Robert Griffin III knows Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan has received plenty of criticism for keeping the quarterback on the field after he re-injured his knee during the first quarter of Sunday's wild-card playoff loss to the Seattle Seahawks.
On NFL Network
NFL Replay will re-air the
Seattle Seahawks' 24-14 win over the
Washington Redskins from Wild Card Weekend on Tuesday, Jan. 8 at 8 p.m. ET.
Griffin has a response for that criticism.
"Many may question, criticize & think they have all the right answers. But few have been in the line of fire in battle," Griffin tweeted Monday. "I thank God for perspective and because of that I appreciate the support from everyone. I also appreciate the criticism."
Frankly, we enjoyed Griffin's confidence after Sunday's game. He insisted he didn't hurt the Redskins' chances of winning.
"I'm the quarterback of this team," Griffin said. "My job is to be out there if I can play. ... I'm the best option for this team. That's why I'm the starter."
Griffin clearly was not the same player because of his injury, but some credit must be given to the Seattle defense. There is an argument to be made that backup quarterback Kirk Cousins would have given the Redskins a better chance, but there's no guarantee. The outcry against Shanahan seems to be more about RG3's safety than the team's loss, however.
That is a fair point, but it's an odd one to make in football. We usually glorify players for playing through injuries. Griffin, as a leader of the team, said he was hurt -- not injured. Doctors cleared him to return to the field. Many of the players we watched over the weekend would be on the sideline if they had to sit through nagging injuries.
Like it or not, playing through injury is part of the sport. If you have a problem with that, you have a problem with football.
UPDATE: Griffin reportedly has partial tears to his ACL and lateral collateral ligament, test results suggest.
Follow Gregg Rosenthal on Twitter @greggrosenthal.
