RG3 & Morris are Rookie of the Year finalists
GETTY PHOTO
Sources are reporting that Washington Redskins QB Robert Griffin III and TB Alfred Morris are two of the five finalists for NFL Rookie of the Year. I'm not sure who the other three nominees are, but if I had to guess I'd guess Seahawks QB Russell Wilson, Colts QB Andrew Luck and Buccaneers TB Doug Martin.
Griffin set a rookie record with a passer rating of 102.4 this year, while Wilson came in second all time with a passer rating of 100. Griffin also set a rookie record with 815 rushing yards. Wilson tied the rookie record for passing touchdowns with 26. Griffin also set a rookie record by throwing an interception on only 1.3 percent of his passes and turned the ball over only seven times all year -- five interceptions and two lost fumbles.
Like Griffin and Wilson, Luck led his team to the playoffs this season, a year after all three teams missed the playoffs. Luck's team made the biggest jump in wins, going from two in 2011 to 11 this year. Luck also set a rookie record with 4374 passing yards. He threw 23 touchdowns, but also 18 interceptions, far more than Griffin or Wilson. His completion percentage of 54.1 and passer rating of 76.5 were far lower than Griffin or Wilson.
Alfred Morris rushed for 1613 yards and 13 touchdowns, both Redskins rookie records and the former also a franchise record. Doug Martin rushed for 1454 yards and 11 TD and, unlike Morris, Martin was a factor in the passing game, too. Martin caught 49 passes for 472 yards and another touchdown. In addition, Martin lost only one fumble this year, while Morris lost three. Morris had the better average yards per carry, leading Martin 4.8 to 4.6.
I would rank the nominees this way, in terms of who had the best rookie season:
1. Robert Griffin III [Rookie of the Year]
2. Russell Wilson
3. Andrew Luck
4. Doug Martin
5. Alfred Morris
and both are deserving of the award . . . as are wilson, luck and martin . . . should be an interesting vote, but due to popularity i feel RGIII wins . . . and i'll take it!! . . . though it would be nice to give the 3 rookie QB co-player of the year
