Operation Patience Part 2: Why Benching RG3 for Kirk Cousins is a Really Bad Idea

An 0-2 start for the Redskins has some people calling for Kirk Cousins. Click here to find out why that would be a really bad idea.

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Washington Redskins Offer Some Surprises With Their Final 53

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/washington-redskins-offer-surprises-final-53-173900203--nfl.html

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Should the Washington Redskins Keep Three Quarterbacks?

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/washington-redskins-keep-three-quarterbacks-174600415.html

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Redskins’ Short-term and Long-term Gamble Pays Off

The Redskins raised more than a few eyebrows last April when in the fourth round the team drafted Michigan State quarterback, Kirk Cousins.  They had drafted Robert Griffin III as the second overall pick to be their franchise QB.   Why waste the pick on another rookie QB?

Fast-forward to week 14.   The Redskins trailed the Ravens by eight with a chance for the division title perhaps on the line.  Suddenly, as Griffin scrambled away from pressure, Haloti Ngata hit him so hard that he seemingly separated Griffin’s body from his knee.  Fans held their collective breath as Griffin hobbled down the field, trying to keep the drive and perhaps the season alive.

It soon became clear he would not be able to finish out the game.  Enter Kirk Cousins.

Cousins came in cold, but went 2 for 2 and hit Pierre Garcon in the end zone for a touchdown.  He capped it all off with a two-yard draw for the game tying two-point conversion.  The Redskins had tied it up and forced overtime where Kai Forbath sealed the 31-28 win.

On Saturday, after a week of watching and waiting, the Redskins announced that Cousins would start against the Brows.  After a very slow start and an interception that led to Cleveland’s first touchdown, Cousins strung together an efficient, very impressive game.  He completed 26 of 37 passes for 329 yards and two touchdowns as the Redskins defeated the Browns 38-21.

He did it under immense pressure both on and off the field.  It’s hard to step in for a new hero.  Cleveland’s defense also came in with an aggressive game plan.  With no Griffin, they decided they were going to blitz early and often.  He took some shots, but he got the job done.

While drafting Cousins may have seemed odd, it did make a certain amount of sense. In the later rounds, NFL teams make picks based on value rather than just on need alone.  When a second round caliber QB drops to the fourth round you have an opportunity to steal a real playmaker.  It does not always work out that way, but every draft pick comes with a certain amount of risk.

It’s not about a lack of confidence in Griffin, it’s about having a better backup option than Rex Grossman and having a very valuable trade asset in the future.

It was definitely a gamble.  The Redskins have been dressing only two rookie QBs all season.  There was no guarantee Cousins would be up to the task if Griffin ever went down.  With Grossman inactive most weeks, there would be no one else to turn to if Cousins could not handle the NFL level.  The gamble, however, appears to have paid off.

While Cousins is no Griffin, he has shown that he can be more than just a dependable backup.  We would all like to see Griffin come back as soon as possible, but there is no reason to rush him.  Now, he has another full week to heal and if his knee still is not better by next week, playing Cousins feels like much less of a risk than he did only a few days ago.

The backup QB is an often overlooked position, but every team is always one play away from needing one.  Cousins has shown why it is important to have someone dependable on your depth chart behind the starter.  As a rookie, his ceiling is still high which means his value is as well.  In his one game and two brief appearances, he already looks better than any QB on Arizona or the Jets’ roster.  Cousins’ payoff will not just be on the field.  Expect to see some offers in the offseason.  Teams will pay a lot for what they see as a possible franchise QB.   As the Redskins have few draft picks and are up against a cap penalty, it will be worth listening to what other teams have to offer.

Every QB has bad games and Cousins will be no exception.  When the Redskins needed him, however, he stepped up and got the big win.  Should they need him again, Shanahan no doubt will name him starter with more confidence then perhaps he had last week.

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Redskins Ready to Go

Three games down, one to go.  The Redskins will wrap up their preseason on Wednesday, but we likely got our best view of what the Redskins will look like this season from Saturday’s game against Indianapolis.  Here are my thoughts on what we’ve seen so far:

I remain cautiously optimistic about Robert Griffin III after three performances.  He was not asked to do much against Buffalo, took a step back against Chicago, and looked very sharp against Indianapolis.  Mike Shanahan has declared that he is done for the preseason, so his final stats are 20-31 for 193 yards and two touchdowns.  Perhaps most importantly he has not thrown a single interception.  His arm strength looks as good as advertised as does his speed, though Shanahan has limited his running.  He still has not fully adjusted to the speed of NFL linemen and he has not always looked accurate, but at this point I’m nit-picking.  For a rookie, he looks good.

