National Football League

Jay Gruden calls out RG3, says QB 'needs to worry about himself'

Published Nov. 17, 2014 4:27 p.m. ET

Ross Jones

The drama surrounding the Washington Redskins' quarterback position may have reached a tipping point.

A day after quarterback Robert Griffin III publicly questioned the play of his teammates, head coach Jay Gruden did little to put out the potential firestorm.

"Robert needs to understand he needs to worry about himself, No. 1, and not everybody else," Gruden said, per the team's transcript. "It’s his job to worry about his position, his footwork, his fundamentals, his reads, his progressions, his job at the quarterback position. It’s my job to worry about everybody else. And, yes, everybody else needs to improve."

Gruden went further, citing "fundamental flaws" and said the third-year quarterback's play on Sunday wasn't even close "to where it needs to be."

Griffin, who completed a misleading 71 percent of his passes in a 27-7 loss against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, struggled making throws downfield. Gruden noted that the three overthrows to wide receiver DeSean Jackson "were big plays" and missed opportunities.

Since last week's appearance on FOX NFL Kickoff, Jackson raised more eyebrows with his comments regarding Griffin, saying he needed to speak with teammates after the decision was made that the team was turning back to Griffin in Week 9 following his rehab. Jackson offered up a mysterious post (Warning: NSFW language) on his Instagram account Monday morning, drawing questions if he's calling out Griffin.

Gruden said he addressed Jackson's post in a meeting this morning, while also noting he wants to put an end to social media issues before they start.

"If you want to look at the good teams in this league and the great quarterbacks, the Peytons (Manning) and the Aaron Rodgers, those guys don't play well if their guys don't play well," Griffin said after the game on Sunday.

"They don't. We need everybody. I need every one of those guys in that locker room, and I know they're looking at me saying the same thing."

Griffin also placed much of the blame on himself, despite being sacked six times in the loss.

"All of the sacks are on me," he said, via The Washington Post. "Period."

Griffin also responded to the growing controversy via Facebook and Twitter on Monday:

Playing the large majority in three games this season, Griffin hasn't led his team to a win. But until he enhances relationships inside the locker room and irons out some mishaps on the field, the Redskins won't know if Griffin is the future quarterback of the franchise.

"His frame of mind is in the right place, it just doesn’t come out the right way sometimes, but I think he wants to get better," Gruden said of Griffin. "He knows he has a long way to go to get better and if he stays on the right track as far as work ethic and listening and preparing, then he will get there.”