Winding, melodramatic afternoon soap operas have the same vibe but more characters and storylines than the 3-8 Washington Redskins. When it comes to the Washington football team, and Mondays, there is one focal point: quarterback Robert Griffin III.
This week is not different. Griffin threw for a mere 106 yards Sunday. He was sacked five times and averaged 5.6 yards per attempt. It was an ineffective and incomplete performance. The Redskins offense has scored 20 points during Griffin’s last two starts.
“We have to look at our offense in general,” coach Jay Gruden said. “What the reason is for our lack of production the last two games. We can’t attribute it all to Robert. He is the quarterback, though, so we have to look at every avenue and where we can improve.”
Gruden has been trying to shift the conversation from Griffin-specific to team-specific. He would have an easier time pushing a beached battleship back into the sea.
Sunday’s moderate successes outside of the offense did not help reduce the scrutiny of Griffin. Running back Alfred Morris was aided by the San Francisco 49ers playing cloud coverage — sticking a safety over the top of speedy wide receiver DeSean Jackson — on his way to finally rushing for more than 100 yards. Morris had 125 Sunday, his first time cracking the 100-yard mark this season.
Special teams was decent. The defense had one of its better days of the year, forcing three turnovers and installing backups who produced.
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Which left the passing offense as the smashed egg. Griffin is at the center of that. As of Monday, Gruden said the “intent” continued to be for Griffin to start Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts.
“Everybody has a little bit of hand in the mess of the passing game yesterday, not just the quarterback,” Gruden said. “Unfortunately, he gets the brunt of the criticism. But, uh, we’ve got to figure out ways to make him comfortable and get this offense going.”
In an effort to improve, Griffin works with quarterbacks coach Terry Shea in the offseason. Gruden would like to keep their relationship to that portion of the year. Shea recently commented on sports talk radio that Griffin played a decent game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the same performance that caused Gruden to publicly question Griffin’s fundamentals a day later.
“I know Terry’s a good quarterback coach,” Gruden said. “But, as far as the system is concerned, he doesn’t know what we’re doing as far as footwork and fundamentals and all that stuff for each given concept of each play. As far as balance and his lead foot, his arm, where he puts the ball. All that stuff he can work in the offseason. That’s great if he wants a quarterback coach to work with him. I have no problem with him doing that. But, during the season, we have enough coaches in-house that can handle his fundamentals and his decision-making.”
Gruden said they will again review the film from Sunday, formulate a plan and reconvene Wednesday at practice. He reiterated multiple times during a Monday conference call with reporters that Griffin is expected to be the starter Sunday, though all starting positions are open to scrutiny.
Following up on his comments about Shea, Gruden said things around Griffin need to be quieter and simpler.
“Sometimes when you have too many voices in your head, you think about too much,” Gruden said. “And, quite frankly, we need to get him to think about less and just play and have some fun playing. And be a little bit more decisive with his reads and his progressions and getting the balls out of his hands and not taking so many sack. It’s just part of the process. … We’ve just got to get him to be more comfortable and more decisive and good things will happen.”
Griffin has played just four full games this season. He has thrown two touchdowns and three interceptions. He has run for 100 yards. Reports about how his teammates view him have been talked about. Reports about how he’s valued internally — with the most recent claims being that the coaching staff and front office are at odds about Griffin’s ability and future — sprang up Monday.
Still, Gruden looks around at his team wanting to spread blame and success. There will be no playoffs this season, no .500 record. At the moment, there is nothing to look back on and point to as a building block. The Redskins have used three quarterbacks, been able to move the ball then not, been able to stop people then not.
“We’ve got to get some kind of run together so we have something positive going into next year,” Gruden said.
Only five games remain for that opportunity.
• Todd Dybas can be reached at tdybas@washingtontimes.com.
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