Sportacular Sports January 9th Morning Recap

Wednesday, January 9th Headlines
(Recapping the headlines from Tuesday, January 8th)


RGIII to have knee surgery Wednesday
-Many rumors have circulated about the degree of Griffin's injury and the length of time he would be sitting out. ESPN's Chris Mortensen has reported that RG3 has indeed torn his ACL in addition to his LCL. The Redskins had confirmed a tear of the LCL but the MRI Tuesday confirmed the second. I do not completely understand the doctor behind everything but apparently Griffin is now in better shape. The professionals were saying Griffin could be done for up to 18 months. Now, he is rumored to be out 6-8 months barring any set backs. A little known fact is that RGIII actually had a similar injury in his career at Baylor. The knee that had been reconstructed through a patella like structure had been torn through and that will need to be repaired as well. When we are in this category, nothing seems like good news but for the Redskins (and Mike Shanahan), they are satisfied knowing they'll have their Quarterback for next season.

Rob Ryan fired as Defensive Coordinator in Dallas
-After spending only 2 seasons in Big D, Rob Ryan has been fired by the Cowboys. Ryan's defense allowed the most yards in Cowboy's history this year and ranked in the bottom 5 last year. Ryan believes that his defense struggled nightly because of injuries which may be true. Also, Ryan is not scared and is outspoken like his brother Rex, "I'll be out of work for like 5 minutes". Rob Ryan said this in response to his firing and does not fear he will be jobless for much longer.

Duke destroys Clemson 68-40
-Quinn Cook after shooting 0-11 Saturday against Wake Forest rebounded by scoring 27 points Tuesday night. The Tigers managed to only score 10 first half points. Ryan Kelly, who outscored Clemson 12-10 in the first half, sat in the 2nd with a right foot injury. Duke will remain Number 1 for now but plays 9 of its last 16 games on the road.

All ranked teams win, except for Georgetown.
-Teams like Missouri and Ohio State took care of business last night but it was the low scoring Hoyas who got crushed on Tuesday. Pittsburgh, on the road, won 73-45. The Hoyas dropped their second in a row in addition to only scoring 45 points. If you follow College Basketball you know the Hoyas don't score very often and unless it gets fixed, they will go no where in the Tournament.

Heat and Lakers both fall on the road
-The Heat have not been playing well as of late but more importantly what is wrong with the Lakers. I understand Dwight and Pau were both out last night but this team is going in the wrong direction. The Heat simply couldn't hit shots last night, falling 87-77. LeBron continued his 20+ point streak and is 85 points away from 20,000 career points. The Heat are fine, but for the Lake show who fell 125-112, I see trouble. Mike D'Antoni has been no help and allowing 125 points in a night is not getting the job done. The lakers struggle the most in two area, transition and production from the bench. The Lakers keep getting beat down the court for easy buckets. This makes them tired but their is no bench production when Kobe and Steve Nash take a seat. They need to find production from within because all the Laker's money is with KB and Dwight Howard. I'm scared for the Lakers.

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

Dallas Cowboys vs. Washington Redskins

Headline:
The Dallas Cowboys travel to the nation's capital to face rookie sensation RGIII and company in an NFC East winner take all matchup.

Dallas Cowboys:
The most known statistic for this matchup is Tony Romo's lack of success in big time games. The muffed extra point in the playoffs and the two blowout losses in the same winner take all games makes the assessment very fair. As a cause of his troubles, many people are calling this game the "moment of truth" of Tony Romo's career. No one is really giving Dallas a chance but Dez Bryant and Miles Austin should be able to exploit the weaker Washington secondary. DeMarcus Ware will be suiting up sporting a shoulder brace and will be a major part of containing Robert Griffin. The key for Dallas is not stopping RGIII but rather containing him to give themselves a chance.

Washington Redskins:
The Washington Redskins have a chance to return to the postseason for the first time in 7 years. Very much so thanks to rookie Quaterback RGIII. One thing I noticed was that his hype has also picked up the others on the team and improved the play of his teammates. The positive attitude Griffin brings to Washington is a major key for their success. If the Redskins can play reasonably on defense they should have an excellent chance of winning this football game.

Prediction:
I really want to pick the upset in this game but until Romo proves himself I have to go with the home team. I'm rooting for Romo but RGIII will play the best game of his career and an Alfred Morris touchdown will seal the deal and send the 'Skins to the playoffs.

Final Score:
Washington-31 Dallas-21
Line:
Washington -3.0
Over/Under:
49.5