Kirk Cousins Development Tracker

[Henry]

Oh I can happily admit Cousins has performed better than I thought he would this year.

That said, producing a list of Big Names who are either, a) Running QBs, b) missing significant time due to injury or c) are just having career bad years, proves absolutely nothing about Cousins' effectiveness as a starting QB.

Eighteen QBs have played a full 13 games this season. Of those, Cousins is 10th in passing yards, 14th in passing TDs, tied for 4th (worst) in INTs, and 11th in passer rating.

This is about where an average-ish starter will end up, which admittedly is still a pleasant surprise for Cousins.

EDIT: You know what? You can take Andy Dalton off the list, since he only played one quarter against the Steelers. He only threw 5 passes in that game. In three extra quarters, Kirk has thrown 56 more yards than Dalton.

So, seventeen QBs. Cousins rankings change to 10th, 13th, 4th and 10th, respectively.

Give the kid full marks for durability.

 

[fansince62]

Henry...agree.

Kirk may yet mature into "the guy" many are presently fantasizing as his future.

IMO.....this strikes me as getting ahead of ourselves. My real concern is that we end up paying too much money at season's end for the next go around - forced by limited draft/FA options.

 

[fansince62]

Cousins has performed better than 90% of those here predicted he would. And he's done it on a team that's had a ton of injuries and has struggled to field starters at some spots for most of the year. Yeah, other teams have injuries - but we've had more than our share. Overall, Cousins has shown grit, fire, and more than a little talent and competence.

I really don't have any need to argue with anyone who disagrees - because you're either not watching games, or you don't want to see what's obvious to most.

Boone....that's tantamount to saying "well...set expectations low enough and you can be happy with anything that exceeds those expectations." as parodied in the Adam Sandler Grown Ups films: "Saaay Whaaaaat?"

I watch the games. not directed at you: but I don't have any need to argue with people who ignore the limitations and project over-optimistically based on performance against weaker teams.

should we be happy that Kirk is proficient in areas his predecessor had issues with? yes.

should we believe that he has absorbed some lessons and responded positively? yes.

should we believe there is grounds for much of the hyperbole now being bandied about? no. emphatically no.

not my issue whether others agree or not.

 

[Henry]

Regarding Schedule Strength, I did a little digging and found two sites that had metrics for determining schedule strength. While they varied, both had the Redskins with the 25th toughest schedule so far.

https://www.teamrankings.com/nfl/ranking/schedule-strength-by-other

Strength of Schedule Rankings for NFL

I think that's probably about right.

Now we are tied with a bunch of other teams for the 12th best record in the league at the moment (believe it or not) so we are probably right in the middle somewhere in terms of team quality. In my opinion.

 

[Neophyte]

Oh I can happily admit Cousins has performed better than I thought he would this year.

That said, producing a list of Big Names who are either, a) Running QBs, b) missing significant time due to injury or c) are just having career bad years, proves absolutely nothing about Cousins' effectiveness as a starting QB.

Eighteen QBs have played a full 13 games this season. Of those, Cousins is 10th in passing yards, 14th in passing TDs, tied for 4th (worst) in INTs, and 11th in passer rating.

This is about where an average-ish starter will end up, which admittedly is still a pleasant surprise for Cousins.

EDIT: You know what? You can take Andy Dalton off the list, since he only played one quarter against the Steelers. He only threw 5 passes in that game. In three extra quarters, Kirk has thrown 56 more yards than Dalton.

So, seventeen QBs. Cousins rankings change to 10th, 13th, 4th and 10th, respectively.

Give the kid full marks for durability.

This is pretty much where I am to. Yes, Kirk has performed better than I thought he would this year. Yes, he is likely more than just a career backup.

He is not, however, a very good QB yet. He is a guy who has worked hard to minimize his mistakes and so not be a liability to this team. He is a guy who doesn't quit, gives it his all, and can do good things against bad teams.

He is also a guy who is still leaving as many plays on the field as he is making on the field. Wins were there to be had against Dallas, Miami and Atlanta if Kirk had just made another couple of plays in each. Is that too much to ask at this point? I don't know...maybe. He certainly isn't solely to blame for any of those losses. Play calling was suspect in all three of those games as well.

He is a guy with average physical skills for an NFL QB who is currently making the most of those skills. If he can get the game to slow down for himself just a little more, he could be potentially be a Top 10 QB in this league. He has shown flashes of really good play against weak opponents and while that is good, it is not what it takes to do more than just win the division consistently.

