Robert Griffin III has issues in Washington Redskins opener 

ASHBURN — Washington Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III dismissed concerns about his mechanics on Wednesday, saying he needed to improve his execution instead.

But a glance at the numbers shows he may still be facing an uphill battle in his return from knee surgery.

The Times-Dispatch analyzed every throw the quarterback made Monday, and found that he started 0-for-9 on passes that traveled more than 10 yards downfield. He didn’t complete a pass of that distance until the game’s final drive.

In addition, the Eagles brought several blitzes, lowering Griffin’s completion percentage from 74 percent to 50 percent when they brought pressure.

“They didn’t blitz a ton, but when they did, it was effective,” Griffin said. “They had some gaping holes to come through and get me.”

It was the quarterback’s first game back since undergoing knee surgery, and on ESPN’s broadcast, former coach Jon Gruden was critical of Griffin’s technique, suggesting he may have rushed his comeback to be on the field for Week 1.

Griffin dismissed that thought Wednesday.

“If I make a bad throw coming off an injury, it’s ‘my mechanics,’ and ‘I’m not driving off my back leg,’ ” he said. “But if a healthy quarterback makes a bad throw, it’s just a bad throw. I understand that. There’s just stuff that you have to not look at.

“You know when your technique is sound, and you know what you have to do if you make a bad throw. You fix those things in practice, you fix them in the game, and that’s what we’re going to do.”

Griffin and his coach, Mike Shanahan, have cited the team’s second-half performance as an indication the Redskins found their groove.

Those drives featured a number of short completions, though, mostly against a non-blitzing Eagles defense.

Subtracting the final drive, Griffin’s average completion was thrown just 4.8 yards beyond the line of scrimmage.

“I think offensively as a group, we were pretty average in the first half,” Shanahan said. “It’s not one person, it’s everybody, as I shared with you [after the game]. I don’t critique players through the media, but it takes a unit to do things we did a year ago.”

Shanahan said he didn’t think the Eagles blitzed all that often, but receiver Pierre Garcon said he could feel the pressure.

“They were blitzing and sending guys off the edge, so we really didn’t have time to get into position for those intermediate passes,” Garcon said. “If [opponents] blitz more, they’ll be in a little bit of trouble,” citing the speed of the receiving corps and its ability to adapt and make plays.

Things don’t get easier for the Redskins this weekend, as they hit the road to take on the Green Bay Packers, who also are 0-1.

“We’ve got two teams who are hungry to get a win,” Griffin said.

One thing that is likely to change Sunday is the play calling, as offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan has had a week to analyze where his quarterback is physically and what he can do.

The Eagles didn’t spend much time guarding against Griffin running, and the Redskins didn’t spend much time in the read-option formation that helped them rattle off seven consecutive wins last year.

When Washington went to it, though, it kept the Eagles’ blitz away for a split-second longer.

Griffin didn’t want to draw any conclusions on how teams will play him after just one week.

“Every team’s going to be different,” he said. “We’re not going to prepare for Green Bay like we prepared for Philly.”

He added that with all the talk of his rust, one thing may have been overlooked: his health.

“I passed the hit test — got hit a lot,” Griffin said. “I got hit every kind of way, too. I think that’s another huge relief for everybody — the coaches, players, myself. Other than that, I think we’ve just got to clean up our execution of the offense.”

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