You know all about RG3. You probably don’t know much about the guy he hands the ball off to.
Redskins rookie Robert Griffin III has been one of the sensations in the NFL this season as the fourth-rated quarterback in the league behind three guys you may have heard of (Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady and Peyton Manning), having completed 67.5 percent of his passes with 16 touchdowns and only four interceptions.
But if not for Griffin’s remarkable season, one of the leading candidates for Rookie of the Year honors would be his teammate, running back Alfred Morris, a humble sixth-round draft pick who has had as much to do as anyone with helping make Griffin a star.
The Giants, in their rematch with the Redskins on Monday night in Washington, can focus all the defensive energy they have into stopping Griffin. But if they do not stop Morris, they’ll be in danger of losing to the Redskins and turning the NFC East from the runaway it should be into a race with a month remaining in the regular season.
Lost in the Giants’ 27-23 comeback win over the Redskins last month at MetLife Stadium were the 120 rushing yards Morris, the 173rd pick in the draft, stamped on their defense.
So as much danger as the multi-talented Griffin presents to the Giants defense, Morris must be the first man to stop for the 7-4 Giants, if they are to bury the 5-6 Redskins from NFC East contention.
“We need to out-physical the Giants,’’ Morris told The Post by phone yesterday. “We have to establish the run, because after what we did to them last time they’re going to be trying even harder to stop our running game. We can’t let them stop us.’’
Redskins coach Mike Shanahan said it took only one preseason game to realize “we had ourselves a starter’’ in Morris, who played at Florida Atlantic, the only Division I school to offer him a scholarship.
“It’s hard to find those types of guys, but when you do have one you know you have one,’’ Shanahan said.
“It’s inconceivable to me that 32 teams passed on him five and six times until Washington took him,” Howard Schnellenberger, Morris’ coach at FAU, told The Washington Post. “Were 172 players better than Alfred?”
Morris appears to be the latest in a long line of highly productive running backs Shanahan has unearthed over the years. Remember, Terrell Davis, Shanahan’s 2,000-yard Super Bowl running back in Denver?
Like Morris, Davis was a humble, unheralded sixth-round draft pick. And, like Davis who was often overshadowed by Broncos quarterback John Elway, Morris has no problem playing in the shadow of RG3.
“I like staying under the radar,” he said. “It’s the perfect situation for me. He can have all the attention, because I definitely don’t want it.’’
In an interview with NFL Network yesterday, Griffin said he would vote for Morris as the NFL’s top offensive rookie.
“He’s my running back [and] he’s had a very quiet but very great season for a running back,” Griffin said, “and I’m proud to have him on this team.”
In perfect step with his humble nature, Morris is still driving the 1991 Mazda 626 that his pastor sold to him for $2 before his senior year at FAU (it has 124,000 miles on it).
When you consider Morris is the fifth-leading rusher in the NFL with 982 yards, a 4.7-yard average and six TDs, you might be surprised to hear him say, “My whole goal was the make the team and climb up the depth chart’’ when the Redskins drafted him.
“My opportunity came sooner than I expected,’’ he said. “Nothing’s even been given to me. I’ve always been an underdog, so I know how to chase my dream.’’
If the Giants don’t chase Morris down Monday night before a national TV audience, his notoriety will begin to catch up to that of RG3 and it will become more difficult for him to hide from the accolades sure to come his way.
mark.cannizzaro@nypost.com