INDIANAPOLIS — Jay Gruden’s playbook for the 2014 Washington Redskins is under construction. The first-year head coach plans to cater his system to the players on the roster, including quarterback Robert Griffin III.
“You don’t want to put too much on your quarterback ever,” Gruden said Friday afternoon at the NFL Scouting Combine at Lucas Oil Stadium. “We’re going to do the best we can with our running game.”
Griffin, the 2012 NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year, had a poor second season while battling back from torn knee ligaments suffered in the 2012 postseason. He was “shut down” for the final three games of the 2013 season, but Gruden said he wouldn’t expect permanent negative effects to be evident.
“It could be for some guys if they’re not mentally tough. That’s the good thing about Robert — He’s mentally tough. You can sense it,” Gruden said. “There’s no question about the talent he has at the quarterback position.”
Gruden said the finger-pointing that happened at the end of last season, when Griffin was the target of mostly anonymous criticism, would also be a thing of the past.
“Last year was a humbling year for a lot of people, especially him,” Gruden said. “The one thing about him, he’s a very fiery competitor, you can see that.”
When the playbook is assembled, Griffin and the rest of the Redskins can claim their copy in April. Gruden didn’t tip his hand as to the type of scheme he’ll implement, but said many of the aspects of the offense that led to success for third-year running back Alfred Morris will be carried over.
The Redskins operated with a relatively small offensive line, and the running game was primarily a perimeter zone scheme. Morris rushed for 1,275 yards and seven touchdowns, following up a 1,613-yard, 13-touchdown rookie season.
Other than Griffin’s emotional and physical health, Morris’ success rates as a critical key to the 2014 Redskins.
Projecting where and how he’ll fit the offense does depend on the personnel in front of him. Gruden said he isn’t planning on acquiring all new blockers, but said the Redskins will make the offense work with what they have if upgrades aren’t possible.
“We have a lot of holes everywhere,” Gruden said. “There’s really not a position where we’re not looking to get better at.”