On Wednesday, Oct. 9, 2013, Redskins QB Robert Griffin III addressed the media after afternoon practice at Redskins Park in Ashburn, VA.
. On importance of the running game:
"It's just what we do and it's essential to us. We have got a couple guys back there who can really tote the rock for us and you have to give them the opportunity to do that, whether it's Alfred Morris], [Roy] Helu, or [Evan] Royster or anybody who has to step back there to take some carries, we want to get that game rolling. I think it helps our offensive line out too – they don’t like to just sit back there and pass block all the time. They like to their feet dirty and their hands dirty in there in the running game.”
 
**On his reaction to the game between the Broncos and Cowboys last Sunday:**
“I did watch the game and it was a great game by both teams. Each week is a new week so you can’t really count on what they did the previous week. I know they were on fire and we don’t want them to be like that versus our defense of course. So whatever game it ends up being, that’s what you have to go win – high-scoring, low-scoring, in between, we’ll be ready for anything and we just have got to go take it.”
 
**On how the Cowboys’ new defense changes his preparation for the game:**
“Like I said, you have got to take each game, each year as a new experience. They have got the same guys there but they have a totally different scheme and they’ve bought into that scheme, so we have to attack that. We can’t just attack those individual guys, so I think it is totally different but at the end of the day we want to have a similar result and that’s a win.”
 
**On how he and the team feel coming off the bye week:**
“I feel good, great actually, rejuvenated – everybody’s got a lot more energy coming off the bye week, just ready to do what we know we have to do. And then as a team, I think we’re all just moving on from those first four weeks. We got the win going into the bye, which is real beneficial to us, but aside from that we didn’t really play like we know we can play. So we just have got to get back to doing us and that’s kind of the approach I took as well over the bye, just relax my mind and get back to being myself.”
 
**On if the time off helped his knee:**
“The more time you have after it, the better it’ll be.”
 
**On if he feels playing in the first four games was beneficial to him:**
“I do. The only way to come back from an injury like that is to play and that’s what we had to do. I feel good about what we were able to do from a groundwork standpoint, building up each game, but now it’s time for us to make that breakthrough, and we have to do it.”
 
**On if he saw a big difference from Week 1 to Week 4 or just subtle changes along the way:**
“I was just more comfortable with everything going on. I think as a team we played better each week in general and specifically with the offense I feel like we played better each week. And that’s what we have to do, we have got to go out and execute. It takes all 11 of us and every guy has got to look in the mirror and say, ‘What can I do better?’ That’s the message Coach gave us, and that’s kind of the message that we have to take on. You have got to look at yourself in the mirror and say, ‘What can I do better to help this team win?’ And for me, in general, that’s just going out and being the playmaker that they need me to be.”
 
**On the importance of making plays with his feet like he was able to do in Oakland:**
“I think it’s important for everybody to see that. They get more comfortable to call various plays because they feel like I can go out there and do it. So I just want to give everybody that confidence. For me, I always know I can make those plays if the opportunity arises and they did in that Oakland game, so hopefully that’ll put everybody at ease and we can go move forward with the year.”
 
**On if he’s identified how to ease the pressure or take advantage when teams blitz:**
“When they blitz, you’ve got to be able to take advantage of the holes they leave behind it. That’s what teams do – when they blitz they’re taking a gamble. Sometimes they get you and you tip your hat to them, and then after that, sometimes you’ll get them. And when that opportunity arises, you have to make the most of it and that’s what we’ve got to do... I’m not going to give away any secrets. Also, in the first couple of games we got behind so teams could blitz us and not really have to worry about the consequences because they were playing with a pretty comfortable lead – we have got to make sure that doesn’t happen either.”
 
**On the offensive line’s pass protection thus far:**
“With my offensive line, I always tip my hat to those guys. Whenever we throw the ball over 40 times I think the first three weeks of the season when that’s not anywhere near our plan or our goal as a tea – you want to be able to run the ball and we put ourselves in those situations – so I tip my hat to them for not allowing a lot of sacks, giving me an opportunity to look down the field. At times things are going to happen on the field and they’ll give up sacks and no one’s out there pointing the finger. I know I’m definitely not, so I tip my hat to those guys. For us as an offense, we have to help get them in rhythm and get our whole offense in rhythm by running the ball and throwing the ball.”
 
**On if the discussion about the team name is a distraction in the locker room:**
“When it comes to the name change, we can’t allow it to be a distraction. You don’t want to minimize anything that’s going on outside of these walls, but inside these walls we have to focus on football and that’s what our goal has to be. We have to focus on the Cowboys. We have to go out and win football games. We can’t worry about what’s going on outside of that at this time and point.”
 
**On the team’s response after the bye:**
“As far as how everyone has responded, I thought we had a great practice, offense and defense – guys flying around. We had the right energy. I think guys had the right attitude and we just have to go ball.”
 
