Random Commanders Thoughts

[Bulldog]

I don't think Cousins will turn into a bust like Scott Mitchell or Matt Flynn have in the past getting a big contract after a flash of production, but the parallel to Matt Cassel is there.

Cassel was dealt by NE for a #2 pick and signed a $40M contract with the Chiefs. He has been in the league for 10 years and has started his fair share of games, even making one pro bowl along the way, but is best characterized as a journeyman.

He was never able to catch that lightning in a bottle again after the 11-5 season with the Patriots.

Cousins could end up being that kind of player over the next 6-7 years.

That's why the franchise tag makes sense for 2016.

Mark Rypien took the same kind of 'make good' one year deal in 1991 and cashed in with a Super Bowl MVP season.

What you don't want to do is tie yourself up for years in the kind of deal that Sam Bradford got from the Rams after being drafted in 2009.

His teams never posted a winning record and he spent considerable time on IR with serious injuries to his knees and shoulder. Injuries which IMO will limit his career longevity in the NFL.

 

[Om]

It's all about the contract structure. A $60 million guarantee, structured in such a way that the annual cap number is manageable, coupled with escape clauses both sides can live with after 2-3 years, wouldn't bother me at all. I'm okay with letting him play 2016 under the tag, and proving it again before locking him into a long term deal that, if he plays well, will REALLY be a monster. But I'm also okay with the idea of he and team working out a long term deal that pays him handsomely in terms of guaranteed money, but allows the team flexibility cap-wise to continue to build an actual football around him.

I'd like to think both he and the team understand the mutual interest in working out a deal that allows the organization to work towards constructing a winner ... a rising tide as it were.

 

[TomE]

If I read the thing correctly....

The blurb Win put up was an agent's view of what the player's starting asking price should be.

Remember, the target or asking prices for these players are on the high side and aren't necessarily what their actual deals will be.

As an ascending player that has demonstrated he can perform like an above average starter, Cousins wanting money consistent with the average of the top 15 quarterback contracts isn't unreasonable. In 2015, these contracts averaged approximately $19.8 million per year, contained over $56 million in guarantees (where slightly more than $35.225 million was fully guaranteed at signing) and averaged five years in length. Washington's reluctance to make this type of commitment to Cousins is also understandable since he hasn't proven he can play at a high level for more than a handful of games.

and let's not forget what he did..... granted it was short term stuff but he still did it and what else can we expect the guy to do but actually improve over the course of the season which also happened to be his first as the declared starter.

Cousins was the Pro Football Writers of America's co-Most Improved Player of the Year for 2015. The 2012 fourth-round pick led the Redskins to the NFC East crown while earning NFC Offensive Player of the Week honors twice and finishing the season as the NFC's Offensive Player of the Month. Cousins had the NFL's best completion percentage at 69.8 percent. He was also fifth in the NFL with a 101.5 passer rating and 10th with a franchise-record 4,166 passing yards. Cousins was a top quarterback statistically during the second half of season when Washington had a 6-2 record, completing 73.6 percent of his passes for 2,212 yards with 19 touchdowns and two interceptions to post a 126.1 passer rating. Cousins has the highest completion percentage and third-best passer rating during the second half of a season since the turn of century.

Think the guy's arguments are pretty well stated IMO.

As Om points out, the big deal is about handling of the cap to keep a decent team intact and improving over the long haul.
Paying for QB position is always going to be 'the factor' regardless of the guy playing it. If Kirk proves to be a good one it's going to take a chunk of change to keep him, if he turns into a 'one man show' then the price will go even higher.

At least now the QBs coming out of school are tucked into a cap at reasonable rates, no more of the Bradford mega deals leading to the unfortunate circumstances associated with the NFL level and lack of production.

 

[Win4us]

Yeah that was just an agents view I thought was interesting. Seemed high as hell tho, even for a starting price. I'll be glad once this is finalized...one way or another.

 

[McD5]

Roddy White doesn't sound like a big fan of Kyle Shanahan:

Some think the Shanahan offense was too complex. White disagrees, sort of.

