Good Luck Is Not Enough

If Bill Polian is sitting on the number one pick in the 2012 NFL Draft next April, I’d 100% understand if he selects Andrew Luck as his QB of the future.  I understand how it would be near impossible NOT to take him.  He’s the most decorated college QB since Peyton Manning.  He would have been the number 1 overall pick last year if he declared. People have suggested that teams are tanking the season just to be able to pick him, also known as the “Suck For Luck” campaign. He’s a slam dunk to be a starter for 10 years and make a half-dozen pro-bowls and possibly even a championship or two. You can’t possibly go wrong hitching your franchise to Andrew Luck’s right arm.

But if I were sitting in that GM chair next April, with the #1 pick and that clock ticking down, the name “Andrew Luck” would not be what comes out of Roger Goodell’s mouth.

If I’m hitching my franchise to a QB, I’m hitching it to the right arm (and legs) of Robert Griffin III, and I wouldn’t think twice.

The above video is billed as the highlight video for the Baylor Bears football team from their upset victory over Oklahoma, but that isn’t accurate. What it really is Robert Griffin III’s emergence into the national consciousness, with a few plays not involving him accidentally included for some reason.  Griffin’s stat line doesn’t tell the whole story, but lets start there. RGIII was 21-for-34 passing for 479 yards (School Record) and 4 TD’s, while also managing 72 yards rushing, combining for 551 total yards of offense. Baylor as a team managed 616. To say Griffin was the focal point of the Baylor offense is an understatement.  He was the entirety of the Baylor offense.

It’s not like this performance came out of nowhere either. Griffin has been a Heisman Trophy candidate the entire season.  He has thrown for 3572 yards, 33 touchdowns, against only 5 interceptions, while also rushing for 550 yards and 5 additional TD’s. Through his first 3 games he had more TD passes than Incompletions. He’s completed at least 70% of his passes in 7 of his 10 games this season.  He is a statistical machine.

Griffin truly shines, however, when you have the privilege to watch him play and see how he racks up all those insane numbers. A world class track star in high school, he runs with long strides that disguise just how fast he’s really going, making it seem like it just isn’t very hard for him. He possesses an absolute cannon of a right arm, throwing the most gorgeous deep ball in all of College Football right now.  His accuracy is pinpoint, as suggested by his inhuman 72.9% completion percentage.

The bow on this package is his attitude. He is a tireless worker, transforming himself from purely an athlete as a freshman to now a true quarterback. He’s a great leader, evidenced by the glowing praise all his teammates constantly give him.  He also comes across as a very mature, level-headed individual, already having a fiancé and never seeming to be too high or low emotionally.

Andrew Luck is the safe play, the guaranteed success. He has the pedigree of a QB father, the experience of a pro-style system, a myriad of physical gifts of his own.  Andrew Luck will be an excellent NFL quarterback.  But Robert Griffin is a world class athlete. Robert Griffin has a better arm. Robert Griffin is an unimpeachable leader.

Robert Griffin, is better.