After two weeks of practices and endless feature stories, Washington Redskins rookie quarterback Robert Griffin III is ready for his first NFL game.
He's looking forward to seeing how game action is different.
"A lot of times in practice, you can't really tell, because Coach (Mike Shanahan) is making the defenders stop pass rushing," Griffin told reporters. "They're not going to hit you in practice, because you want to get those reps that throwing the ball and things of that nature. I'll see whether things open up a lot more with the pass rush or whether things get clogged up a lot more. It'll be interesting to see what happens.
"By no means am I looking to run a lot in the preseason or in this preseason game. Hopefully, I can go out, we can protect, we can throw the ball around and be successful."
The approach reminds us of Cam Newton last season. He struggled during the preseason, partly because he was hesitant to run until the games mattered. That made his scrambling all the more effective early in the year.
Griffin's slow decision-making has been noted during training camp practices. He has held the ball too long at times, which he says is partly because of the particularities of camp.
"Yeah, guys are sitting in your lap in practice, because they stop," Griffin said. "The offensive linemen know they're going to stop. The defensive linemen know they're going to stop."
Griffin -- who will be featured in our cool upcoming video series, "Everything to Prove," which debuts Aug. 15 -- knows the Buffalo Bills' loaded defensive line won't stop. It's a great first test for the Redskins' offensive line and RG3, even if he only lasts a couple of series.
