Jay Gruden On Robert Griffin III- Washington Coach Calls Quarterback 'Awful', 'Coddled', Will This Week's 49ers Game Be The End Of The Line?

The war of words between Washington coach Jay Gruden and his star quarterback Robert Griffin III continued ahead of the team's match against the San Francisco 49ers tomorrow, with revelations that Gruden believes Griffin has been "coddled" and that the "clock is ticking" rocking the franchise. 

In an explosive interview with NFL.com's Albert Breer, Gruden said that the 3-7 team's woes were tied to Griffin and that the third-year quarterback has "auditioned long enough". The first-year coach continued, adding "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 also called the team's offensive production under Griffin "awful", adding "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's mentality was also questioned by the coach, who also said in the NFL.com report that the biggest problem was that Griffin had been "coddled for so long", and saying that the lack of negative publicity Griffin has received isn't warranted. 

"It's a production-based business," Gruden also said. "We haven't won many games lately with him."

Gruden also alluded to Griffin's back up, Colt McCoy who has started two games this year and is 2-0 in them, saying "There's always pressure on the quarterback to perform. And if you don't perform, like any other position, somebody's behind you pushing you."

The coach's comments come after Griffin was criticized for the way he handled the media after last week's 27-7 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, with people saying he didn't support his teammates enough. 

ESPN's Skip Bayless called out Gruden's hypocrisy about speaking too much to the media, saying on twitter:

Gruden's comments and the media's reaction earlier in the week prompted Griffin to defend himself on twitter, saying:  

He then followed that up with an almost absurd press conference when he refused to say anything to reporters and their questions beyond saying that he wants to "play better" and "he's focused on San Francisco". 

Chris Wesserling of NFL.com gave his opinion on the problems plaguing RG3, saying "Griffin has lost his confidence, devolved in his footwork, isn't sure how to decipher defenses and has authored too many negative plays." 

We'll see tomorrow just how Griffin performs against the 49ers in San Francisco. How do you think RG3 will perform? Would Washington be better off moving Colt McCoy back into the starting lineup? Should RG3 be benched?