Redskins Rookie Report: Week 12
ARROW UP
PK Kai Forbath: Probably the team's best personnel move since drafting Alfred Morris was signing Forbath on October 9. Virtually flawless on scoring kicks, he has made 10 of 10 field goal attempts and 17 of 18 on extra points, with the sole blemish being a blocked extra point against the Steelers. Kicked a 50-yarder in his pro debut against the Vikings and is still making clutch kicks, as evidenced by his huge 48-yarder against the Cowboys with less than 3 minutes remaining on Thanksgiving Day. Has only 12 touchbacks on 32 kickoffs, so that could improve, but opposing starting positions have declined the past two weeks, indicating an improvement in hang time and coverage. Forbath is 7-7 on field gols 40+ yards in length.
QB Robert Griffin III: We're running out of adjectives to describe the weekly performances of the best 22-year-old football player in the world. Has thrown 8 TD and only 1 INT in the last two games, giving him 16 passing TD against only 4 INT on the season, good for a passer rating of 104.6. RG3 trails only perennial MVP candidates Aaron Rodgers, Peyton Manning and Tom Brady in passer rating. In addition, RG3 has rushed for 642 yards and 6 TD, an average of 6.5 yards per carry. He's on pace to rush for over 930 yards this season. Has won four Rookie of the Week awards, including for week 11, and will be a finalist, at the very least, for the award in week 12. Against the Cowboys, Griffin completed 20 of 28 passes for 312 yards [11.1 yards per attempt], 4 TD and 1 INT. His 136.2 passer rating was third best for him on the season, behind only masterful performances in week one and week eleven. What rookie wall? RG3 appears to be getting better as the year goes on.
TB Alfred Morris: Although he was still running well, Morris had hit a scoring drought, not getting into the end zone since week 6 against the Vikings. And after compiling only 59, 76 and 76 rushing yards in the three previous games, Morris needed another strong performance. He got it on Thanksgiving Day against the Cowboys, rushing for 113 yards and 1 TD on 24 carries. He didn't have a signature run on the day, but he averaged over 5 yards per carry on first down, consistently setting up Washington's offense in good position on second and third down, allowing them to use the full panoply of play-action passes in the playbook. Now has 982 rushing yards and 6 TD on the season, averaging 4.7 yards per carry. On a pace to rush for over 1400 yards in his rookie campaign.
WR Aldrick Robinson: Showed signs he was disappearing even with Pierre Garcon still hobbled with a bad toe, but Robinson has re-emerged the last two weeks, catching a 49-yard TD pass against the Eagles and a 68-yard TD pass against the Cowboys. That's two passes thrown to him, both caught, for a total of 117 yards and two TD in the past two games. Pretty efficient. He's still not a big part of the game plan, getting only 9 plays from scrimmage against the Eagles and 10 against the Cowboys, but he's making them count.
ARROW SIDEWAYS
QB Kirk Cousins: Has not played since the 5th week of the season when he relieved an injured RG3 in the second half of a loss to the Atlanta Falcons. Continues to be the team's top backup quarterback so there is no sign of a problem with Cousins.
CB Richard Crawford: The 7th round pick continues to be a weekly addition to the inactive list and has not played since game 5 against the Falcons. Appears to have a future on the team, but that future is not now.
OG Adam Gettis: A regular on the team's game day inactive list.
OG Josh LiRibeus: Regularly making the active roster on game day, but not playing due to good health from the starters.
ARROW DOWN
LB Keenan Robinson: Only on this list because he's likely done for the season due to injury. The 4th round pick from Texas has 11 tackles this season, but has seen most of his work on special teams. Notched 3 tackles against the Cowboys in week 12, but tore a pectoral muscle and should be lost for the remainder of the season. Head Coach Mike Shanahan likes him a lot, though, calling him a future every-down starter for the Redskins at inside linebacker. Very likely London Fletcher's replacement.
Redskins Rookie of the Week: QB Robert Griffin III
Redskins Rookie of the Year to date: QB Robert Griffin III
Top Redskins Rookies 2012
1. Robert Griffin III
2. Alfred Morris
3. Kai Forbath
Note: Kai Forbath and Aldrick Robinson are included in this list because, although they were NFL players in 2011, they did not play or accumulate any statistics until 2012.
