Jay Gruden: Benched Robert Griffin III Needs To Regain ‘Confidence’

Jay Gruden says he wants Robert Griffin III to become more confident while on the bench.

Jay Gruden and the Washington Redskins officially announced their decision to bench quarterback Robert Griffin III in favor of Colt McCoy on Wednesday.

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In explaining the decision, Gruden cited a desire for this move to help RGIII gain more confidence.

From ESPN:

"“I have a lot of respect for Robert as a quarterback and Robert as a person. We just want him to take a step back, work on his craft a little bit more, study the game a little bit more so the next time he’s in there he’s raring to go and has a little more faith and confidence in what he sees.” (…)“He’s just got to have the confidence and swagger that made him who he is,” Gruden said. “That comes with time. It’s not easy for these young quarterbacks. Not too long ago, you didn’t even think about playing a rookie quarterback until he was three years in, sitting on the bench, and then you bring him in slowly."

If building up Robert Griffin’s confidence is the goal, the Redskins are going about it in a strange way. It’s hard to imagine Griffin becoming more confident in his ability after getting benched for McCoy.

The fact of the matter is that Gruden is trying to win games right now in order to save his job and he feels McCoy is the best option. This move wasn’t made in Robert Griffin’s best interest, but rather in Gruden’s.

Gruden’s certainly entitled to make such a deciscion, but it’s a little unfair to RGIII to pretend like this decision was made in an attempt to make him a better player.

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