Yep. I said it. RGIII is the best player in the NFL.

[Jugband McGillicuddy]

So yeah, I'm just going to say it. Robert Griffin III is the best player in the National Football League.

Stop scoffing! Wipe that look off your face! And yes, MikeSr, he absolutely CAN be serious!

I had a conversation with a co-worker yesterday, a Ravens fan, and during the course of our chat, he asked me if there was "any player in the NFL I would take straight up for RG3."

It took me fractions of a nanosecond to answer "absolutely not."

Let's think about it critically. Who would you take straight up for THE most dynamic player in the game?

Aaron Rodgers? He's certainly a better pure passer. But he may not be mobile enough for our pass protection, and he's 28. That's not ancient by any stretch. Quarterbacks can play into their mid 30s without much trouble. But that would give us about 7 years of Rodgers, as opposed to twice that with Griffin.

Drew Brees? Up there in years even more.

Peyton Manning? Surely you jest.

Arian Foster? Don't need him.

Ray Rice? Ditto.

LeSean McCoy? Tritto.

Seriously. Who would you take for Griffin in a one-for-one deal? I'll wait..........Exactly. No one.

Now let's look at what he's done statistically.

Our rookie quarterback is currently the #3 rated passer in the NFL, behind only Rodgers and Manning. He leads the league in completion percentage and yards per attempt. And his TD to INT ratio is better than 2:1.

But as we all know, and the rest of the league finds out on a weekly basis, his arm is far from the only threat he poses. He's #12 in rushing, and second...let me repeat that...SECOND...in rushing touchdowns. (Not to mention his co-league-leading average of 7.3 YPC.)

Let me name drop for a minute.

Among the backs RG3 has outrushed are: LeSean McCoy, Reggie Bush, Willis McGahee, MJD, Steven Jackson, Matt Forte...need I go on? OK...Michael Turner, Darren McFadden, DeMarco Murray, #3 overall pick Trent Richardson, and Ryan Matthews.

So what do you call a guy who is a top-3 passer, top-12 in rushing, and has outrushed some of the top backs in the game? You call him what he is...

...the best player in the NFL.

And the scary thought is that he's actually going to get better. A lot better. Either that, or he's a Cam Newton.

(God help the Skins fan in me.)

Hail.

 

[Jugband McGillicuddy]

How dare you mention my name without calling me Dr.!
Posted via BGO Mobile Device

Oh, sorry, but I was actually addressing "MikeSr703."

 

[SilentThreat]

I dont know about the best, and i cant make the argument for anyone else, but there's nobody else i'd rather have on my team i know that much

 

[Elephant]

Puhleez! We all know that Matt Flynn would have been a better fit on this team!

 

[SC_RedskinsFan]

I am going to have to agree with you, there is no player that I want on my team more than RG3. He is amazing to watch! MVP........

 

[Goaldeje]

Not to pick nits, but you're arguing two different things. I don't think he is the best player in the league (though he's close), but I do think he has the highest trade value. I don't think there is a player in the league we would trade for him, and conversely if we were shopping him, I don't think there is a player on any team's roster that would be off limits in those discussions.

Again, I don't think he is the best player in the league, but given his enormous potential and youth, there is no one else I would rather have. No one.

 

[Canadian Hog]

While I'm head over heels with the fact that Robert is playing so great, responding to the pressure of leading this franchise out of the depths of hell, and making this team competitive again, the fact of the matter is that there are going to continue to be doubters and critics until he proves himself for multiple seasons. Let's face it, he's faced every team for the first time this year and there will undoubtedly be adjustments made by the opposition as times goes on.

As happy as I am with his play right now, I'll be even more happy if he can come back again next year and do near to the same thing he's doing this year, or better.

Based on the way the last 20 odd seasons have gone as a Redskins fan, I'm always going to have that bit of fear that this is too good to be true.

 

[Jugband McGillicuddy]

Goal, you make a fair point, and I take it. I did make two different arguments, but I also think they both stand.

And CH, you make a great point as well, and one that I admit concerns me. Look, we all can see what Kyle is trying to do with RG3. This offense is very "simple." And I don't intend that in a condescending way at all. We do a few things. We do them VERY well, but we only do a few things. Draw. Boot. Option. Option fake. Draw fake. Slant. Comeback. Screen. Pound AlMo.

We execute those things very, very well. And there's something to be said for doing just a few things, but doing them at an incredibly high level (see also: Washington Redskins, 1982.) But eventually -- and like you, I think next year -- teams are going to start "sitting" on those few things we do, and stopping them. It's then that RG3 will get his true test. How does he adapt when forced out of his comfort zone? Hopefully as well as he did when Osi and Tuck forced him out of it on 4th and 10 from his own 20.

 

[servumtuum]

Mike, I think Goal's just trying to establish some type of criteria-a practical impossibility on a subject so inherently subjective as Robert Griffin III being the "best player in the NFL". There is really no out-of-bounds perspective here either.

The exuberance you and I and everyone else are feeling having him at QB is understandable and justified and deserved probably more than any other fans in the NFL. We've waited far too long for something to be this excited about and however we choose to express it is fine.


I, if anyone else, am among the first to try to inject a "let's be a bit more realistic here" about things but I am thrilled beyond belief at the absolute delight and shivers-down-the-spine feelings I get watching RG at work for my Redskins. In terms of how a player affects a fanbase, I don't think any other fanbase is as thrilled by any of their players as Redskins fans are about Robert and in those terms he is, IMO, definitely the best player in the NFL.

If you want a more "objective" measure well, with the only possible exception being Aaron Rodgers the way he's played the last two weeks, RG3 has been the best player in the NFL at making his team able to compete with anybody in the league.

Going even further-no other player in the league has put a team on his shoulders and carried them like Robert has the Redskins.

None.

From that perspective-yes, I'd say he's the best in the league.

 

[Jugband McGillicuddy]

I have to say, the responses here are refreshing to read. I fully expected some serious clowning, even on a diehard Skins board. And I really have tried to avoid jumping to this kind of conclusion. I've said for a couple weeks that he's "playing" as well as anyone in the league, without making that leap to a conclusion, that a rookie (no matter how good) doesn't "deserve."

But I don't care about that kind of perception anymore. If we had any secondary whatsoever, and we're celebrating RG3 leading the game-winning drive, against the defending world champs, for first place in the NFC East. But that's OK. This can be our little secret a little longer.

 

[Rymanofthenorth]

what makes Rg3 so good is that he doesnt just rely on his superlative gifts, he actually seems like he wants to learn to play qb. if he keeps developing as a passer, there is no limit to what he might achieve, and i was not a fan of what we paid, still not, but his play has made it easier to take lol