With the 6th pick, the Washington Redskins select… RG3
By: Kevin Green
Now that the 16 game NFL regular season has come to an end, the playoffs will begin this Saturday. As unfortunately has been the case in recent years, the Washington Redskins finished with a losing record and failed to make the playoffs. They also finished last in the NFC East for the fourth year in a row. The Redskins have not made the playoffs in six long years, and have not won the division since 1999. Obviously, something needs to change dramatically in Washington for the Redskins to return to their winning ways, back to the days when they won three Super Bowls in nine years.
That something would be acquiring Baylor quarterback and Heisman trophy winner Robert Griffin III, also known as RG3, with the 6th pick in the upcoming NFL draft. Earlier in the season, it was thought that the Redskins would lose enough games to land the number one pick and get the prospect of the century, Andrew Luck. Unfortunately, it looks as if the Indianapolis Colts will draft him as the number one overall pick.
Robert Griffin III has come onto the college football scene this year out of nowhere, and surprised many analysts and college football fans with winning this year’s Heisman Trophy. Griffin led the Baylor University Bears to an impressive 10-3 record, and a win in the Alamo Bowl. Griffin and the Bears shocked many people when they started off their season beating 14th ranked TCU. Throughout the season, Griffin also led Baylor to upsets against 5th ranked Oklahoma and 22nd ranked Texas, as Baylor finished the season ranked 12th in the country. To top off the season in the Alamo Bowl, Griffin led Baylor as they put up a whopping 67 points en route to beating Washington.
Individually, Griffin finished the season with 4,293 passing yards, 37 passing touchdowns, 10 rushing touchdowns, and a 72.4% completion rate. Griffin ranked in the top 10 in all of college football in completion percentage, passing yards, passing touchdowns, and quarterback rating. Along with winning the Heisman Trophy, the pinnacle of college football awards, Griffin also won the Davey O’Brien Award, which goes to the best quarterback in all of college football.
Robert Griffin III is hands down the most athletic and best duel-threat quarterback in college football. Whenever there is a breakdown in the pocket, many running quarterbacks, like Michael Vick and Tim Tebow, look to run immediately. However, Griffin uses his speed and agility to escape the pocket and give his receivers more time to get open and make a big play. Griffin illustrated this scenario perfectly with his game winning touchdown throw to upset 5th ranked Oklahoma. However, when Griffin does decide to run, it brings an entirely different dimension to his game. His running threat forces defenses to worry about both facets of his game equally. Standing at 6-2, it is rare to see a taller quarterback still able to be effective in the run game. Many analysts believe Griffin’s deep ball is the best part of his game. Time and time again, Griffin puts perfect touch on his long throws to hit his receivers in stride for touchdowns.
It is an understatement to say that the Redskins desperately need a new quarterback. In the past twelve seasons, only twice have the Redskins started the same quarterback all 16 games. To put that in perspective, Peyton Manning started all 16 games for the Colts for 13 consecutive seasons. Currently, the Redskins’ starting quarterback is Rex Grossman. Grossman is currently ranked 29th out of the 32 teams in quarterback rating, arguably the most important statistic for a quarterback. He is also ranked 24th in completion percentage, and 18th in passing yards and touchdowns. But there is one statistic where Grossman is ranked in the top three quarterbacks in the league: interceptions. Throughout the season, Grossman threw more interceptions than touchdowns, which is embarrassing for an NFL quarterback. He also rushed for a lowly one touchdown this season. Grossman is in his 9th season, and at 31 years old, he is not getting any younger.
All of these reasons demonstrate why the Redskins desperately need to draft young, duel-threat quarterback sensation Robert Griffin III in the 2012 NFL draft. With all of the young talent on the Redskins roster, Griffin fits perfectly into Washington’s offense.
Although the NFL is still dominated by conventional quarterbacks such as Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, and Drew Brees, more and more teams are starting to utilize duel-threat quarterbacks: such as Michael Vick of the Philadelphia Eagles, Tim Tebow of the Denver Broncos, Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers, Seneca Wallece of the Seattle Seahawks, and Tavaris Jackson of the Minnesota Vikings. The Redskins need to draft RG3 if they want a chance to contend for a Super Bowl in the near future.
