Andrew Luck is Currently Winning The RG3 Debate

Just over a year and a half ago, Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III were drafted into the NFL, coupled with much praise and fanfare. These two were going to be the next all-time great quarterbacks the NFL would produce. I watched both players while they were in college, and I never felt there was a difference between the two when it came to their potentials to be great. 

They were both “can’t miss” prospects. Where Andrew Luck was the classic pocket passer, RG3 was the new and improved Randall Cunningham, just faster and with a better arm. Where Luck was your quiet, shy, “out-of-the-media” style quarterback, RG3 seemed to love the limelight, praise, and hype that came with the position. Two completely different quarterbacks, but again, both potentially all-time greats.

Both Andrew Luck and RG3 had excellent rookie seasons and lived up to expectations. Then at the end of their rookie season, RG3 got injured and that’s when the comparisons started going left. RG3 has had a tough sophomore season to say the least. 

It was reported today that RG3 told his coaches not to show game footage during practice when the footage showed RG3 playing poorly. The report also claimed that RG3 is doing this because of his “insecurities.”  No one in the Redskins organization confirmed these reports but the fact they are even out there is telling.

Now, back in Week 12, after Washington lost to the Philadelphia Eagles, RG3 blamed the loss on his coaches, defense, receivers and even his lineman. He threw everyone under the bus except himself. Accountability is the true sign of a leader, and it doesn’t appear as if RG3’s stock is high in that department. 

Veteran wide receiver Santana Moss made comments this week about “people” not taking accountability for things happening on the field. We can all read through the lines: the “people” in his comments specifically meant RG3 and this is the point when the wheels start to fall off. 

It appears RG3 isn’t a big fan of Mike Shanahan, and with all the press conferences and remarks made to the media about him, I am sure Shanahan doesn’t care too much for RG3 either. Unfortunately for Shanahan, he’s the coach, not the star quarterback that the owner spent multiple draft picks on. Shanahan will only be able to survive the criticism for so long – until Dan Snyder becomes impatient and fires him.

When a team is losing, that’s when you see the true character and chemistry of the leaders on that team. Because when you are winning, all is right with the world. Birds are chirping, children are skipping in the streets and there’s not a cloud in the sky. When you lose, you hate your life and the guys around you seem like bums. Then the knives come out and it’s every diva for himself. Rough. 

It looks like Washington DC politics has shown up in the Redskins locker room. There is a lot of finger-pointing going on in the nation’s capital, and no one seems to be pointing the finger at himself. 

Meanwhile in the middle of the country, hoe-hum quarterback extraordinaire Andrew Luck is having an MVP-type season.  He has beaten the Peyton Manning and the Seattle Seahawks.   His team even went into San Fran and embarrassed Colin Kaepernick and John Harbaugh. The only one in that organization doing any finger-pointing, is the Indianapolis Colts owner Jim Irsay, and he’s pointing the finger at Peyton Manning for only winning one Super Bowl.

So far it looks like those people who argued Andrew Luck would be better than RG3 are currently winning the argument. 

Reminds me of a conversation my older brothers and sisters used to have when I was growing up between which artist was better, Michael Jackson or Prince. They were both in their primes before my time, so I was not present at the beginning of that debate. But I sure was present at the tail end, and Prince, who is Andrew Luck in this scenario, came out on top. 

Now don’t get me wrong, Michael Jackson is without question the greatest artist of all time – there’s no debating that. But from 1992 on, Michael was a mess. He started off with the Jackson 5 and killed it (his version of the Heisman), then dropped “Thriller” early in his career (rookie of the year and MVP mixed in one), and dude was on top of the world, moon-walking straight to legend status. Then it all went downhill from there. 

Michael’s hair caught on fire, his skin became remarkably lighter, and he married Elvis Presley’s daughter. What. Just. Happened. Michael got accused of doing Lord knows to children, was hanging babies over balconies, had a gold sarcophagus made, chilled with his pet monkey, spent a ton of money while going broke – the works. What. Just. Happened. 

Prince, on the other hand, was behind the scenes in his ass-less chaps #Winning. Purple Rain came out, he had Carmen Electra before she was Carmen Electra, The Revolution were making hits, he was producing and writing music for other singers, playing his guitar, beefing with Justin Timberlake and being immortalized on the Chappelle show. Prince was #Winning.

The careers of Prince and Michael Jackson could not have ended any differently, and it’s unfortunate that towards the end, Michael is remembered more for what he did out of the studio, as opposed to the greatness he achieved early in career. 

It’s still way too early in RG3’s and Andrew Luck’s careers for anyone to know exactly what is going to happen from this point on. RG3 may look back after this season and reflect and what he did wrong, becoming the player a lot of people expected him to be after he left Baylor. Or he can continue down this nonsensical path he is currently on, give up his claim as direct rival to Andrew Luck, and let Russell Wilson take over for him in that conversation. 

Let’s hope they both end up as two of the greatest quarterbacks of all time; otherwise, for RG3 it’ll be Game…Blouses.