Why Kirk Cousins Can Still Be Washington Redskins' Starting QB

There's an elephant in the room at Redskins Park, and it's stood between Washington head coach Jay Gruden and quarterback Robert Griffin III. Actually, you can consider this elephant a referee, because the battle of wills between the young head coach and the quarterback he inherited hasn't ended.

Kirk Cousins is waiting to see who wins.

Cousins blew his chance to nail down the starting spot last season. But 2012's fourth-round pick can still be the quarterback of choice for the Burgundy and Gold.

Cousins was masterful running the version of the offense Gruden wants when Griffin was sidelined with an ankle injury early last season. But he ultimately squandered the opportunity when initially composed play turned to erratic decisions that helped improve the takeaway statistics of every defense he faced.

Liz Clarke of the Washington Post detailed the discrepancies in Cousins' performances:

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Cousins has supporters in Redskins Park, having flashed a dynamic ability to move the ball in six games last season. Cousins led the team’s quarterbacks in passing yards (1,710) and threw more than twice as many touchdowns (10) as either Griffin or McCoy (four apiece). But Cousins’s big plays were undercut but his nine interceptions, several of which came late in crucial, fourth-quarter situations.

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Yet despite the mistakes, the quarterback who was eventually benched in favor of Colt McCoy is still the best bet to run the kind of offense Gruden wants.

A very surprising statistic supports Cousins' case. It comes from Warren Sharp Football:

As a personal confession, this statistic knocked me for the proverbial loop. It seemed to destroy my proposed blueprint for the optimal, Griffin-led offense for the Redskins in 2015.

In that article, I'd called for Gruden and offensive coordinator Sean McVay to "scale back their playbook": "Specifically, they should replace complex, timing-based route progressions with a series of safe, underneath throws that put shifty playmakers in space."

Essentially, the Redskins were already running the kind of low-risk, dink-and-dunk passing scheme I'd called for. More importantly, they'd already run it, and it yielded results only aspiring to mediocre.

Washington's passing game was a respectable 11th in the league last season, but it was also the backbone of an offense that finished a lowly 26th in points. Why should repeating the same formula yield different results?

Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

One other question to consider is: Will Gruden even want to scale things back again? He certainly never looked comfortable having to modify things for Griffin last season.

The plain fact is that the Gruden offense just isn't one meant to be defined by restraint. It's also a scheme that puts the onus on a quarterback rather than protecting him.

Shortly after Gruden was hired, CSN Washington writer Rich Tandler noted how much the coach likes to air it out:

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The one thing that I would put my money on is that the offense will be very pass happy. Last year the Redskins attempted 611 passes; Gruden’s Bengals threw just 24 fewer passes despite the fact that they went 10-6 and trailed in games far less frequently than the Redskins did.

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Any Redskins fan who railed against how often Gruden ignored the running game during his first year in D.C. will know how prophetic Tandler's words proved to be.

Still, it's not just a question of wanting to light up the skies that keeps a controversy at quarterback brewing. It's how Gruden wants to attack through the air and which passer can handle those demands best.

Stretching the field vertically has been a staple of a Gruden-called game ever since the Cincinnati Bengals drafted A.J. Green in 2011. The theme continued last season with DeSean Jackson in the fold at Redskins Park.

On Gruden's watch, Jackson tallied a career-best 1,169 yards, including a 20.9-yard average for his 56 receptions. For a clearer indication of just how often Gruden sent Jackson deep, the former Philadelphia Eagles burner caught 16 passes that went for 20 or more yards, including 13 that broke the 40-yard barrier.

Thomas J. Russo-USA TODAY Sports

Deep passing isn't merely a page in the Gruden playbook, it's a true feature of it. Of course, the propensity for going long doesn't necessarily strengthen Cousins' case—not when Griffin is blessed with a rocket of an arm few pro quarterbacks can match.

But what does help Cousins, while harming Griffin, is the core principle behind Gruden's offense. Essentially, it's a scheme deeply rooted in West Coast principles.

Those principles have a major impact on the type of passes quarterbacks are expected to deliver, as well as how they distribute the wealth. Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh, who went against Gruden's Bengals offenses for three years in the AFC North, described the first part of that dynamic.