I am not one who believes we have fixed the QB position on this team for the next 5 to 8 years. Nor am I one who believes for certain that Griff is done with this team. Would better pieces around Kirk make him better? Absolutely. Would they also make Griff better? Yes, absolutely.

No, I am not looking for a QB controversy and I am not predicting a switch in the off season. I am just saying I won't be surprised by much of anything at this point and I know which QB has higher physical upside if he can get his brain up to speed with his body. I have to believe McLovin knows that too. I also have to believe there is method to Scott's madness in keeping Griff on the roster this year even though he is/was obviously on board with sitting him in favor of Cousins.

For the record, I am one who is in favor of competition at ALL positions and that includes the QB.

 

[Henry]

I agree with all of that Neo, except the part about Griffin's future in Washington.

He's done here. I can't imagine him playing for Gruden ... ever. And Gruden will be back next year.

Bob is gone.

 

[Neophyte]

I agree with all of that Neo, except the part about Griffin's future in Washington.

He's done here. I can't imagine him playing for Gruden ... ever. And Gruden will be back next year.

Bob is gone.

Perhaps you are right, Henry. Perhaps I am living in a fantasy world.

However, I have seen reported that the team has told Robert that his career is in his hands and the team (whoever that maybe) does not necessarily believe his time in DC is done. From all reports he is being a model citizen and working extra hours on his game long after the rest of the team has hit the showers.

I guess it all depends on whether or not you believe the team is being square with him or not. I am currently choosing to believe the Scott is not of the ilk we have had around here for too long and that he is being up front with Griff. That could very likely be a huge mistake on my part.

Time will tell.

Of course, I am not convinced that Gruden will be back next year either. We have 3 very winnable games left against teams that a division leader should beat. 9-7 means a playoff berth, a home game (which are apparently always winnable with this team) and Jay coming back next year. I'm not sure 8-8 will do it though. A lot depends on what Scott thinks of Jay and we really don't know how he feels at all.

 

[GSF]

I think a lot of people forget the Skins lost their starting LG and C a quarter of the way into the season. The loss of Lauvao was huge. The first 3 games of the season the oline was dominant, and Lauvao was a huge part of that. The Redskins were one of the top rushing teams early in the season, and the rushing game really fell off after Lauvao and then Lichtensteiger went out for the season.

If the starting oline was in tact all season, I believe the rushing game would have been much more potent, making things much easier for Cousins. He might have less yards right now, but I believe the team would have had more wins, and we'd be talking about locking Cousins down with a long term contract.

 

[GSF]

Perhaps you are right, Henry. Perhaps I am living in a fantasy world.

you are, RG3 is outa here...

 

[servumtuum]

Boone....that's tantamount to saying "well...set expectations low enough and you can be happy with anything that exceeds those expectations." as parodied in the Adam Sandler Grown Ups films: "Saaay Whaaaaat?"

I watch the games. not directed at you: but I don't have any need to argue with people who ignore the limitations and project over-optimistically based on performance against weaker teams.

should we be happy that Kirk is proficient in areas his predecessor had issues with? yes.

should we believe that he has absorbed some lessons and responded positively? yes.

should we believe there is grounds for much of the hyperbole now being bandied about? no. emphatically no.

not my issue whether others agree or not.

Hyperbole? Fansince, my man, I can assure you from several seasons of reading fan forums across the NFL landscape that hyperbole is a near universal operating mode for NFL team's fans, Why, without it the league's support system could nigh well collapse.

I acknowledge your observation of the tendency to go a bit, what your might refer to as "overboard" in both positive (and negative if we're to be honest) statements, predictions, assessments, and so forth. Given that I, as stated in my sig, have given what I consider a reasonable timeframe for Scot M., Gruden or whoever, the rest of the coaching staff, and the team itself to demonstrate an ability to bring the team to "probable division winner/playoff contender" level, I have to acknowledge a certain "pleasantly surprised" reaction to the changes/improvements in Cousins' play at QB as the season has progressed. How long this improvement continues and what the plateau level may be is a matter of conjecture, personal opinion, or actual like/dislike for the guy (we do tend to overestimate those we like and underestimate the ones we don't.)

I'm not going to compare Cousins to Brady, Rodgers, Newton, or another top performing QB playing now and grade him based on his "distance from true greatness" or such because I consider that unrealistic and I think, unless I'm reading things wrong-always a possibility, that is this difference in perspective from which our dfifferences in assessments diverge.

