Aug 11, 2012; Seattle, WA, USA; Seattle Seahawks defensive back Kam Chancellor (31) during the pre game introductions for the game between the Seattle Seahawks and the Tennessee Titans at CenturyLink Field. Seattle defeated Tennessee 27-17. Mandatory Credit: Steven Bisig-US PRESSWIRE

I will be looking at the key players and match ups in the two Sunday games, the Colts at Baltimore and the Sea hawks at the Redskins. On Sunday we will see something that does not happen too much. Three rookie quarterbacks will be trying to gain some playoff experience and come away with a W.

The first game will be the Colts against the Ravens. The veterans vs the rookies. Coming into this game the Colts have 11 rookies on their active roster being lead by the first overall pick in the 2012 draft, Andrew Luck. The Ravens, on the other hand have an older roster with 18 players who have at least 6 years of NFL experience.

On offense the Colts and Ravens are very different teams. The Colts have had outstanding play from their rookie star at Quarterback. Andrew Luck has produced 23 touchdowns to 18 interceptions, not to mention setting a new rookie record for passing yards. The running game has been off and on all season, with the combination of Vick Ballard and Donald Brown. They have produced about 1,200 yards and have scored only three touchdowns. The Ravens will be lead by a veteran play caller Joe Flacco, who seems to think he is an elite quarterback. He has 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions, also throwing about 3,700 yards. Elite? Maybe not, but they do have one of the best at the running back position in Ray Rice. He has averaged 4.4 yards a carry this year and has been a consistent play maker all season. But as I have said this is a Quarterback driven league, advantage- Colts

For over the last decade the Ravens have always been known by their defense, lead by one of the all time greats at middle Linebacker, that being Ray Lewis. He is the heart and soul of the Ravens defense. Lewis said that he was going to retire at the end of the season. This will be his last ride, and his team wants him to go out in a bang. These guys will give it all for Ray, and probably play at a level they have not all season. The Colts on the other hand are a very young defense lead by two veterans  Robert Mathis and Dwight Freeney. They are a young and hungry defense but not as experienced in the playoffs. The edge has to be given to the Ravens.

I expect this to be a great game, and be within the 7 point spread. But I still expect the Ravens to come out with a W at home behind Ray Lewis. 20-17 Ravens

The second game will feature two great young rookie quarterbacks. Robert Griffin the second overall pick in the draft, and Russel Wilson the mid third round pick  in the draft. Don’t prejudge Wilson by where is was picked, he is playing like a first rounder.

Both of these offenses have a very mobile and smart quarterback. RG3 for the Redskins has thrown for 3,200 yards and thrown 20 TDs. Wilson has thrown for 3,100 yards and 26  touchdowns. It has been a while since two rookie quarterbacks have preformed so well. Just like at quarterback the Redskins have a rookie running back as well. Alfred Morris has also played like a veteran for the Skins. He has averaged 4.8 yards a carry and scored 13 TDs. The Sea hawks have one of the best at running back in MarShawn Lynch, who has averaged 5 yards a carry this season and has scored 11 touchdowns throughout the season. Both of these offenses are able to make plays and be explosive, but I have to give the Advantage to the Redskins.

On the defensive side of the ball one team is the clear favorite. Washington has only given up less then ten points ONCE this season. Defense becomes key in the playoffs and that is something the Redskins lack. The Sea hawks on the other hand has been an outstanding defensive team all season. They have given up 17 points or less 10 times on the season, lead by two monsters at corner back  That being Richard Sherman and Brandon Browner. The Sea hawks are the better team on defense.

Both teams have explosive offenses, but the Sea hawks are able to make more plays on defense and that is why they will leave Washington with a W.

Oct 14 2012; Miami Gardens, FL, USA; Miami Dolphins quarterback Ryan Tannehill (17) drops back to pass in the second half in a game against the St. Louis Rams at Sun Life Stadium. The Dolphins defeated the Rams 17-14. Mandatory Credit: Robert Mayer-US PRESSWIRE

This year five NFL teams started the season with a rookie QB. Andrew Luck(Colts), Robert Griffin III(Redskins), Ryan Tannehill(Dolphins), Brandon Weeden(Browns), and Russell Wilson(Seahawks). All five have shown flashes of great plays and should give fans comfort that their teams have found a QB who very well could be their franchise QB.

Ryan Tannehill has been probably the biggest surprise so far this year since many “expert” annalysts believed Tannehill would need 1-2 years to be groomed before he would be able to make a difference. So far he’s proven them wrong. Tannehill makes good decisions in the pocket and even better ones when he gets outside of the pocket. He’s made big throws, and other than week 1 against the Houston Texans he has had good stats and looks like a veteran.

