Kirk Cousins Development Tracker

[Elephant]

Still a disconnect for me, that brief period of time causing a complete and absolute 180.

I think the ship was in motion when they signed it, but this organization owed him one last shot and put all the cards in his favor before the season started...

1. Signed option.
2. Named him starter.
3. Started him in game 2 in spite of poor performance in game 1 that displayed his inability to scan a defense from the line of scrimmage before the snap, his inability to escape pressure and his inability hold onto the ball.


He had the chance to prove them wrong, but they were obligated to give him every chance they could to see if their investment could pay off. I don't think it was 180...more like 90 after the previous 2 years of blah.

 

[Elephant]

Nobody owed RG3 anything.

The owner hadn't given up on him. The coach had.

Gruden was looking for a concussion to make the change...and, it happened. You do recall that the football world thought RG3 should have been pulled in that game where he was behind a division 2 o-line, don't you?

No...the world did not believe it, only a handful RG3 fanatics like yourself. He could not perform against the #1's so they had to see if he could perform against the #2's...he could not. The proof is in the pudding.

 

[Boone]

Ryan Clark recently said that Gruden treated RG3 differently on the field and off from the beginning. Can't understand how Cousins is getting off so softly.

We all treat people at work differently. There are people you like and people you don't click with. There are people who work really hard that you respect, and there are people who try to slide by doing the minimum that you may grow to resent. There are people who do most of the work that don't get the credit, and leaders who do very little and get most of it. And there are people who are easy to get along with, and high maintenance people that make it harder for everyone around them. I'm not taking sides (because I don't think there ARE sides) on Griffin vs. Cousins, but it's quite possible that a) Gruden likes Cousins better, and b) that there are absolutely reasonable reasons why that's the case if so.

I will also say that I think Clark is implying that the reason Cousins is getting 'preferential' treatment is his skin color. He won't come out and say it, but I have heard it implied subtly several times. I seriously doubt that's in play here, but it's a lot easier to point to vs. acknowledging that Griffin sank his chances with poor play, drama, and inability to stay on the field. I think it's also obvious that Cousins is about to sink himself as a starter with poor play. I would love to ask folks who believe Gruden has always been 'in the bag' for Cousins why he benched him for Colt McCoy last season and kept him on the bench the rest of the way? That's odd behavior for someone whose only concern is keeping Kirk the starter, don't you think?

 

[MikeSr619]

Hell of a post, Boone. I agree with that.

 

[TomE]

Interesting bit by 'just a guy' enumerating his opinion on Griff, Kirk, J Grue and other organizational relationships.

Here's just a snippet

It's easier for many to criticize the star who fell down a few rungs than the guy who was already down there. That is not to say Kirk Cousins is without denunciation. Cousins is also criticized on a daily basis. If you can't admit both have supporters and detractors you're not looking. Just because Jay Gruden doesn't stand behind a mic and publicly sacrifice Cousins as he did with Griffin, doesn't change that. I don't know if that can be chalked up to a lesson learned from last year or something else but when former players have said that Gruden and Griffin have arguments that don't belong between a head coach and quarterback while Cousins is more of a "yes, sir" type, it's not hard to see why Gruden would rather work with the Michigan State alum. Either way, fans and media will continue to debate the right answer when both are probably wrong for Washington.

 

[stevenaa]

Still a disconnect for me, that brief period of time causing a complete and absolute 180.

It wasn't just that brief time. It was all of offseason from the end of last season to the preseason game. They didn't just see him in the game and decide he wasn't cutting it.

 

[SNF]

They had to give him one last shot...it was a no-brainer. When he failed, that was it. Really not hard to see for me.

Very easy for me to see that he was not given that last shot, hence the disconnect.

But enough of this. Will you be there this Sunday? If not, let me know the next time you do get to a game. I'm there for all of them.

 

[SNF]

It wasn't just that brief time. It was all of offseason from the end of last season to the preseason game. They didn't just see him in the game and decide he wasn't cutting it.

The point being that if that harsh of a decision was already in the works, there's no way they ever should have exercised the option.

Sorry for derailing the thread. I'll stop now.

