The NFL's Best 5 Young QB's Now

Andrew Luck, Robert Griffin lll, Cam Newton, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepnerick, how do you rank them? Leave it in the comments section on what you think is the order of these young studs now.

Current Rank:

1. Robert Griffin lll

• RGlll as people like to call him, is an exceptional dual-threat QB, coming off of stellar rookie year in which he won NFC Offensive Rookie of the Year over Andrew Luck and Russell Wilson, by throwing for 3,200 with a 20-5 TD-INT ratio, along with a 65.6 passing completion percentage and 102.4 passer rating. To go along with those outstanding passing numbers for a rookie, he rushed for 815 yards and 7 TD's with a 6.8 YPC average. All those numbers in 15 games, leading Washington to a 10-6 record, which meant playoffs. Griffin has all the makings of a franchise QB in the NFL and time will only tell. At this point, RGlll is the best QB among these 5. 

2. Cam Newton

• Some people may find me placing Cam Newton ahead of Andrew Luck, at this moment in their careers, absurd but I assure you, once I am done explaining, it may change your opinion on this matter. Cam Newton is better than y'all think and he does all that with a horrible O-Line and not much help on offence, other than Steve Smith, who is not getting any younger. Plus the neither Running Back, DeAngelo Williams or Jonathon Stewart get enough carries to make a serious impact. Through his first two seasons in the NFL, Newton has averaged 3960 yards passing, including passing for 4051 in the 2011-12 season, setting the rookie record, 20 passing TD's, 14.5 Interceptions with a 58.9 completion percentage and a 85.3 passer rating. On the ground, he has averaged 723.5 yards rushing, 11 rushing TD's, including 14 in his first season alone, on 5.7 YPC, through his 1st 2 NFL seasons. And the thing is, he's only improving and the Panthers as a team as well. Cam Newton led the Panthers to a 6-10 record in his rookie year and a 7-9 in his sophomore campaign. Now that may not be much of an improvement but the the record bettering, shows strides in him becoming an even better leader and decision maker. That is why Cam Newton is ranked above Andrew Luck, as of now. 

3. Andrew Luck

• Luck was certainly on Luck's side (no pun intended) in his rookie campaign, leading the Colts to an improbable, 7 come-from-behind victories en route to a playoff appearance with a 10-6 record. Andrew Luck did set the rookie record for passing yards with 4,374, however on a putrid 54.1 completion percentage and a pedestrian 76.5 passer rating. He did however throw for 23 TD passes, but unfortunately with 18 Interceptions. Luck wasn't bad on the ground either, he rushed for 255 yards on 4.1 YPC and 5 Rushing TD's. For however many good things Andrew Luck did, he did an equal amount of bad. With the success and numbers, Luck finished 2nd in NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year voting, to the aforementioned RGlll. Luck also had a way better O-Line compared to Cam Newton and a better defence as well. The Panthers defense is improving but let's face it, it was average both the season's Newton's been in the NFL and the Colts has been above-average. All this information only proves that at this moment, Luck is not better than Cam Newton.

4. Russell Wilson

• The 5'11, 3rd round draftee is the lowest QB drafted from all these 5, performed like an underdog in his rookie year, finishing 3rd in the NFL Rookie of the Year voting behind Luck and RGlll. However, he did get the most passing TD's with 26 in his rookie season, ahead of Luck's 23 and RGlll's 20. To round out his stat line, Wilson passed for 3,118 yards with 10 Interceptions, on a 64.1 completion percentage and 100.0 passer rating. He also contributed 489 rushing yards and 4 rushing TD's on a 5.9 YPC average. Leading his team to a 11-5 record, Russell Wilson showed leadership of a veteran in his rookie season. Albeit, he did play on a great team, the Seahawks, but they wouldn't of gotten as far without him. All that and he wasn't even given the starting job at first. He had to work hard and win it. Taking all the above considered, Russell Wilson is the 4th best QB on this list. 

5. Colin Kaepernick

• A 6'5, 2nd round pick of the 49ers out of Nevada, Kaepnerick, like Russell Wilson, wasn't handed his starting job on a platter like the first three on this list. He got the start in week 12 when Alex Smith went down and didn't look back. In all the 8 starts he's had in his career (playoff included), he has compiled a 6-2 record, including a Super Bowl trip where the 49ers lost to the Baltimore Ravens. If you make those 8 game numbers into a full 16 game NFL season, his stats translate to 3,472 yards passing and 24 passing TD's on a 62.1 completion percentage and amassing 838 yards on the ground with an amazing 10 rushing TD's. As you look at these numbers, you think, "Well shouldn't he be higher then?". The only thing holding Kaepnerick from being higher on this list is that he's only started 8 games and we don't know how he'll be over a whole regular season. We haven't seen enough of Colin Kaepernick to justify him being higher on this list. At this point in his career, he's the 5th best QB out of all these future superstars.

Diamonds in the rough find their way into NFL Playoffs

Last year the 0-8 FAU Owls took on the 6-3 FIU Panthers on November 12^th 2011 in the annual Shula Bowl The annual rivalry game between the 2 aforementioned schools. Two solid schools in the South Florida area not known for their football programs. The game was a straight blowout with the Panthers of FIU putting a Beat down on FAU 41-7. We didn't know it back then but in that game we saw 2 of what would become the best rookies at they're positions in 2012 Alfred Morris and T.Y Hilton. Foreshadowing of what would take place in they're NFL rookie seasons happened in that game. Alfred Morris rushed for 110 on 21 Carries and broke the FAU record for rushing yards previously held by Charles Perry. T.Y Hilton electrified the Panther faithful with a 97 yard punt return TD. Needless to say these guys came out of nowhere and became key contributors for 2 playoff teams.

