PFT: Washington’s plan for Kirk Cousins is simple: Keep him and look for someone else

[Bulldog]

If Dan Snyder is still hiding a hard-on for RGIII and is going to cost the team its future because of it, then he's no better than a 6 year old playing in a sand box.

 

[Boone]

When has Snyder - EVER - balked at writing a check?

He may be a lot of things, but stingy is not, in my opinion, one of them.


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[Om]

The suggestion wasn't that Snyder was suddenly shy about spending the money, but that maybe the reason they didn't strike a long-term deal with Kirk was Dan still wasn't over having to let Robert go and all that drama. That it was maybe some leftover bitterness, resentment, whatever, against Kirk.

Like I said, I didn't buy it--it was classic Czaban/fanboy stuff--but that's what they were throwing against the wall.

 

[Boone]

PFT: Washington’s plan for Kirk Cousins is simple: Keep him and look for someone else

Ahh ... Gotcha... Yeah - I know Snyder had an epic man-crush on Griffin, but I'm pretty sure that when Snyder saw Cousins play well enough to earn a home playoff game, he, well, 'liked that!'


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[Bulldog]

I agree it was a pretty big 'IF' in regards to Snyder.

I think it is spot on that McCloughan himself is loathe to give up a franchise contract to anything other than a franchise qb. So, seeing that performance in Year 2 is insurance.

Recall that McCloughan has been part of 2 organizations, Seattle and San Francisco, that went to the Super Bowl with quarterbacks on rookie contracts.

That flexibility under the cap allowed the front offices to assemble and keep together teams that otherwise would have been split up if they had to pay immediate big salary contracts for the qb position.

Even with one of the best qbs in NFL history, the Colts only won ONE Super Bowl in 14 years with Peyton Manning.

At least part of the reason was Manning's contract, which at the time was eating up over $30M of the cap.

That meant drafting and starting rookies and not being able to keep veterans when they came up for free agency.

Meanwhile, Brady took less money and had some of it deferred so the Patriots could afford to keep more of their veterans in the fold.

 

[McD5]

Speaking of Manning, it's important to note that he only threw for 2,300 yards last year and still won the SB.

They are starting a rookie QB this season and they remain near the top of the list to repeat.

 

[Henry]

The Broncos won't repeat.

 

[Hog Fever]

PFT. That says it all. Just another convenient hit piece.

The one constant for me is the professional and judgmental opinions of Scot McCloughan. He is the one that I trust the most in this organization. I am convinced that he made the correct call. If our esteemed GM had given Cousin Kirk a contract last week that was signed, then I would've supported the decision. I fully trust in Scot.

And THAT my friend is the difference for me as well. If this years draft class is as successful as last years I'll turn cartwheels across 95 at rush hour. Two things make teams successful in today's NFL: A decent QB and a constant pipeline of young, relatively inexpensive talent. The organization seems to be moving that direction with all possible speed.

We no longer have this as our GM brain-trust.


Scott made a football decision that seems to put us in the position of taking the least amount of risk. It's no more complicated than that. Florio needs to fill pages of football "news" for his site so I expect nothing less from him than half baked BS and conjecture. Peter King, for some reason, is respected among NFL circles but I can't for the life of me figure out why. If he has a "hunch" or a feeling about anything I'd bet the house the other direction.

The idea that Clausen is Scott's idea of a replacement for Cousins is laughable and nobody who has watched pro football in the last decade would think so either. There will be options at the end of the season at QB, some will be better than others and we can cross that bridge then. We all agree that if Kirk plays well he gets paid and none of us have a problem with that. If he plays poorly then we'll likely get a vet in free agency to keep the seat warm and draft someone. If he gets hurt mid season and hasn't established himself one way or another......well then we have a problem. You just can't account for injury at the QB position though. The league doesn't have 32 guys who can play the position as it is much less a guy who can step in and take over if the starter goes down.

Regardless of how the QB situation works out we need time to get more talent in the system. Our defense is a work in progress and our running game is a huge question mark going into this season. I feel like we're making progress though and I feel like there is a plan. There have been times over the past couple of decades where I haven't felt that way. Man, I'm ready for the season to start.

 

[Ax]

Good points Hog.

I would venture to say that the "If he plays poorly then we'll likely get a vet in free agency to keep the seat warm and draft someone" quarterback is already on the team, and already knows the system.

With an improved cast around him, on offense and defense, I believe, and more importantly, I think Scot & Jay believe, that we can win with Colt McCoy, until the next hot young prospect comes along.

 

[Bulldog]

Well, most teams that don't have Aaron Rodgers or Andrew Luck are keeping their current starters AND looking to improve on them in the near future

Kirk Cousins skills are good across the board but is not elite in any one area. He deserves the significant raise he got from 2015, but if he tops out at a level below that of a qb that can make unscheduled plays and put the team on his shoulders at critical times in big games against good opponents then he doesn't deserve $60M guaranteed.

 

[TomE]

Maybe that's why the team wants another year to find out Kirk's upside.
Perhaps his brain will develop into elite status this year, which in my book ain't all that bad.

 

[Elephant]

I gotta admit, I am surprised to hear many expect elite from Kirk. I just don't see him ever being an elite QB in this league, but Denver, Seattle, Baltimore and the Giants have all won SB's in the past 10 years without elite QB's.

I think he can skirt top 10 and be as good as Flacco was the year they won their SB, or as good as the others...even better than poor ass Payton was last year.

 

[TomE]

I gotta admit, I am surprised to hear many expect elite from Kirk. ....

