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Robert Griffin III Full Transcript: 10/23

On Wednesday, Oct. 23, 2013, Redskins QB Robert Griffin III addressed the media after afternoon practice at Redskins Park in Ashburn, VA.

. On if growing up a Broncos fan gives this game extra significance:
"Yeah, I mean I was a Broncos fan growing up, so it'll be exciting to get a chance to play there. But I know the fans, they're going to want their team to win, so they're not going to be cheering for us or care that I was a fan growing up anyway, so I understand that. You try to cherish every moment, so I'll walk around the stadium and take it in when we get there."
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On how having running back Roy Helu, Jr. as an extra weapon helps Alfred Morris and the offense:
"[He's] just a back that we can rely on to spell [running back] Alfred [Morris] at times. We trust him. He's made a lot of great runs. Obviously, he had three touchdowns in the game. So just to allow Al a chance to get out of the game and maybe not get as many carries as he would have had last year, keep his body fresh, that helps when you have a capable back like Helu."
 
On if Morris is upset by losing some of his carries to Helu, Jr.:
"No, I think people know Alfred - he doesn't worry about that kind of stuff. When he gets the rock, he's going to do what he can to help us win football games and that's all that matters."
 
On he made a concerted effort to run more often or if it has been dictated by game situations:
"I think it's presented itself in the past two games and it's worked to our benefit as far as taking an aggressive mindset into the game. We're not forcing the run. We still had to throw the ball. We were still good on third downs this past game, so that was big as well. But just being more aggressive when it comes to having the opportunity to run and taking it, I think I brought that mindset in and it's also presented itself in the running game with the zone read with the defense making me take the ball. It's not just, 'Hey, I'm going to run,' and then start running. It's just played out that way."
 
On if there was a specific moment when he decided to run more:
"No, that didn't happen. I think everyone wants to have that story and say, 'It clicked mentally for him and his knee was fine at this moment.' I don't think that's what it was. I just think it's presented itself the past two games."
 
On how much of a factor confidence in his knee is when he rushes:
"I don't think it was a factor. That's what he's asking about – the confidence from the get-go. I had the confidence. It's just presented itself these past two weeks and I took full advantage of it."
 
On Denver Broncos quarterback Peyton Manning: *
"He's a great quarterback. He's always been great. He's always done a good job leading his team. Whenever you play against him, he's the type of quarterback that you can never kind of relax and look at a lead and say, 'Hey, we've got the game in the bag.'  We've got to keep pushing forward. You can't take your foot off the gas pedal. I'll leave the sappy stuff for after the game or when I send him a text message here and there. But right now, he knows he's got to focus on his team and I've got to focus on mine."

On if he has learned from watching Manning:
"Yeah, you have to. You have to learn from the great quarterbacks in this league that have paved the way for all of us. He's one of those guys even though our styles are varying. He still paved the way for quarterbacks like myself to have the chance to play in the NFL, so you learn from those guys and I have learned. I won't tell you what I've learned, but I have learned."
 
On if having a big play early helps him get his mojo or get into the flow of the game:
"Yeah, I think anytime you get a chance to make a big play early in the game, it can help get you in that flow. It helps your mojo start rolling for you. It could be a pass, it could be a run, either one. But trust me, I'd rather get Alfred rolling in the running game than take it upon myself to do it, but I know I have to be able to run and take advantage of the run for us to win games."
 
On how this week is different after a win:
"I think there is a better vibe, as you guys can see. There's a better vibe in this room, too. Just talking to you guys, you guys seem a little bit happier. I'm a little bit happier. We can smile. We won a football game and you try and carry that momentum into the next week and I think we're carrying it onto the field in practice. We know we can get better in certain areas on offense. We still put up a lot of yards, put up a lot of points, so that's a good thing. You can keep getting better from things like that. So I think the vibe, the win, all that stuff working together has only been beneficial for us."
 
On if he built a rapport with tight end Jordan Reed during the offseason:
"Yeah, he spent the whole entire offseason with me. We built a rapport and he's a talented guy. He's come in, he's learned the system really fast. The one thing – he's just willing to try, willing to go out there and give it his all and that's all you ask from guys. Obviously, he's got playmaking ability and him being with me the whole offseason only helps our chemistry out there on the field."
 
On if the sporadic use of the turbo offense is more effective than using it all the time or not at all:
"I think it does. I mean, there are benefits to both. When you have the coaches like ours that work real hard to put the game plan together, there are certain plays that they're going to want to huddle up and do and you have to go out there and execute them. When we get a chance to get into the no-huddle and take advantage of the defense being tired of the long drive, we can do that, too. I think that's a big benefit and eventually we'll see where it goes as far as what we do more."
 
On what he liked about Reed prior the draft:
"We knew we needed another tight end. We were definitely expecting [tight end] Fred [Davis] to come back and have an impact for us and there's still a chance for that. That's not said and done either. We needed another guy to spell him and be opposite of him and Jordan had that. Like I said after the game, he's got a wide catch radius, which basically means he can catch anything you throw at him – high, low, behind him. He's a friendly target for a quarterback and can help with mismatches out there on the field."
 
