Rookie of the Year Debate-Sportacular Sports

Rookie of the Year Debate
Andrew Luck    Robert Griffin III   Russell Wilson

Honorable Mentions:Alfred Morris, Doug Martin, Matt Kalil

Point System
I will grade the rookies by their statistical categories with each category maxing out at 3 points. Each player will be graded on statistical categories in addition to what I feel makes a ROY.

The Rookie of the Year is similar to MVP and is usually graded upon the same guidelines but it is not the Most Valuable Player yet it is the best Rookie in the league regardless of team performance. Although not one of the 3 rookie's teams made the playoffs last season, Indianapolis posted a 2-14 record. Therefore, if this award was based off of value to a team, the award would go to Luck for turning them into a playoff team. But, the distinction leaves the chance for RGIII and Wilson to still win the award. Now lets look at the candidates.

Andrew Luck-Indianapolis Colts
11-5
5th seed in the AFC
Broke Cam Newton's rookie record for passing yards with 4,374 yards.
Colts 2011 (2-14) --->Colts 2012 (11-5)

Robert Griffin III- Washington Redskins
10-6
4th seed in the NFC
Won NFC East
Selected to the Pro Bowl
Redskins 2011  (6-10)--->Redskins 2011 (10-6)
Redskins first division title in 9 years.

Russels Wilson-Seattle Seahawks
11-5
3rd round draft pick
5th seed in the NFC
Seattle 2011 (7-9)--->Seattle 2012 (11-5)


Wilson won Offensive Rookie of the Month in December ending the season on a hot streak. Wilson along with Golden Tate, will infamously be known for their Hail-Mary pass against Green Bay that forced the NFL to get rid of the replacement officials.

Passer Rating

The most important statistic to look at when comparing these 3 quarterbacks is passer rating. Passer rating is "a measure of the performance of quarterbacks or any other passers". As you can see above, Griffin led with his mark of 102.4 with Wilson trailing at an even mark of 100. Because passer rating is "calculated using each quarterback's completion percentage, passing yardage, touchdowns and interceptions", Luck's large deficit of 76.5 is a crucial number to pay attention to.

Griffin-3

Wilson-2

Luck-1

Total Yards (Passing and Rushing)

Next we will look at the offensive yardage output that the candidates produced. Andrew Luck threw for more than a 1,000 yards than both Griffin and Wilson but they are known for their dual threat capabilities. Griffin rushed for 815 yards, 326 more yards than Wilson and 560 more yards than Luck. Griffin clearly wins the rushing dual as Wilson does not gain much ground on Luck. A Quarterback's ability to move the ball down the field is what these guys are payed for. Wilson had the aid with an experienced Marshawn Lynch. While RG3 did have Alfred Morris, it was more Griffin's abilities that opened up things for Morris than Lynch's abilities that gave space and time for Wilson. 

Luck-2
Griffin-2
Wilson-1

Total Touchdowns

Another obvious number to analyze would be Touchdowns. This is the number that might surprise you. Not Luck nor Griffin but Russell Wilson tied Peyton Manning's rookie record for passing touchdowns. Luck trailed by only 3 and RGIII had 20 himself. A tough decision in this process is weighing Griffin and Wilson's legs against just Luck's arm. I believe a passing touchdown and rushing touchdown count for the same amount of points, therefore, I will weigh them evenly. Griffin led all runners with 7 touchdowns while Andrew Luck actually beat Wilson with 5 compared to his 4.

Total Touchdowns
Wilson-30
Luck-28
Griffin-27

Wilson-3
Luck-2
Griffin-2

We now have two remaining statistics to look at. First we will begin with completion percentage. I believe this does measure the quarterback's performance but not on as large a scale as the other numbers. The candidates will only receive half the point value they gain.

Completion Percentage

RgIII and Wilson both completed about 65% of their passes while Luck completed only 54%. The 65% numbers are good enough but a 54% number is not high enough. This stat won't create a large gap but I don't like this number for Luck.

Wilson-3/2=1.5

Griffin-3/2=1.5

Luck-1/2=.5

Total Turnovers (Interceptions and Fumbles)
The final numbers statistic that we will look at is the amount of turnovers that each candidates committed. Andrew Luck led all 3 rookies with 18 interceptions and not to mention 9 lost fumbles. That is a loss of 27 possessions for Indianapolis. Russell Wilson only totaled 14 turnovers including 10 picks. One of the main problems with rookies in the league is decision making. The reason Griffin owns this category is his ability to take care of the football. Griffin only threw 5 interceptions. Which not only was lowest by rookies but also by the top NFL starters. Including his 5 lost fumbles, Griffin totaled only 10 lost possessions.

Griffin-3
Wilson-1
Luck-0

After pure statistics, the count is.
Griffin-11.5
Wilson-8.5
Luck-5.5

The Rookie of the Year will be decided 90% on statistics and from my experience, the other 10% comes from a popularity standpoint. I definitely do not want to take credit away from Johnny Manziel but, for example, popularity aided Johnny "Football"'s Heisman run. In this case, popularity belongs to RG3, who took the world by surprise and became the most known QB on the planet. ESPN's phase of Tim Tebow shortly became Robert Griffin 3rd. I'm convinced RGIII's popularity will push him to the top, but will he win?

Before I crown "my" Offensive Rookie of the Year, I would like to point out Cam Newton's stats from last season.

If you can just focus in on the 2011 statistics, the year Newton won the award, Luck's numbers besides the rushing would beat Newton's, Wilson's would almost match his, and Griffin's would surpass Newton. This was the best draft class of the decade and unfortunately for two men, they will not win the award they would have received in any other year.

If you have been following my words, you can guess who I have as Sportacular Sport's Rookie of the Year. This has been an excellent season and I cannot wait for the 3 rooks to play in the playoffs. I'll honor Russell Wilson as the best steal of the draft. In addition, if this was an MVP race, Luck would win. Unfortunately it is not, and Sportacular Sport's Rookie of the Year is....

Robert Griffin III