Robert Griffin IIIrevealed Wednesday that he sometimes slows up on runs near the sideline in an attempt to draw flags for late hits.
It's a surprising admission from the Washington Redskins quarterback, but RGIII has proven to be honest during his short NFL career. His comments come just three days after Dallas Cowboys safety Barry Church was flagged twice for personal fouls on the QB, though RGIII said he didn't employ the tactic on either play.
"With Barry, it was more I was out of bounds," Griffin said, per ESPN.com's John Keim. "I didn't slow down at all. ... He hit me and it does suck, but some guys are going to take those penalties. It's hard to walk that line, and you've always got to try to protect yourself. ... The sideline is your friend and you can get out of bounds, but a lot of defensive players, they just really don't care. Sometimes they're going to still get that hit on you."
Griffin, however, said he tried to entice Detroit Lions cornerback Rashean Mathis to hit him late in the Redskins' Week 3 loss.
"He's a smart player -- he didn't hit me," Griffin said. "I kind of stopped well inside in bounds to try to get him to hit me and he didn't. He said, 'I'm not taking that penalty, Griff.' I said, 'I got you, man.' "
But the maneuver is far from foolproof. Griffin says defenders won't always slow down, cognizant the QB could stutter step before trying to break a big run.
"There will be situations, and that's why guys don't want to pull up," Griffin said. "It's happened in the past with Mike Vick or someone like that who has run to the sidelines, stopped and then gotten 20 more yards because the guy runs out of bounds trying not to hit the quarterback."
