It's Too Early to Write off Kirk Cousins as Washington Redskins Starting QB
Something's troubling Kirk Cousins. There's a ringing in his head. It's less an alarm bell and more the echo of those Washington Redskins fans who are screaming for Robert Griffin III to return to the lineup and take his place.
You see, there's a certain spring in the collective step of RG3's followers after Cousins suffered a night of infamy against the New York Giants. Make that another night of infamy against Big Blue.
A year removed from hurling four interceptions the Giants' way during a 45-14 loss in Week 4 of the 2014 season, Cousins again came unstuck on Thursday night against New York.
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He tossed a pair of critical interceptions and missed one scoring throw he should have made. Those calamities contributed to a 33-21 defeat for the Redskins.
Cousins might have known that his first bad game would trumpet the pro-Griffin chorus. If you listen very carefully, there's probably even a few demanding Colt McCoy takes the reins once he's fully healthy.
But it's way too early to give up on Cousins as Washington's starting quarterback. Just like it's too soon to write off these rebuilding Redskins this season.
Coming unstuck against their perennial bogey team isn't the death knell for the Burgundy and Gold's campaign. The team can rally, and it can do it behind Cousins.
One reason why involves clearing up a misnomer about the cave-in against the Giants in Week 3. It was a collective loss, not one that should be pinned on the shoulders of the man under center.
While Cousins had his struggles, so did a defense that barely laid a glove on his opposite number, Eli Manning. So did the line in front of Cousins, a group routinely pushed around in the running game, as well as consistently caught cold by the blitz.
There was also the now customary weekly instalment of the dummies guide to special teams in today's NFL. To think the Redskins lost because of Cousins, is to conveniently skip over some other pretty big factors.
Addressing those factors is the priority at Redskins Park this week. Head coach Jay Gruden, outside linebacker Ryan Kerrigan and cornerback Bashaud Breeland have all talked up the need for greater pressure and more turnovers, according to an AP report (h/t USA Today).
Gruden also explained how "playing catch-up" early against the Giants contributed to only 20 rushing attempts, with Alfred Morris toting the rock just six times, as noted by Anthony Gulizia of the Washington Times.
As for the O-line, coach Bill Callahan finds himself playing mix and match to find solutions for a growing list of injury woes. It means rookie Arie Kouandjio or perhaps Spencer Long being pressed into service at left guard, according to Jake Kring-Schreifels of the team's official site.
These are all problems that need solutions, problems that contributed to taking another beatdown from the Giants.
Improving these issues is the key to improving Cousins. After all, he's supposed to be a complementary piece this season, a game manager not required to win games for Washington by himself.
When the sum of the parts have come together—the way they did against the St. Louis Rams in Week 2—Cousins has been just fine. When they haven't—the way they didn't quite do against the Miami Dolphins on opening day, the way they certainly didn't against Big Blue—Cousins has suffered.
That's why there's such a disparity in his numbers. It's a disparity clearly detailed by CSNMidAtlantic.com's Tarik El-Bashir:
"He ranks eighth in the NFL in completion percentage (69.2 percent), 15th in passing yards (715) and has been sacked fewer times (4) than 19 other quarterbacks. Buuuuuuut…there’s that other stat. The one in the column labeled, ‘INT’. It says he’s thrown four interceptions. Sure, seven other starters have tossed at least four picks. But it’s a little different in Cousins’ case because of his history of throwing the ball to wrong team.
"
Basically, those numbers should tell you one thing: When Cousins is supported by the right framework, he's the best option on this team. But when he's forced to carry a game himself, he's going to struggle.
You could say the same about most of the starters in this league.
Supporting Cousins means re-establishing the running game after its down week. More importantly, it means staying patient with the run.
Gruden's excuse about how trailing early meant he couldn't get Morris and Co. involved as much as he would've liked is pretty thin. The Redskins only trailed by 12 at the end of the first quarter, and were still behind by the same margin entering the final period.
Yet Gruden and his staff still felt comfortable abandoning the run to the extent where Cousins aired it out 49 times, as noted by Gulizia. It doesn't matter if it's Cousins, Griffin or McCoy under center, this team isn't built to win when its QB puts the ball up so often.
This is a run-first team. So unless Washington finds itself down by three touchdowns or more early, there's no reason to abandon the ground-based approach.
As pointed out here, patience is the key. The Giants are a pretty tough nut to crack on the ground. So are the Eagles. Philly is allowing opposing runners just 3.1 yards per carry this season.
But when you're a running team, you don't shy away from that stat. You embrace it as a challenge. So, Jay, let's have more of Morris and Matt Jones in Week 4. Cousins will certainly thank you for it.
