Robert Griffin III has suffered through a couple of horrific seasons in Washington after blowing the hinges off the NFL as a rookie in 2012. He is hoping a new mental approach will help him recapture the magic, and part of that process appears to involve taking the game not so seriously.
Speaking with reporters after Washington’s first OTA session on Tuesday, Griffin spoke about what he, and his team, needs to accomplish to find success on the gridiron:
“It all starts upstairs,” said Griffin, via ESPN’s John Keim. “It’s a mindset change with not accepting mediocrity.”
“What you do on the field matters, and we haven’t been up to par the past couple years. I haven’t been up to par in the last couple of years to my own standards — doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks. Let’s go back to that, let’s get back to having fun playing football and winning football games. The whole city will enjoy it.”
Since helping lead Washington to a 10-6 record and a playoff berth in his rookie campaign, Griffin has accumulated a record of 5-15 in two seasons while trying to overcome injuries. Additionally, he was saddled with learning a new system when Jay Gruden took over for Mike Shanahan.
The extra learning is significant.
It would be for any young quarterback, but this is especially true for Griffin, who came from a system at Baylor that didn’t have a playbook or utilize route trees in the passing game. His mind has been flooded the past few seasons with new concepts, and his body has been battered and bruised.
The most difficult aspect of playing the pro game for young quarterbacks has always been mental.
When they come into the league, most young passers have proven themselves to be elite physical players in college, and for RGIII, this is especially true. He brought with him a toolkit of amazing talents, but after his devastating knee injury, and the ensuing clashes with former head coach Mike Shanahan, his game truly suffered.
Now that his body has had plenty of time to mend itself, it is time for Griffin to get back to playing the game he loves, the way he loves to play it.
“You have to be true to who you are and right now I’m a 25-year-old young man who can do a lot of different things,” Griffin said. “I’m not going to limit myself to just being a dropback passer.”
The biggest challenge for him in this regard is now, and has always been, learning when to quit while he’s ahead. If Griffin has any chance of utilizing his outstanding physical abilities to their fullest, then he needs to remember NFL linebackers and safeties hit like Mack trucks.
Slide.
Many have doubted Griffin’s ability to adjust to the NFL game.
When he came into the league and torched defenses with his arm and legs as a rookie, Shanahan had tailored his offense to Griffin’s strengths. He rolled him out often and predicated the entire offense off the run, using play-action passes to perfection.
While Gruden likely would love to feature an unpredictable offense that can do anything, he’d be wise to take the same approach this year, at least until Griffin builds some confidence.
Success breeds happy players. Happy players have fun.
It’s time once again for Griffin to have some fun playing the game of football, and Washington may just have the pieces this year to make it happen.