Robert Griffin III carries optimism into training camp

RICHMOND — Robert Griffin III rolled, tossed a gentle pass to DeSean Jackson Thursday morning, and he had his first completion of training camp. Excitement was in line with the circumstance of a padless completion during a walk-through, but, since it was Griffin, the microscope was focused on him.

His first chat with the media covered the usual ground: when he decides to run, what random assessors said about him, what went right in 2012, and what has gone wrong since and just what is going on inside of his head.

Griffin smiled and laughed off some of the queries, including multiple ones about receiving a mental boost, particularly from what was viewed as a sharp performance during mini-camp.

“I’m great mentally. I don’t know what you guys are talking about,” Griffin said with a smile and to laughter. “I mean, that was a combination of everything that happened in the entire offseason. I think everybody was extremely sharp. Coming into the second year of the offense, it’s a little easier knowing what to expect and what to go through. We’re building. We’re not just learning the offense now.”

Griffin finished last season, his first and a truncated one in coach Jay Gruden’s offense, with an 86.9 passer rating. He completed a career-high 68.7 percent of his passes, but threw just four touchdowns and six interceptions. He also fumbled five times in the nine games he played.

This is the first camp for Griffin after becoming a father. He said he spent much of the offseason changing diapers and rocking his girl to sleep. Griffin said it was hard to leave her behind, but, “it’s time for daddy to go to work.”

Griffin was not specific or forthcoming about the details of that work. He said how he wants to improve during camp is for him and the coaches to work on and know, not to “broadcast to the world.” Gruden stating a preference on the offseason to run more could lead to more play-action work for Griffin.

At the least, he’s hopeful about what will come this season, which is standard for the entire league in late August.

“I mean, I’m always optimistic,” Griffin said. “I think if you’re not thinking about the ultimate goal in football every time you step on that field in winning a Super Bowl, then you’ve already failed. So, that’s always our goal. Whether people believe it or not, doesn’t matter. We have to believe it.”