Tracking the Rookie Quarterbacks: Week 12
Below is our week 12 evaluation of all the rookie quarterbacks starting in the NFL this season. Below that is how we have evaluated all the rookie quarterbacks over the course of the 2012 season. We expand the list this week to account for new staters Nick Foles and Ryan Lindley.
Week 12
| PLAYER |
COMP % |
YARDS |
TD/ INT |
AVG PER PASS |
RUSH YARDS |
TD |
PASS RTG |
W/L |
| Nick Foles | 76.0 | 119 | 0/0 | 5.7 | 0 | 0 | 89.2 | L, 22-30 |
| Robert Griffin | 71.0 | 311 | 4/1 | 11.1 | 29 | 0 | 132.6 | W, 38-31 |
| Ryan Lindley | 59.6 | 312 | 0/4 | 6.0 | 1 | 0 | 44.7 | L, 17-31 |
| Andrew Luck | 54.0 | 240 | 1/1 | 6.5 | 20 | 0 | 71.9 | W, 20-13 |
| Ryan Tannehill | 69.2 | 253 | 1/1 | 9.7 | 33 | 0 | 97.1 | W, 23-16 |
| Brandon Weeden | 65.3 | 158 | 1/1 | 6.1 | 8 | 0 | 78.7 | W, 20-14 |
| Russell Wilson | 77.7 | 224 | 2/0 | 8.3 | 38 | 0 | 125.9 | L, 16-23 |
Nick Foles is struggling early in his career. A third round pick of the Philadelphia Eagles, Foles was forced into the ninth game of the season when Michael Vick was knocked out by the Cowboys, who gave the starter a concussion. Foles couldn't rally the team to beat the Cowboys and then got blown out by the Redskins in his first career start. He lost last night on Monday Night Football to the Panthers and 2011's Rookie of the Year Cam Newton. Foles completed a high percentage of his passes against Carolina, but he couldn't throw a TD, failed to convert in the red zone and had to lean on a strong running game from TB Bryce Brown, who was making his first career start. Foles had to play without Lesean McCoy and, for most of the game, Desean Jackson, and is playing behind a makeshift offensive line. Injuries and the rookie passer's teammates are not helping him out much.
Robert Griffin III returned to his home state of Texas for Thanksgiving and feasted upon the Cowboys with four TD passes, over 300 passing yards and a passer rating of 132.6. Once again, RG3 was the reason the Redskins won and in the last two weeks he has been unstoppable, throwing 8 TD passes and only one turnover while turning around his team's fortunes and getting them back -- barely -- into the NFC playoff race. Cowboys owner declared himself "in awe" of RG3 and he isn't the only one. Griffin is the only rookie in NFL history of throw four TD passes in back-to-back games and his four Rookie of the Week honors is tops in the league.
Ryan Lindley got shoved into the starting lineup after injuries Kevin Kolb and John Skelton and early indications are not promising. The Cardinals have lost seven in a row after winning their first four and it seems difficult to imagine them winning more than one game in their remaining five. The QB and offensive line positions are a huge problem for the Cardinals and Lindley does not seem to be the man to change that. He threw four interceptions to the Rams in a 31-17 loss last Sunday and it occurs to me that telling a brand new starting rookie QB to throw 52 passes against a good St. Louis defense was probably not a great idea.
Andrew Luck was upstaged by fellow Colts rookie T.Y. Hilton, who returned a punt 75 yards for a TD, as Indy topped Buffalo 20-13. Luck was fine, completing just over 50% of his passes and tossing both one TD and a pick. He failed twice in the red zone, leading to short field goals by PK Adam Vinatieri and that's not good. However, I thought Luck, while not spectacular, clearly outplayed veteran BIlls QB Ryan Fitzpatrick, who often seems like the dumbest Harvard graduate in many years.
Ryan Tannehill won the battle of rookie quarterbacks past Sunday when his Dolphins rallied to beat Russell Wilson and the visiting Seattle Seahawks. Tannehill didn't outplay Wilson, but he did lead his team back from a 10-point deficit by scoring 17 fourth quarter points to win 24-21. Tannehill continues to be up and down this season, but he is proving he can play at a fairly high level and playing well against a stout Seahawks defense is nothing to sneeze at. After his loss to Andrew Luck and the Colts earlier this season, Tannehill is now 1-1 in rookie v. rookie games this season.
Brandon Weeden suffered concussion in an ugly 20-14 win over hated division rivals, the Steelers, a team the Browns had not beaten since 2009. It is not yet clear if Weeden will play this coming week, but he was good enough to win this past week. Just barely, though and he didn't do much to earn it. The Steelers turned the ball over 8 times, literally handing the game to the Browns and Weeden didn't screw it up. The Browns are 3-3 after starting the season 0-5 and Weeden has helped bring some hope to the long-suffering football fans of Cleveland.
Russell Wilson is now 1-5 on the road as his Seahawks continue to prove they are a creature of their home field and little more. Wilson, however, is now playing well on the road, even in losing causes. He actually outplayed Tannehill in Miami but lost a heartbreaker and played well in a four point road loss to the Lions back in October. Wilson is getting better and better, with a passer rating well over 100 in each of his last three games. In fact, Wilson hasn't played poorly since a 13-6 Thursday night loss to the mighty 49ers back on October 18. He threw two more TD passes last Sunday, giving him 17 on the season, more than any other rookie QB. He's gone three straight games without an interception and has more than justified the confidence Head Coach Pete Carroll showed when he gave the football to his rookie passer.
Weekly Winner: Robert Griffin III [Redskins]
2012 Season To Date
| PLAYER |
COMP % |
YARDS |
TD/ INT |
AVG PER PASS |
RUSH YARDS |
TD |
PASS RATING |
W/L |
| Nick Foles | 55.1 | 423 | 1/3 | 5.4 | 0 | 0 | 58.9 | 0-2 |
| Robert Griffin | 67.5 | 2504 | 16/4 | 8.2 | 642 | 6 | 104.6 | 5-6 |
| Ryan Lindley | 55.6 | 376 | 0/4 | 5.2 | 1 | 0 | 47.0 | 0-1 |
| Andrew Luck | 56.8 | 3205 | 13/13 | 7.1 | 183 | 5 | 71.9 | 7-4 |
| Ryan Tannehill | 59.0 | 2373 | 7/12 | 7.1 | 63 | 1 | 72.9 | 5-6 |
| Brandon Weeden | 55.9 | 2456 | 12/13 | 6.2 | 72 | 0 | 70.9 | 3-8 |
| Russell Wilson | 63.6 | 2051 | 17/8 | 7.3 | 227 | 0 | 93.9 | 6-5 |
SEASON WINNER TO DATE: Robert Griffin III, Washington Redskins
2. Russell Wilson [Seahawks]
3. Andrew Luck [Colts]
4. Ryan Tannehill [Dolphins]
5. Brandon Weeden [Browns]
6. Nick Foles [Eagles]
7. Ryan Lindley [Cardinals]
