If Robert Griffin III is going to get his career back on track, he can start by making sure the ball comes out on time. Way too often last year, he got caught trying to scramble around rather than either making the correct throw or simply throwing it away.
RG3 managed to get sacked 33 times, in fact, even while only playing about half the season. In this century, over 500 quarterbacks have attempted over 200 passes in a season, and only four of those guys were sacked more often than Griffin – David Carr twice, Andrew Walter and the legendary Rob Johnson.
Some of the blame can be attributed to the offensive line and game plans and whatnot. But note that Kirk Cousins when he was in there was sacked only 8 times in 212 pass plays. On the positive side of the ledger, Colt McCoy was more like RG3 (17 sacks versus 128 attempts).
In the 2013 season, Griffin attempted over twice as many passes but was sacked only 5 more times.
| Percentage of sacks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rk | Player | Att | Sack | Pct |
| 1. | Peyton Manning, Den. | 597 | 17 | 2.8% |
| 2. | Nick Foles, Phil. | 311 | 9 | 2.8% |
| 3. | Joe Flacco, Balt. | 554 | 19 | 3.3% |
| 4. | Tom Brady, N.E. | 582 | 21 | 3.5% |
| 5. | Kirk Cousins, Wash. | 204 | 8 | 3.8% |
| 6. | Derek Carr, Oak. | 599 | 24 | 3.9% |
| 7. | Carson Palmer, Ariz. | 224 | 9 | 3.9% |
| 8. | Andy Dalton, Cin. | 481 | 21 | 4.2% |
| 9. | Andrew Luck, Ind. | 616 | 27 | 4.2% |
| 10. | Drew Brees, N.O. | 659 | 29 | 4.2% |
| 11. | Drew Stanton, Ariz. | 240 | 11 | 4.4% |
| 12. | Eli Manning, NYG | 601 | 28 | 4.5% |
| 13. | Matt Ryan, Atl. | 628 | 31 | 4.7% |
| 14. | Aaron Rodgers, G.B. | 520 | 28 | 5.1% |
| 15. | Ben Roethlisberger, Pitt. | 608 | 33 | 5.1% |
| 16. | Brian Hoyer, Clev. | 438 | 24 | 5.2% |
| 17. | Philip Rivers, S.D. | 570 | 36 | 5.9% |
| 18. | Tony Romo, Dall. | 435 | 29 | 6.3% |
| 19. | Ryan Fitzpatrick, Hou. | 312 | 21 | 6.3% |
| 20. | Jay Cutler, Chi. | 561 | 38 | 6.3% |
| 21. | Kyle Orton, Buff. | 447 | 33 | 6.9% |
| 22. | Mark Sanchez, Phil. | 309 | 23 | 6.9% |
| 23. | Matthew Stafford, Det. | 602 | 45 | 7.0% |
| 24. | Geno Smith, NYJ | 367 | 28 | 7.1% |
| 25. | Ryan Tannehill, Mia. | 590 | 46 | 7.2% |
| 26. | Shaun Hill, St.L. | 229 | 18 | 7.3% |
| 27. | Mike Glennon, T.B. | 203 | 16 | 7.3% |
| 28. | Cam Newton, Car. | 448 | 38 | 7.8% |
| 29. | Russell Wilson, Sea. | 452 | 42 | 8.5% |
| 30. | Alex Smith, K.C. | 464 | 45 | 8.8% |
| 31. | Teddy Bridgewater, Minn. | 402 | 39 | 8.8% |
| 32. | Austin Davis, St.L. | 284 | 29 | 9.3% |
| 33. | Colin Kaepernick, S.F. | 478 | 52 | 9.8% |
| 34. | Josh McCown, T.B. | 327 | 36 | 9.9% |
| 35. | Blake Bortles, Jac. | 475 | 55 | 10.4% |
| 36. | Robert Griffin III, Wash. | 214 | 33 | 13.4% |
—Ian Allan