May 23, 2013

Washington Redskins Open Locker Room Audio: Moss, Hall, Garçon & Many More!

ASHBURN, VA–The Washington Redskins held their final open locker room of the season today as they conclude their 2013 season.  There was a lot of optimism in the locker room after their surprising finish, but nobody is quite sure yet on the health of Robert Griffin III following yesterday’s loss.

“You feel like you have something you can build on,”  Redskins free agent linebacker Lorenzo Alexander said.  “You feel good about the group of guys we have here. I think this is probably one of the closest team’s we’ve had from top-to-bottom…hopefully I can be apart of it next year as we move forward.”

Redskins starting guard Kory Lichtensteiger is also a free agent and he hopes to return as well.

“The best case scenario for me is I get a new deal here. At the same time, you’ve got to explore all the options.”

So is Redskins starting tackle Tyler Polumbus.

“I have no idea what the future’s going to hold. I know I want to be back here.”

Redskins starting cornerback DeAngelo Hall, who has a pretty big contract, is also hoping to return.

“Whatever I gotta do to be here, I’m gonna try to get it done.”

Redskins Head Coach Mike Shanahan also addressed the media Monday and gave an update on Robert Griffin III’s knee injury, plus tons more as it’s the final time he’ll speak until the NFL Draft in April.

Listen here to what Santana Moss, DeAngelo Hall, Pierre Garçon, Lorenzo Alexander, Ryan Kerrigan, Tyler Polumbus, Kory Lichtensteiger, Reed Doughty & Kai Forbath had to say during open locker room today.

Santana Moss Open Locker Room Audio

01-07-13 Santana Moss Open Locker Room RAW

DeAngelo Hall Open Locker Room Audio

01-07-13 DeAngelo Hall Open Locker Room RAW

Pierre Garçon Open Locker Room Audio

01-07-13 Pierre Garcon Open Locker Room RAW

Lorenzo Alexander Open Locker Room Audio

01-07-13 Lorenzo Alexander Open Locker Room RAW

Ryan Kerrigan Open Locker Room Audio

01-07-13 Ryan Kerrigan Open Locker Room RAW

Tyler Polumbus Open Locker Room Audio

01-07-13 Tyler Polumbus Open Locker Room RAW

Kory Lichtensteiger Open Locker Room Audio

01-07-13 Kory Lichtensteiger Open Locker Room RAW

Reed Doughty Open Locker Room Audio

01-07-13 Reed Doughty Open Locker Room RAW

Kai Forbath Open Locker Room Audio

01-07-13 Kai Forbath Open Locker Room RAW

Washington Redskins Postgame Audio: 24-14 Loss To Seattle

LANDOVER, MD–The Washington Redskins give up 24 unanswered points and fell to the Seattle Seahawks 24-14 as their season officially comes to an end.

The big story was Robert Griffin III.  Griffin III (10-of-19, 84 yards, two touchdowns, one interception) re-aggravated his right knee in the first quarter and looked gimpy the rest of the game.  He could barely run and an ugly play off a bad snap late in the fourth quarter left him in even more pain, allowing the Seahawks to recover a fumble at the Redskins five yard line which set up a chip shot field goal that put the game out of reach.

“I’m the quarterback of this team,”  Griffin III said. “My job is to be out there if I can play. The only time I couldn’t play was when I went down. I took myself out of the game. That’s just the way you have to play. Just to tackle the next question, I don’t feel like me being out there hurt the team in any way. I’m the best option for this team, and that’s why I’m the starter.”

Kirk Cousins came in, but didn’t have much time to work any magic.  Following the loss, Griffin III went straight to the hospital to have an MRI and will know the results sometime later tonight.

“I think I did put myself at more risk by being out there,”  Griffin III said.  “But every time you step on the football field in between those lines you’re putting your life, your career [and] every single ligament in your body in jeopardy. That’s just the approach I had to take toward it. My teammates needed me out there, so I was out there for them. When it comes to the impact of the injury, I’m not sure what it is. We’ll figure that out here in the next few days. Whatever it is, I’ll make sure I come back healthy from it.”

Redskins Head Coach Mike Shanahan had no problem with him being out there.

“Robert will have the MRI,”  Shanahan said.  “We always check that out to see how serious it is… I did and I talked to Robert and he said to me, ‘Coach, there’s a difference between being injured and being hurt.’ He said, ‘I can guarantee I’m hurt right now but give me a chance to win this football game because I guarantee I’m not injured.’ That was enough for me. I thought he did enough this year to have that opportunity to stay in the football game. It’s always a tough decision when to pull a guy and when not to. I talked to him at halftime and had to feel good about him to go back in. I told him we’re going to run the football and he’s going to have to prove to me and like I said before, he said, ‘Trust me. I want to be in there and I deserve to be in there,’ and I couldn’t disagree with him.”

Even though they lost, Shanahan was happy with how the team responded from a 3-6 record at the bye to finishing the season as NFC East Champions.

“I told the players after the game that not too many football teams can be 3-6 and have the type of character to play how they did in the last half of the season. It’s really a compliment to the guys in that locker room, really a compliment to the fans out there to support us the way they did – really got our team energized throughout the second half of the season. It was a fun run. I’m very disappointed today. You always want to play your best football during the playoffs. We probably had our best first quarter. After that first quarter, we just didn’t seem to get things done. It was very tough, but I’m excited about this football team – the direction we’re headed. We’re not very happy. There’s only one team that’s happy at the end of the year, and unfortunately, we’re going home a little bit earlier than expected.”

