Robert Griffin III plays like Tim Tebow, only better

Despite their skills running the ball, neither Wilson nor Luck runs an offense like RG3. Wilson, the more gifted runner of the two, is more Drew Brees than Michael Vick. He – and his coaches – know that his speed and agility are weapons, and they use them to great effect several times a game. But Wilson is not a hybrid QB like RG3 or Tim Tebow.

Instead, the coaches have slowly trusted him with more and more of their pro-style playbook. When the season started, they put the team largely in the hands of running back Marshawn Lynch and a strong defense. But since Week 5, Wilson has been the best quarterback in the league by some measures. 

What sets Luck apart is that he was given the keys to a pro-style offense from Day 1 – for a team that went 2-14 last year and lacks either a dominant running game or defense. In essence, the Colts heaped everything on his back and even took away the training wheels – and amazingly, his Colts are 8-4 and in playoff contention. Even his predecessor, Peyton Manning, wasn't given as much to process as Luck, says interim head coach Bruce Arians, who was Manning's quarterback coach when Manning was a rookie. 

Luck's play this year has elicited generous praise, including from Nate Dunlevy at the Bleacher Report.

"I want to laugh when people get all serious and grave about Luck's interceptions. He's throwing the ball 50-60 times a game in a purely vertical offense with a bunch of rookies and a crappy line.

You expect rookies to throw picks. You expect rookies to make bad reads. You expect rookies to have unrealistic expectations of their own ability to make a stick throw. You don't expect rookies do to any of the other things that Luck does.

Counterfeit experts spend all their time studying real bills. They never bother to look at fakes.

I've spent the last 12 years dissecting the play of Peyton Manning. I know the real thing when I see it. You can't fool someone who's seen the genuine article."

In comparing Luck and RG3, the difference is workload. The success of the triple option helps RG3 to be remarkably efficient. He knows where the ball needs to go, and he puts it there. When RG3 needs to become a pure dropback passer, however, his success suffers. The Redskins have won only one of the six games in which RG3 attempted 28 or more passes.

Meanwhile, with no effective running game to protect him, Luck has attempted fewer than 28 passes only once and has attempted 45 or more passes six times (with a 3-3 record).

Both RG3 and Luck are doing things never before seen in the NFL, and they're doing it in completely different ways.

Previous

1 | 2