Jay Gruden issued a mea culpa on Wednesday after publicly dissecting his quarterback following the Washington Redskins' embarrassing Week 11 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Although Gruden backtracked on his excoriation of Robert Griffin III, the head coach made it clear to NFL Media's Albert Breer late Wednesday that the on-field results must improve substantially.
Breer: Gruden's assessment of RGIII
"Since the preseason, in the games that (Griffin) has played, our production from an offensive standpoint has been awful," Gruden told Breer. "I think five touchdowns in all the drives he's played, for whatever reason, and that's not good. We're still trying to figure that out."
Gruden concedes that RGIII is "very raw" because he saw so few coverages as a rookie in a gimmick offense, missed the entire offseason in 2013 and was sidelined for six weeks this season.
It's a "production-based business," conceded Gruden, though. The Redskins have struggled to score touchdowns and win games with Griffin, which has led to a groundswell of support for backup Colt McCoy.
"There's always pressure on the quarterback to perform," Gruden said." And if you don't perform, like any other position, somebody's behind you pushing you."
Breer's article also delves into Gruden's acknowledgement that Griffin has been "coddled for so long" and the organization's growing fatigue over the quarterback's off-the-field machinations.
With a 2016 option in the neighborhood of $16 million looming next offseason, Griffin's next month will be crucial for his Redskins future.
As Gregg Rosenthal pointed out in his Week 12 QB Index, Griffin essentially made no "NFL throws" beyond check downs and bubble screens last week. My own Game Rewind notes were just as harsh, citing the lack of passing-game structure with RGIII behind center.
Griffin has lost his confidence, devolved in his footwork, isn't sure how to decipher defenses and has authored too many negative plays. As a result, Gruden is in limbo, trying to build a game plan around a broken quarterback.
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