FanPost

About Robert Griffin III And The "Running Quarterback" Thing ...


1. The pick will be Andrew Luck, as it should be. Luck is a better prospect and a better fit for what the direction that the organization wants to go in.

2. Why is RG3 considered a "running quarterback" anyway? Name the last QB to complete 291 passes for 4300 yards that was considered a "running QB."

Still, let us PRETEND that the Colts actually are weighing the two against each other, and that RG3 is in fact a running QB. So what? The whole "no running QB has won a Super Bowl" thing is a canard. The reason: not enough running QBs have had a chance to make a good sample. Now let us narrow our view to running QBs that teams have actually invested money and time in: guys that were 1st or 2nd round picks and/or started for 3 or more years, not every running QB to have ever gotten a training camp invite or something. And also let us only consider guys that were actually running QBs, and not guys that get labeled as such for various reasons that will not go unnamed. When you do this, you come to the conclusion: not many dual threat QBs have ever played in the NFL.

Consider this: the Bills, Dolphins, Patriots and Jets have never had a running QB. Neither have the Ravens, Bengals or Browns. Nor have the Texans or Colts, Kansas City, Oakland or San Diego. Neither have the New York Giants, nor the Washington Redskins (unless an aging Doug Williams and Donovan McNabb count), Detroit Lions, Green Bay Packers, or Minnesota Vikings (unless an aging Randall Cunningham/Donovan McNabb counts). Neither have the New Orleans Saints, Arizona Cardinals, San Francisco 49ers, Seattle Seahawks, or Saint Louis Rams. So, 19 of the 32 NFL teams have NEVER truly had a running QB.

Of the teams that remain? The Steelers had 1 (Kordell Stewart, Joe Gilliam doesn't count because he started only 20 games). The Jaguars had 1, David Garrard. The Titans had 2: Steve McNair and Vince Young. Excluding John Elway from the analysis, the Broncos have only had 1, Tim Tebow, who hasn't had his 3 years yet. The Cowboys had 1: Quincy Carter (Roger Staubach was too long ago). The Eagles have had 3: Cunningham, McNabb and Vick. The Falcons had 1: Vick. The Panthers have had 1: Newton, who is also still in his 3 year period. The Bucs: 1, Shaun King. And that is really it. All right, let us go ahead and include Aaron Brooks of the Saints: 1. Add those numbers up? You get 10 QBs. That is all. 10 QBs since the running QB experiment began with Randall Cunningham in 1985.

Really, the whole argument is silly anyway, because it relies on excluding John Elway, who had 3400 career rushing yards and 33 career TDs. It also requires excluding Steve Young, who rushed for 4200 yards and 43 TDs in only 9 seasons as a starter! But still, claiming that running QBs as a rule can't win a Super Bowl because 10 guys in 25 years didn't get it done is utterly ridiculous. It really is a failure of those 10 guys alone. Even further, it is a failure of the Philadelphia Eagles and Tennessee Titans' organizations, who have played HALF of the NFL's running QBs. While Donovan McNabb, Randall Cunningham, Steve McNair, Michael Vick and Vince Young certainly had their flaws as players, it is difficult to claim that the Eagles or Titans would have been better with dropback QBs.

So end the "running QBs can't win the Super Bowl" nonsense. That is, at least until enough running QBs get a shot for us to be able to really tell.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of Stampede Blue's writers or editors.