“No it wasn’t,” White said, “besides the things [Shanahan] was doing in making six variations to one route. It was just episodes throughout the game where I think he mismanaged things and screwed up and we didn’t have the opportunity to win the game, which, I thought, was on him as the offensive coordinator. It wasn’t sound football, but it was things that he was used to doing and things we weren’t used to doing as an offense, and it literally cost us like two games.”

Did White share his concerns with Shanahan?

“Man, I talked to him just about every day about everything,” White said. “But it’s like, 'If I’m talking to you and it’s not getting no better, what do you expect from me?’ He kept trying to tell you all what he’s trying to do with the offense, but for the last 11 weeks of the season, we didn’t do anything. We didn’t turn no curves. The first four weeks were good. We went out there and scored a bunch of points and started off strong. But other than that, we didn’t do nothing the rest of the year.”

Roddy White tees off on Kyle Shanahan | ProFootballTalk

 

[Bulldog]

Roddy is 32 and no longer is treated like royalty in the Falcons organization. No wonder he is cutting on the team now that he is headed to free agency.

With Julio Jones on the one side, the other receivers should have put up career numbers but White was clearly past his prime and no better than a depth receiver at this point.

Thank God for Kirk Cousins.

They had a 'replay' of the 2012 draft on ESPN and the Redskins only have two players that are expected back from 9 selections made that year, Kirk and backup OL Tom Compton.

Griffin is done.

LeRibeus was a flat out bust from the start.

Keenan Robinson was hurt his first two years, played solidly his third and then disappeared in his fourth and was beaten out by a street free agent Mason Foster. He is likely to be a depth signing in free agency for another club.

Adam Gettis really never did get on the field for the team in a meaningful sense in 2 plus seasons before being waived.

Alfred Morris was a nice story and he produced in an offense when all was going great guns with Griffin being the triple threat that opposing defenses keyed on.

Recently, Morris came back to earth with 3.9 yard per carry averages and seemed to have lost the quickness he had as a rookie.

Last round pick Jordan Bernstine never really had a chance to play as he had a gruesome injury in the preseason and was then out of the NFL.

You really do have to wait at least a couple of years to evaluate a draft class.

Those that were willing to bash McCloughan for drafting Brandon Scherff at #5 overall to eventually play guard should wait and see what kind of career he has in the NFL.

If he is the second coming of John Hannah at guard and goes on to make half a dozen pro bowls people later on will talk about what a great selection it was.

 

[McD5]

Head Coaching ranks this offseason. Gruden getting a little more respect.

Let’s fast forward to this year and Gruden has climbed to No. 14. He’s not in bad company. The Saints’ Sean Payton and Jets’ Todd Bowles are right ahead of him and Super Bowl champion coach Gary Kubiak and John Fox are right below.

Gruden needed to do something big in his second year on the job. That he did, delivering on years of rumors that Kirk Cousins could be a viable NFL starter while leading the Redskins to just their third division title of the Snyder era. Gruden improved the offense, saved the defense by firing Jim Haslett and was deft and calm as he navigated Washington’s withering media glare.

There is plenty of room for criticism of the job that Gruden did. But the one thing he absolutely deserves credit for is having the guts to make the switch from Robert Griffin III to Kirk Cousins at quarterback. Certainly not all of the fan base was in favor of the move and those inside the organization were reportedly split as well. For Gruden it took some deft political maneuvering to pull off what turned out to be the right football decision.

That sort of moxie should serve Gruden well going forward in the Redskins organization. If Scot McCloughan keeps supplying Gruden with talented players he could well take another jump up in the rankings a year from now.

Need to Know: Where does the Redskins? Jay Gruden rank among NFL head coaches? | Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

 

[Elephant]

Head Coaching ranks this offseason. Gruden getting a little more respect.

Let’s fast forward to this year and Gruden has climbed to No. 14. He’s not in bad company. The Saints’ Sean Payton and Jets’ Todd Bowles are right ahead of him and Super Bowl champion coach Gary Kubiak and John Fox are right below.

