Breaking Down the Andrew Luck vs. RG3 Preseason Showdown

Preseason or not, when the first and second overall draft picks face off, it's must-see TV.

Andrew Luck and Robert Griffin III have re-energized their respective fanbases in Indianapolis and Washington, giving hope to two franchises that looked utterly hopeless in 2011. Both teams expect big things out of their rookie passers and have invested heavily in offensive weapons to give them the help they need.

So, when these two go head-to-head at FedEx Field on Saturday afternoon, what can fans expect, and what should they be watching for?

Breaking Down the Matchup by the Numbers

Preseason stats don't mean much, but it's interesting to see how these two stack up heading into Saturday's game.

Perhaps the most interesting number in that chart is the attempts. The Colts and Luck have come out throwing, whereas the Redskins have (largely) kept Griffin's arm under wraps. To some extent, however, that doesn't tell the whole story.

In Week 2 against Chicago, Griffin took 29 snaps. Of those snaps, he had eight passing attempts, two scrambles and three sacks. It's hard to get a lot of work when your first drive looks like this:

For those scoring at home, that's: run, run, hold, sack, run.

One can assume that that isn't how the Shanahans drew it up. Of course, Alfred Morris won't be the guy running the ball when the regular season kicks into high gear, either, as the Redskins are waiting for Roy Helu Jr. and Tim Hightower to get over their leg injuries. With those two back, the Redskins offense should look a little less shaky, and Griffin shouldn't have nearly as much pressure.

Luck and the Colts have had their own less-than-stellar moments, as Luck was pressured constantly by both the Rams and the Steelers. However, looking at these numbers, it's noticeable that even though Luck has far more attempts than Griffin, he has only been sacked once.

Both of these young quarterbacks have great athleticism, and both of them make good decisions, but Luck's trademark quick release will serve him well in the NFL, as he's able to avoid sack after sack.

After this game, look past the first couple of numbers on the stat sheet and see which quarterback did the most with the snaps he was given. NFL passers need to be able to string longer drives together and get first downs by any means possible. To some extent, it will also reveal which coach is more willing to put his QB in the line of fire so soon into his career.

Breaking Down the Tape

While Luck has had plenty of opportunity to showcase his best asset, Griffin's tremendous speed hasn't had much of a chance to excite Redskins fans, but when it was let out for one play, it was electrifying:

That's Israel Idonije (71) and Julius Peppers (90)—not exactly two slouches—in that shot. For a moment, it looks as if either man could cut Griffin off or even drag him down from behind, but Griffin turns on his jets, and he's gone. Fourteen yards later, he gets pushed out of bounds by Nick Roach, and eventually Neil Rackers kicks a field goal to score Washington's first points of the game.

Few quarterbacks can single-handedly change the momentum of games with their arms; even fewer can do so with their feet. Griffin can do both.

That was a straight scramble, though; Griffin is going to be even more dangerous when things like this happen:

The play above is a simple stretch play, but the arrow is pointing to lots of empty ground, where Griffin can expect to spend lots of time throughout his career. Mike Shanahan is notorious for being able to run the football, and that leads to notoriety for play-action passes and bootlegs.

From CBS Sports' Will Brinson:

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Being athletic and having accuracy down the field doesn't make RG3 a unique talent though. Lots of quarterbacks are fast and are capable of hitting targets deep down the field. But most of these quarterbacks don't play in Mike Shanahan's system, which is primarily predicated on rollout and play-action passes down the field.

Quarterbacks who succeed under Shanahan need to be cerebral, they need to be athletic, and they need to possess the inherent ability to look downfield while being mobile. This is Robert Griffin in a nutshell.

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Shanahan has always loved mobile quarterbacks. From Steve Young to John Elway and eventually Jake Plummer, Shanahan's "guy" has always been someone that fits Brinson's description to a "T."

You know who else fits that description? Andrew Luck.

Here, Luck can be seen doing what he does best on the run—keeping his eyes downfield and finding a receiver to pick up more yardage than he could have with his feet. Luck fits into the category of passers (like Aaron Rodgers and John Elway) that could run, but often have the better sense not to.

Both the Colts and the Redskins can get after the passer, and each has questions along its offensive line, so it will be intriguing to see how each quarterback deals with the rush around him. Dealing with pressure is going to define both of these quarterbacks in year one, and it's already started.

Luck and Griffin will never be able to shake the comparisons. Because of their first-second finish in the Heisman voting and first-second order in the draft, they have become the best measuring sticks each other could ever have.

On Saturday afternoon, they face off for the first time. Two young quarterbacks with fantastic careers ahead of them. The final score of the game couldn't mean any less, but whenever so much talent is on display, you better be watching.

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Michael Schottey is the NFL National Lead Writer for Bleacher Report and an award-winning member of the Pro Football Writers of America. Find more of his stuff alongside other great writers at "The Go Route."