With Robert Griffin III returning to the field for the first time in seven weeks, Redskins coaches believe that his presence could help create opportunities that have been missing for other players during his time off.
Washington’s run game has languished for much of the season, and third downs have been another area of weakness. Coaches and players hope Griffin’s return helps in both of these regards.
“He obviously opens things in the running game where he’s an additional threat and the defense has to account for,” offensive coordinator Sean McVay said, “and some of the off-scheduled plays, so it opens things up, definitely.”
The belief is that with Griffin on the field, Sunday’s opponent, the Minnesota Vikings, will not be able to commit as many defenders to key on Alfred Morris. Morris has yet to have a 100-yard game this season and had only averaged four yards a carry or better just one game without Griffin this season. And as mentioned by McVay, because of his mobility, Griffin has the ability to better elude the rush, improvise and extend plays. That in theory should give Washington more chances both to convert on third downs and to extend drives.
The offense generated big plays without Griffin as Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy both went to speedy wide receiver DeSean Jackson downfield. But the team missed opportunities for greater success. McCoy last week completed passes of 45 and 49 yards to Jackson, but arm strength was an issue. Had he been able to get the ball out in front of Jackson, he could have led him into touchdown receptions. Instead, Jackson had to slow up both times to make the catches and was tackled almost immediately.
Griffin, meanwhile, has the strongest arm on the team and at times has overthrown Jackson, so, if he and the team’s top deep threat can quickly regain their timing, another boost is potentially added to the offense.
Robert Griffin III’s return could help cure ills in the run game and on third downs. (Jonathan Newton/The Washington Post)
“It’s nice having that element where Robert can really stretch the field vertically with his arm and having those guys that we have at receiver down the field,” McVay said.
Timing and anticipation represent two areas where Griffin struggled the most during the preseason and season opener. Both could be issues again Sunday. But he has worked in the past week to sharpen that timing with receivers, and in the game, he must trust that they will get into the designated areas on time and deliver, rather than holding onto the ball too long because he wants to see them completely open (a problem that hampered him previously).
Griffin said he intends to lean on his teammates as he knocks off the rust, and tight end Jordan Reed said that if Griffin and the receivers carry out their dropbacks and route assignments the way they are designed, the offense should click despite Griffin’s time away.
“A lot of our pass plays are timing routes and go off of [quarterback’s] footwork and how many steps we take in our route, so if he takes the amount of right steps and we take the right steps, any quarterback can step in. They just have to have the footwork.”
Comfort also is important, and McVay and coach Jay Gruden have composed a game plan designed to help Griffin quickly settle into a rhythm. They’ll likely try to establish the run game early to ease the pressure, and like any quarterback, they will call plays suited to Griffin’s strengths.
“Any time you’re able to run the football effectively, it eliminates some of the things that you’re seeing on the defense, so that’s one of the key things we’re going to emphasize no matter who’s at quarterback,” McVay said. He added that although Griffin is coming off of injury, he now has no physical limitations, so the full playbook (including designed runs) are available to the Redskins.
“Like Coach Gruden has alluded to the whole time, if he’s going to play, you don’t want any limitations,” McVay said. “You want to give our team and him the best chance to have success and unless he 100 percent, you’re not going to put any restrictions on him.”
We will be live-blogging Redskins vs. Vikings, and will post a separate discussion thread, beginning Sunday at 11 a.m.
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