Gruden needed to do something big in his second year on the job. That he did, delivering on years of rumors that Kirk Cousins could be a viable NFL starter while leading the Redskins to just their third division title of the Snyder era. Gruden improved the offense, saved the defense by firing Jim Haslett and was deft and calm as he navigated Washington’s withering media glare.

There is plenty of room for criticism of the job that Gruden did. But the one thing he absolutely deserves credit for is having the guts to make the switch from Robert Griffin III to Kirk Cousins at quarterback. Certainly not all of the fan base was in favor of the move and those inside the organization were reportedly split as well. For Gruden it took some deft political maneuvering to pull off what turned out to be the right football decision.

That sort of moxie should serve Gruden well going forward in the Redskins organization. If Scot McCloughan keeps supplying Gruden with talented players he could well take another jump up in the rankings a year from now.

Need to Know: Where does the Redskins? Jay Gruden rank among NFL head coaches? | Rich Tandler's Real Redskins

Pfft! According to you, he should have been #1 last year!

 

[McD5]

Lol. I wouldn't go that far. Not even close yet.

He may have had the most stressful coaching position last year though. I can't imagine how awkward it must have been after the comments of McLovin's wife. That's a hazardous work environment. I'd put him near the top in that category.

 

[Goaldeje]

Yep. It saddens me to lose good players because we can't figure out how to utilize them properly.

 

[Kel Varnsen]

D Young, Hatcher, Griffin....all released.

I wish we would have kept Young. He is what you want in a FB.

He is what you want in a fullback. He's what you want on special teams. He seems to be what you want in a teammate. Unfortunately, the last two don't trump the first. He wasn't used on offense. For that reason only, this make sense. What I fear is that the Special Teams takes a hit next year without him. When Lorenzo Alexander signed with Arizona, the Redskins had the worst special teams in the league the next year. Not a coincidence to say the least. I hope the same doesn't happen after releasing another valuable special teamer.


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[SkinsOrlando]

And all you can eat buffets all over DC rejoice

 

[McD5]

Yep. It saddens me to lose good players because we can't figure out how to utilize them properly.

I hate to see him go. I realize very few teams use a FB anymore--especially Callahan, but he kicked ass.

 

[McD5]

the most stressful coaching job?

Yeah, I would say that there is nobody who would say he had a harder job than the coach in Cleveland.

or even Dallass for that matter.

Cleveland may have been harder, although no one ever expected them to win.

Dallas? Not even close. They could have gone 0-16 and the HC would have been safe with Romo's injury. I'm sure he still had a miserable year though.

Neither of those HC's benched the fan-favorite, traded-the-farm-for guy, told the owner to pipe down and had the GM's wife telling the media that he was about to be fired.

That's a really crappy work environment. Maybe not the worst. Certainly top 3. I bet his stomach was shredded at times last year.

 

[Ax]

Gruden is God.
Any other coach would have lost 30 games last season.
He turns dirt into water. And then, the water into wine.
He can do no wrong.
Hell, I might as well let him screw my sister.

 

[Chris]

Have they changed the Super Bowl trophy from Lombardi to Gruden yet?

 

[Ax]

They either do that, or change the name of the league from the NFL, to the GRF.

Gruden Rules Football

 

[McD5]

Have they changed the Super Bowl trophy from Lombardi to Gruden yet?

That's still 5 years away.

They either do that, or change the name of the league from the NFL, to the GRF.

Gruden Rules Football

HFL. Huevos Football League. And he's got some huge ones.

Let's just hope he has intelligence too. Huge huevos plus stupidity is the worst combination possible.

 

[Bulldog]

Can't believe Goldson would not restructure based on his age and evaluations of his play last season, maybe the club doesn't want to barter dollars for a guy to simply add veteran leadership.

Too many vets out there that can do that and still play effective minutes.

 

[McD5]

Agreed BT. Too old and too expensive.