Robert Griffin III is only blaming one person for the Washington Redskins slow start, himself. The quarterback was not thrilled after the team lost to the Green Bay Packers. The defense allowed for career days for four different Packers players, but Griffin is saying that he deserves to shoulder the blame for the loss and the 0-2 start for 2013.
Once again, Griffin failed to move the offense until the game was out of reach for the Redskins. It was not until the third quarter that Washington began to gain speed on the 31-point cushion Green Bay had built up. But the comeback did not happen soon enough, resulting in another loss.
"I'm not afraid to sit here and say, 'Put that on my shoulders,' " Griffin said, via the Washington Post. "I'll take that. We didn't start fast because of me. If I've got to do a little bit more to clean up that sloppiness, then I'll do it."
This is the second game the Redskins fell behind big time. Some may argue the quarterback has yet to look himself since tearing his ACL last postseason. He is not running as frequently while also looking tentative in the pocket. NFL analyst Merril Hoge is quick to point out the quarterback is not as authoritative as he was last season and has made more poor throws than usual.
Griffin finished Sunday going 26-of-40 in passing for 320 yards, three touchdowns and one interception. He rushed four times for one yard. Griffin targeted three different receivers on the touchdowns, helping get the offense moving. However, the hole built by the defense was too much to dig out of.
Wide receiver Pierre Garcon is noting that this is more of a team struggle, not just a Griffin issue. He is placing the blame on everyone, saying people need to step up and start contributing.
"We definitely can get out of it," Garcon said. "It's not unfamiliar territory that we're in. We have players in here that are going to keep competing. We definitely have a lot of good players in here that will compete. . . . If any time we needed a guy to step up and make plays, that'd be now."
Nose tackle Barry Cofield echoed those words saying each player needed to look at their own efforts first if the team is going to improve. It is unclear where the Redskins season will go from here. Falling into an 0-2 hole might be difficult to overcome. Griffin will certainly improve, it is just a matter of when.