Listen here to what Mike Shanahan, Robert Griffin III, Pierre Garçon, Kirk Cousins, Darrel Young, Trent Williams, Ryan Kerrigan, Lorenzo Alexander, Logan Paulsen, London Fletcher, Josh Wilson & Stephen Bowen had to say as their season comes to an end.

Mike Shanahan Postgame Audio

01-06-13 Mike Shanahan Postgame RAW

Robert Griffin III Postgame Audio

01-06-13 Robert Griffin III Postgame RAW

Pierre Garçon Postgame Audio

01-06-13 Pierre Garcon Postgame RAW

Kirk Cousins Postgame Audio

01-06-13 Kirk Cousins Postgame RAW

Darrel Young Postgame Audio

01-06-13 Darrel Young Postgame RAW

Trent Williams Postgame Audio

01-06-13 Trent Williams Postgame RAW

Ryan Kerrigan Postgame Audio

01-06-13 Ryan Kerrigan Postgame RAW

Lorenzo Alexander Postgame Audio

01-06-13 Lorenzo Alexander Postgame RAW

Logan Paulsen Postgame Audio

01-06-13 Logan Paulsen Postgame RAW

London Fletcher Postgame Audio

01-06-13 London Fletcher Postgame RAW

Josh Wilson Postgame Audio

01-06-13 Josh Wilson Postgame RAW

Stephen Bowen Postgame Audio

01-06-13 Stephen Bowen Postgame RAW

Washington Redskins Game 12 Review: Redskins Eye First Place after 17-16 Win Over Giants

Robert Griffin III completed 13 of 21 passes for 163 yards and broke Cam Newton’s rushing record for rookie quarterbacks in the Washington Redskins’ (6-6) 17-16 win over the New York Giants (7-5) at FedEx Field Sunday night. Ironically enough, however, the Redskins’ standout play of the evening began with a fumble by none other than Griffin himself.

Trailing 3-0 with just over four minutes left in the first quarter, Griffin scrambled down the left side as the ball popped out of his hands, but Redskins wide receiver Josh Morgan caught it just in time to take it 13 yards for a touchdown. The fumble return marked Morgan’s first touchdown as a Redskin.

Just four weeks ago, Mike Shanahan stated that the Redskins were playing to see who would be on the team for years to come – as if to declare the season a bust. Now, after beating the New York Giants, the Redskins are staring up at first place in the NFC East from just a game back with a 3-1 record against their division.

More importantly, they looked like a team hungry for the playoffs.

Griffin relied heavily on Pierre Garcon who, despite missing six of the first nine games of the season with a toe injury, played with resilience and helped keep the Redskins within a drive of regaining the lead. By day’s end, Garcon managed a touchdown over eight receptions for 106 yards.

With just under 10 minutes left in the half, Eli Manning led the Giants downfield with the aid of a 30-yard toss to Victor Cruz who tallied 104 yards over five receptions. The 85-yard drive over 13 plays and nearly seven and a half minutes allowed the Giants to take a 10-7 lead, but it wasn’t long before Kai Forbath allowed the Redskins to tie with a 33-yard field goal.

Unfortunately for the Redskins, the play happened in too little time and allowed the Giants to strike again with a fiel goal of their own in just over 40 seconds to send the rivals to their respective locker rooms tied 10-10 at the half.

The Redskins’ defense showed signs of life in the third quarter, holding the Giants to just 31 yards on their first drive. On the Redskins’ next possession, Griffin nearly scrambled to the end zone, but the Giants’ Stevie Brown took advantage of Griffin’s untucked jersey and pulled him down in the red zone.

On the next play, Chase Blackburn forced Alfred Morris to fumble and the Giants recovered the ball as confusion broke out on the field. Giants’ defensive tackle Linval Joseph dove for Will Montgomery’s leg. Montgomery responded by kicking Joseph and Joseph threatened to stomp at Montgomery and the madness resulted in offsetting unnecessary roughness penalties.

On the next drive, Lawrence Tynes and the G-men struck again, this time with a 35-yard field goal to give New York a 16-10 lead.

But, Morris pulled through at the end of the quarter in time to bring the Redskins to the Giants’ 41-yard line to start the fourth. On second and 7 from the Giants’ 22, Griffin tossed to Leonard Hankerson for 14 yards and, in front of a roaring crowd of both Redskins and Giants fans, Griffin found Garcon for an eight-yard touchdown. With Forbath’s extra point, the Redskins took a 17-16 lead.

The Redskins will look to carry the momentum from Sunday’s matchup next week as they take on the Baltimore Ravens Sunday afternoon at FedEx.

Washington Redskins performance provides hope with Sunday’s win over Saints

Robert Griffin III hands off to Alfred Morris in Redskins 40-32 win over New Orleans Saints Sunday. (photo by Brian Murphy)

If you are a long-suffering Washington Redskins fan, you hoped things would be different Sunday. That, in the end, a new offense led by a marquee rookie and a defense that finished 2011 slightly better than average would be able to hold off any last-minute push by a man who knows how to tear up his opponents: Drew Brees.

And in the end, they were.

The Redskins held out to win their first regular season game with Robert Griffin III under center and by a score, 40-32, that almost edged into college-football territory. [Read more...]