Robert Griffin III is far removed from his Offensive Rookie of the Year season with the Washington Redskins in 2012 and the frustration of his sophomore struggles seemed to boil over after a 27-6 loss to the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football.
RGIII is ‘tired of losing’ but controversy continues
Griffin told reporters after a Monday night loss for the Redskins that he is “tired of losing” and “frustrated.”
Patrick McDermott
In his post-game news conference Monday, Griffin said that he is “tired of losing” and snapped at a reporter, telling them that it’s not his job to “ talk about how bad we are.” It was the culmination of a frustration that has built for Griffin over the course of a 3-8 season that has featured heavy criticism for the second-year passer.
Likely frustrated as well, is Robert Griffin Jr., the father of the Redskins quarterback who spoke to the media often during the 2013 offseason. While the elder Griffin didn’t speak to the media on Monday and hasn’t during the regular season, he had a lengthy discussion with his son after the loss that was described by Tarik El-Bashir of CSN Washington as “tense,” at times.
In the offseason, Griffin Jr. commented on several occasions that he hoped the team would use the 2011 Heisman Trophy winner as a passer more than a runner. After tearing his ACL and LCL in the 2012 postseason, that was thought to be the plan for RGIII, but the lack of production and, more importantly, wins has many rethinking his ideal role with the team.
That includes players, too, as San Francisco 49ers outside linebacker Ahmad Brooks told reporters after the Monday night game that Griffin should be on the sideline for now:
“I don’t think he should be playing,” he said again. “You can see it. Everybody can see it, everybody can see it.”
But 11 games into his sophomore season, there aren’t many options otherwise for Redskins head coach Mike Shanahan, who has backed his young quarterback through controversy in the past, including recent reports that Griffin requested his poor plays not be shown in team meetings.
While fellow second-year quarterback Kirk Cousins is on the bench, the investment the team made for Griffin is simply too much to warrant sitting the young passer on the bench, while healthy, for any stretch of time.
After tallying 20 passing touchdowns and five interceptions as a rookie, including seven rushing touchdowns, Griffin has 14 passing touchdowns and 11 interceptions in 2013. He has yet to find the endzone as a rusher.
The Redskins are three games from the division lead in the NFC East and would need a huge turnaround at the end of their season to manage a spot in the postseason. With two games left against the New York Giants and a Week 16 game against the Dallas Cowboys, it's not an impossible hole to dig out of, but it is highly unlikely.
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