5 rookie quarterbacks started week 1, that’s a crazy-high
number.
But at the same time, most of the situations really limited
the options of teams. Either they had to start the guy, or he forced his way
into the starting job (or the GM’s seat is so hot he needs to get the rookie in
there straight away).
So with all eyes on the top picks from April Andrew Luck and
Robert Griffin III I thought, after my piece in pre-season about rookie QB’s, I
would start a weekly piece about just how they all performed.
Yes, I’m aware that this means subjecting myself to not only
the horrific uniforms of Seattle,
but also the terrible, terrible Cleveland Browns. But I will get the fun
cutaways to Mrs. Tannehill, the joys of Mike Shanahan’s skin colour being
EXACTLY the same as the Redskins maroon and I just plain love Russell Wilson.
So let’s get into this. Every week I’ll rank the 5 rookies
(and any others that might start their game that week like Philly’s Nick Foles
or maybe Denver’s Brock Osweiler) on their performance THAT WEEK. Nothing
carries over week to week, I’m not overly interested in stat lines for this. I
want to see the QB make their progressions, sense pressure and stay calm. I
expect to see mistakes of course, but it’s how do they bounce back from those. Do
the mistakes snowball into awfulness or spur them to better things?
1: Robert Griffin III, Washington
Redskins vs. New Orleans
Saints
There are good debuts, and then there’s this. Mike Shanahan
took the Cam Newton blue print from his hot start last year and applied it
really, really well.
They started Griffin off with
a lot of screens, both running back and wide out, before Griffin hit Garcon for his maiden touchdown
in the NFL off a play action. I wasn’t a perfect pass by any means, Garcon had
to reach out and snag the ball before racing downfield, but they all count, and
it was good play.
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| "This NFL thing is pretty easy" |
The Redskins then started to use Griffin’s athleticism to it’s most. Roll
outs, boot legs, even a designed QB sweep with the right guard pulling out to
take him for a 1st down. They kept the Saints defense off balance
all day with good use of the run game.
But it was more than just gameplanning that resulted in Griffin’s big day. He
executed his play-fakes REALLY well, consistently continuing his action after
handing it off which resulted in slow back-side pursuit on runs and some very
affective play-action passes. His arm strength really came into effect on some
deep throws across the field and he generally had a nice time when dropping
straight back too.
One of the main things to remember is that this was against
the Saints, who have a poor defense and are finding their feet under the
interim interim head coach. The ‘Skins defense put Griffin in a really
comfortable position and meant he didn’t have to throw the ball nearly as much
as New Orleans would have liked.
This was a fantastic debut, accurate throws, a cool head and
importantly, the big fat W. But I expect some more trying tests to come for
RG3.
2: Russell Wilson, Seattle
Seahawks vs. Arizona
Cardinals
No, Wilson
wasn’t as impressive as he was in pre-season, but Pete Carroll played it
really, REALLY safe in his play-calling. They called 42 passes (including Wilson runs) to 25 runs,
the passes were conservative, rarely down field and as a result the Cardinals
defense quickly bought everyone down closer to the line of scrimmage. They
blitzed a lot and the line, particularly right tackle Breno Giacomini, couldn’t
handle it. Wilson’s
athleticism allowed him to keep plays alive and he made some plays with his
feet that were very nice.
The game, which was in hand until Kevin Kolb came in and was
miraculously good, will be remembered for the replacement refs messing up the
timeout situation at the end of the game. But Wilson put them in position to win, with the
last pass of the game going through Braylon Edwards’ hands (sound familiar to
anyone?).
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| Not matter what, Russell Wilson won't be able to outrun those horrible green shoes |
All in all I thought Wilson
did well in a tricky road game against a defense that is quietly very good at
every level. He’ll have tough tests in the weeks ahead at home against Dallas and then Green Bay,
if Pete Carroll feels able to put a bit more of the offensive burden on Wilson’s shoulders, I
think he could see the rewards come. The next few weeks are all about
progression for Wilson,
not about the scoreboard.