**On if he went back and looked at games or had a getaway from football during the bye week:**
“You do a little bit of both. I think it’s good to get away from it and relax your mind and it’s also good before you get into that to go back and look at all the games. I did that before, came back, did it again, and then you move forward with the year.”
 
**On if he expected the scrutiny for the first four games knowing he would get better as the season went on:**
“Mentally you have to prepare for that kind of scrutiny. I had to deal with that when I came back from the injury in college. There’s going to be naysayers, there’s going to be people that doubt you and say you shouldn’t have come back so soon or this and that. You just can’t worry about those kinds of things. We did not expect the year to start off the way it did as far as going 1-3, but as far as some of the scrutiny that comes with it, you kind of have to be prepared for that kind of stuff – whenever people build you up so high, they’re just waiting to cut you down.”
 
**On if he knew there would be struggles or if he expected to hit the ground running:**
“A little bit of both. You come out and the way we played – the way I played that first game – that was not up to my standards or up to our standards as a team in general. That was disappointing. When it comes to timing here, timing there, sometimes you might be a little bit off coming back from an injury like I had, and you have to work through those growing pains, but we didn’t think it was going to be what it ended up being those first couple of games, so that’s no excuse at all. You just have got to move on from that and try to be better – or be better.”
 
**On how to prevent intentional grounding penalties:**
“You just try to get the ball out of your hand to not take the sack, and I think the one against the Raiders I thought I was outside the [tackle box and I wasn't. It's just little things like that that you've got to try to avoid, those little penalties, because that does hurt your team and that's stuff that I try to pay attention to. That also goes back to, as a quarterback, you don't want to take that sack so you're trying to find every possible way to get it out and get it past the line and be outside the tackle box, so it's not that difficult, but it's certainly something that I work on. It's a thing that happens in the game so I can't go in practice and say, 'Hey Coach, I'm going to practice not intentional grounding on this one,' so it just happens."
 
On the play of wide receiver Leonard Hankerson:
"I think he's settled into his spot there, playing 'Z' for us and he's done a great job running after the catch, being a big target, friendly target for me to throw the ball to. I'm real happy with what he's done, and he's out there playing with a lot of confidence too so that also helps us."
 
On if he looks at this week as the perfect time to play the Cowboys:
"I wouldn't say that. For us, coming off the bye, it didn't matter who we were going to be playing. Obviously we know the magnitude of this game being Redskins-Cowboys. They're going to be pumped up, they'll be ready to go. It'll be on Sunday night. Everybody is going to be watching. Everyone is going to put their best foot forward. For us, it's not really about the other team anymore, it's about us, and that's what we've got to focus on. We can't focus on what are they going to do, what are they going to do here, what are they going to do there; you know it, you study it, and then you go out and play and just execute what you have to do. We have to focus on us as opposed to focusing on them."
 
On what the struggles of the rest of the NFC East mean for the Redskins:
"We just have got to win the division, period. I know some people will say you have got to keep pace with your division and, I mean, I understand that, it's just a play on words, I understand that, but you've just got to go out and try to win football games. That's the bottom line. We have to win this week. We have got to win the next week. If you continue to carry that mindset into each week, usually, the outcome will be what you want it to be. For us, we just know we have to make sure we win our division and that's thinking down the road. Right now we have to focus one game at a time and it involves the Cowboys so that's what we've got to do."
 
On sets wide receiver Pierre Garçon apart:
"I think it's his attitude. I don't know if you guys see it very often, he's kind of laid back with you guys, but the way he plays out there on the field, he's an angry guy. I said it last year, he plays with a hunger inside of him, and just his ability to run after the catch is really what sets him apart – to run through tackles, never gives up. The way he is on game day is how he is every time he catches the ball. He's trying to go score a touchdown, and that's what you want from your receivers. You want them to fight for the ball, you want them to fight for extra yards and you want them to make big plays and that's all things that he does."
 
On if he made a conscious effort to focus on football during the bye week:
"Yeah, I mean, during the season you never do anything when it comes to endorsers or any stuff like that. You try to make sure you always have your focus on football. I think this bye week it was more important for me to just get away from everything and kind of let everything die down and let everybody get back to talking about football and not the knee brace, not anything else going on along those lines. That was the biggest thing for me at that time. That's the reason I didn't sit down and talk with you guys or do anything else. I just wanted to get away, go spend some time with my wife, and just relax and it worked."
 
On if any of the first four games were up to his standards:
"I mean, whenever you set a precedent of how you are going to play week in, week out like we did last year, there's going to be high expectations because that's what you want. I don't think we've disappointed anybody more than ourselves the first four weeks of the season, just because we know how much work we put into it and how much pride our guys have in going out and being successful. I don't think any of those games were up to our standards, but we have to make sure we go out and not just rely on last year, but we have to build a story for this year, and it starts with us being 1-3 right now and trying to get to 2-3 against the Cowboys."
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