ASHBURN, Va. -- The statement led to a statement, which led to another round of headlines. It’s life for, and with, Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III.
Griffin says or does something, and it draws attention, fair or not. The latest furor stemmed from comments Griffin made to WJLA-TV in which he said that he viewed himself as the NFL’s best quarterback but that he still had to show it on the field.
"It's unfortunate that my name keeps getting used for headlines for people to click on stories," Griffin said.
The attention from the headlines drained coaches last season and left them to deal with the fallout. Sometimes it’s just clumsy wording that gets blown up; other times it’s about something else. Regardless, coach Jay Gruden said he just wanted to talk about 53 players and not just one.
Here’s a look at some of the headlines connected to Griffin since he entered the NFL in 2012:
THE DECISION
Date: Dec. 15, 2012
What he said/did: The night before a game at Cleveland that Griffin would miss because of an injury, he tweeted "The decision was not my own... But I will be there for my team!!! In every way I possibly can".
What the reaction was: Griffin had been flawless as a rookie: charming, productive and leading a winning team. And, as usually happens with Griffin, half of his comment was just fine. But the first half is what got him noticed. There weren’t blaring headlines after this one, but it did serve notice and did not sit well with the coaches.
THE TEXT
Date: March 26, 2013
What he said/did: Texted ESPN’s Trey Wingo to say, he knew "where my responsibility is within the dilemma that led to me having surgery to repair my knee and all parties involved know their responsibilities as well." It was in response to his coach at the time, Mike Shanahan, saying the option kept Griffin safe and that he needed to learn how to slide.
What the reaction was: It started to become clear that there were issues between Shanahan and Griffin. Earlier in the offseason, in an article in ESPN The Magazine, Griffin had said those he could really trust were at his side when he awoke after knee surgery. Shanahan was not among this group.
ALL DRESSED UP WITH NO GAME TO PLAY
Date: Aug. 8, 2013
What he said/did: Warm up in full uniform before the 2013 preseason opener at Tennessee, then stay that way while watching from the sideline. He was not going to play in the game because of a knee injury.
What the reaction was: It was viewed as odd by more than a few in the organization because injured players don’t stand on the sideline in full uniform. Griffin said he just wanted to be with his teammates. But it led to questions about why he would and whether he was just trying to stay in the spotlight, reminding everyone he was the starting quarterback.
NO FRICTION, NO DIAMONDS
Date: Aug. 12, 2013
What he said/did: Griffin, returning from his knee injury, said, "My reintegration to the team has been fixed without any aspect of how I’m doing personally with my knee, with my surgery, with my rehab. It’s predetermined, and that’s the one thing I don’t understand." He also said he doesn’t have to understand or even like it.
What the reaction was: Tales of growing tension between Griffin and Shanahan emerged. Griffin tried to clarify what he meant by later tweeting, "There is no friction. There is an understanding between coach and player. That is all. Don’t have to like everything". The Redskins started having Shanahan speak to the media before Griffin; that way, Griffin’s comments would not be contradicted by his coach -- rather, he would know what his coach had said, allowing him to deliver a similar message.
CLEARED FOR WHAT?
Date: Aug. 29, 2013
What he said/did: On the night of the fourth preseason game in 2013, at Tampa Bay, Griffin tweeted that he had been cleared to return by Dr. James Andrews.
What the reaction was: Shanahan told reporters after the game that Andrews had some other concerns (that he later denied having). And it was yet another case of the head coach and quarterback not being on the same page.
SPREADING THE BLAME
Date: Nov. 17, 2013
What he said/did: After a late-game interception in a loss to Philadelphia, Griffin said, "We had a certain concept with running and nobody got open so I was backing up, and in the situation where you get a sack there, it ends the game. I was trying to throw the ball to the back of the end zone. It didn’t get to where I wanted it to go."
What the reaction was: Not good. Receiver Santana Moss said on his radio show two days later that, no matter the position, "regardless of the outcome, good or bad, you have to at some point, stand up and say ‘me’ or ‘I.’ " Griffin admitted three days after the game that, yes, he had to use those pronouns more often.
THROWN UNDER THE BUS?
Date: Nov. 16, 2014
What he said/did: After a poor outing against Tampa Bay, Griffin said, "It takes 11 men. It doesn’t take one guy, and that’s proven. If you want to look at the good teams in this league and the great quarterbacks, the Peytons and the Aaron Rodgers, those guys don’t play well if their guys don’t play well. They don’t."
What the reaction was: A firestorm. Initially, the comment was not played up because it was deep within a long paragraph where Griffin took ownership of his performance. Some headlines accused him of throwing teammates under the bus. Perhaps some players felt that way, but certainly not all. And coach Jay Gruden said that he did not feel that way -- but that he did not like Griffin talking about other players even indirectly after a 20-point loss. Griffin had to explain what he meant in front of the team; not everyone thought it went smoothly. But some teammates, even those who did not like Griffin, also were upset that Gruden harshly dissected Griffin’s game the next day.
FOCUSED ON SAN FRANCISCO
Date: Nov. 19, 2014
What he said/did: "I’m focused on San Francisco" or some variation of that phrase, nine times in a news conference, three days after the comments after the Tampa game.
What the reaction was: Because it came just days after coach Jay Gruden publicly ripped him, telling him to focus on himself and not his teammates, the perception was that Griffin had been censored. He’d always been a good quote, but this started him down a path of trying to say less. The problem is, by sticking to a Bill Belichick-type mantra, it still became a story. Griffin did not stay this drab in future news conferences and later in the season returned more to being himself.
