ASHBURN, Va. -- The Washington Redskins don't have leadership. That's a conclusion drawn by former Redskins great Darrell Green.
Green, a Hall of Famer widely considered to be one of the best cornerbacks in league history, made his assertion about Robert Griffin III and the overall state of the 3-6 Redskins on Showtime's "Inside the NFL."
"It's not very good," Green said. "It's not very good. ... I think that it's been rough, but it looks like the kid -- and I'm talking about RG III -- it looks like he's starting to get it back.
"But I just feel so bad that you would have a system where it's all predicated on this guy running. He's the second rusher on the team. It doesn't work, in my opinion."
When asked who the leader of the team was, Green said Washington didn't really have one.
"I think that's the problem," he said. "I think it's super important to have leadership, and I don't think [Griffin] really is the leader."
RG III offered a response to recent criticism, including the way he handles adversity.
"Right now, it's not a burden," Griffin said. "It's a burden if you make it a burden. You've got to believe. I understand what comes with being the quarterback of the Washington Redskins. I understand what comes with being a quarterback in the NFL. And yeah, it might be a little harder here because of certain aspects of what goes on around this team. I understand that. I've got tough skin."
While Green questioned Griffin, fellow panelist and longtime NFL receiver Cris Collinsworth raved about RG III.
"Robert Griffin is an unbelievable leader," said Collinsworth, who is also an NBC analyst. "Teams are built now around first-, second- and third-year players. They're the great majority of the players on the team. And Robert Griffin is the guy that's gonna take them where they want to go if they just leave the whole thing alone.
"Next year, you'll go, 'Oh my gosh, we almost blew it up. It would have been the dumbest thing ever.'"