Cowboys owner Jerry Jones believes in RG3 -- even though stats tell a different story
Everyone is piling on Robert Griffin III.
Analysts, teammates, his own coach even, have taken shots at RGIII. But there's one man with a mouth the size of the state he resides in who thinks the beleaguered Redskins quarterback has still "got it."
Dallas Cowboys owner Jerry Jones said this to NFL Network on Wednesday:
"Well, I'm a fan of RGIII," Jones said. "Right on this field two years ago, or maybe it was three seasons ago*, he put on a show and had a game that just floored me. And they won, and they won in large part because of his play at quarterback. I thought 'my goodness, and we're going to have to be playing this guy for years and years.' And so he's got it.
"Once you see a player do it, especially if you see him do it two or three times, you know he can do it. And of course he's a driven young man. I'm a big admirer of RGIII."
Now, maybe it's because he thinks his Cowboys can beat the RG3-led Redskins (they could certainly not take care of the Colt McCoy-led Redskins in primetime) or something, but the stats certainly don't back Jones' argument. Check out what the Associated Press complied:
A look at Griffin's statistical decline:
2012: 9-6 record as starter (regular season), 20 touchdowns, five interceptions, 30 sacks, 102.4 passer rating (3rd in NFL), 815 yards rushing.
2013: 3-10 record as starter, 16 TDs, 12 interceptions, 38 sacks, 82.2 rating (22nd), 489 yards rushing.
2014: 1-4 record as starter, two TDs, three interceptions, 20 sacks, 85.7 rating (would rank 21st if he had enough attempts), 100 yards rushing.
And that one this season? Griffin didn't even finish the game. The AP also compiled a list of all the Redskins' quarterbacks since 1993 -- all 24 of them.
1993: Mark Rypien (10 games), Rich Gannon (4), Cary Conklin (2)
1994: Heath Shuler (8), John Friesz (4), Gus Frerotte (4)
1995: Frerotte (11), Shuler (5)
1996: Frerotte (16)
1997: Frerotte (13), Jeff Hostetler (3)
1998: Trent Green (14), Frerotte (2)
1999: Brad Johnson (16)
2000: Johnson (11), Jeff George (5)
2001: Tony Banks (14), George (2)
2002: Shane Matthews (7), Patrick Ramsey (5), Danny Wuerffel (4)
2003: Ramsey (11), Tim Hasselbeck (5)
2004: Mark Brunell (9), Ramsey (7)
2005: Brunell (15), Ramsey (1)
2006: Brunell (9), Jason Campbell (7)
2007: Campbell (13), Todd Collins (3)
2008: Campbell (16)
2009: Campbell (16)
2010: Donovan McNabb (13), Rex Grossman (3)
2011: Grossman (13), John Beck (3)
2012: Robert Griffin III (15), Kirk Cousins (1)
2013: Griffin (13), Cousins (3)
2014: Cousins (5), Griffin (5), Colt McCoy (1)
That's a lot of quarterbacks. But we're on to you, Jerry Jones. You don't think your guys can beat the Redskins in Week 17, do you?
Well, we're not buying your reverse psychology -- and we're willing to bet neither is Jay Gruden.
* -- He's probably referring to the Thanksgiving Day game in 2012, when Griffin threw for 311 yards and four touchdowns in a Redskins win.