3: Andrew Luck, Indianapolis
Colts vs. Chicago
Bears
Life without an offensive line is going to be very, very
tough for Andrew Luck. He didn’t have a single play where he wasn’t getting
harried or hounded by the Bears defense. Sacked 3 times, knocked down multiple
more times and, chasing the game, was picked off 3 times.
Doesn’t sound like that great of a performance for the #1
pick and people were, jokingly I hope, already asking if the Colts regret not
taking Robert Griffin III. It’s a crazy statement that I hope won’t be repeated
again.
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| Pac-12 defenses didn't quite look like this... |
Luck’s performance, between the picks, was fairly good given
just how much pressure the Bears were putting on him. Having him drop back 50
times in his debut is far from ideal, the run game was pretty decent and Donald
Brown went at an impressive 5.3 yards a carry, but on just 9 carries. You have
to give a rookie with such a shaky offensive line more protection than that.
The game wasn’t even out of hand early, it was 24-14 at the half, perfectly
within reach.
Yes, they’ll be a lot of growing pains with a new head
coach, a new quarterback and a poor team. But there are bright spots. Reggie
Wayne was fantastic and Luck targeted him 18 times, showing a lot of trust and
understanding there, which has got to be a good sign for Colts fans. As has
rookie TE Coby Fleener playing well in week 1.
The impression I got from week 1 is that Luck is as good as
advertised, but it’s going to be very difficult for him to impress against
defenses who can pressure, especially as the Bears did, with just 4 a lot of
the time. He doesn’t have the O-line to hold up in a pass-heavy game which
could end up doing him a serious disservice this season.
4: Ryan Tannehill, Miami
Dolphins vs. Houston
Texans
In the pre-season I outlined the risks with starting such an
inexperienced QB in week 1. And really, Ryan Tannehill expertly showed what I
was worried about.
A poor day against a very good defense is kind of expected in your 1st start in the NFL, but one
of the big problems was the amount of tipped passes.8 in total show just how on the edge Tannehill was playing. Even more worrying however, is that stud defensive end JJ Watt was able to bat or tip 3 passes (2 of which lead to intereceptions). As big a reach as Watt has, he didn't have to go up high to get a hand on the ball, he took up good positions in passing lanes and Tannehill either didn't see him, or couldn't adjust himself to throw over him. Which ever it was, it's a worry.
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| NB: Throw it to the people in green |
There are always going to be kinks to iron out in rookie QB's, but you would hope that a guy you spend an 8th overall pick on has elementary things like sliding in the pocket and throwing over the DL down. Look, I think Tannehill could one day be a good QB, but not right now. He got pressured and hit all day as the Texans attacked him, and he responded with exactly 3 points off a 45 yard drive, which was their longest while the game was competitive.
The Miami camp is still positives, with nothing but respect for Tannehill, and there is a lot of sense in starting his learning curve now, even if it will lead to some tough games ahead and a really rough season in the wins column.
Tannehill will have easier games that's for sure, perhaps starting with this week's against Oakland.
5: Brandon Weeden, Cleveland
Browns vs. Philadelphia
Eagles
Weeden started the game getting caught under the giant USA flag. I
think he wishes he could have stayed there.
It was a seriously ugly game from the 28 year old QB, if it wasn’t a slant
route, Weeden had a very tough time hitting the receiver, and when the Eagles
started taking that away it was really all over. Anything down the field was
wayward and was always a threat to be picked off. Twice he went down the
sideline to a blanketed WR and saw it picked off by a perfectly placed
Dominuque Rodgers-Cromartie.
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| Brandon Weeden couldn't find the strike zone, so the natural place for him to end up is in Cleveland |
Weeden didn’t get any help from the run game, with Trent
Richardson going at just 2.1 yards a carry, but when you’re
completing passes at just a 34% rate you really don’t have
many excuses to make.
As the game went on, and Weeden started getting pressured more, his
throws got worse and worse. He was simply incapable of getting close to his WR’s on even
medium routes, it’s hard to think that Colt McCoy couldn’t have
done a better job.
Yes, the Eagles have a good defense with plenty of playmakers at the
back end, and no, Weeden doesn’t have any good receivers, but he should still be
doing better than this. It was an abject performance and Cleveland will need him to get better.
- Toby Durant (@TDonSport)
- The Pulling Linemen
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