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Redskins' Jay Gruden publicly criticizes RG3 again

Brad Mills-USA TODAY Sports

It appears that Washington Redskins head coach Jay Gruden has been critical of Robert Griffin III's performance all along.

In one of the most candid press conferences of the year, Gruden ripped into Griffin's performance after a 27-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Redskins' first-year head coach said that Griffin had fundamental flaws and wasn't close to playing well enough.

Gruden publicly retracted his criticism Wednesday, calling it a mistake. 

That didn't last long.

"Since the preseason, in the games that he's played, our production from an offensive standpoint has been awful," Gruden said to NFL Media's Albert Breer. "I think five touchdowns in all the drives he's played, for whatever reason, and that's not good. We're still trying to figure that out."

Griffin has struggled immensely in his return to the lineup and some fans are calling for backup Colt McCoy to take over the starting job. 

"His biggest thing, he's been coddled for so long. It's not a negative, he's just been so good, he just hasn't had a lot of negative publicity," Gruden said. "Everybody's loved him. Some adversity is striking hard at him now, and how he reacts to that off the field, his mental state of mind, how it affects his confidence, hopefully it's not in a negative way."

The third-year pro has thrown two touchdowns and three interceptions this season.

"He's auditioned long enough. Clock's ticking. He's gotta play. We'll see. ... We want Robert to excel, we really do. But the last two games, it hasn't been very good, anywhere," Gruden said.

Griffin's latest audition will take place Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers.

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