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April 26, 2012
Redskins Park
Executive Vice President/Head Coach Mike Shanahan
On how excited the Redskins are to get Robert Griffin III:
“We were really excited when we were able to move from the sixth spot to the second spot. We had a great feeling Robert was going to be the guy we were going to get. Just to be around the guy to see how he handles himself and to see how he works. You can see what a class act he is and what type of charisma he brings. I just think he will bring a whole lot to this organization. You are always looking for that 'franchise guy.’ He has not proven himself yet and we understand that. Hopefully we can get a good supporting cast around him and play well as a football team. I think he will have the chance to do some special things.”
On if Griffin III was always the targeted player:
“That is the one we always thought we would get from the beginning. Indy had made some speculation that they were going to go after Andrew [Luck] right from the beginning. We liked both quarterbacks, as we talked about before, from the beginning but we were hoping that we were going to get Robert.”
On the point when he knew that Griffin III was the right choice:
“What you have to do before you get somebody is that you have to take a look at your options. We went back and watched every game that he played throughout his career since he came to Baylor. We did the same with Andrew and felt very good the day we moved to the second pick that we’d end up with a franchise quarterback. That is what we wanted to do and we were able to get it done.”
On the feeling in the draft room with the unusual circumstances of knowing what player would be taken:
“You never really know for sure until the picks are announced. That is why I said 99.9 percent, because I was not really sure what Indy would do. I knew what we were going to do, but I did not know what they would do. A lot of times I have heard speculation before that something is a slam dunk and then at the last second someone changes their mind. When ownership and their head coach came out, we were pretty sure Robert would be the guy. We were elated.”
On how long Griffin III has been on the team’s radar:
“To be honest with you, I never got a chance to talk to Robert as a person until we were in Indy [NFL Scouting Combine] and we had the chance to spend about 15 minutes with him. After that we had the chance to have dinner and spend some time with his family. They came here and we had the chance to spend a few days together. What I try to do before I spend time with anyone is to look at all of the film. That is an ongoing process and to look at both guys throughout their collegiate careers takes a lot of time. You have to feel very comfortable with someone after looking at all that film. You have to find out what type of player they are before you find out what type of person they are. When you are convinced that this guy can do what you want him to do, you get a chance to see what type of person he is.”
On when he knew Griffin III could be a franchise quarterback:
“After I was through with all of the film study. It takes probably a month.”
On the schedule for Griffin III:
“We’ll get a chance to spend a few hours with him this weekend. He’s going to come in here, and obviously go to the stadium, and he’ll have the chance to talk with a number of people before he leaves. His family will be here as well and we’ll talk with him for a few hours over the weekend. Then he’ll come to a rookie minicamp the following week. We will get the chance to be with him for three days. And then he’ll come in on May 14, which is the first day rookies can report.”
On how players deal with fan and team expectations:
“I don’t think the players think about that. First of all, it’s not three No. 1’s but two No. 1’s. We switched spots this year and gave up two No. 1’s and a two. He knows when you make a commitment like that the team is serious about him and you have a lot of belief in him. We have a lot of belief that he is going to do everything he possibly can to give us the best chance to win and for him to be as good as he’s going to be. It is up to me to get him the right supporting cast and the right system so he feels comfortable with what we’re doing without putting too much pressure on him. There is a learning curve and it does not happen overnight. Take a look at all the great quarterbacks over the years, but it doesn’t happen just like that. I know one thing, he’s going to go 100 miles an hour and he’s a sponge. He loves what he does and he wants to be the guy. He will do everything he possibly can to be successful. You do not have to be with him for very long to figure that out.”
On what a rookie quarterback does during his first minicamp:
“Basically at your rookie minicamp, you cannot have any veterans in there. So what you’re basically doing is meeting a lot and trying to get in an introduction to the system. When we do practice, we’ll practice two times a day on Friday and Saturday and one time on Sunday. They’ll get a chance to get familiar with our routes and numbering system. It will be a tryout. And during rookie minicamp we will bring 25 to 30 guys in here to give them a opportunity to make our football team or at least give them a chance to make our 90-man squad.”
On the recent success of rookie quarterbacks:
“I think you have to talk about which quarterbacks. Most rookies do not come into the league and have success unless they have a good defense and a good running game where they don’t put too much pressure on the quarterback. There is a learning curve that comes with it. Very seldom does a quarterback come in and be successful unless they have a good defense and a good running game. That’s just the nature of the business because there is a learning curve. We have made some strides over the last couple of years. I’m sure it’ll be a lot easier for Robert to come here this year than if he came in the last couple years, but that’s something we’ll keep working on during this offseason.”
On the transition from his college offense to the NFL:
“There is going to be a big adjustment because they did a good job of spreading their offense out and running the option. If we did that in pro football all the time, the chances are you wouldn’t survive very long. These guys are big and they’re fast and they hit pretty hard. But there’s a lot of things we can implement into our offense that we weren’t able to before. You try to take a look at somebody’s talents and utilize them to the fullest without trying to get your quarterback hurt at the same time. So there’s a little give-and-take there, but he gives us a lot of opportunities to do things that you’d like to do.”
On if it will be hard for Griffin III to adjust to lining up under center:
“I think it will be an easy adjustment. He did play some under the center. He’s done a number of different things under the center as it relates to pro football. You know he’s a product of the environment. Robert has run a certain style of offense. I think for him, from how he works and how sharp he is, he’ll pick up things pretty quickly.”