Each of the QB’s have looked good at times and bad at times which is to be expected for a rookie. I’m going to rank the rookie QB from what I see so far by decision making, stats, and development so far.

5. Brandon Weeded-Weeden has been somewhat disappointing so far this season.  He has thrown for 1,912 yards with 9 TD’s and 10 INT’s. He has a 55.2% completion percentage and a passer rating of 70.8 so far this season.  Now I do realize the Cleavland Browns are in need of a WR that can consistently catch the ball and get separation, but he’s made some questionable calls.  More so than the other four rookie QB’s this season.

T-3 Andrew Luck- Luck was taken first overall in this years draft and was the Colts replacement for Peyton Manning who is now with the Denver Broncos. Luck has thrown for 1,971 yards with 8 TD’s and 8 INT’s. He has a 55.6% completion percentage and a passer rating of 74.6 this season. As long as luck keeps going the way he is going and keeps improving the Colts made a great decision drafting him and letting Manning go. I don’t see him backtracking anytime soon.  He seems to be getting better each week and should have a solid career as the Colts franchise QB.

T-3 Ryan Tannehill- Every week Tannehill is looking better and better. The Dolphins may have finally found the franchise QB they’ve been searching for since 1999 when Marino Retired. Tannehill has thrown for 1,472 yards with 4 TD’s and 6 INT’s. He has a 59.1 % completion percentage and a passer rating of 75.8 this season. Ryan Tannehill suffered an injury last week against the Jets in the first quarter and didn’t return.  Tannehill like Luck looks better each week. The one thing about Tannehill that many feel is is strong point is his poise in the pocket and his ability to rarely make the same mistakes from week to week. Tannehill has by far exceeded my expectations this season.

2. Russell Wilson- Russell Wilson was one that many people didn’t think would get the start this season after the Seahawks signed FA Quarterback Matt Flynn. Wilson has thrown for 1,466 yards with 10 TD’s and 8 INT’s. He has a 61.4% completion percentage and a passer rating of 82.4 so far this season.  Wilson was the last QB of the five taken in the draft.  Wilson was taken in the 3rd round while the other four were taken all in the first round with Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III taken 1 and 2. Wilson has made some big, last second plays this season to either win the game for Seattle or at least give them a shot.  The biggest knock on him is his height with being only 5’11″.

1. Robert Griffin III- RG3 is this years Cam Newton. He’s came out doing what people didn’t think he would be able to do as well as Luck and that’s throw the ball.  People knew he could run and beat you with his legs, but his ability to throw the deep ball and hit targets in stride brings back flashbacks of Newton Last year.  RG3 has thrown for 1,778 yards with 8 TD’s and 3 INT’s. On top of that he also has another 476 yards and 6 TD’s on the ground and has a completion percentage of 66.8% and a passer rating of 97.3 so far this season. By both stats and the eye test, Robert Griffin III has been outstanding.

Andrew Luck and Ryan Tannehill were both tied for 3rd in my opinion. Both have looked very well with Luck having a little better stats, and Tannehill looking a little better with the eye test. This weekend both rookies will play each other, unless Tannehill happens to have a setback from the injury he sustained last Sunday against the Jets. This week should be a great game to watch and give people a good comparison between the two players and teams.

That’s how I’m raking this years rookie QB’s so far this season, but there’s still a good portion of the season too go. Anything can happen. How do you rank them?

Aug 17, 2012; Charlotte, NC, USA; Miami Dolphins head coach Joe Philbin walks the field before the start of the game against the Carolina Panthers at Bank of America Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jeremy Brevard-US PRESSWIRE

After the performances of Ryan Tannehill, Matt Moore, and Pat Devlin in Saturday’s loss to the Carolina Panthers, Philbin now states … “We may have a decision soon, or we may play it out another week. That’s still up in the air. We certainly haven’t come to any decision on that right now.”

Ryan Tannehill started the game against the Panthers and played the entire first half mostly with the Dolphins’ first team offense against the Panthers first team defense — a defense that seemed to be in regular season form complete with blitz packages.  Tannehill had six possessions to state his case to be the regular season starter.  5 of the 6 possession were short and unremarkable — mostly 3 plays and outs.  The other possession was a sweet 15 play and 71 yard drive that ended in a one yard TD run by Daniel Thomas.  Overall, Tannehill was 10 of 23 (47.8%) for 100 yards (4.3 yards per attempt) and no TD passes.  The good news is that he did not turn over the ball.  The bad news is he was sacked three times and had 4 passes batted down at the line of scrimmage.

Matt Moore took control at the beginning of the second half with the second team offense.  He was 5 of 15 (33.3%) for 57 yards (3.8 yards per attempt) and no TD passes.  Moore did not turn the ball over and did not take any sacks.  But, Moore was not good — he really did not move the team much — however, he did manage to lead the Dolphins to a FG.

