Not to take anything away from the accomplishments of RGIII, but with all the hyperbole surrounding his performance, I thought I'd chime in. Its good to see him succeed especially against the New Orleans Sinners....I mean saints. We had to deal with this hyperbole last year with Cam Newton, and we'll see how long the RGIII fascination lasts. On that note, look no further...well look back further to find the best rookie QB debut in week 1 of the NFL season to find yourself in 1961.

Our Minnesota Vikings were a brand new franchise in the 1961 season. The 1960 season introduced a winless Dallas Cowboys. The experts expected no different an outcome for the new Minnesota Vikings teams. George Shaw started the game, but was quickly replaced by Fran Tarkenton. Remember that this was a different era, different rules, and the quarterback was not protected by the rules nor by the lineman the way QB's are today. Fran was 17-23 for 250 4 that's right 4 touchdown passes and ran one in on his own.

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