On Monday, Griffin made his much-heralded return, playing on the same field before eight months earlier, he tore ligaments in his right knee in the fourth quarter of Washington's playoff loss to U.S. Two days removed from his first action in 8 months, Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III said that his surgically repaired right knee feels fine, that his confidence remains healthy despite the loss, and that he and his teammates will build on the second half of Monday's season-opening loss to Philadelphia. On Jan 9, Griffin's every move since his surgery have been well documented. From his Adidas "All in for Week 1" campaign, to weekly media appearances during offseason practices that he wasn't yet cleared to take part in, to his progress throughout training camp and the Gatorade documentary on his recovery, no stone has been left unturned.
Had been accomplished, Griffin's return was not one of triumph, as he struggled through the first two-and-a-half quarters of play and looked very much like a player that hadn't played in eight months. The quarterback said although he and the Redskins didn't win, he was more at peace with he and his teammates' second-half play. Griffin and the Redskins on Sunday will face the host Green Bay Packers. The quarterback expects to be more confident now that his first licks are out of the way, and expects a better rhythm for the offense now that he and his teammates have played in an actual game. The mission for Sunday is simple. As for coach Mike Shanahan, the loss to the Eagles hasn't caused him to alter expectations for the season. The team had to turn around and quickly prepare for the Packers with one day fewer than it normally would have. But that isn't necessarily a bad thing, the coach believes. Shanahan said, "We feel good about our football team". We have got to get back our momentum, and it's a tough place to play in Green Bay, but our players are looking forward to it, and we are glad we have a short week, so we can play a little bit quicker."