Pat Devlin took control in the fourth quarter with the third and fourth team offense.  Devlin was 13 of 20 (65%) for 118 yards (5.9 yards per attempt) and one TD pass.  Devlin actually looked quite good — I noted that he commanded the offense well mostly getting plays off quicker than Tannehill and Moore.  With 8:00 left in the game and down 23-10, Devlin put together a 12 play and 86 yard drive for TD.  Then, with 1:42 left on the clock, Devlin drove the team 49 yards in 9 plays to the Panthers 4 yard line, where he threw an INT in the end zone on a desperation pass with 4 seconds left on the clock.

So … what’s next at QB for the Miami Dolphins?  It would seem somewhat logical to give Pat Devlin a shot with the first team in the next game, based on the most recent performances of the trio of Dolphins QBs.

But, seriously … I believe Tannehill has shown enough positives to warrant having another chance with the first team against Atlanta this week.  Let’s see whether the rookie can continue to progress.  Heck, we know what Matt Moore can do.

Look, I was not a big fan of drafting Ryan Tannehill with the 8th pick in the draft.  I thought he was too inexperienced, inaccurate, and his release point was not high enough — it seems he throws the ball with a 3/4 side arm motion.  Thus far, the word seems to be out about the low release point having had four passes batted down by defensive linemen in the Panthers game.  However, this can be readily overcome — Philip Rivers has — Tannehill just needs more reps and better protection.  Surprisingly, Tannehill has shown good command of the offense and looks comfortable in the NFL.  His first drive with the Dolphins first unit in a preseason game merely consisted of a Reggie Bush run to settle down the nerves followed by an incomplete pass and a pass which was batted down.  His second drive was also a three and out.  But, the third drive was truly a thing of beauty.  It showed the rookie could overcome a slow start and lead his team to a TD on the road.  It is also important to remember that Tannehill was 14 of 21 (66.7%) for 167 (8 yards per attempt) and one TD (no sacks, no INTs) in the first preseason game at home against the Bucs — albeit, Tannehill was working with the second team offense in that game — and, by comparison, how poor Matt Moore did with the second team offense in the Panthers game.

Tannehill’s performance in the second game of the preseason needs to be put into proper perspective.  In his second game of the preseason, Robert Griffin III was not impressive at all.  He was only 5 of 8 for 49 yards with three sacks and one fumble which resulted in a turnover.  Like Tannehill, RGIII had 6 possessions — RGIII lead the Redskins to 4 punts, his one turnover which resulted in a TD for the opponents, and one FG.  I watched the entire first half of the local broadcast of the Redskins game versus the Bears.  The local commentator (Joe Theisman) stated that the game was a learning experience for RGIII, but he was progressing well.  RGIII will obviously be the regular season starter for the Redskins.  Alternatively in Miami, the press are questioning Tannehill’s ability to be the regular season starter for the Dolphins — this despite Tannehill playing far better than RGIII in the second game of the preseason.

Additionally, in his second game of the preseason, Matt Flynn was not impressive for the Seahawks against the Broncos.  You remember Flynn — the guy many (not me) thought the Dolphins should have acquired in the offseason.  Flynn was a mere 6 of 13 for 31 yards — yes, I stated 31 yards which amounts to a 2.4 yards per attempt — with no TDs and one sack.  Flynn had four drives which resulted in three FGs — the 3 FGs can be largely attributed to the running of Marshawn Lynch (6 carries for 37 yards) and Robert Turbin (10 carries for 34 yards).  Considering the Dolphins could only muster 37 total rushing yards in the entire Panthers game, I would say the Tannehill outplayed Flynn — yet, Flynn will undoubtedly be the starter in the regular season for the Seahawks.

So, I say give Tannehill the majority of the snaps with the first team this week in preparation for the Atlanta game.  Let him play the first half with the first team in the third preseason game.  If he doesn’t deliver the goods, then Moore can start the fourth preseason game against Dallas in preparation for being the regular season starter.  I want to give the rookie another shot … what the heck … what do the Phins have to lose?

But ……… it sure would be nice if there were five preseason games.  It would be interesting to give Devlin a shot with the first team.  He looked damn good in the Panthers game, albeit with the third and fourth stringers.

.

What do you think?

.

[UPDATE:  At Monday afternoon's press conference and a mere 12 hours after this article was posted, Coach Joe Philbin named Ryan Tannehill to be the starting QB for the Miami Dolphins ("at this time").  Obviously, Coach Philbin read the above article ... just joking!]

.

<<<<< massanuttenref >>>>>

.