Redskins Park
Executive Vice President/Head Coach Mike Shanahan
On how excited the Redskins are to get Robert Griffin III:
“We were really excited when we were able to move from the sixth spot to the second spot. We had a great feeling Robert was going to be the guy we were going to get. Just to be around the guy to see how he handles himself and to see how he works. You can see what a class act he is and what type of charisma he brings. I just think he will bring a whole lot to this organization. You are always looking for that 'franchise guy.’ He has not proven himself yet and we understand that. Hopefully we can get a good supporting cast around him and play well as a football team. I think he will have the chance to do some special things.”
On if Griffin III was always the targeted player:
“That is the one we always thought we would get from the beginning. Indy had made some speculation that they were going to go after Andrew [Luck] right from the beginning. We liked both quarterbacks, as we talked about before, from the beginning but we were hoping that we were going to get Robert.”
On the point when he knew that Griffin III was the right choice:
“What you have to do before you get somebody is that you have to take a look at your options. We went back and watched every game that he played throughout his career since he came to Baylor. We did the same with Andrew and felt very good the day we moved to the second pick that we’d end up with a franchise quarterback. That is what we wanted to do and we were able to get it done.”
On the feeling in the draft room with the unusual circumstances of knowing what player would be taken:
“You never really know for sure until the picks are announced. That is why I said 99.9 percent, because I was not really sure what Indy would do. I knew what we were going to do, but I did not know what they would do. A lot of times I have heard speculation before that something is a slam dunk and then at the last second someone changes their mind. When ownership and their head coach came out, we were pretty sure Robert would be the guy. We were elated.”
On how long Griffin III has been on the team’s radar:
“To be honest with you, I never got a chance to talk to Robert as a person until we were in Indy [NFL Scouting Combine] and we had the chance to spend about 15 minutes with him. After that we had the chance to have dinner and spend some time with his family. They came here and we had the chance to spend a few days together. What I try to do before I spend time with anyone is to look at all of the film. That is an ongoing process and to look at both guys throughout their collegiate careers takes a lot of time. You have to feel very comfortable with someone after looking at all that film. You have to find out what type of player they are before you find out what type of person they are. When you are convinced that this guy can do what you want him to do, you get a chance to see what type of person he is.”
On when he knew Griffin III could be a franchise quarterback:
“After I was through with all of the film study. It takes probably a month.”
On the schedule for Griffin III:
“We’ll get a chance to spend a few hours with him this weekend. He’s going to come in here, and obviously go to the stadium, and he’ll have the chance to talk with a number of people before he leaves. His family will be here as well and we’ll talk with him for a few hours over the weekend. Then he’ll come to a rookie minicamp the following week. We will get the chance to be with him for three days. And then he’ll come in on May 14, which is the first day rookies can report.”
On how players deal with fan and team expectations:
“I don’t think the players think about that. First of all, it’s not three No. 1’s but two No. 1’s. We switched spots this year and gave up two No. 1’s and a two. He knows when you make a commitment like that the team is serious about him and you have a lot of belief in him. We have a lot of belief that he is going to do everything he possibly can to give us the best chance to win and for him to be as good as he’s going to be. It is up to me to get him the right supporting cast and the right system so he feels comfortable with what we’re doing without putting too much pressure on him. There is a learning curve and it does not happen overnight. Take a look at all the great quarterbacks over the years, but it doesn’t happen just like that. I know one thing, he’s going to go 100 miles an hour and he’s a sponge. He loves what he does and he wants to be the guy. He will do everything he possibly can to be successful. You do not have to be with him for very long to figure that out.”
On what a rookie quarterback does during his first minicamp:
“Basically at your rookie minicamp, you cannot have any veterans in there. So what you’re basically doing is meeting a lot and trying to get in an introduction to the system. When we do practice, we’ll practice two times a day on Friday and Saturday and one time on Sunday. They’ll get a chance to get familiar with our routes and numbering system. It will be a tryout. And during rookie minicamp we will bring 25 to 30 guys in here to give them a opportunity to make our football team or at least give them a chance to make our 90-man squad.”
On the recent success of rookie quarterbacks:
“I think you have to talk about which quarterbacks. Most rookies do not come into the league and have success unless they have a good defense and a good running game where they don’t put too much pressure on the quarterback. There is a learning curve that comes with it. Very seldom does a quarterback come in and be successful unless they have a good defense and a good running game. That’s just the nature of the business because there is a learning curve. We have made some strides over the last couple of years. I’m sure it’ll be a lot easier for Robert to come here this year than if he came in the last couple years, but that’s something we’ll keep working on during this offseason.”
On the transition from his college offense to the NFL:
“There is going to be a big adjustment because they did a good job of spreading their offense out and running the option. If we did that in pro football all the time, the chances are you wouldn’t survive very long. These guys are big and they’re fast and they hit pretty hard. But there’s a lot of things we can implement into our offense that we weren’t able to before. You try to take a look at somebody’s talents and utilize them to the fullest without trying to get your quarterback hurt at the same time. So there’s a little give-and-take there, but he gives us a lot of opportunities to do things that you’d like to do.”
On if it will be hard for Griffin III to adjust to lining up under center:
“I think it will be an easy adjustment. He did play some under the center. He’s done a number of different things under the center as it relates to pro football. You know he’s a product of the environment. Robert has run a certain style of offense. I think for him, from how he works and how sharp he is, he’ll pick up things pretty quickly.”
