Which Records Will RGIII Break This Year?
Robert Griffin III was basically handed the Redskins starting QB position the moment Roger Goodell called out his name the day of the draft. From that moment, many have speculated as to what kind of year to expect from RGIII. Will he pass for 3,000 yards…will he run for a 1,000? Will he be better than Cam Newton, will he lead the Redskins to the playoffs?
Rather than compare Griffin III to Newton or Michael Vick, lets take a look at the 80 year records of other rookie QB’s for the Redskins. What records will RG III break? I’d say that if healthy, RGIII should re-write the record books, as his peers have not set the bar particularly high.
Here’s the Redskins single season records for rookie QB’s:
Passing TD’s - 18 - Mark Rypien - 1989
Passing Yards - 2337 - Norm Snead - 1961 Completions - 172 - Snead - 1961 Comp % - 54.8 - Rypien - 1989 Attempts - 375 - Snead - 1961 Interceptions - 22 - Snead - 1961 QB Rating - 88.1 - Rypien - 1989 Longest Pass - 88 - Ed Rubbert - 1987 Games Started - 14 - Snead - 1961 Wins - 4 - Jay Schroeder - 1985 Losses - 12 - Snead - 1961 Sacks - 18 - Patrick Ramsey - 2002 Rushing Attempts - 43 - Eddie Lebaron - 1952 Rushing Yards - 164 - Lebaron - 1952 Rushing TD’s - 3 - Snead 1961
Worth noting…Rypien held a clipboard for 2 seasons before appearing in a regular season game and Schroeder did for a season. How many records will RG III break? I’m going to place the over/under at 6. I’m calling rushing attempts and yards, wins, completions and passing yards as records that RGIII will break.
Tweet, Facebook or leave your predictions for RGIII. I look forward to hearing them.
Cheers and Hail
FedEx Field: Bad Luck Or Cursed?
Robert Griffin III is set to make his FedEx Field debut this Saturday against the Colts and some guy that goes by the name Luck. And while RGIII and Andrew Luck’s careers will be forever linked and compared, the question in my mind is…will the Redskins luck at FedEx Field change with the arrival of RGIII?
I’m not convinced that it’s just bad luck (and a lot of bad teams) as to the reason why the Redskins have struggled to win games at FedEx Field. I’m starting to wonder if FedEx Field is cursed. The Bears, Cardinals, Red Sox, Cubs and many other sports teams have suffered from curses, who’s to say that the Redskins aren’t as well?
The Redskins have won 50 games and lost 54 at FedEx over the 13 seasons that Dan Snyder has owned the team. 13 years is a pretty large sample size. 13 years of signing the best available free agents, 13 years of signing the best available coaches and all we have is a losing record to show for it. And guess what…the losing is getting worse. The Redskins have lost 11 of the last 13 games at FedEx Field. Redskins fans haven’t been able to watch a home playoff game since 1999!
The root of the curse? The Cooke family. The first order of business that Snyder had as owner was to erase Jack Kent Cooke’s name off the stadium that Cooke spent his final years on earth building. Snyder didn’t stop there, he also stopped recognizing the area around FedEx Field as Raljon, MD. Raljon was named after JKC’s sons, Ralph and John.
Jack Kent Cooke died before the first game was ever played at Jack Kent Cooke Stadium FedEx Field. Ralph Kent Cooke passed away in 1995. In death, they were disrespected…and this is how curses start. Crazy? Maybe, maybe not.
Whether it’s the Cooke family or just Dan Snyder, FedEx Field hasn’t been kind to the Redskins or the fans. Hopefully, RGIII is the remedy needed to reverse the curse.
Cheers and Hail
