*Gregg Rosenthal watches every rookie quarterback snap and ranks them based on that week only. *
Hurricane Sandy delayed things this week, but he left his wife and daughter sleeping in powerless lower Manhattan on Halloween night to escape to the power-filled NFL offices to watch the rookies in the wee hours of the morning. All for you.
Luck is back on top of the list for the first time since Week 5. After a relative dip in his play, Luck might have enjoyed his finest game to date. It's ridiculous how many insane throws on the move into tight windows that he made against the Tennessee Titans.
Luck reminds us of Ben Roethlisberger. Coaches can scheme a free rusher to get to him, but they can't get Luck on the ground. Luck was picked off on a bomb to Reggie Wayne, but his accuracy throughout the game was his best of the year despite terrible pass protection. He delivered so many passes while being hit.
What sets Luck apart came late in the game. On third-and-8 in overtime with the Colts on the outside edge of field-goal range, Luck's first read was taken away. Pressure was all around him. He stepped up and delivered a dart to Reggie Wayne to keep the drive alive and win the game. Most veterans can't make that play.
Wilson enjoyed an exceptionally clean game against the Detroit Lions. The Seahawks passed 35 times to just 25 runs, and Wilson handled the extra workload with quick throws. He wasn't always accurate, but he didn't make any bad decisions.
The Seahawks still don't have much of an intermediate pass game. It's either short stuff, dump-offs to backs or bombs. Wilson was mostly smart and safe, and he drew a long pass-interference penalty. There still were a few third-down throws made short of the sticks.
Wilson's best moments came in the fourth quarter. He delivered a 17-yard pass on third-and-10 to keep a drive alive. Later, he hit a slant on fourth-and-2 to set up the go-ahead touchdown before Matthew Stafford topped him. There weren't a lot of "wow" plays here, but Wilson has continued his upward trajectory over the last month after a rocky start.Â
It's not Griffin's fault his receivers had a case of the drops. (Although, to be fair, a few of the throws called "drops" by receivers were thrown behind them.) It was interesting to see what the Redskins did trailing in a game. They stuck with the running game and all their run-action plays. They only called two designed runs for Griffin. (And a dumb designed play as a receiver.) The Pittsburgh Steelers did a great job containing Griffin in the pocket. They didn't fall for a flea flicker.
I thought about putting RG3 second this week because of all the drops, but he also made a few mistakes to stop drives. Twice, he missed open receivers that led to punts. There were rough conditions, so it was understandable. Even Griffin's "off" weeks are pretty good.
Weeden's stat line (11 of 27 for 129 yards) was brutal, so I was expecting a terrible game against the San Diego Chargers. Really, it was more about the weather and coaching. The Browns often ran the ball in third-and-long despite the conditions. Their drives were consistently run-run-pass. (And those passes usually were screens or slants.)
Still, there were some legitimate concerns. Weeden had four passes deflected, which has been a growing problem. He was not always patient in the pocket. When his first read is taken away, he sometimes panics and just eats the ball.
Tannehill hurt his knee on his second series against the New York Jets. He was inaccurate on a few throws before the injury, but he led the Dolphins to a field goal on his first drive. Miami squandered great field position after a successful onside kick after that. It looks like Tannehill will play this week against Indianapolis in a fun rookie showdown.
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