Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III addressed the media on Wednesday for his weekly press conference at Redskins Park. The video and transcript, below:
On the Baltimore Ravens' defense:
"As a fan of the game when you watch the NFL, you can see the intensity they play with and certainly on film, you can see it as well. They bring it physically every game. They've always had great personnel and then, [safety] Ed Reed, he's the top of that defense. With Ray Lewis being out, he is the leader of that defense. He does a good job with everything. He covers good ground. He tackles well. He's got good ball skills. It's nothing to fear but you definitely have to be aware of where he's at."
On what wide receiver Pierre Garçon has contributed to the team:
"Just a different attitude out there. He's a guy, as we all like to say, he walks to the beat of his own drum and it's a different drum. It's not a normal drum. It's good to have him out there with the tenacity that he plays with. He's fearless and he's our guy, so that's why we like him out there."
On his awareness of Reed:
"Tana's [wide receiver Santana Moss] telling the truth and the coaches said it: He's the best safety to ever play, or one of the best to ever play. You respect that. I respect him as a player. I'm going to be aware of where he's at. Like I said, it's nothing to fear. But he covers a lot of ground. He does a lot of unconventional things. You've just got to be aware of where he's at just like he's got to be aware of where I am and [running back] Alfred [Morris] and everyone else."
On how proud he is of the offensive line which was doubted by the media before the season:
"I think they took that as a challenge to show that they have the ability as an offensive line to be great. A lot of them have played through injuries. Some of them came back from injuries. It's just good to see them do that. I'm proud of them. I'm glad they stepped up big this year when we needed them to, not only in the running game but also in pass protections. It's been great."
On how he takes such good care of the ball:
"I just don't force things. Trust the system that you're within so that you can go out and work through the system and then if something does happen to where you can use your God-given abilities then you can rather than going into it thinking, 'Alright, I'm just going to run every single play.' God's blessed me with a decision-making ability to know when to put things into those tight windows and when not to."
On if there's a sacrifice for being conservative on plays:
"No. I mean I try to make sure I'm conservative when I have to. But for the most part, I stay really aggressive and try to play fearless all the time without being dumb at the same time. So I know when I can try to make a play and when I can throw a ball up and Santana's going to 'Moss' two guys and come down with it. That's just fun playing the game."
On his first impressions of Offensive Coordinator Kyle Shanahan:
"He grilled me for a while just to get me to learn the offense. Now everything's good just because we know the system. He knows how I learn things and how to get me in the right situations, but at first it was a grind. I appreciate everything that he did and the coaches have done to help me get to this point and help our team get to this point as well."
On if he's learning Kyle's offense or if Kyle is learning his:
"I'm learning his offense. By no means is what we do what I did in college. I know there's a lot of similarities and everyone wants to go back to the Baylor film but it's certainly their offense with a little twist on it."
On how Kyle has earned his trust:
"I told him he's never told me something that wasn't true in the game. He said he'd bring up all these examples of Steve Young and guys that his dad, Coach Mike, would say, 'the guy's not going to be there,' and they throw a pick and they're looking at the sideline mad at the coach. He just told me it won't always be that way, but for the most part, they study hard enough to know where guys are going to be and how they're going to react in certain situations so that's why I trust him."
On Jon Gruden saying he has changed the professional game:
"I don't think it's me by myself necessarily. It's just when you have coaches that buy into things that you can do. They try to use my talents and the talents of the guys around me so that we can go out and exploit defenses and that was what we're supposed to do. God blessed me with the ability of speed and good decision-making so they allow me to go out there and trust me that even in crucial situations to throw the ball or run the ball or whatever it is. It's just when a coach buys in and the whole team buys in, you can have things like we're doing."
On what has changed on offense over the last few weeks:
"I think practice has been a lot better. I think everyone is learning. It's not a new system, but learning the system that we're running with all of the Pistol options and everything. All of the guys are just catching on to it a lot better and the coaches are getting better at coaching it. We're seeing what defenses are doing to us and we're able to exploit those holes when we can. Kyle [Shanahan] has just been, not aggressive, but a lot more confident with the play calls because the guys in practice are doing it the right way. Practice definitely translates to the game."
On if attention like he received at the Washington Wizards game becomes overwhelming:
"It's humbling. You never go somewhere expecting someone to chant your name. At least I never have, I don't know about you guys [laughter]. You walk into those events and that's those guys' time to shine. I was extremely proud of the way they played. You've got the defending NBA champs in your house and you beat them. That was fun to watch and, to me, it's humbling to have the fans, whether it's football fans, basketball fans chanting or cheering for you, it means you must be doing something for the city."
On how he reacts to people stating that he helped the Wizards win last night:
"I just say, 'Thank you.' What can you say? Those guys are the ones who played. I didn't play the game. Even Coach said, 'You can't go over there rubbing off your magic on those guys when we need it for us.' [laughter] It is what it is. It was fun to be there and I'm glad they won."
On why it is important for him to be known as not just a running quarterback:
"I want to be the best quarterback to play the game. Not the best running quarterback. Not the best African-American quarterback. That's just the approach I took towards it. It's not something I can fight, so you never really hear me push it that much. I just go out there and show it on the field. To me, I want to be known as a quarterback. If Coach Gruden wants to say I changed the game, then that's fine by me."
On if the rookie quarterback rushing record means anything to him:
"Any positive record that you break holds meaning to you, so it held some meaning. I noticed it. They put it on the board and the fans cheered. I was happier when Alfred [Morris] broke the 1,000-yard rushing mark and they cheered again. I was cheering for him too."
On if this year's rookie quarterback class is special or if the game is changing:
"I can't say that we're all so special. If you want to go the rhetoric side of it, there's more seven-on-seven, training techniques are getting better and coaches are getting better at the college game at knowing how to put points on the board. Or is it that coaches in the NFL are buying in to college quarterbacks that can move a little bit? Guys like myself, [Andrew] Luck and Russell [Wilson], you could say that Andrew is a more traditional guy, but he can move around a little bit too. All of us are doing a good job, [Ryan] Tannehill and those guys as well. So I think it is coaches buying in and helping their guys be successful. Everybody has a different recipe. We run the ball, the Seahawks run the ball and Colts throw the ball a lot, so it's just coaches trusting their guys."
On Heisman Trophy finalists Johnny Manziel, Manti Te'o and Collin Klein:
"I watched him [Manziel] beat Alabama. All of those guys have done a good job, Te'o, Klein and Johnny. I don't know who is going to win. I haven't asked any other Heisman voters what their vote was or who it was for. I don't plan on disclosing my vote. Any one of those guys that wins definitely deserves it. Johnny is an Aggie, I don't ever discriminate as far as school goes. A&M was our biggest rival at Baylor, but he has definitely played really well and done a good job helping his team win. I couldn't be any more proud of him."
On his jersey and cleats being placed in the Pro Football Hall of Fame for breaking the rookie quarterback rushing record:
"It's awesome. Everyone wants to be in the Hall of Fame, so we're in there. I've got a long career, preferably. This is only the first step. It's an honor to have my jersey and cleats over there all dirty in the Hall of Fame."
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