MLive: Learn how quarterback Kirk Cousins plans to gain competitive edge with Washington Redskins

[skinzwiz]

^what he said. And I don't mean to 'pile on', skinzwiz, so don't take it that way.

But try looking at it from a different point of view, it might cheer you up:

I'm being overly simplistic here (and a little goofy), but say you (as in 'you', not Shanny) liked both LeRibeus and Gettis. But instead of getting drafted in the 3rd and 5th round, respectively, we took Gettis in the 3rd and LeRibeus in the 5th.

Would you care? If our FO decided to pick in that order for whatever reason, would you mind as long as, at the end of the day, they were both in a Skins uni?

Obviously you aren't happy with the pick. I'm sure you have multiple reasons, but one of those is probably because you simply wanted a different player in that round, a different player that was still on the board at the time. And I can see by the mock in your sig, one of those players you wanted in the 4th was Minnifield.

I'm sure you don't mind that he went undrafted because he's on our team now. So, for the sake of happiness, just pretend we drafted Minnifield in the 4th and picked up a worthless UDFA (Cousins) as a clipboard holder/developmental QB. No harm done.

Feel any better?

I did feel better that Minnifield was picked up, but I'm a person that didn't like Cousins' game period and I just think it was a waste. But they made the pick and it can't be taken back. I truly do hope everything works out, but I doubt Cousins does anything in the NFL.

[authentic]

That's not true. If you look in the "Draft 2 QBs" thread, a good amount of people were saying Rex would be fine as a backup, and even more people dismissed the idea of drafting 2 QBs this year, especially before round 5.

Perhaps in that thread.. but i remember a couple of months back folks were hellbent on cutting Rex.. Maybe not everyone, but people were ready for him to go.

[skinny21]

On a related note,

I have often wondered what the result would be if a football team spent time in mentally executing plays (with the intention of staying mentally focused throughout the play, blockers putting their hands exactly where you want them with force, footwork and balance executed with precision, seeing the opponent being dominated) and then going out on the practice field with mental focus on repeating what you just accomplished in your mental practice.

Thanks for that post, good stuff there, and interesting idea in regard to football.

[Bang]

Typically a backup QB being drafted is a move that is made by a team that is set at every other position. I’d hate to burst your bubble, but realistically this team probably wouldn’t make the playoffs even with RGIII being healthy the whole year.

No bubble here, i don't expect playoffs this year, or even in 13.

I heartily disagree with that build philosophy. This is the modern NFL, and you're never 'set' at all positions. You never reach the point where you say "OK, this is my dynasty team" and then fill in backup roles.

You build it all, all the time. Look at the teams who have managed to be dynastic in the era in which Dynasties were supposed to be non-existant. Look how the Patriots and Eagles and other annually strong teams approach the draft.

They typically make a lot of picks, every year. They trade for picks, every year. They draft every position, all the time.

They do not sit on a group as their core. The Patriots especially. The one standard they've had is their offensive line and Brady.. but they've gone from receiver set to receiver set, from offensive style to offensive style to accommodate their ever changing personel.

The other thing is you cannot hope to fill in starters with every pick of the draft. It's ludicrous to believe that a BPA in the 4th is somehow not adressing need, when we clearly do need a backup QB going forward.

People just really do seem to ignore the many holes on this team.

While others fail to recognize any work that has been done on them.

How is it you figure QB2 isn't one of the holes that needs filling?

Are you satisfied every year with going with the Rex Grossman's of the world?

They're losers. I put up a nice list, asked you top go look at the backups around the league.

Why didn't you?

You seem to have assumed that Backup QB is

A/ not important, certainly not a need to be adressed

or B/ easily filled with a subscription to the Meatbag o' the Month club.

as to other positions, please, how many holes have NOT been addressed in the last two offseasons? be specific.

Name a position, and you will instantly recognize that signings and or draft picks have been made to address them. All of them.

That isn't to say all the pieces that have moved around will work.. that is why you constantly draft to constantly build.

I am not comfortable with DeAngelo Hall still being the top guy at CB.

Is it because you see plays in which Hall seemingly gets beat, and you don't understand how bad it is to have Reed Doughty playing safety? Mr. Never-On-Time?

We have two very good corners. Josh Wilson had an outstanding season.

Reed Doughty does not belong on the field with any defense in the NFL. He is an instant liability. He doesn't have good fundamentals, and he is very slow, not only of foot, but in making the proper read ande covering as he needs to. He fails to get the over the top coverage almost all the time, and he makes corners look bad.

