[DarthMonk]

Just found this in my school mailbox:



Just say no to the SI curse.

DarthMonk

[DarthMonk]

The article:

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/vault/article/magazine/MAG1197389/index.htm

Excerpt:

As for how much he runs, and gets exposed to big hits, that's going to be a balancing act in the NFL. Mike Shanahan would be foolish to tether to the pocket a man who was a semifinalist in the 400-meter hurdles at the 2008 Olympic trials. But the one aspect that worried two personnel men last week was Griffin's ability to protect himself outside the pocket. He rushed 179 times last fall for 699 yards, and because he has such a physically imposing upper body, he didn't shy from open-field hits. Against Texas A&M last October, Griffin scrambled toward the sideline and was two steps out of bounds when he was blasted by an Aggies defender and sent flying hard into the bench area, prompting a personal-foul flag. Those are the kind of scary hits that mobile quarterbacks often absorb.

It's a game of roulette. Three quarterbacks had more than 75 rushing attempts last year, and two got hurt. Cam Newton ran the ball 126 times in 16 games and stayed healthy. Tebow had 130 attempts in 13 starts (including the playoffs) and was beat up by season's end. Vick had 76 carries in 13 games; he suffered a concussion and missed three games with broken ribs. In the 32 games Shanahan has coached in Washington, his quarterbacks have run the ball 62 times, total. When Shanahan had the mobile Jake Plummer in Denver, Plummer missed only five games in four seasons due to injury. He knew how to protect himself outside the pocket, and Shanahan didn't put him at undue risk very often. That's the way the Redskins will have to use Griffin, who must expose himself to fewer big hits at the NFL level. Shanahan won't want to take away Griffin's ability to improvise on big third downs, but you can be sure his coaches will stress to him that he must be a pocket passer—which is what Griffin, in an interview with SI at the combine, said he wants to be.

Mike Shanahan, who was Steve Young's offensive coordinator from 1992 to '94, should show Griffin video of Young as he matured into a great quarterback. In his last five NFL seasons Young averaged 47 rushing attempts a season. He is the last mobile quarterback to play at a Hall of Fame level. Last week Young said that he'd tell Griffin one thing above all: Do the work. "Most guys who are mobile use it as a crutch," Young says. "When a play looks like it's breaking down, they take off. And they win games that way, so they begin to play that way. But if you know the offense inside and out, you're most often going to find somewhere to go with the ball, so you won't have to expose yourself to the hits.

"Being mobile is not a negative," Young says, "as long as you're intellectually disciplined. As long as Robert Griffin becomes a master of his offense, with the way he moves, he can be great."

DarthMonk

[PAPDOG67]

He's also on the cover of ESPN this week. He's all over the place.

[The Hogster]

I hope he handles all of this well. He's blowing up pretty fast.

[44diesel]

RGIII's new Adidas ad: http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=iE1fvzrJp88

[riggofan]

Very cool. I wonder why there's so much more love for RGIII than Luck though?

[Deadskins]

Look at this joke of an article PFT just posted. http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/04/19/unnamed-scouts-offer-belated-criticism-of-rg3/

[Deadskins]

I guess McGinn wanted to protect his source.

[Deadskins]

But then again...

[Irn-Bru]

[SkinsJock]

Andrew Luck is not going to win any awards - he's just going to be one of the best QBs EVER

RG III is very marketable and while he may never be as good a QB as Andrew Luck, he's going to be one of the best QBs ever to put on a Washington Redskins jersey

we are so lucky to get this guy to be our QB

I cannot wait to see him play but I also am looking forward to seeing this guy be our QB for the next 10 - 12 years



I kept saying this

RG3 is going to be the Washington Redskins QB - if we'd wanted Luck we would have traded up to the top pick

simple really

[Countertrey]

If we picked at one, we'd probably still pick RGIII. Shanny is in love.

[skinsfan#33]

First the Heisman, now an SI cover, all he needs now is the Madden cover to complete his bad luck / jinx trifecta!

[SkinsJock]

The only luck that a talented NFL player needs is what he already has - he JUST needs to keep working hard to be better

There is no jinx that can overcome talent and willpower

[emoses14]