Washington quarterback Robert Griffin III picked up two false start penalties in the first quarter of Monday night’s preseason game, and coach Jay Gruden wasn’t happy about it.
Gruden wasn’t unhappy with Griffin. He was unhappy that the officials were so strict about the false start rules that they flagged Griffin for merely moving while barking out signals before the play.
“We’ve just got to make sure we don’t have him do any sudden movement with his hands or try to really move his head and shoulders,” Gruden said, via the Washington Post. “But that to me was a little insane.”
Gruden said it’s hard for a quarterback to yell loud enough to be heard over the crowd while being perfectly still.
“In a loud stadium, in order to enunciate your words, sometimes you have to move your chest to yell. Am I right? ‘HUT!’ ” Gruden said. “Sometimes you yell, and that’s what he was doing.”
If the officials are going to call false starts that strictly in the regular season, Griffin will need to find a way to yell without moving.