A Word On Robert Griffin III

If you say you're not lying about Robert Griffin, you're probably lying.

Griffin and Andrew Luck represent, by themselves, one of the most intriguing quarterback classes in NFL history, and that's before you throw in guys like Ryan Tannehill and Brandon Weeden. Griffin has so much upside that it's easy to forget how many were concerned about his pocket presence and decision-making coming into the season.

All Griffin has done is throw for over 1,000 yards, maintain a 103 quarterback rating, complete 69% of his passes and run 39 times for 252 yards and four touchdowns. He's been remarkably poised for a rookie quarterback and has been a major reason the Redskins are respectable this year. Like Cam Newton, he's a weapon to be accounted for. Unlike Cam Newton, he doesn't make boneheaded mistakes all the time.

The Falcons were lucky enough to face Newton just ahead of this game, so they can learn lessons from utterly failing to contain a big, mobile quarterback. The key to winning this game is not necessarily to keep Griffin in the pocket—he's a more-than-capable pocket passer—but to actually drag him down. You've got to hit Griffin and cover his receivers well in order to slow his considerable roll.

So this game hinges on the ability of the pass rush and the secondary to be sharper than they were against Newton, and perhaps force Griffin into some rookie mistakes that he hasn't made thus far.

How would you stop Griffin?