Not expecting Kirk to be elite but I am looking for 'pretty good', maybe at the level of a Joe T with enough moxie and smarts to keep it going for a good run over several years.
No concerns here with the money thing either as long as it doesn't cripple the cap.

Pretty sure Kirk sees himself as a Drew Brees type of guy, not a bad thing if he can pull it off.

 

[Bulldog]

Well, the problem there is that most 'non-elite' quarterback that won the Super Bowl were lead by generational defenses.

Jim McMahon, Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, and Peyton Manning in 2015 played on defenses that were truly exceptional.

The Redskins are MILES away from having that type of defensive unit.

If this team is going to go deep into the playoffs and challenge for a Super Bowl in the next few years, the quarterback and offense are going to need to be very, very good to go along with what may be a very good defense.

 

[Elephant]

Well, the problem there is that most 'non-elite' quarterback that won the Super Bowl were lead by generational defenses.

Jim McMahon, Trent Dilfer, Brad Johnson, and Peyton Manning in 2015 played on defenses that were truly exceptional.

The Redskins are MILES away from having that type of defensive unit.

If this team is going to go deep into the playoffs and challenge for a Super Bowl in the next few years, the quarterback and offense are going to need to be very, very good to go along with what may be a very good defense.

That's my point, Kirk should be more than good enough to carry this team until we get all the pieces in place so we can go that one step further.

 

[TomE]

Still think it's too early to pigeon hole Kirk, he was essentially a 'sophomore' starting quarterback last year.

Not totally sure what defines 'elite' in a QB, physical attributes, mentality, knowledge of the 'system', moxie, competitiveness, gun slinger attitude, football IQ, durability...... all of them or most of them.

Many point to Joe Montana, not particularly imposing physically but he worked within that Niner 'system' pretty damn well and the team that was eventually assembled around him was pretty well stacked. I'd say he had probably all of the above without the astonishing physical attributes.

Not sure what items on that 'elite' list Kirk is lacking in great measure but other than those physical attributes I don't see anything on that list that can not be improved on with more experience.

We saw Kirk go from being a turnover machine to a fairly efficient distributer of the ball in just 16 games as the starter, maybe he has reached his ceiling maybe not that's what this year is all about.

Can he make those off schedule plays that make him a threat against teams that have the book on him? Will he make 'the drive' to win a critical game? Is he efficient enough to support that defense which is lacking......

We'll see, that's the fun of it

 

[Elephant]

Still think it's too early to pigeon hole Kirk, he was essentially a 'sophomore' starting quarterback last year.

Not totally sure what defines 'elite' in a QB, physical attributes, mentality, knowledge of the 'system', moxie, competitiveness, gun slinger attitude, football IQ, durability...... all of them or most of them.

Many point to Joe Montana, not particularly imposing physically but he worked within that Niner 'system' pretty damn well and the team that was eventually assembled around him was pretty well stacked. I'd say he had probably all of the above without the astonishing physical attributes.

Not sure what items on that 'elite' list Kirk is lacking in great measure but other than those physical attributes I don't see anything on that list that can not be improved on with more experience.

We saw Kirk go from being a turnover machine to a fairly efficient distributer of the ball in just 16 games as the starter, maybe he has reached his ceiling maybe not that's what this year is all about.

Can he make those off schedule plays that make him a threat against teams that have the book on him? Will he make 'the drive' to win a critical game? Is he efficient enough to support that defense which is lacking......

We'll see, that's the fun of it

I'm pretty sure winning Super Bowls is a highly touted characteristic, then consistently ranking in the top 5 in terms of a wide variety of measures. Kirk Cousins is not one of the 5 best QB's in this league. I will grant you Kirk's inexperience, but I simply don't see (At this stage of his career) Kirk Cousins ranking in the top 10, much less the top 5. I think he can be a top 10 guy, but I am not convinced he'll ever be Aaron Rodgers, Drew Brees or Tom Brady. They are the elite.

 

[TomE]

Right, to become elite they had to accomplish those things, Kirk has been in the mix one year as a starter, the book is incomplete.

All of those mentioned did not get there first thing, it took some time to play. I particularly recall Brady's first SB when the entire team came out as one for the introductions, not sure Brady was considered elite yet, just part of the group that excelled enough to get it done.

But you're right, Kirk is not elite at this stage of his career, no one is disputing that.

The circumstances surrounding his career the timing of his contract situation and the immediate needs of this team has forced his getting paid as an elite and that seems to bother some when it shouldn't.

 

[Elephant]

Right, to become elite they had to accomplish those things, Kirk has been in the mix one year as a starter, the book is incomplete.

All of those mentioned did not get there first thing, it took some time to play. I particularly recall Brady's first SB when the entire team came out as one for the introductions, not sure Brady was considered elite yet, just part of the group that excelled enough to get it done.

But you're right, Kirk is not elite at this stage of his career, no one is disputing that.

The circumstances surrounding his career the timing of his contract situation and the immediate needs of this team has forced his getting paid as an elite and that seems to bother some when it shouldn't.

And I am suggesting I do not think Kirk will be one of those guys. I think he'll be as much as we'll need for the next 5-7 years maybe more because I see the teams McGloughan has either helped assemble or assembled himself, Seattle and San Fran. Neither of those teams have had success with an elite QB. And no...I do not think Russell Wilson is elite.

 

[TomE]

Agree, I mentioned early on that I was hoping for Kirk to be at least (just) pretty good, which is exactly where you see him if he's here for the next 5-7 years.

If he steps up and elevates his game beyond that then goody for us.