Jay Gruden: Criticism of RG3 was a mistake

Jay Gruden said on Wednesday that his criticism and singling out of Robert Griffin III was a “mistake.”

Griffin took responsibility after Sunday’s loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for his poor performance, but he also said the entire team did not play well. In response a day later, Gruden said RG3 needs to worry about himself.

Griffin spent Wednesday’s press conference focusing on the future, while Gruden said he erred in the way he handled things.

“It was a mistake on my part,” Gruden said of singling out RG3. “After a loss like that we’re very disappointed in the way we played. The question came up about how he played and I just answered it first thing that came to my mind. Sometimes the first thing that comes to your mind isn’t the smartest thing.

“It wasn’t the right thing to do on my part. A correction should be made in-house. The play speaks for itself. The production on the field spoke for itself. The team was not good enough, was not prepared enough, was not coached well good enough to beat the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.”

In other words, Gruden says he spoke the truth, but he recognizes speaking the truth to the public is not always a good thing; it’s better to keep problems handled within the team rather than expose them to the media and fans.

Much like the situation when Mike Shanahan was the head coach in Washington, it’s looking like either Gruden or RG3 will not be back next year. The two parties do not seem to be getting along.