Robert Griffin III was happy with his performance in last week’s preseason opener against the Browns when he led the Redskins offense to a field goal in two possessions before leaving the game.
Those results could have been more impressive if Pierre Garçon had held onto a deep ball from Griffin, but the way things actually played out seemed to sit well with coach Jay Gruden and General Manager Scot McCloughan. McCloughan said he “liked [Griffin’s play] a lot” and that he saw confidence and a “good football player” on the field against Cleveland.
Griffin certainly isn’t lacking for confidence. He told WJLA’s Alex Parker over the weekend that he feels like he is “the best quarterback in the league” while discussing his mindset heading into this season and that feeling any other way would mean he’s not doing all he can to be the best. Gruden was less effusive in his praise for the quarterback, but it was still a good review.
“I just think his comfort in the pocket looked a little bit better,” Gruden said, via the Associated Press. “We still have a long way to go to grade him, but we’re happy with his progress. We’ve just got to continue to work with him and be positive and go from there.”
Being positive with and about Griffin is a big difference from where things were in Washington at this time last year. Gruden didn’t shy away from airing his issues with Griffin publicly last year, but there’s been more support for the quarterback heading into this season. Now he just needs to turn that support into production on the field to really turn things around after a rough first year with Gruden.