I hope Cousins rebounds this week. I'll enjoy being at the game so much more if he does.

This can't hurt ...
http://espn.go.com/blog/washington-...gles-might-lessen-with-bucs-qb-jameis-winston
Opposing quarterbacks have a 106.4 passer rating against Tampa Bay (29th in the NFL). The Bucs have faced Drew Brees and Cam Newton, but also rookie Marcus Mariota, Ryan Mallett and Blake Bortles. In a seven-point win over Jacksonville, the Bucs allowed Bortles to throw four touchdown passes and average 9.2 yards per pass attempt. They even sacked him six times, but that didn’t disrupt his game.

 

[fansince62]

The media aren't the problem. The problem is those who cannot distinguish signal from noise.

defined by whom?

stealing from another field....but signal and noise are factors that influence what really matters: information. and information, of course, is processed according to theory, experience, context, blah, blah, blah.

 

[fansince62]

personally...I can agree with those who say RGIII had his chance and didn't cut it. but it is with amusement that one receives the claim that preseason was a valid or even consistent evaluation. that's a load of processed material that drops out the back end. how many plays in the first game? a totally brioken o-line in the second game? please....I'll buy into enough RG is enough....but the argument being made abt preseason is unadulterated fantasy. gruden wanted him gone and...I'll give him credit....saw his opportunity when the protocol presented itself!

 

[Boone]

I'm not being flippant, but I really don't care why RG3 wasn't given a true second chance, but he really wasn't given a fair chance. There was no change in scheme. That's my biggest beef. RG3 possessed one of the strongest and most accurate arms we've seen as Redskins' fans. I simply don't understand why Seattle and SF could adjust, but we couldn't.

Sorry to go off on the RG3 thing again, but I hate seeing folks kick the guy when he's down. He's been the only real bright spot in this franchise in over a decade.

I can agree with most of that. None of us really knows what went down there, and I'm smart enough to know that most fans are going to give the player the benefit of the doubt vs. the coach, particularly when the player in question is who he is and did what he did in 2012. And although I'm fatigued with rehashing the Griffin saga, mostly I just feel regret he couldn't find a way to succeed as well as feeling sorry for the guy.

 

[stevenaa]

I can agree with most of that. None of us really knows what went down there, and I'm smart enough to know that most fans are going to give the player the benefit of the doubt vs. the coach, particularly when the player in question is who he is and did what he did in 2012. And although I'm fatigued with rehashing the Griffin saga, mostly I just feel regret he couldn't find a way to succeed as well as feeling sorry for the guy.

Yup. In the end, it doesn't matter. It was a mess all the way around that started his first season with the injuries and continues to present time. Gruden is just another piece of the RG puzzle. All that matters now is if the org change is real or not. This debate will forever be pointless as we all have our own firm opinions based on too little true information. I'm not sure if you stuck all of our opinions in a bucket and stirred them up if you could extract an accurate depiction of what transpired.

 

[DieselPwr44]

SF adjusted?

Have you watched Kaepernick lately?

He looks just as lost as Griffin does on the field.

 

[MikeSr619]

SF adjusted?

Have you watched Kaepernick lately?

He looks just as lost as Griffin does on the field.

I actually agree with the comparisons to Griffin and its eery how close they are in career paths. But, SF did just have a MAJOR exodus all the way down to their coach.

 

[DieselPwr44]

I disagree.

IMO, Kaepernick was fading in effectiveness in Harbaugh's last year.

He's having the same issues as Robert: pocket awareness, can't throw with anticipation and wants to run if his first read isn't there.

There is no more juice to be wrung out of the Read Option lemon as a base offense. It's like the Wildcat now: good for a trick play or two a game but not as your foundation.

 

[Elephant]

Very easy for me to see that he was not given that last shot, hence the disconnect.

But enough of this. Will you be there this Sunday? If not, let me know the next time you do get to a game. I'm there for all of them.

I'll be there Sunday...section 103 Row 20. Not gonna bring the camera this time. Want to see if I can actually enjoy a game without the camera in hand.

 

[SNF]

I'll be there Sunday...section 103 Row 20. Not gonna bring the camera this time. Want to see if I can actually enjoy a game without the camera in hand.