He'll also appreciate you getting another running back, Chris Thompson, more involved in the passing game. That shouldn't be a problem since Gruden considers Thompson the roster's "best receiving halfback," per the team's official site.
Thompson offers Cousins what any competent backfield receiver does: a quick checkdown and coverage mismatch. Those things will be very relevant against the Eagles.
The new season's only three weeks old, but already I've lost count of the amount of times running backs have exposed linebackers in coverage. In Week 2, the Dallas Cowboys caused the Eagles a host of problems by splitting out Lance Dunbar and sending him deep. Gruden must use Thompson the same way.
Of course, the biggest help Cousins can get will come from his offensive line. While No. 8 must improve against the blitz—both his picks against the Giants came when facing pressure—Callahan has to do the same.
His Cowboys line struggled against the blitz last season, and similar problems are lurking for Washington's front five. Philadelphia defensive coordinator Billy Davis isn't shy about sending extra rushers, so this will be as big a test for Callahan as it will be for Cousins.
The only difference is Callahan has a reputation lofty enough to make you believe he'll fix his problems. Cousins, not so much.
Yet that lack of a standout reputation is why Cousins can be excused for Week 3's dismal showing. The word "excused" is relevant because Cousins has succeeded the most excused quarterback in the NFL.
When Griffin was under center there were always explanations for why he struggled so much. Conveniently, every one of those excuses had little to do with No. 10. He was hurt, his line is poor, the coaches aren't putting him in the right system. On and on it went.
RG3 spent three seasons as the starter, the last two littered with excuses. If he merited the benefit of the doubt, then so does Cousins. At least for a while.
As El-Bashir notes, the sample size just isn't big enough yet to pull the plug on Cousins as a starter:
"Cousins has made 12 starts in his career; some talent evaluators believe that it can take twice as many (or more) starts to figure out a quarterback's true identity. If Gruden sticks with Cousins, by season’s end, he'll have 25 starts on his resume. He’ll also be a free agent. At that point, an informed decision on his future can be made.
"
Naturally, those still stung by the Griff's demotion will strongly disagree. Which is probably why so much is made of every one of Cousins' mistakes. A mountain is even made out his non-errors.
For instance, while he missed Jordan Reed for one sure touchdown against the Giants, the other failed connection had more to do with Big Blue's defense than the man throwing the pass.
The play came on 2nd-and-9 late in the first half. Pre-snap, the Redskins had what they wanted, Reed one-on-one with linebacker Jonathan Casillas:
The Giants were showing double A-gap pressure, with a potential blitzer lurking on either side of center Kory Lichtensteiger.
From behind the defense, the stress on Washington's blocking scheme was clear. D-linemen Kerry Wynn and Cullen Jenkins, along with middle backer Jon Beason, covered up Lichtensteiger and both guards:
The Redskins would have to counter by pinching in and blocking down along the interior. Because Reed was the play's primary target, right tackle Morgan Moses would have to stay outside to pick up the wide-angled rush of D-end George Selvie (93).
With no running back in the formation, there was nobody to block rookie safety Landon Collins (21).
That's exactly how the play unfolded as Collins blitzed untouched through the middle, straight into Cousins' eye line and throwing lane:
Thanks to the immediate pressure, this is what Cousins was trying to see around and throw over:
And he should have got the ball to Reed for a touchdown? Yeah, right.
Unlike Cousins' first miss of Reed, this one wasn't on the quarterback. Instead, it was simply a terrific call against an empty backfield set by Giants defensive coordinator Steve Spagnuolo.
Too much of the blame for the loss to Big Blue has been leveled at Cousins. But his detractors should be careful what they wish for.
Some will look at the improved running game and offensive line and say now is the time to bring Griffin back. Well, that's stinkin' thinkin'.
A big reason the line has been better this season is because of the protection it's received from the quarterback. Cousins is getting rid of the ball quickly and preventing his linemen from spending half a lifetime in protection on every pass play.
Which is why you should be afraid, very afraid, by talk from B/R NFL Insider Jason Cole that Redskins owner Dan Snyder could still pressure his coach into giving Griffin his 1,000th chance to make the grade:
After getting stepped on by the Giants, Gruden emphatically announced "There is no quarterback controversy whatsoever," according to ESPN.com. And there shouldn't be.
Obviously, Cousins can't keep putting the ball into the hands of the guys wearing the other jerseys. That goes without saying. Although it will still be said, loud and often.
No. 8 needs work. But here's the dirty truth. So does every quarterback on this roster. The question is which one is the best option for this team once that work is done?
For now at least, it's still Cousins.
All statistics and player information via NFL.com.
All screen shots via CBS Sports, NFL Network and NFL.com Game Pass.
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