I can see either Cousins staying or Cousins leaving depending on many factors, but I do think that if some other issues on the team are successfully addressed sufficiently in support of the QB position, his play has improved enough to keep him around for a couple of years in lieu of the "let's buy a Powerball ticket to fund our retirement years" idea of grabbing a top QB in 2016 or grabbing an older QB on the downslope of his playing career.

 

[McD5]

I don't think Robert being gone is some foregone conclusion. Any of the events below, although they may be very unlikely, could see Robert back again next year:

Kirk gets a career-ending injury in the next three weeks.
The team loses the next three games, and Cousins throws 3 picks in each game, and throws a fourth pick in the final game to top it off.
RG3 agrees to take a one year, "prove it" deal similar to what Pot Roast and Gallete signed for a very low price. And he starts next year as the backup.

All of those are still a possibility.

 

[Henry]

Meh. Cousins and McCoy played like utter drek pretty much all of last year and Bob was still yanked after two pre-season games this year.

He isn't coming back. He shouldn't be coming back. This front office needs to make a decision and stop screwing around with the most important position on the field, and I think they have. I would be shocked ... SHOCKED I tell you, if they continued to muck around with Bob after the decisions they've made about him these past two years.

 

[Neophyte]

I would agree with you, Henry, if he had been jerked purely for on field performance but we all know that wasn't true. His benching was much more about what happened on weekdays than what happened on weekends and if he has turned some kind of corner Monday through Saturday that we fans cannot see but the front office can then who knows?

Which is not to say that I expect it. I don't. Especially not if Jay is still here. I think there is too much ego on his part over this for that.

I just think it is far from a forgone conclusion like everyone else seems to think. This franchise has a long sordid history of flying in the face of conventional wisdom.

 

[GSF]

RG3 has been wearing sweat suits on Sundays all season. He's outa here.

 

[Miles Monroe]

I would agree with you, Henry, if he had been jerked purely for on field performance but we all know that wasn't true. His benching was much more about what happened on weekdays than what happened on weekends and if he has turned some kind of corner Monday through Saturday that we fans cannot see but the front office can then who knows?


Which is not to say that I expect it. I don't. Especially not if Jay is still here. I think there is too much ego on his part over this for that.

I just think it is far from a forgone conclusion like everyone else seems to think. This franchise has a long sordid history of flying in the face of conventional wisdom.

I couldn't agree more. We can discuss it till the cows come home, but we don't know where Scott stands on Robert, Cousins, and Gruden. Anything can happen, with countless variables involved in the decision making process. The only QB on the roster under contract for next season has had a year to get physically and possibly mentally healthy.

The one thing I know for sure about this team is, nothing is written in stone till it actually happens.

 

[Smoot Point]

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to see the game due to crazy circumstances (went out of town, came back and had: death of someone close to us, eye surgery, & Star Wars). I have the game on DVR, but haven't been able to free up time. I'm also in a lurch this weekend and might miss the Bills game. That's why I've been relatively quiet about the Redskins this week.

Regardless, nothing has changed for me... I still think Cousins can be a very capable backup/spot starter. He has done a fine job with what he has been given, but there isn't really anything special about him. I can easily name 18 QBs right now who I would consider better than Cousins, and he is in a mix of QBs that I'd rank between 20-25 in the league. This is also why I would've invested in Griffin, because he is the only one on the roster who could've been special (if Gruden had continued to invest in his development)...

 

[Fear The Spear]

Is it safe to say, that Kirk will return the loyalty back and want to re-sign here, and not want to bolt somewhere else, after the season ?

 

[fansince62]

RG3 has been wearing sweat suits on Sundays all season. He's outa here.

Hope so. then we can start working on getting Gruden outta here.

 

[fansince62]

Meh. Cousins and McCoy played like utter drek pretty much all of last year and Bob was still yanked after two pre-season games this year.

He isn't coming back. He shouldn't be coming back. This front office needs to make a decision and stop screwing around with the most important position on the field, and I think they have. I would be shocked ... SHOCKED I tell you, if they continued to muck around with Bob after the decisions they've made about him these past two years.

agree...per previous...it's my hope that Gruden is load shedded as well. not likely.

my prediction is that Cousins will be gone once we move into a familiar scenario - recurring playoff appearances (I think the roster will be improved enough to accomplish that) - with nothing to show for it. that'll take 3-4 years. people seem not to notice that this trajectory has been seen many, many times.

 

[micks113]

Hope so. then we can start working on getting Gruden outta here.

we?

Its looking more and more like cousins and gruden will be re-upped. After next year, its greater than 50% gruden will be extended imho. why? I think this team is poised to make some noise next year. And McClou has said directly he is in total support of Gruden. Much to your chagrin.