This liability started 11 games last year, and somehow everyone wants to replace cornerbacks.

And what do you know, the Redskins brain trust have signed 3 safeties, 2 corners, and drafted another 1 of each.

So we've acquired SEVEN new defensive backs this offseason.

You want more?

People say we need offensive linemen, and we've brought in five new ones this offseason.

we draft a backup QB, and suddenly no one remembers all of the other NEEDS that have been addressed. Hell, we even brought in another kicker to get kicks blocked behind Danny Smith's pathetic special teams.

Special Teams Coach is the one need we failed to address.

I am not comfortable with Carriker, Bowen, Jenkins and Cofield being the only decent DL on this team.

I know, right? They're anchoring of a defense that went from 31st to 13th should give any smart fan reason to worry.

Don't forget we drafted 3 defensive linemen last year. They will mature into role players, and our 2nd round pick, Jenkins missed the entire year.

I am not comfortable with Jamaal Brown being this team’s starting RT.

Good thing they brought in another free agent tackle and drafted another tackle, then huh?

This is only my opinion, but it seems to me that of all positions, OL is the easiest to find starters or quality contributors in the later rounds. The league is full of them. And the tackle we picked, Compton, has a lot of good buzz about him.

I am not comfortable with these average safeties.

Drafted 1, signed 3... drafted Gomes last year..

I mean really, you don't seem so concerned about all this need if you don't even recognize what they've done to adress them. It makes your complaints just spit in the wind.

You can make the case that an injury anywhere on this team can be detrimental. The lions, g-ants, and falcons were all much more talented at positions other than QB last year than the Redskins and they are this year as well. Think about their weapons on offense compared to ours. Think about their defense.

Sorry, but it is a QB driven league. It's arguably the single most important position in all of team sports. Undervaluing the position to try and make this weak argument isn't going to actually make the position undervalued.

All the talent the Giants or Lions have, do they go anywhere with David Carr or Shaun Hill?

Anywhere at all?

I really hate the giants, but you have to give them credit for have all those injuries and still getting to the playoffs. This team is not that deep and would not be able to copy that.

All those injuries,, but one to Eli and what happens?

Yes, they overcame injuries to linemen and linebackers,, but what if Eli misses 2 weeks. You really honestly want to pretend David Carr is winning anything?

Cousins likely won’t be able to pass Grossman. Look at his games at MSU…

Well, it certainly is fortunate thatr Grossman is signed for the year.

But after this year he won't be, and then you can have your pick of the meatbags, or you can develop one of your own.

In looking over the other options and the importance of the position, it's a pretty easy choice to me.

~Bang

[skinny21]

Bang, you are on a roll. Aside from Robert Griffin, this is what has me excited the most about this team - competition. Across the board there are going to be serious position battles, for starters (at many spots) and depth. A good mix of vets and youth too. Not sold on C. Griffin? Well, we've got Thompson up and coming. Not a fan of Barnes? How about Minnifield? It goes on and on - o-line, TE, Wr, corner, safety...

May the best men win.

[Bang]

To me, it's just common sense to take a look at the entire picture. The way the FO and Shanny have worked the draft and free agency the last 2 springs has really made a difference in every single position. Very few, if any, positions have not undergone complete overhauls. They've been smart in most of their acquisitions, and the draft has been a complete 180 from the previous decade.

In fact, in adding to my comments to Skinswiz, we may not be 'set' at every position, but we've got a lot of young talent on this team that is just now developing. we may very well be in much better shape than some are giving us credit for. Many of these positions of need have young players who are either rookies or heading into their second year starting to move in. We've got a fair sprinkling of veterans in key spots, like Fletcher, Moss, Cooley, Cofield..Orakpo, I like the way it's shaping up. If we get quality production out of Hankerson, Helu, Royster, Riley, Gomes, Williams, etc.. my goodness. we just may have something cooking here.

As to OL,, i forgot to once again praise Tyler Palumbus, who I thought played VERY well at RT down the stretch. So, we've got some depth, too. In fact, if Palumbus pushed for the job in camp, I'd be very happy.

The Redskins have gotten so much younger in the last two years, I almost want to buy them a beer... if they were old enough!

~Bang

[AlvinWaltonIsMyBoy]

According to the article, Cousins was a kinesiology major at Michigan State.

