RICHMOND, Va. -- At 2:05 p.m., with a few scattered chants of "R-G-3!" from the crowd, Robert Griffin III took a snap from center Will Montgomery at the 50-yard line and handed the ball to running back Alfred Morris.
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Griffin's first 11-on-11 play of 2013 training camp didn't quite match the hype. He ran 16 plays with the first-string offense against a scout team mimicking the Pittsburgh Steelers' defense in preparation for the Washington Redskins' next preseason game.
Wearing his familiar black brace on his right knee, Griffin completed 7 of 10 passes with an interception. He moved well in the pocket, although he didn't face much of a pass rush.
"It's like he never left," right tackle Tyler Polumbus said. "We hardly even noticed that he just got back in there. He was the same guy he was last year, and the same guy he's been in walkthroughs and 7-on-7 and all that."
Griffin had been limited to 7-on-7 drills during camp as he works his way back from reconstructive knee surgery, part of coach Mike Shanahan's cautious approach that has tested Griffin's patience. The difference between 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 is the presence of pass-rushing linemen who can test the quarterback's ability to change directions in a hurry.
Yet third-string quarterback Rex Grossman said it would be a stretch to categorize Griffin's snaps Wednesday as true 11-on-11 work. Second-stringer Kirk Cousins, for instance, took back the reins when the starters faced the starters in the 2-minute drill.
"He looks great," Grossman said of Griffin. "Right at seven months is where I felt like I was healthy when I tore my ACL. He's pretty much ready to go. I would say he's 90 percent capable of doing everything."
Even so, Grossman understands Shanahan's approach.
"If somebody were to fall in a competitive drill on his knee, everybody would have second-guessed it," Grossman said. "I think everybody's playing it smart, and Week 1, nobody remembers anything that happened before that. They remember the playoff game and Week 1, and whatever happens in between, nobody cares."
Except that they do. Wednesday's announced crowd of 10,111 was one of the biggest of camp, and it drew a disproportional amount of national media. Adding to the drama has been the back-and-forth between Shanahan and Griffin, who has said he doesn't like the coach's practice plan but is following along if it means playing in the Sept. 9 season opener.
Griffin did not address reporters Wednesday. Shanahan called Griffin's work the "next step" toward Week 1.
Copyright 2013 by The Associated Press
