In defeat, Robert Griffin III of the Washington Redskins earned the vast respect of the New York Giants Sunday.
Washington’s deplorable secondary gave up a 77-yard touchdown pass to Victor Cruz in the final 1:40 to blow the Redskins’ and Griffin’s strong performance in a 27-23 loss. However, Griffin was outstanding in all phases of the game. He finished 20-of-28 with 258 yards passing, 2 TDs and 1 INT. Down by four points, he led the Redskins on a go-ahead drive by completing a fourth-down pass for a first down after escaping a rush and a few plays later tossed a perfect 30-yard touchdown pass to Santana Moss for the lead
He also rushed for 89 rushing yards on nine carries and showed veteran poise in the pocket.
Giants defensive end Osi Umenyiora, who referred to Griffin as “Bob” earlier this season has now taken to calling him “sir.”
“That guy is flat-out unbelievable,” Umenyiora said to The Washington Post after the Giants 27-23 win. “That’s the best QB we’ve played this year.”
That’s high praise when you look at New York’s first six opponents: Dallas, Tampa Bay, Carolina, Philadelphia, Cleveland and San Francisco. Tony Romo, Cam Newton and Michael Vick are all, based on hefty contracts or draft status (or both), “franchise QBs.” That said, if we’re starting a team, we’re taking RG3 over all of them.
Giants defensive end Justin Tuck said Griffin “takes away from your enthusiasm for the game a little bit (as a defensive player).” And teammate Chris Canty added: “He’s faster in person than he is on tape. He’s very, very fast. He’s a very talented young man. He’s going to have a lot of success in this league.”
Finally, Giants coach Tom Coughlin offered this: “(He) looks like the fastest guy on tape and he’s certainly the fastest guy on the field. When he pulls the ball down, when you break down contain and he goes outside, you are just praying someone is going to run him out of bounds.”
When the coach for the defending Super Bowl champs is reduced to praying you know you might be onto something. Whether it happens this year for a young Redskins team is another issue, but the first time in a long time Washington’s quarterback situation appears to be settled.
