Colt McCoy Showing Reaffirms Jay Gruden's Need for Pocket Passer in Washington

The Washington Redskins' 2014 season is no longer about wins or losses. It's about takeaways. Who should be on this roster next year? Who shouldn't? And most importantly, is there a potential long-term option at quarterback currently employed by the franchise? 

So it doesn't really matter that the Redskins were hammered Sunday by a strong Indianapolis Colts team. What matters is the chief takeaway from the 49-27 loss, at least from Washington's perspective, is that interim starting quarterback Colt McCoy performed well enough to indicate Robert Griffin III isn't the long-term answer.

The Redskins might have already known that. After all, this is the second consecutive year in which Griffin—once a prodigy, now just another guy—has been benched late in the season. He may lose a staring contest with new head coach Jay Gruden, and it's possible too many bridges have been burned for RG3 to succeed in D.C. 

But with an interception-free performance on 47 pass attempts, McCoy really confirmed that this West Coast-oriented offense is in much better hands with a reliable pocket passer than a wild card like Griffin. 

The effort—completion percentage of 66.0, 8.3 yards per attempt, 392 yards in total and three touchdowns—was also strong enough to keep hope alive that McCoy could even be that reliable pocket passer in 2015 and beyond. It's still a long shot considering his history and the small sample size, but the fact that he posted a higher passer rating Sunday (113.1) than Griffin had in 21 of his last 22 starts indicates he's doing something right. 

McCoy wasn't perfect on Sunday in Indianapolis—he was sacked six times, he had a fumble returned for a touchdown, and he had his final numbers inflated in garbage time—but the 28-year-old was significantly more effective than Griffin's been the last two years. And on the season, his numbers require your attention. 

Quarterback	Games*	Comp.%	YPA	TD-INT	Rating
Colt McCoy	3	75.3	9.2	4-1	113.5
Robert Griffin III	4	69.7	7.3	2-3	85.7
Kirk Cousins	6	61.8	8.4	10-9	86.4

McCoy has yet to throw enough passes to qualify, but if he did, this is where he'd rank among NFL leaders in rate-based stats:

Stat	Comp.%	YPA	TD-INT ratio	Rating
1st	McCoy	McCoy	Rodgers	Rodgers
2nd	Brees	Rodgers	Brady	McCoy
3rd	Roethlisberger	Romo	McCoy	P. Manning

Again, McCoy's bad has outweighed his good thus far in his career. He's lost 16 of his 23 career starts and entered Sunday with a sub-60 completion percentage. He takes too many sacks, throws too many picks and makes too many mental mistakes. 

But he was a stud at Texas and was rated highly enough in college to be considered a potential first-round pick before tumbling to the third round. He's far more developed than Griffin, and it shows. 

That's key, especially since Gruden has a history when it comes to grooming strong pocket passers for a system that features plenty of quick reads. He needs a smart, experienced quarterback who can move through his progressions quickly, which might explain why Mike Wise of The Washington Post reported in September that Gruden favored Kirk Cousins over Griffin from the start.

Don't forget what Gruden did with Andy Dalton while he was the offensive coordinator in Cincinnati. Just like McCoy, Dalton is your prototypical pocket passer with some flaws, but Gruden turned him into a respectable starter for a playoff team.  

And, according to The Cincinnati Enquirer's Paul Daugherty (via Pro Football Talk), Gruden preferred Dalton to fellow 2011 draft pick Colin Kaepernick for style and system reasons. McCoy is a lot more like Dalton; Griffin is a lot more like Kaepernick. 

Imagine how much better McCoy could be, as a pocket passer, with consistent pockets. The pass protection was horrendous on Sunday, but he battled. And let's also consider that he has spent only limited time working with the first-team offense. 

This offense is stacked with weapons. With guys like Alfred Morris, DeSean Jackson, Pierre Garcon, Jordan Reed, Andre Roberts and Trent Williams, the 'Skins don't need their quarterback to be a superhero each and every week. 

Griffin's talents didn't mesh with what Gruden has been looking to do or with the personnel surrounding him. McCoy is quite simply a better fit, and there's no doubt he's looked more comfortable while having more success. 

That doesn't mean he's the long-term answer, but I'm saying there's a chance. At the very least, his play in comparison to Griffin's should help guide the franchise as it searches for the right man to lead the way under center in 2015. 

Brad Gagnon has covered the NFC East for Bleacher Report since 2012.

Follow @Brad_Gagnon