Robert Griffin III spoke with the media shortly after the Redskins finished their OTAs up today.
On additions or changes to his regimen since last week:
“Yeah, you know this week was a big week going four straight days on the field. On previous weeks, we’d have a day off. So to go the four straight, throwing every day, planting, cutting, doing the routes with the receivers, all of the guys kind of did a good job balancing the act for the four straight days. I’ve started throwing on the run a lot more, as you guys saw, doing a lot more plant throws out of the play action, the type of throws that we do in our offense. That’s the encouraging part. I’ve also bumped up the long distance running, as you guys saw today, ran a little bit more. That’s all good. I’m feeling more comfortable doing everything. The coaches are saying that I look a lot better. When they do get to sneak a peek in there, they say I look a lot more comfortable throwing the ball. I look relaxed and it shows.”
On there is any soreness in his knee after four straight days of practice:
“No, that was the encouraging part today. You know, of course whenever the media is out here or fans are out here, you get a little extra juice, but I felt good today regardless. That’s what I’m excited about. To have those four straight days, to still feel good after those four days with no soreness is a good thing.”
On the next stage of cutting he needs to reach:
“I think the advanced stage of cutting would be running and cutting. What I’ve tried to do and what I’ve tried to do with the other guys [Chris] Thompson, [Jordan] Reed and Fred [Davis] and Pierre [Garçon] – Pierre being the only one with an upper body injury – what we try to do is make sure we can do the football-specific things. So I can do an eight-track, do a nine-track, do a four-track, five-track, plant, get through all my reads, whether it’s a backpedal throw, seven-step drop, five-step drop, whether Fred’s cutting off of his inside foot or his outside foot… All those guys, we try to do that first, and then for me at least, I know I’m the only one of the group that has to go through the advanced running and cutting stage where you run full speed to the right and you cut to the left. That’s the kind of stuff that I have to get done here in the next two months and it will get done. As far as football-specific things as a quarterback, I felt good doing those things.”
On if he had a limp after running:
“[Head Athletic Trainer] Larry [Hess] told me that coming out here. I asked him if he was joking because he does joke like that a lot, saying about me limping or anything like that, but I didn’t feel like I was limping. I wasn’t sore at all. I did think he was joking but he said he was serious and some people were saying that they thought I was limping, but no, I wasn’t.”
On injuries help other players receive reps on the field and what that does for the team’s development:
“I think it builds the depth. It’s what Coach [Mike Shanahan] has been saying the whole offseason that we have a lot of depth on this team. It’s allowed other guys to get reps, like you said, that they wouldn’t normally get. The more you play, the better you’ll get. Whenever you can have those guys that are coming off the sidelines – if someone goes down, then they are ready to go as soon as they step in – I think that helps the team.”
On the depth of the team:
“I think the team has been looking really good. The defense has been flying around. Offense, we have our days where we are tearing it up and then we have our days when we are not tearing it up, but that’s just how it goes with practice. It’s been fun to watch but I’m pretty tired of watching.”
On linebacker Brian Orakpo:
“Rak’s been great. You know it was tough to see him there on the sideline the whole year. I went through that in college. It’s tough to see your team go out there and play without you, and he’s done a good job coming back from his injury 100 percent. He’s been firing off the ball. You can watch the film – I’m sure Coach [Shanahan] won’t let you – but if you watch the film, you’ll see him. He’s explosive, he’s very excited to be back, and it tells every day in practice because he’s out there busting his butt and I think guys get back not for themselves, they come back because they want to help the team. And I think that’s what’s been the whole theme for everybody, myself included, with Pierre, Thompson, Reed, and Fred, all those guys wanting to get back. Even the guys that are out there right now like Tristan Davis, Chris Neild, Chase Minnifield, all those guys worked really hard this offseason to get back, to be able to practice and it’s really good to see everybody back out there.”
On if he has come a long way in his rehab in three weeks:
“Yeah, I mean that’s what you want. Every day you want to feel better, and that’s how it’s been. I feel comfortable. I know the coaches say I look more comfortable, more fluid. Running-wise, they say my stride and my gait look a lot more fluid and that’s positive. That’s what you want. You want to always be positive.”
On if running the first team offense on the first day of training camp is a realistic goal:
“Without a doubt.”
On the differences in wide receiver Joshua Morgan’s movement this offseason:
“Josh has been good, as you guys saw. [He had] a couple of spectacular catches, which he is capable of being. He’s capable of being a beast and that’s what we need him to be. He came, last year he had that rod in his ankle from the injury the year before, so he got that taken out. So he is cutting a lot better. He feels a lot more fluid and he feels good. Just imagine you have a rod in your ankle and you’re playing in 30-degree weather. It is going to be a little sore. So he got that out, he is feeling a lot better and we feel good about him.”
On what makes him say he will be “without a doubt” ready for training camp:
“One, it is a mindset, and then two, it is just how I felt and how it’s progressed. Like you said, over the last three weeks, you know, I’ve had a lot of progress and I feel a lot better. So, if you think – I think training camp’s a month, month-and-a-half away? Two months? – I feel really good about that and the start of the season is even farther than that. I feel good about that and that’s why I say without a doubt.”
On comparisons to Adrian Peterson’s rehab:
“Yeah, I mean, I’m not Adrian, but when it comes to the pressure of coming back from the injury, it’s like the old saying, ‘You only feel pressure when you don’t know what you’re doing or you’re not confident in what you’re doing.’ I feel confident in what the coaches are going to do with me, I feel confident in what I’ve been working with, with Larry – Larry Hess in the training room – and those guys. I feel confident in my body and the way it has been responding, so there is no pressure there. It is just a matter if I am ready, I go. If I am not ready, I sit.”
On his biggest frustration during OTAs:
“Watching. I mean, that’s it. I’m getting all the mental reps I can, helping the guys out as much as I can, talking to them about different plays. A year of experience helps you no matter what anybody says. I’ve only played one year, but that year of experience helped me a lot. So to sit here and see it from a different perspective also helps, but that doesn’t mean you have to enjoy sitting there and watching and that is not something I enjoy. So I’m looking forward to getting back out on the field.”
On comments made by Donovan McNabb:
“I mean, it is what it is. Everybody is going to have their own opinion and he is free to have that opinion. So I’ll just leave it at that.”
On if he would be interested into talking with McNabb:
“Yeah, I watched Donovan play when I was younger, so I saw what he went through and the ups and downs and I think it was five NFC Championship games. I know the history, so it’s not something I’d be opposed to, but like I said, right now I’ve got other things to do.”
On running back Roy Helu, Jr. returning to practice:
“Helu looks great. We call him ‘Helu J-R’ because he randomly threw that junior on there after someone put a third on their jersey. He’s looked great. Just this morning in practice, in film, Coach gave him a shout out, said he is glad to have him back out there. And we are. He is a guy that can really help us. Him, [Chris] Thompson and all the other guys that are competing for spots right now, they all are really explosive players and he’s got to find out who is going to make it out of the group. But we definitely have a good batch of backs back there for sure.”
On the first day of training camp is the “right” target:
“I think it is the right target if I’m healthy. I’ve talked to Coach. I’ve talked to the doctors. I’ve talked to Larry [Hess]. I’ve talked to everybody that’s close to me. If I am ready to go Week 1, then I play. If I’m not ready to go Week 1, then I can swallow pride and not play. It’s that simple. When I talked to Coach, I told him I’ll be honest with him. If I feel like I’m ready to go and there’s no doubt in my mind that I can play, then I’ll be ready to go. But if there’s an ounce of doubt or a minor setback then I won’t play.”