On if the NFL is shifting away from dropback passing:
"I think college has kind of drifted away from the dropback passer, so you see less and less of guys that can't move a little bit at the college ranks, which makes it harder to get those guys in the pros. If you look at some of the top college quarterbacks that are coming out now, all of them can move a little bit. You don't have to have world-class speed, but as long as you can move a little bit and threaten the defense with your legs, it helps. I don't think that quarterbacks like Peyton are going to be extinct ever, but I think there is a shift going to guys that can move a little bit. When you have got 6'6", 6'7" 290-pound defensive ends running 4.4's, it's kind of hard to just sit back there in the pocket."
 
On he has had more opportunities to run in recent weeks:
"I think it just depends on what the defense gives you. Every defensive coordinator is going to have a different philosophy. Some are going to say, 'We're going to take Robert out of the game and not let him run.' Some are going to say, 'We're going to take the dive and make Robert run so we can hit him and punish him.' It just depends on what they have that week and Philly wasn't doing it and the week after that the team wasn't doing it either. You just have to go with whatever that defense presents and all defenses play it a little bit different… Once you get down by as much as we were down those first couple of weeks, it's kind of hard to sit back there and be patient and try to run your entire offense. We had to get into a two-minute mode. At that point, running the quarterback wasn't an option, so that's another reason why."
 
On if he has noticed anything different this week from Head Coach/Executive Vice President Mike Shanahan prior to his return to Denver:
"I haven't seen anything of that nature. He's going to tell you, just like any other game, he wants to win. We want to win and at the end of it we'll see what he says, but so far he hasn't said anything about it."
 
On if the offense feels pressure to answer scores with scores:
"I mean, you want to have a challenge. Obviously we don't want them scoring every time we score. We want our defense to go out there and shut them down, but you've got to be ready for anything and that's what we said at the beginning of the year. You've got to be ready to win any kind of game. Whether it's a shootout or it's a tough, hard-fought defensive battle, you've got to be able to win either of those and so if they score, we score, they score, we score, hopefully we're the last ones to score."
 
On if the team can afford to run the turbo offense at high altitude:
"Yeah, I think the altitude – I've played up there before – it can be tough but you've got to be mentally tough to go up there and execute and be able to fight through being tired. Guys are getting extra conditioning, getting ready for it and I think we'll be fine, but I think we can afford to do it."
 
On what he learned about suppressing his emotions in his first game in Dallas and how that applies to Shanahan's return to Denver:
"You just know why you're there. It's a business trip. I can't talk for Coach. You guys talked to him already, but it's a business trip for us. You go up there, you play the game. You go out, you execute. You focus small and let the little things fall into place. That's all you can control. You can't control it being his first time back or me being my first time back to Dallas. You have to go out there and play the game and realize why you're there."
 
On the team's feeling going into Denver while being considered underdogs:
"I mean I'm used to being the underdog myself, coming from Baylor University – they're doing really good right now so I had to throw that out there – but I'm used to that and a lot of guys on this team are used to that as well. Confidence is a choice. You've got to choose to be confident and it's our job to go out there and play and it doesn't matter what anybody says. It matters what we do."
 
On where he feels he has improved in terms of his passing mechanics since Week 1:
"Just everything. Being more in-tune with the receivers. Like I said, I thought we were all on the same page. We just weren't all singing the right notes, so that's a play on words but I think that's what it was. We weren't all just thinking the same things at the same time and making it happen and now we're making it happen a little bit better. It's shown in our third down efficiency and the completion percentage the last game was higher, so that's where I feel like I'm better. You always get better week-to-week with your feet, with your eyes and then just completing passes."
 
On Baylor's offensive production this season and how proud he is of them:
"I mean, I'm really proud of them. A lot of them text me and ask me when I'm going to be able to come back and I just want to tell them I wish I could come back. Obviously I've got a job to do, but they're holding it down down there and doing a great job of it. I know myself, [Tennessee Titans wide receiver] Kendall Wright, [Dallas Cowboys wide receiver] Terrance Williams, [Cleveland Browns nose tackle] Phil Taylor, a lot of guys that are in the league that helped build that foundation down there – we talk all the time. We're real proud of what they're doing. We want them to keep pushing forward and take it one game at a time."
 
On the impact his winning the Heisman and bowl games had on Baylor:
"I can't describe that. You've got to talk to coach, the AD, all those guys about that kind of stuff. It's tough to try to put your own spin on what you think you did for a school. I think that's real conceited if you can really put that into words so I'm not even going to try to touch that."
 
On how he has seen Baylor evolve from when arrived:
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"When we got there the facilities weren't what they are today. The belief in the system and just in the program wasn't what it is today. From women's basketball to men's basketball to women's soccer, football, all the sports have just done a great job stepping up their level of play to make Baylor – a small private school – relevant at a national level. It's just fun to watch. It's heart-warming. In 20 years I can look back and maybe shed a couple of tears, but right now I've got to do my job and be a Washington Redskin."
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