Are RG3 and Alfred Morris The Best Rookie Combo in NFL History?
Just seven weeks into the NFL season rookies Robert Griffin III and Alfred Morris have fans of the Washington Redskins excited not only about the future, but about the present as well. Both have been putting up Pro Bowl type numbers, RG3 is 133-189 for a 70.4 percent completion % (tops in the league), 1601 yards and seven touchdowns (101.8 QB rating) to go along with 468 yards rushing and 6 TD’s rushing. Morris is currently second in the NFL with 658 yards (Arian Foster has 659) on 138 attempts and five touchdowns. If Griffin gets 32 more rushing yards this week the combo will become the first QB/RB rookie combo to both rush for 500 yards in a season.
The dynamics of the Redskins offense are completely different with these two in the backfield this year. The Redskins are a team that has had trouble scoring over 17 points a game for quite some time, not this year as the team has hovered around 30 points a game all season. In fact, the Redskins are averaging over 175+ yards rushing yards a game, and 200+ passing yards a game, that’s something that hasn’t been done over the span of a full season since the 1958 Baltimore Colts did it.
Griffin is the obvious leader of the team this year, but the two complement each other very well. Having Griffin as an added rushing threat has eased the pressure off Morris, and teams are highly unlikely to try to stack the box against him with the thought of Griffin throwing the ball over their heads for massive gains through the air. It could be argued that both of these talented and young players are having seasons that put them above any other rookie in the league this year. I could easily see the rookie of the year voting coming down to the two of them at the end of the season. No matter what, one thing is for sure, these two gifted young men control the destiny of the Redskins this year, and for perhaps many years to come.