Specifically, Harbaugh emphasized the importance of a quick release, per Mike Jones of the Washington Post: "They’re very physical up front, and three-step, controlled passing. The ball comes out quickly and it’s really hard to get to the quarterback. It’s based on probably a quick read and the ball’s out quick."

Unfortunately for Griffin, getting rid of the ball quickly is perhaps his biggest flaw. Struggles to read coverage, along with a frenzied desire to make every play a home run hitter, cause him take an age in the pocket. But a quarterback simply doesn't have that luxury in a three-step scheme.

Not only is timing an issue, so is precision. Harbaugh went on to describe how a pass attack he felt bears "a lot of the classic West Coast principles" is all about exactitude: "You watch them in pregame and every one of their nine-routes is caught 42 yards, 4 yards from the sideline, which is kind of the textbook way of teaching that route. Every single guy caught the ball at that spot."

Ted S. Warren/Associated Press

Even Griffin's closest supporters would have to concede that accuracy has never really been his bag during three uneven seasons as a pro. You only need to consider the host of circus-style catches wide open receivers still had to make during 2012 as proof of Griffin's issues hitting targets between the numbers.

Of course, those same supporters of Griffin will argue Cousins is too adept at hitting defenders between the numbers to ever dethrone the onetime Offensive Rookie of the Year.

But not enough attention is paid to what Cousins does when he protects the football. In particular, one of the defining features of his game that really stands out is how he spreads the ball around.

While Griffin usually zeroes in on a favored target, Jackson last season and Pierre Garcon in 2013, Cousins will work every target. Take a look at how many receivers caught passes during his four full starts last season for proof:

Name	Position	Catches	Yards	TD
Pierre Garcon	Wide Receiver	11	138	1
DeSean Jackson	Wide Receiver	5	117	1
Niles Paul	Tight End	6	68	0
Roy Helu Jr.	Running Back	1	55	0
Andre Roberts	Wide Receiver	4	38	0
Logan Paulsen	Tight End	2	7	0
Darrel Young	Fullback	1	4	1

Name	Position	Catches	Yards	TD
Roy Helu Jr.	Running Back	5	78	0
Niles Paul	Tight End	3	60	0
Pierre Garcon	Wide Receiver	2	28	0
Logan Paulsen	Tight End	2	28	0
Alfred Morris	Running Back	3	27	0
Andre Roberts	Wide Receiver	1	18	1
DeSean Jackson	Wide Receiver	1	9	0
Darrel Young	Fullback	1	9	0

Name	Position	Catches	Yards	Touchdowns
DeSean Jackson	Wide Receiver	5	157	1
Roy Helu Jr.	Running Back	5	59	0
Andre Roberts	Wide Receiver	5	29	1
Pierre Garcon	Wide Receiver	2	23	0
Logan Paulsen	Tight End	2	11	0
Niles Paul	Tight End	1	6	0
Alfred Morris	Running Back	1	-2	0

Name	Position	Catches	Yards	TD
DeSean Jackson	Wide Receiver	3	115	1
Jordan Reed	Tight End	8	92	0
Andre Roberts	Wide Receiver	5	55	0
Roy Helu Jr.	Running Back	2	40	0
Pierre Garcon	Wide Receiver	4	31	1
Alfred Morris	Running Back	1	14	0
Niles Paul	Tight End	1	7	0

In three of his full starts, Cousins hit seven different receivers. In the other, he targeted eight. That's exactly what Gruden's sharing approach is supposed to look like.

Shortly after he was hired, the coach named "trying to get everybody involved" as a big part of the "base philosophy" of his offense, per Jones. One year on, Gruden is still trying to spread the ball around and get everybody involved, according to Stephen Czarda of the team's official site.

Cousins remains his best bet to put his core philosophy into practice. So why didn't things work in 2014?

Well, those pesky interceptions will send any quarterback to sulk on the lumber. Cousins' penchant for a hair-trigger release under pressure has to be a major concern, even to his biggest supporters.

But it's also true he wasn't exactly helped by the play-calling last season. With Cousins under center, spreading the ball around in the type of pocket-based passing game he loves, Gruden forgot the one ingredient vital to the effectiveness of every pro offense. The over-excited coach forgot about the value of balance.

Gruden's scheme may be crafted to let quarterbacks thrive instead of hide, but a bit of protection would have been nice. Cousins was never given the benefit of leaning on the team's running game.