:rubeyes:

Kinesiology. Right.

A lot of schools have changed the name of the major from "Physical Education" to "Kinesiology". So, I would think he was interested in becoming a coach or something, possibly.

And it's good to know that someone thinks he's super smart. Reading the draft day thread, I felt there was a good chance that he was autistic.

[Bang]

On a related note, a study was done many years ago where they put basketball players into two groups. One group spent time shooting free throws every day for a week. A second group spent the same amount of time imagining shooting free throws. At the end of the week they all shoot free throws and guess which group showed the most improvement? It was the group that imagined that actually improved the most. The theory is that in your imagination you make every shot and that gives you a feeling that you are good, while those that practiced regularly missed some which cause them to loose that confident feeling. Another theory is that when imagining the shot you imagine with much more mental focus which carries over in actual play being more focused.

I have often wondered what the result would be if a football team spent time in mentally executing plays (with the intention of staying mentally focused throughout the play, blockers putting their hands exactly where you want them with force, footwork and balance executed with precision, seeing the opponent being dominated) and then going out on the practice field with mental focus on repeating what you just accomplished in your mental practice.

I am a believer in mental focus. One time I was visiting my brother in law's family and he asked if I wanted to play some tennis. He played tennis and I had not; but I had watched a program on TV regarding the inner game of tennis. The program said to focus your concentration on watching the racket meet the ball then to follow the ball and note exactly where it landed. To not let emotion of a bad shot distract you from your focus but just to stay focused on watching the ball. The result was he won the first five or so serves; but then my returns began to land inside the court and by the end of the match I had won. He would not believe that I did not play tennis. That same guy (that did the TV show) wrote a book about the inner game of golf which also worked for me. His message was basically the same, stay mentally focused and don't let emotions distract you from staying focused. I went on to practice yoga and meditation which uses the same principles of mental focus with a calm relaxed slow breathing movement.

This is a very interesting post. Thanks for sharing it in this thread.

I guess you could say the Friday Walk Through is an equivalent of imagining the plays execution?

~Bang

[bird_1972]

Are you comfortable with Rex having to start 3 or 4 games for you in a pinch? Be honest....

I hope everyone here is comfortable with that since that's what is going to happen.

Cousins is a 3rd string development guy. He is not going to oust Rex (who has NFL starter experience and has been with the team and knows the system) simply because he has more upside right now.

[TomE]

To me, it's just common sense to take a look at the entire picture. The way the FO and Shanny have worked the draft and free agency the last 2 springs has really made a difference in every single position. Very few, if any, positions have not undergone complete overhauls. They've been smart in most of their acquisitions, and the draft has been a complete 180 from the previous decade.

~Bang

Good run of "postage" there Bang.

You can also pile on with the fact that the off seasons since the current guys have been in charge have been anything but normal.

Capless, Lockout and Cap Penalty have all affected the process of cleaning up the mess they inherited while acquiring youthful talent and building depth via the draft and free agency.

[skinny21]

Good run of "postage" there Bang.

You can also pile on with the fact that the off seasons since the current guys have been in charge have been anything but normal.

Capless, Lockout and Cap Penalty have all affected the process of cleaning up the mess they inherited while acquiring youthful talent and building depth via the draft and free agency.

Good point. Impressive what they've been able to do with one hand tied behind their back.

I just hope it starts showing on the field.

[Hitman21ST]

Typically a backup QB being drafted is a move that is made by a team that is set at every other position. I’d hate to burst your bubble, but realistically this team probably wouldn’t make the playoffs even with RGIII being healthy the whole year.

People just really do seem to ignore the many holes on this team.

I am not comfortable with DeAngelo Hall still being the top guy at CB.

I am not comfortable with Carriker, Bowen, Jenkins and Cofield being the only decent DL on this team.

I am not comfortable with Jamaal Brown being this team’s starting RT.

I am not comfortable with these average safeties.

You can make the case that an injury anywhere on this team can be detrimental. The lions, g-ants, and falcons were all much more talented at positions other than QB last year than the Redskins and they are this year as well. Think about their weapons on offense compared to ours. Think about their defense.

I really hate the giants, but you have to give them credit for have all those injuries and still getting to the playoffs. This team is not that deep and would not be able to copy that.

Cousins likely won’t be able to pass Grossman. Look at his games at MSU…

To be fair, you don't have to be comfortable with those players. The front office is, and they're the people who see everyone everyday and know what's going on and what's best for the team.

