Robert Griffin III Must First Prove He's the Best Quarterback on the Redskins

If you're looking for sensationalized overreaction to Robert Griffin III's assertion that he feels like he's the "best quarterback in the league," you won't find it here. Every player, particularly those with Griffin's talent, should believe he has the ability to outperform his peers. 

That type of mentality got many of these guys to the pros.  

The confident Griffin has since criticized the media for taking his words out of context, which is fair. My reaction isn't that Griffin is out of line or off his rocker, or even that he can't indeed become the best quarterback in the game. 

Crazier things have happened. 

Instead, I'm of the opinion that RG3 must first prove he's the best pivot on the Washington Redskins. 

Some facts: 

• Colt McCoy, not Griffin, was the highest-rated passer on the Redskins roster in 2014. And Kirk Cousins had a much better touchdown-to-interception ratio (10-to-9 vs. 4-to-6). 
• Cousins, not Griffin, was Washington's best offensive player in its preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns, completing 12 of 14 passes for 154 yards while Griffin completed just four of eight for 36. One preseason game might not mean much, but this wouldn't be the first summer in which Cousins outplayed Griffin. 
• Among quarterbacks with at least 200 dropbacks in 2014, Griffin was sacked a league-high 13.4 percent of the time. Behind the same offensive line, Cousins (3.8 percent) and McCoy (11.7 percent) combined were sacked on only 7.0 percent of their dropbacks.

By most indications, Griffin has regressed in two consecutive seasons, with his interception and sack rates increasing rather steadily. He holds onto the ball too long, takes too many sacks, his decisions and his mechanics have been lacking and he exposes himself to too many hits. 

McCoy and Cousins have by no means been stars either. However, McCoy was a stud at Texas and posted a fantastic 96.7 rating in five appearances last season while Cousins flashed in a major way as a rookie backup as well as during last year's training camp. 

The sample sizes aren't large, but McCoy did complete 36 of his first 42 passes as a member of the Redskins last year before finishing with a 71.1 completion percentage. Among quarterbacks who threw at least 100 passes, that was the highest rate in the NFL. 

Quarterback	Comp. %
Colt McCoy	71.09
Tony Romo	69.89
Drew Brees	69.20
Robert Griffin	68.69
Ben Roethlisberger	67.11

And while sacks were a huge issue for Griffin, Cousins proved the offensive line couldn't be blamed entirely by posting the fifth-lowest sack rate in football among the 42 quarterbacks who attempted at least 100 throws. 

Quarterback	Attempts	Sacks	Sack rate
Nick Foles	186	9	2.8
Peyton Manning	395	17	2.8
Joe Flacco	344	19	3.3
Tom Brady	373	21	3.5
Kirk Cousins	126	8	3.8
Carson Palmer	141	9	3.9
Derek Carr	348	24	3.9

And while Griffin received relatively strong reviews out of camp, the reality is he has a long way to go, as ESPN.com's John Keim wrote on Monday:

"

As for his play, Griffin at times looked sharp and other times inconsistent. There is a feeling that he's done a better job going through progressions, etc. His deep ball has looked good this summer; the fade route in the red zone has not. I can’t say that I’ve seen huge changes in his pocket movement -- but the games will help more considering in practice some plays are continued that would have been sacks.

"

In the preseason opener, Griffin still displayed major issues within a small sample size. He missed Pierre Garcon on back-to-back fades in the red zone, overthrowing both balls. That might have been mental as much as it was physical, causing me to wonder if the former No. 2 overall pick has lost some confidence in his abilities:

NFL Game Pass

And he was once again caught scrambling where it wasn't necessary. Griffin did pick up the first down on this 3rd-and-short, but he exposed himself by taking off early rather than hitting his next progression and seeing a wide-open Ryan Grant: 

NFL Game Pass

Keim went on to note that Cousins and McCoy have yet to prove they deserve the chance to leapfrog Griffin on the depth chart, which is unarguable. Cousins has thrown a ridiculous 16 interceptions despite starting just eight games the last two years, while McCoy had as many picks as touchdowns during his first two relatively full years as a starter in Cleveland. 

And both continue to face questions regarding their accuracy and/or arm strength and/or decision-making skills. 

Still, Cousins was the standout in the preseason opener, maneuvering the pocket with extreme comfort. His cool slide away from pressure that led to a first-down completion to Matt Jones was the type of thing Redskins fans don't often see from Griffin. 

Nobody's open and the pocket has broken down, but Cousins anticipates Jones' release and slides to his left:

NFL Game Pass

Less than two seconds later:

NFL Game Pass

And he proved on a zone-read touchdown run that he may be flying under the radar in those situations. 

Point being, if Cousins continues to outplay RG3 on Thursday against the Detroit Lions and in the weeks to come, it'll be fair to wonder just how long Griffin's leash is entering Week 1 of the regular season. 

Category	Griffin	McCoy	Cousins	Winner
Completion %	68.7	71.1	61.8	McCoy
Touchdown %	1.9	3.1	4.9	Cousins
Interception %	2.8	2.3	4.4	McCoy
Yards/game	188.2	211.4	285.0	Cousins
Yards/attempt	7.9	8.3	8.4	Cousins
Passer rating	86.9	96.4	86.4	McCoy
Sack %	13.4	11.7	3.8	Cousins

Expand the transcript from Griffin's controversial proclamation about being the best quarterback in the game and you'll find a line that states, "I know I’m the best quarterback on this team." Problem is, the numbers and the eyeball test indicate Griffin is putting the cart before the horse. 

Before Griffin even makes a run at being the league's best quarterback, he'll have to consistently outplay both McCoy and Cousins in order to actually hold his starting job for a full season for the first time since he was a rookie in 2012. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFL for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon