Quarterback Robert Griffin III
On his focus during the bye week:
"I will focus on spending time with my wife, you know, get some time away from the game. Get back ready to go, get on a roll when we get back. Aside from that, our focus is always winning. Every day we want to get better some way or another, but I am not going to sit up here and tell you what I am going to do."
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On his thoughts after reviewing film of Sunday's game:
"Yeah, I think we did a lot of good things. Just like Coach said, we did move the ball well, we put points on the board. We just didn't put enough on the board to win and that's what it comes down to at the end of the day. And then for me personally, like I've said, I am not going to self-critique myself. I've learned from that. I am not going to do that in front of you guys."
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On the line between holding the ball to make a play and getting the ball out of his hands:
"Like I said after the game, you've just got to play the game the way you know how to play the game. You know I feel like I add an element to the game by being able to extend plays and make plays. There's a guy right now that is playing at a really high level who extends plays a lot, I think you guys know who I am talking about. You've just got to find that good balance of making those plays and not taking too many sacks."
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On if sacks are inevitable:
"I think sacks are a part of the game. You don't want to take many of them and I will always work on that but I am not going to limit myself out there on the field because I think that is a detriment to our offense if I take that part of my game out."
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On if he goes back and evaluates the times he takes off and runs:
"Yeah, you always go back and look at the game and figure out what you could have done better and ways to not take those sacks and improve decision making every time you step out on the field. But when it comes to the criticism, you try to just not worry about that. We really don't hear much about the criticism until we have these type of settings anyway. But for me, you take what you can learn from what you hear and what you don't need, you don't worry about."
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On listening to coaches about extending plays:
"You always listen to the coaches. Yeah, that is true, but it is not something you hold against your coaches. And Jay [Gruden] is a guy that's played the position and he has helped me tremendously. And I felt like the time I did spend out helped me in the game against Minnesota, picking up a lot of the blitzes that the offensive line and the running backs did a good job of picking up for me and just getting us in the right plays. So, you always learn from that aspect of it, but you still have to use your speed."
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On how he feels physically following the bus accident and his first game back:
"Yeah, it's tough when you have an accident like that. A lot of guys suffered from whiplash and bumps and bruises here and there, but when you go straight from that crash to 70 other crashes on a football field, it's hard to tell what's what. It sounds funny, but it's the truth. Almost every play is like a car crash. So, for us, I think all of us are a little sore, but it's typical 'day after a game' soreness, at least I hope it is."
On if his soreness is just typical postgame soreness:
"Yeah, it's first game back from seven weeks off pain. There are 300-pound guys out there trying to destroy you, so you know, you get bumps and bruises, you feel a little bit sore, but this week off will help me in general. It will help a lot of our guys try to tip that meter of 100 percent up a little bit higher so when we get back we can go on that stretch."
On the benefits of playing prior to the bye week:
"I think it was time. We can't base our decisions off of outside opinions. Coach said I was ready. I felt I was ready, the doctors thought I was ready, the trainers thought I was ready the Cowboy game. But, we did the right thing. We waited a week. For us to push that off to after the bye just because of outside opinion I think is a disservice to this team because we always want to have the best opportunity to win each week. It was time to get back out there."
On if playing before the bye helped knock off some rust:
"Yeah, you get to get out there and go fight with your guys. It's always a lot of fun. We had some fun plays, some exciting moments. We just want to string those together more consistently, and I think that's where I was able to knock off some of the rust and get back out there, get hit, throw the ball, get us in the right checks and really enjoy the talent that we have on this roster regardless of what anybody says."
