The change in coaches in Washington this offseason has led to a lot of discussion about the different things Jay Gruden wants to do on offense from what Mike Shanahan did with quarterback Robert Griffin III over the last two years.
There’s been talk about fewer planned runs by Griffin in hopes of building up his skills as a pocket passer so that the team can take advantage of a talented receiving group that includes DeSean Jackson, Jordan Reed and Pierre Garçon. That would be a noticeable difference from Griffin’s first two seasons, but the quarterback says that things aren’t completely different for the Redskins offense.
“I think having two years’ experience running an offense, a pro-level offense, West Coast type, this is very similar,” Griffin said, via the Washington Post. “So it’s not been as tough as you might think. But all the concepts translate over. They might be called something different. But the reads are similar. It’s just about the philosophy of the coach. Jay has a little bit different philosophy. We’ll find out what that is on Sundays.”
Outside of limiting Griffin as a runner, the Redskins aren’t expected to make big changes to the run game as things worked pretty well with Alfred Morris even when the offense struggled elsewhere last season. If Griffin can adapt to his new responsibilities as a passer, the chances of a rebound for the Redskins will look pretty good despite last year’s issues.