The NFL rookies are almost halfway through their first season, and it’s becoming easier to tell the good passers apart from the not so good passers. Let’s take a look at how they performed this week, and I don’t think anyone will disagree with who is sitting proudly at the top of the class.
Robert Griffin III, Washington. Final grade: A
Even though his team lost out to the New York Giants, Griffin again turned in a performance that made the rest of the league stand up and take notice.
Griffin completed 20 out of 28 passes for 258 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. Again, he was excellent with the ball in his hands, rushing for 89 yards on nine carries. This display led to Giants defensive lineman Osi Umenyora stating: “that’s the best quarterback we’ve played this year”.
The former Baylor QB is clearly a front-runner for rookie of the year, and it’s interesting to note how he has performed compared to Andrew Luck, who was taken with the first overall pick this year. I for one, think Griffin has had the best year so far. Let’s see how long it continues.
Brandon Weeden, Cleveland Browns. Final grade: B
Weeden has had some pretty decent games this year, with his age perhaps contributing to that. At 29, maybe he has more composure and leadership qualities than some of his younger counterparts.
Either way, in this week’s loss to the Colts, Weeden was 25 of 41 for 264 yards. This included two touchdowns and no interceptions, leaving him with a 96.0 QB rating. All in all, a decent performance, earning him second place on this week’s chart.
Andrew Luck, Indianapolis Colts. Final grade: C-
This week’s showing from Luck was average at best. He threw for just 186 yards and no touchdowns as his Colts team knocked off Brandon Weeden’s Cleveland Browns.
The number one pick in this year’s draft has been pretty average all year, completing just over fifty per cent of his passes, and throwing seven touchdowns together with seven interceptions.
We need to remind ourselves that the Colts are in something of a rebuilding stage, and Luck is very much a big part of that. It must be mentioned how well veteran wide receiver Reggie Wayne is playing this year, leading the team with 47 receptions. He certainly makes Luck’s job a whole lot easier.
Russell Wilson, Seattle Seahawks. Final grade: F
What a fall from grace for the Seahawks rookie, considering he was top of the class last week after a great outing against the Patriots.
This week was a totally different story, with Wilson completing just 9 passes out of 23 for 122 yards, no touchdowns and one interception. He finished the game with an embarrassingly low 38.7 QB rating.
Wilson has been up and down all year. The Seahawks are hoping for a little more up than he has been able to show so far. He has the ability and can make plays with his feet and his arm. He just needs to develop the type of consistency that is required to be a successful passer in the NFL.
Ryan Tannehill, Miami Dolphins. Bye Week.
Tune in next week, where we’ll have our mid-year report on this season’s NFL rookie quarterbacks.