Here’s an eye-opener for you. Your Washington Redskins rank as a Top 5 QB franchise. NFL.com analyst Elliot Harrison gave the team fifth place in a countdown of all 32 NFL franchises after evaluating the top three quarterbacks in the history of each team.
Harrison selected icons Sammy Baugh, Sonny Jurgensen and Joe Theismann when he matched the Redskins against the others. Here’s what he said about our guys.
“Yet another solid trio, with two of the three in the Hall of Fame and the last an NFL MVP in 1983. Baugh is one of the 20 greatest all-around players ever. Jurgensen played 18 seasons, posting the highest passer rating in the NFC in his final year. Theismann was a Russell Wilson-type who led the high-powered Redskins to back-to-back Super Bowls in 1982 and ’83.”
Harrison ranked the 49ers (Montana, Young, Brodie) ahead of the Redskins and the Rams (Van Brocklin, Warner, Waterfield) behind them.
Peyton Manning and Joe Montana elevated two different teams on this list (Montana: 49ers, Chiefs. Manning: Colts, Broncos).
RGIII’s 2012 classmates Andrew Luck, Russell Wilson and Ryan Tannehill appear as one of the three best in their team’s history. Griffin’s absence on the Redskins’ list is salt in the wound. The young man has something to prove, as he did last year…and the year before.
Can Griffin make the grade?
We will see an uptick in RGIII’s performance this season. It’s his contract year. Every player gives his maximum effort in his contract year. He is in his second season in Jay Gruden’s offense. He can correct his mistakes of last year. He has been sufficiently humbled by his coach. Nobody needed humbling more than Griffin.
The front office astutely strengthened the offensive coaching staff and fired the defensive staff. That can only help. Performance of the entire team declined with the arrival of Jay Gruden. Along with hiring the first legitimate GM since Charlie Casserly, the front office showed real signs of performing like an NFL franchise that does not cut corners. That’s going to pay off over time.
Hog Heaven has faith in Griffin. We just no longer buy excuses for him. Someday, he too may be counted as one of Washington’s three best quarterbacks. It’s a high bar to hurdle.
Image: Quarterbacks of the 60’s
We chose a group shot of NFL quarterbacks from the early 1960s as the image to go with this story. It evoked happy memories.
Yes, Hog Heaven is old enough to have a first-hand memory of the ‘Sixties.
Jurgensen in in the first row, second from the right as you view the picture. He is wearing an Eagles jersey standing between Y.A. Tittle and Steve Brodie. Immediately behind him are Johnny Unitas and Norm Snead, the player Jurgy would replace on the Redskins.
Snead was a decent player. His stats really do back that up. Eagles and former Redskins coach Joe Kuharich saw Snead as “his guy” and traded Jurgensen to Washington for Snead to the everlasting joy of Redskins fans. Harrison did not list Snead as one of the three best QBs in Eagles history.
No one remembers Kuharich as a smart coach.
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