The Washington Redskins had Robert Griffin III start on Sunday for Week 9 over Colt McCoy and reports from ESPN had the decision on the starting quarterback come down on high from owner Dan Snyder and the GM Bruce Allen over head coach Jay Gruden, as McCoy had been playing well for RG3 and had led the team to a win over the Dallas Cowboys the previous week.
The Redskins had quite the day getting to the stadium, as they dealt with a serious bus crash on the way to the Vikings game and the team also had to see a major protest of their team name. On top of all that, before the game a damning report came out on ESPN.com about the Redskins quarterback situation and the decision to start Griffin and it also described some issues in the locker room. The report said that players have questioned the leadership of Griffin and that he has "alienated himself" from the locker room. Some players were shouting at Griffin and the media while doing an interview in the locker room and eventually it had to be moved.
ESPN's Britt McHenry wrote up the report about the incident and the decision on Griffin and while some pushed back about why the shouting was occurring, McHenry's description was confirmed by others in the locker room. Some have said that they players were yelling at the PR person for the Redskins for leaving the locker room open for too long, but either way, not a good look for a team coming off of yet another disappointing loss.
Naturally, Redskins executive Tony Wyllie and Jay Gruden denied all the details on the story, saying that the locker room issues were not what they seemed and the decision on RG3 was not what it seemed. Writers like Michael Wilbon and others came out to defend McHenry, as he has been covering DC sports news for years and this all was very typical of Dan Snyder and the Redskins. The Nation writer Dave Zirin also supported the reporting and it added yet another bad mark on the team as they also had to deal with a massive protest about the racist nickname that Snyder refuses to change or acknowledge.
The Redskins have been very inconsistent this season and now they head into the bye week after another tough loss, but they do have Griffin back as the starter. Griffin went 18-for-28 for 251 yards, one touchdown and one interception and while he looked very good at times, he also missed on a number of throws. Griffin now has already slipped back into his usual attitude, going "me against the world" and "us against the world" towards the media, saying the "haters" will hate on the franchise and on him.
Either way, the Redskins PR is a mess and they are a mess on the field. The team now has had their two game winning streak snapped and now have lost five of the last seven games. At 3-6 the team is fourth in the NFC East once again and they are looking to not finish in last place after winning just three games last season. Griffin is back after being injured earlier in the season and chances are he will remain the starter as long as he can stay healthy.