You kinda sound like the dad who's son just got benched from the varsity football team and is screaming at the coach to give him more PT.

[Saqs]

http://www.extremeskins.com/showthread.php?365047-MLive-Learn-how-quarterback-Kirk-Cousins-plans-to-gain-competitive-edge-with-Washington-Redskins&p=8970351&viewfull=1#post8970351

Awesome post Bang.

[Conn]

This is a very interesting post. Thanks for sharing it in this thread.

I guess you could say the Friday Walk Through is an equivalent of imagining the plays execution?

~Bang

I had a wrestling coach who was a HUGE proponent of this. He'd ask us to go home after practice, and when we were laying in bed at night, just visualize a certain take-down, every little detail of it, over and over for 15-20 minutes, every night. Said it helped with confidence, muscle-memory, and discipline of the mind (being able to focus on one thing, non-stop).

I think it helped tremendously. I went from more of a defensive wrestler to a more aggressive wrestler who liked being on my feet more than on the mat. Now, part of that could also be that between my junior and senior year I put on almost 30 lbs of muscle and jumped a bunch of weight classes, and needed to be more of an "attacker" to succeed, but I'll always believe that a big part of it was the visualizations.

I also had a basketball coach in middle school who would tell us to visualize your foul shot in perfect form, going in, before shooting it. I always felt that helped as well.

[Bang]

The thing about Cousins,,, he's not even in the conversation til next year.

He isn't challenging Griffin, and he isn't challenging Grossman. He'll get a lot of work in preseason, and he'll likely be inactive 14 or so weeks, if not more. A linebacker or a special teams guy will play in his spot all season, I'd bet a dollar on it.

He'll learn the backup role, and he'll likely slide into the 2 slot in 2013.

If you look at the QBs available next year for this role, it could be that the FO is thinking ahead of everyone, and saying, not only is Cousins the BPA this year in that spot, but next year when we want to pick a QB to take this role, they likely won't get a player they like this much for the same value.

~Bang

[Conn]

You kinda sound like the dad who's son just got benched from the varsity football team and is screaming at the coach to give him more PT.

Perfect comparison. This is what I meant when I said that I thought he sounded overprotective.

[IrepDC]

Perhaps in that thread.. but i remember a couple of months back folks were hellbent on cutting Rex.. Maybe not everyone, but people were ready for him to go.

You're probably right. Either way, I'm ready to let go of my grudge about the pick and root for Cousins since he is a Redskin now. I wish all our guys the best of luck!

[communion5]

wow this tread turned got a little off topic....i brought this up in another thread, nobody paid any attention to it. classic.

[skinzwiz]

You kinda sound like the dad who's son just got benched from the varsity football team and is screaming at the coach to give him more PT.

...cuz I think the pick was a waste? okay whatever.

I was simply hinting at other picks that I thought would have been better for the team at that round 4 spot like Alameda Ta'amu, Zebrie Sanders/Bobby Massie, etc.

To be fair, you don't have to be comfortable with those players. The front office is, and they're the people who see everyone everyday and know what's going on and what's best for the team.

So...what's your point? This is a forum and I'm voicing my opinion. I don't have to agree with the FO. Obviously they saw value in Cousins as a 4th round pick. My issue is that I would not have drafted the guy in the 7th round because I don't think he's any good.

[zCommander]

I did feel better that Minnifield was picked up, but I'm a person that didn't like Cousins' game period and I just think it was a waste. But they made the pick and it can't be taken back. I truly do hope everything works out, but I doubt Cousins does anything in the NFL.

Cousins's mind will tell you otherwise.

[VaSkinsNut]

Ok guys...Gun Y-trips WK Y Shallow Cross *BREAK*

[GO HAMSKINS]

And the controversy starts now HA!

[arundelredskin]

Shanny reminds me of Spurrier.The old ball coach always shuffles around a couple of QBS.Kirk Cousins is after the starting job not back up.

[Hitman21ST]

Shanny reminds me of Spurrier.The old ball coach always shuffles around a couple of QBS.Kirk Cousins is after the starting job not back up.

odd bump...

[Mahons21]

Great article skinny thanks for posting. You're quickly becoming one of mine and I'm sure many others, favorite posters, you continue to bring a unique perspective to plenty of topics.

Btw I tried posting videos last week, but when I went to nfl play by play, the sack video links(that really does sound bad) weren't working. I'd click the link but nothing would happen.