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On comparing this team's current 3-6 record to the 2012 and 2013 seasons:
"I think both experiences were great in development for us. Obviously you don't ever want to be 3-6, but we have been the past couple years. Last year, it's over. I think a lot of guys that are in this locker room that were here in 2012 looked to that season as our blueprint for what we want to be able to do. It starts with one game. It starts with one guy making a play. Santana [Moss] made a play in 2012 against the Eagles down the middle of the field when I threw into double coverage. Not a great throw, but he makes a great play. And our defense was very opportunistic. So I think everybody's looking to that for us to get out there and be that guy makes that play. It doesn't always have to be the guys that everybody thinks is going to make the play. It could be the guy that no one thinks is going to make a play and he does and it sparks the team. So, everybody is going to be focused. We'll go relax, get our minds away, let our bodies heal and come back ready to go."
On no one making 'that play' down the stretch last season:
"I didn't make that play, period, last year. Obviously, we had other things going on last year. I think the guy at the helm, Jay, has done a great job keeping this locker room together, really just saying it like it is and telling us that we can't let anybody from the outside break us apart. I think the guys are really responding to that."
On if he looks as this as an opportunity to lay claim to being a franchise player:
"No, no, I don't. I understand that everybody has a criticism, but you have to prove yourself every day, day in and day out, in this league, in life in general. I do take that mindset toward it, but when it comes to being the franchise guy, that is what it is. I believe that I am. I believe that this organization knows that I am, and I know those guys in the locker room believe that I am. There's no doubt there, so I don't ever step onto the field trying to make a claim saying 'I'm the guy.' No, it's not like that. This is my team and I'm going to lead it."
On proving himself after Head Coach Jay Gruden's comments that the 'jury is still out' on the quarterback position:
"Yeah, I've only played two games and a quarter. I think what he's saying is, 'Coming into this year, everybody has got a clean slate. Everybody has got to prove why they should be here, why they should be out there and have the opportunity to make plays.' And I haven't been out there. Availability is the key, so my job is to continue to go out there, get better each week, help this team win football games and the rest will take care of itself. So, I don't take that in any kind of way negatively."
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On his working relationship with Gruden:
"Yeah, man, it's been great. I think I've learned a lot that will help me throughout the rest of my career, just from him and in general, it's increased the hunger for the game. Being out, it's increased everything. I've always said it, it's really hard to think that you want something more when you're in it, but when it's taken away from you, you always want it a little more. After each of my injuries, I've loved football that much more. It's not to say that I didn't love it before, but I think everybody in that locker room feels the same way. We want to win games. We want to be an organization that consistently wins, and we are going to figure that out. I know not many people might not believe that. Many people in this room might not believe that. They might not believe we might not have the leadership on this team to be successful. But we do, and that's all that matters – what we believe and what we go out and do. And we have to prove it; we know that."
On the importance of the deep ball:
"Yeah, I mean, you want to be able to hit guys in stride and let them work down the field – deep down the field. I think as a receiver, every kid growing up, you know, when they want to go catch a pass they aren't saying, 'Hey, let me go run a slant. Let me run a hitch.' They are saying, 'Let me run a go ball.' I think that is one of the better routes that we have and I think teams have consistently tried to take that away from us but when it has – when the opportunity has arisen and it's been there, we have seized it. I think that is what we want to continue to do. I like to think I have a pretty good arm. And I know DeSean [Jackson] has got pretty good legs, Pierre [Garçon] has got pretty good legs, 'Dre [Andre Roberts] has got pretty good legs, good speed, and we are going to hit those. But we've got to take what the defense give us too and not get too greedy at times, but it's something that we are definitely looking for."
On if there was a dilemma sliding on third-and-20:
"No, there wasn't really a dilemma. I wasn't thinking about what anybody else was going to say. I just knew I was going to get molly-wopped if I tried to go for that first down. In my mind, I didn't think there was a chance I was going to be able to get that one. Even if I did get hit forward, I think my helmet and my head probably would have came off on that one. So, yeah, I mean I am not really thinking about that stuff when I am out there on the field. You try to score, you try to do everything you can for your team to help them win. And then in that situation, I just knew sliding was the best opportunity to get us to a fourth-and-six and still be available to make that play."