THERE IS NO QUARTERBACK CONTROVERY.  This came up after the game against Chicago.  Griffin went 5-8 for only 49 yards.  Kirk Cousins, meanwhile, went 18-23 with 264 yards and three touchdowns.  People were a little surprised and a little worried when the Redskins took Cousins in the fourth round of the draft.  What if he played well in the preseason and Griffin did not?  Will this add pressure to the young QB?  No.  A team cannot give up what the Redskins did for Griffin and not give him a chance to prove himself.  Griffin is safe as the starter and will be safe even if he does not dazzle us all like we had hoped.  Cousins, meanwhile, is still third on the depth chart.  It’s good to have him and that he’s playing well, but he’s not a threat to Griffin.  Not yet anyway.

When Shanahan has to sit down with his coaches and finally cut the roster down to 53, his hardest decision will come at wide receiver where everyone has upped their game.  Let’s start with what we know.  Pierre Garcon will be the number one and Santana Moss will move to the slot.  Former Virginia Tech WR Josh Morgan was signed as an FA in the offseason, but his spot was in danger due to injury concerns.  He has played very well in the preseason, however, proving himself to be a dependable option.  Leonard Hankerson has looked lackadaisical at times with only three preseason catches, but he came in high up on the depth chart and I don’t think he’s done anything to jeopardize that.

That leaves only two, possibly three spots for five other players.  New-comers Aldrick Robinson and Dezmon Briscoe have showed both reliable hands and playmaking abilities.  They have both played extremely well.  Anthony Armstrong just cannot stay healthy and has only a single catch.  He has not shown enough in his career here for the coaches to give him another shot over either Robinson or Briscoe.  I think he’s gone.  Same goes for Terrence Austin.  There was a chance for him if he could establish himself more as a return man, but he has been unable to do so and his WR play has not generated excitement the way the others have.

Perhaps the most controversial decision will be over Brandon Banks.  Shanahan made it clear he needed to make the roster as a WR this year, but he caught only two passes against Buffalo while being targeted nine times.  He simply does not have the height to compete as an NFL WR.  This has not gone unnoticed by the coaching staff, who have not given him significant playing time at WR since that first game.  They are also exploring other players as kick returners including Santana Moss.  Banks won’t make it as a WR and Shanahan is trying to find someone else to return kicks.  The problem is that no one has come close.  Banks won’t make this team if Shanahan keeps only six receivers.  If he keeps seven, Banks will take that last spot.

Not sure exactly where fan-favorite Chris Cooley stands.  Right now he’s behind Fred Davis and Niles Paul on the depth chart, who was moved from WR to tight end.  Everyone knows how good Davis can be, but Paul has looked inconsistent.  He’s had some big drops, but that is not unusual for new tight ends who sometimes find catching more difficult with the constant blocking that comes with the position.

The possibility of a year-long suspension still hangs heavy over Davis.  One more failed drug test, and he’s out.  Cooley is also listed on the depth chart at fullback as well as TE.  I think he makes the team, but he won’t see much of the field.

A real Jekyll and Hyde performance so far by the offensive line, who allowed zero sacks in Buffalo, got shredded by Chicago, and looked ok against Indianapolis.  This will quietly be one of the more important storylines for the Redskins as the front five are now tasked with protecting the team’s franchise QB.  When you look at all other offensive positions, the line is the biggest weakness.  This offense will only be as good as the line.  I will be surprised if Griffin starts 16 games this season because I think he is going to take too many hits to stay healthy.  The worst thing about it is that with few draft picks and a salary cap penalty, I don’t think the line will get better for another two years.

The running back position, thought to be a weakness, now looks like it could be a potential strength with four players shouldering the load.  The Redskins looked like they were in trouble with injuries to Evan Royster and Roy Helu Jr.  With Tim Hightower returning from ACL surgery, it seemed he was not a dependable option.  Enter Alfred Morris, the preseason star who has caught everyone’s eye with his powerful running style.  This guy just does not go down behind the line.  While Royster, Helu, and Hightower are all question marks, if you can go into the season with four reliable backs, suddenly you are reducing the workload of everyone.  If Hightower goes down one week, you can spread the carries around Royster, Helu and Morris.  If Helu gets injured, you can go back to Hightower.  Before it looked like each guy had to prove himself capable of making this roster.  Now, I don’t think the Redskins can risk cutting any of the four.