In the 3^rd Round of last year's NFL draft the Indianapolis Colts took a gamble. They traded up in the 3^rd round with the 49ers for the 93^rd pick,that Gamble came in the form of FIU Panther standout wide Receiver T.Y Hilton to go along with 1^st round draft pick and franchise QB Andrew Luck of Stanford. The Gamble paid off Hilton stepped in for the injured Austin Collie and took full advantage of his opportunity. He went on to collect 50 receptions along with 861 yards and 7 Touchdowns. He emerged as a solid number two receiver behind Reggie Wayne and set several records along the way. He was the 1^st Colts player in History to score both a receiving and punt Return Touchdown in the same game when he did it against the Buffalo Billis on November 25th. He also set a new Colts Rookie record for 100 yard receiving games with 4. At the end of the season Hilton ranks 2^nd in receiving yards behind only Justin Blackmon (865 yards) and 1^st in Punt return yards with 300,Not bad for a third round gamble.

In the 6^th round the Washington Redskins drafted Alfred Morris from little known FAU in Boca Raton, Florida to go play with RG3 in our nation's capital. He came into training camp with Tim Hightower, Roy Helu Jr. and Evan Royster all projected to start in front of him. He beat the odds won the job over three other backs and was named the opening day Starter. He would also make History by breaking the Redskins single season rushing record set by Clinton Portis (1,516 yards) with 1,613 yards of his own along with 13 touchdowns. Isn't that crazy? An FAU Owl broke a Miami Hurricanes Record for rushing. The only guy who had more yards then Morris was Adrian Peterson who fell 9 yards short pf having the greatest season in the history of mankind. He may be only five feet 9 inches tall but Alfred Morris is a big time back.

The Colts went 11-5 and won a wild card spot after going 2-14 last year. The Redskins won The NFC east for the 1^st time in over a decade. It's crazy to think that at this time last year nobody knew about Hilton or Morris and now this Saturday they will be playing in the NFL playoffs. It's crazy how a year changes things. So next time you are watching the NFL draft and you don't feel like watching the 3^rd or 6^th round then I say “Shame on you” because you never know the Next T.Y Hilton or Alfred Morris could be in that round.

R.I.P Sean Taylor

It was about 2:34 on a Saturday afternoon in mid November in South Florida and just like most Saturdays this time of year I was glued to the TV watching “The U” play. So what made this particular day about 8 years ago so special? I watched  Sean Taylor Light up a receiver coming across the middle for the 1st time on that day. I had fallen in love with defense that very moment. I knew then at 8 years of age that this guy was different then  most players…..He was Special.

This past week marked the 5 year anniversary of Former UM great and Washington Redskins Sean Taylor’s Death unexpected death. It was a shock to everyone in the world of football. I never knew Sean Taylor never met him but he seemed like a great person I heard nothing but great things about him off the field and saw nothing but greatness on it. When the Washington Redskins drafted him i knew they had found a leader and a franchise player for that defense for many years to come.He had some of the best instincts any football player could have, was a fundmentaly sound tackler, and had all the athletic gifts in the world  to cover the field he was a true quarterback of a defense.He was an incredible football player and had he not been shot there is no doubt in my mind that he would have went down as one of the greatest safeties to ever play the game of football. In sports it’s very seldom that we use the term “Class Act” when referring to athletes but Sean Taylor was a class act. He was a true talent and to this day it pains me to watch highlights of him because I think “What if” but every year around this time I feel its right that this man get his just due for being great on and off the field. To many times we criticize athletes for being one dimensional in terms of behavior off the field and performance on it this guy was consistent. So even though I know I am a bit late I feel it’s right that I respectfully say R.I.P to Sean Taylor My favorite UM player and safety ever!!

Cam vs RG3

In a society where we live with a "what have you done for me lately" mentality Cam Newton has kind of been forgotten about with everybody being goo-goo Gah-Gah over this years rookie sensation Robert Griffin III. Last year Cam exploded onto the scene breaking every rookie QB record imaginable it semmed like the Carolina Panthers had finally found a franchise QB. This season has been the definition of a "sophmore slump" for Cam only throwing 5 touchdowns and 8 interceptions. It's more then a stats thing though with Cam it looks like he isn't even having fun playing football anymore and he is dwelling on all his mistakes to the point where the post game press conferences are sounding like a broken record. The Panthers are 1-6 and have lost games in every way imaginable. With 10 games left there is still time for Cam to prove naysayers and critics wrong and salvage his season.

On the other side you have Robert Griffin III who has looked more like a QB as opposed to Cam who looks to use his legs more then his arms and you can see in the stats. RG3's QB rating is 13% higher then Cam's rookie season along with his completion percentage being 6% higher. Also The Redskins have half the wins that Cam did his rookie season at (3-5) with  9 game left. Cam went (6-10) in his Rookie season. It's more then record or statistics when comparing the 2 super athletic QB's. Griffin has looked more like a Quarterback then Cam and i feel that it's a mentality that seperates these two. When Cam drops back he is looking for a big play throwing the ball and if it's not there then he is looking to use his legs. Griffin on the other hand can do it all with checkdowns and play that short intermediate game but if saftey's or DB's creep up he will hit you over the top for a 50 yard Touchdown but he does have the ability to use his legs when the play breaksdown.

The Panthers take on the Redskins at Fedex Field at 1 as Cam Newton Takes on Robert Griffin III. It should be a good one i hope both Qb's Give us a great Show. Will Cam Rise above the hate or will Rg3 prove that he is the better of the two QB's?