The season is halfway done, and it seems to have flown by. One wonders how the season has been for these five NFL rookie quarterbacks who have lead their team out on to the field under the pressure that comes with playing in the National Football League.
It’s that time again, where we hand out grades to the best and worst performing rookie QBs of the week. Also, keep your eyes peeled for a mid-season report card that I will be putting together some time in the next few days. For now, here’s week eight’s grades:
Russell Wilson, Seattle. Final grade: B
After a poor showing last week, Wilson has bounced back up the charts to be the top graded rookie this week. His Seahawks teams lost a close one to the Lions, but Wilson played well. He completed 25 of his 35 pass attempts for 236 yards. This included two touchdowns and one interception, leaving him with a very respectable 96.8 passer rating.
Wilson has completed over 60 per cent of his passes for the season, and has thrown 10 touchdowns. He has still shown enough ability to let the Seahawks know they made the right choice by picking him over Matt Flynn, who they seemed so desperate to sign from Green Bay.
Next week, Seattle face the Vikings, which could provide Wilson with a chance to put up some good numbers. He’s definitely one to watch.
Andrew Luck, Indianapolis. Final grade: B-
Luck and the Colts overcame a poor Tennessee Titans team this week and Luck was again, pretty effective.
He completed 26 out of 38 passes for 297 yards, throwing one touchdown and an interception.
The Stanford rookie has done well with a below average supporting cast, taking over the reigns of a team clearly in a rebuilding phase. He has shown composure and good leadership qualities and I am sure the Colts are happy with Luck’s performance this season.
The next two games for the Colts are against Miami and Jacksonville and I fully expect Indianapolis to be competitive in both. The future’s bright for Indy and their rookie quarterback.
Robert Griffin III, Washington. Final grade: C
A tough week for Griffin as his Redskins got soundly beaten by a tough Pittsburgh Steelers team. Griffin connected on just 16 of his 34 attempts for just 177 yards. He did throw one touchdown though and ended the day with a passer rating of 72.8.
It’s pretty evident that Griffin is still in the running for the rookie of the year award and so far this season, he has been the best performing rookie QB. He suffered a concussion earlier on in the year and I think he is learning to not take so many risks on the field. The last thing Griffin and the Redskins need is for his career to be cut short on an injury that could have been avoided.
Washington are 3-5 at the moment, but face a weak Carolina Panthers side next week, and they should pick up the win in that one.
Brandon Weeden, Cleveland. Final grade: D-
Weeden and the Cleveland Browns beat the Chargers this week in a low scoring affair, but Weeden was anything but spectacular. He only completed 11 passes of his 27 attempts for a disappointing 129 yards. There were no interceptions, but there were no touchdowns either.
Weeden, who at 29 is the oldest of the rookie passers, has had an up and down year. He has played well at times, reassuring the Browns that they were right to award him the starting job over Colt McCoy. But he has been erratic at times, and hasn’t been as consistent as he or Cleveland would have been hoping for.
I think his age is in his favor, and if Trent Richardson keeps playing well, and if Josh Gordon can be complimented at the wide receiver position, the Browns offense is definitely headed in the right  direction.
Ryan Tannehill, Miami.
No grade this week for the Dolphins rookie. He was injured early on the game and was replaced by Matt Moore. Tannehill has said he hopes to be ready for next week’s game though.