The Redskins will struggle to defend the pass this season.  Jay Cutler tore the secondary apart for 122 yards.  When he had time, Andrew Luck was also able to embarrass the Redskins.  He finished with 151 yards and a touchdown.  Shanahan experimented somewhat by playing DeAngelo Hall at safety.  Maybe he does not think Hall can play corner anymore, or he desperately needs someone else at safety, but either way it’s not a good sign.  Brandon Meriweather should be back for the start of the season and Tanard Jackson was really impressive against the Colts, but otherwise this is a thin secondary.  It looks like the Redskins’ best option to defend the pass this season will be to pressure the quarterback.

Speaking of pressuring the quarterback, the Redskins look deep at both defensive line and linebacker.  The season-ending injury to Chris Neild is a blow, but not a major one and they seemed to play well against Indianapolis without him.  Jarvis Jenkins looks to be as good as advertised in his first year of action.  Brian Orakpo is expected to be fine for the season opener, and even without him the Redskins’ linebackers harassed Luck all night.  Teams are going to be faced with the daunting task of somehow blocking both Orakpo and Ryan Kerrigan.  Depending on how good the secondary can play, this defense may be ready to take the next step.

One preseason game to go, but it will be mostly tryouts among the backups to make the final 53.  It’s time to start the countdown to September 9 and New Orleans!

Redskins get their...Quarterbacks?

With the second overall pick in the 2012 draft, the Redskins surprised no one by selecting Robert Griffin III. The highly touted quarterback from Baylor has been anointed as the savior of the franchise since the Redskins pulled off a massive trade to move up to number two in the draft in order to claim him. The rest of the team’s draft was expected to be a collection of offensive linemen and “best available” picks, but in the fourth round the Redskins unexpectedly drafted Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins. Thought by many experts to be a starting caliber QB, the move raised more than a few eyebrows from around the league, even with Cousins himself. "I was shocked," he said, "Knowing what they had done with the No. 2 pick, and that I hadn't talked to them that much in the whole process." Cousins was not the only one surprised. Everyone has been analyzing this pick trying to figure out just what it means. Are the Redskins already questioning RGIII’s potential? Is the team headed for a quarterback controversy? Don’t worry DC, it’s not time to re-evaluate RGIII.

So who is this new QB? Kirk Cousins was the starting QB at Michigan State since 2009. In his redshirt senior season, he threw for 3,316 yards and 25 touchdowns. While he was not the highest rated QB in the draft, many scouts thought he had clear starting potential, including Jon Gruden who thought he could be as high as a second round pick. The Redskins picked him up in the fourth round with the 102^nd overall pick. With the team so clearly set on RGIII, it seemed an odd choice as it does create the potential for a QB controversy. Imagine if Cousins plays lights out in the preseason and RGIII struggles in the regular season. Eventually there could be pressure to sit him in favor of Cousins. Also, RGIII is not living in a cave, he’s fully aware the Redskins have drafted another QB. The team has already put the weight of the franchise on his young shoulders, should he really have to think about beating out another young QB to earn that job?

Ok, everyone, take a deep breath and calm down. There is no QB controversy in DC. The Redskins traded a second round pick and three first round picks to get Griffin. Mike Shanahan’s future is tied to RGIII’s success. If he fails, Shanahan will fail. Shanahan will do everything he can to make sure RGIII succeeds. As for the added pressure, if RGIII is the professional we hope he is, he should not care at all about Cousins. He is going to be a rookie starting QB in the NFL. He is going to be under the public spotlight. If he can’t handle a backup QB, he can’t handle the NFL. It’s a non factor. All QBs have backups, they have to learn to live with it.

Some have theorized that Cousins was brought it to pressure RGIII a little bit to train hard so he’s ready to take over the team, but that’s simply ridiculous. The Redskins would not have paid as high a price for RGIII as they did if they thought he needed extra motivation. In the fourth round of the draft teams are looking both for players to fill holes and for the best available talent. When Cousins fell to the fourth round, the Redskins felt he was the best player available and could not pass on him. Who would you have preferred they take? Of course there is still talent on the board in the fourth round, but if you believe so much in Cousins then it makes a certain amount of sense. The problem I have with the pick is not that it puts added pressure on RGIII, but that the Redskins used one of their few picks on a position they no longer needed to fill. The Redskins gave up four picks, two in this draft, to take RGIII. They should not be using yet another draft pick to get someone who they know is not going to play.

When the Redskins were on the board, they must have thought he was the best player on the board and that he provided them with insurance should RGIII get injured. He also could be a potential trade asset of the future. Best case scenario is that both thrive in the NFL. Seriously, who cares if Cousins turns out to be great? Trade him. I don’t see this as being bad for RGIII or that it will add too much pressure on him. All the pressure in the world is already on his shoulders. I just think this was a waste of a pick, but it’s not like the Redskins haven’t wasted numerous picks over the years.