practicing with him and being able to do those things. Really explosive, fast guy, big-play guy. At the beginning of last year, he was tearing it up at Florida State and had the injury so he’s coming back. He’s doing a really good job. He’s been in there with me rehabbing a lot, so it’s good to see him so dedicated and I feel like he’s going to be a big part of the team.”
On Thompson being held back and having to slow him down:
“Yeah, they’re holding me back from doing some stuff, which is what they are supposed to do and I’m trying to keep him from doing some of the routes [because] I know they are going to put stress on his legs from cutting. So I try to keep it real calm for a little bit of practice and then when you guys see [running back Roy] Helu [Jr.] come over there, that’s when Thompson starts revving up his reps and doing the routes because you know he doesn’t want to be shown up by the other guys. So I try to keep an eye on him.”
On how amazed he is by London Fletcher at his age:
“I mean, it’s incredible. Fletch [is a] leader, hard-worker. Coach [Shanahan] likes to compare him to Jerry Rice a lot. I’m sure Jerry doesn’t like that, but London’s been a great teammate even though I’ve only been with him for a year and the guys love him. He’s a hard-worker. He doesn’t have to be out here practicing, but even at his age and the amount of games that he has put up in a row, he still wants to be out here and working at it so that he can get better.”
On if he has a grasp on when he will be able to do explosive sprinting and cutting:
“It’s been a journey. Everyone gets to see the flowers and roses side of it. Out here running and throwing, feeling good about it, having a little energy, bounce in your step, but I’ve had to be patiently aggressive this whole time, just let my body heal and be aggressive where I can. You run and you do that kind of stuff. I was kind of explosive sprinting there a little bit. Jordan and those guys like to show off for you guys and the camera to make sure they’re not beating me. This next month will be the month where I start doing the explosive sprinting and the explosive cutting. It will be good to be doing that stuff for a month-this month-and then a month before camp so I’m ready to go.”