Cool! I'm in 141 row 1 and we park in Green A. My cell is still the same if you have it. It looks like I still have yours if it hasn't changed.

 

[Elephant]

personally...I can agree with those who say RGIII had his chance and didn't cut it. but it is with amusement that one receives the claim that preseason was a valid or even consistent evaluation. that's a load of processed material that drops out the back end. how many plays in the first game? a totally brioken o-line in the second game? please....I'll buy into enough RG is enough....but the argument being made abt preseason is unadulterated fantasy. gruden wanted him gone and...I'll give him credit....saw his opportunity when the protocol presented itself!

See, I am not sure what to think when you say this. Who is making the argument it was "solely about pre-season.? My argument, at least, was that the poor performance in the pre-season was just the icing on the cake...the proof that he couldn't get it, that all their fears about what they had seen the previous 2 years leading up to this pre-season were enough, but they were obligated to give RG3 one last attempt. They did...it failed. And yes, 2 and 1/2 quarters in the pre-season after running with the 1st string players all during camp is enough for any coach to determine if his guy is the one...after looking at the full picture.

Was there even a real concussion? Doesn't matter, those in charge have seen enough and I don't know if anyone suggested a single pre-season was enough...there is a large enough body of evidence dating back to 100% in against the Eagles when he first started to be a pocket QB, you know the 1st game back in the 2nd season. You remember how awful he looked that night? Wasn't much different the night he tried to scramble out of the pocket, a clean pokcet I might add, stumbled, fumbled the ball and got a "concussion" trying to recover it that 2nd pre-season game. That was a keystone cops moment if I have ever seen one.

 

[Rymanofthenorth]

when you spend 3 firsts and a second on a guy, setting back the development of a franchise by a minimum of 3 seasons, the guy has a brilliant season winning rookie of the year with no real Oline, gets hurt and injured playing behind a brutal Oline and then you sign a supposed qb guru who immediately decides he doesnt like the guy and prefers the guy who might be worse than any starting qb we have had here recently not named mcrapp. yeah I think we are making a mistake.

a good coach coaches his system, a great coach coaches his system and adjusts it to the talent he has available. watching cousins right now is reminding me of watching sexy rexy struggling running shamahans offense, both of them have decent arms but just throw picks. I would much rather have a play action run based offence with rg 3 playing and if he sucks it up, then so be it, but for what we paid, I want to see him fail when given an opportunity to succeed, not fail because our idiot coach is a whiny goon who thinks he is a genius.

 

[DieselPwr44]

Heath Evans Says RG3, Redskins in 2012 Were a ?Mirage? « CBS DC

There’s times when you’re like, 'Kirk, why’d you do that again?’ But then there’s also significant plays, and I think this is what coach Gruden is kind of hanging his hat on right now — the kid is growing. And to the layman’s eye, when you look on the field and you say, 'This was a good pre-snap check. This was a good post-snap adjustment to what you though was going to be, but they threw a different coverage at you,’ there’s growth. And there’s also those blunder plays where Kirk leaves you scratching your head. So I would give Kirk through the end of this season to really make a true assessment on: Can he be a starter in this league or not?”

Evans is of the mind that even when Cousins struggles, while it may be angering to Redskins fans, those fans aren’t able to truly process what they’re seeing. “We love our fans, our fans pay all our paychecks, but the fans are fans,” he said. “They’re just that.”

“99 percent of them don’t have a clue what they’re looking at on a Sunday afternoon,” he added. “

“To the fans listening, 2012 was a mirage,” he said. “Look inside the division to Chip Kelly’s offense. Year 1, what did it do? It caught everyone by surprise. Year 2, more people adjusted, it got worse in every statistical category that mattered. Year 3, what’s going on with it? It’s complete garbage.

“RGIII in 2012 was a point-and-shoot offense. There was no NFL reads, there was no real true fundamental NFL quarterback play and it caught the league off guard. We saw people wanted to blame the knee and everything else; it wasn’t the knee. The good young man just doesn’t see the field, and he’s not capable of doing what an NFL quarterback has to do to win 10, 11 games a year.”