Take a look at Washington's rushing stats from his four full starts for an idea of how much onus was put on Cousins' arm during this stretch:

Week	Game	Attempts	Yards	TD
3	at Philadelphia Eagles	28	84	1
4	vs. New York Giants	17	86	1
5	vs. Seattle Seahawks	17	32	0
6	at Arizona Cardinals	17	72	0

For a little more context to these statistics, consider the fact that Cousins ran the ball at least twice in three of these games. Not many, if any, were planned runs.

It's also no coincidence that his best performance, and Washington's most explosive offensive showing of the season, came in Week 3 against the Eagles, when the Redskins ran it 28 times.

Sadly, Gruden soon abandoned that formula. Just because the passing improved and became more varied with Cousins airing it out instead of Griffin, the offensive line didn't get better.

Any quarterback playing behind a weak front needs the protection afforded by a healthy complement from the running game. It also keeps defenses guessing, rather than sitting back and waiting to jump on pass routes.

In a more balanced scheme, Cousins has the qualities to run the type of offense Gruden wants. It's a pocket-based passing game where quick reads and varied distribution hold sway. But the air attack has to be underpinned by a steady diet of power-running.

Cousins' former offensive coordinator, Kyle Shanahan, still believes Cousins has the right mental and physical attributes to succeed, according to ESPN reporter Vaughn McClure: "Kirk's one of the sharper guys I've been around. He processes things so fast. He lets it rip."

David Goldman/Associated Press

But while Shanahan the younger still has faith in Cousins, Gruden seems to have precious little in Griffin. Real Redskins blogger Rich Tandler has noted how the coach has been "unable to generate much enthusiasm for Griffin’s play" during recent OTAs: "He’s going through the process, relearning everything, studying, going through the right progressions, making a mistake here and there, but we’re learning."

Gruden doesn't even sound too settled on the idea of Griffin as his starter for another year: “I feel good about all three quarterbacks honestly and their progression. But we do need to settle on one—it would be nice to settle on one.”

This is all sounding ominously like last season, when Gruden publicly took Griffin to task more than once for his lack of progression. It's something MMQB writer Peter King rightly believes should leave Washington near the bottom of the league's power rankings, despite an offseason otherwise defined by smart moves from new general manager Scot McCloughan.

King is right, because no matter how much McCloughan has done to beef up this team in other areas—and he's done plenty—the fate of the team will ultimately rest on the most uneasy coach-quarterback relationship in the NFL.

So the real question becomes: How patient will Gruden be with Griffin in Year 2? His equivocation during OTAs could be an ominous sign.

The real problem is that Gruden has to be patient with Griffin. There's so much to improve in his game that the Redskins are essentially starting at zero with their proposed franchise quarterback. When you're building from the ground up, you have no choice but to give it time.

That means Gruden has to allow for bumps in the road as Griffin tries to get better. Tandler has noted how some of those bumps have already been encountered during OTAs: "Griffin threw some nice passes last week but at times he looked like he did on his worst days in 2014."

Still, Griffin's long path toward improvement may not be the context Gruden considers king. Instead, he could count the last two injury- and controversy-filled seasons, years blighted by Griffin's stunted development, as justification for keeping his current starter locked in the last-chance saloon.

If Griffin doesn't make significant progress this offseason and during the first few weeks of real action, Gruden will be twitching to make a change. If he does, he'll know he already has a quarterback who's more suited to running the offense he wants.

Patrick Smith/Getty Images

While Griffin has stumbled at times during OTAs, Cousins has generally impressed. ESPN's John Keim, who also applauded Cousins' enthusiasm, detailed one particular example:

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Cousins executed a perfect sprint rollout in the red zone, hitting Andre Roberts in the right flat for a score. Nice route; nice ball. He also threw a nice ball off a rub play involving Roberts and Jackson, lofting a perfect pass to Roberts on the outside.

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In the final analysis, Cousins' talent as a better pure passer than Griffin, along with his ability to operate the offense Gruden envisions in Washington, rather than a version watered down for Griffin, are hard to ignore.

Cousins won't win the starting job before the new season begins. This is still a franchise recklessly determined to realize the massive investment it made in Griffin three years ago.

But it would be foolish to rule out Cousins' chances of getting back under center during 2015.

All statistics and player information via NFL.com, unless otherwise stated.