GIF Breakdown: Cousins' Final Interception to Grant

[Going Commando]

We dont know Grant turned the wrong way. There might have been an adjustment in the route baed on a 6 man rush which meant he should have broken outside - but that is speculation. There is no one here on ES who has enough information to really know who to blame on that last pass.

Alford played in bail technique on that snap. The out is the wrong pattern to run and throw against that coverage. The DB gets too good of a read on the ball. The best thing is to throw an inside slant or shallow cross since the technique basically gives up the inside of the field. In that situation, Grant ran a curl in. Not the ideal route against the coverage, but that's a better throw than an out. Put it low and inside and Alford won't be able to break on the ball in time to get the pick.

Everything on the play got rushed though. The pressure forced the early throw off the back foot, so it's unlikely Grant would have had time to make his break and catch that pass even if he'd run an out.

If I had to guess what went threw Kirk's mind on the play, it would be: "Blitz, pressure, hurry the throw, DB has inside leverage, throw it to the sideline." Unfortunately NFL CBs are extremely good and athletic and they can do **** like flip their hips and make a play on the ball on the sideline even from inside leverage, so the read of the coverage has to be more conservative and nuanced.

It was a bad play that happened to have a disastrous result, but it was a particularly tough situation. What I'm more concerned about is what you mentioned earlier: the lack of accuracy on his throws in the second and third quarters. All of Garcon's drops were poor throws. It looked like Kirk's timing and placement were off. He needs to be able to stick the routine throws with accuracy in order to take the next step and become a reliable passer. He has a long way to go before he puts it all together on the field. But he is gradually improving.

[MartinC]

It was a bad play that happened to have a disastrous result, but it was a particularly tough situation. What I'm more concerned about is what you mentioned earlier: the lack of accuracy on his throws in the second and third quarters. All of Garcon's drops were poor throws. It looked like Kirk's timing and placement were off. He needs to be able to stick the routine throws with accuracy in order to take the next step and become a reliable passer. He has a long way to go before he puts it all together on the field. But he is gradually improving.

 

The thing that confused me is why he went to that side in the first place. If he reads hot he has Garcon on a shallow cross to the other side, that is probably where he should have gone.

 

Agree with your other points. Cousins was not sharp in the 2nd and 3rd and when he misses he tends to miss behind or high. I am more encouraged by him now than I was coming into the season though. He has led a couple of clutch drives now in back to back weeks and has been much better in 3rd and passing situations. He HAS made progress - it needs to continue.

[Koolblue13]

Um, I hate to be needy and appreciate the work for this thread, but can you shorten the gif? Maybe like the last 3/4 of it could go away. Ols

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

Cooley pretty much just echoed what Gruden said with regards to the pick six.  Grant fell, and if he didn't fall it would've been a completion.  

 

 

I've spent enough time listening to Cooley during my commute from camp until now to know that he would echo the coach regardless.

 

Its been pretty obvious that Cooley is in with this staff (Gruden and McVay primarily).  Cooley has been riding the tide prior to Kirk being named the starter and has pretty much been all-in on Kirk.  Sometimes it feels like he's Jay/McVay's public mouthpiece for saying what they really want to say.

[grego]

Pretty much confirms why I stopped listening to Cooley about two years ago when he was flip flopping about Griffin III and Shanahan.  

 

If Grant was supposed to run an out route, sure, it would've been a completion if he doesn't fall. However, Gruden said he runs a stop route (running 8-9 yards and face QB for ball) and not an out route. Grant only slips when he sees the ball is going out wide and tries to make adjustment. His initial route is fine. Cousins bad throw and adjustment makes him fall. 

 

 

 

Larry Michael: "What happened on that final play?"

Gruden: "Well, they blitzed us a little bit, and uh... Ryan Grant ran a 9 yard stop route—8 yard stop route—and fell down. He slipped. He got his foot caught in the turf and Kirk threw it on time, where he was supposed to, but the receiver wasn't there, because he was on the ground."

 

Grant didn't run wrong route. The only reason he falls down is ONLY after trying to adjust to the ball. He runs a stop route, turns inside, ball is going wide outside, he tries to adjust and slips. It's a bad throw on Cousins part, no need to blame Grant. 

 

Stop route is running 8-9 yards and turn around to face QB for the ball.

 

 

 

FWIW, people in the know (gruden, cooley, grant paulsen, who said hes talked to coaches about the play) all say cousins put the ball where it was supposed to be, and that grant just slipped.

 

cousins interview on 106.7 an hour ago seemed to indicate this, without him actually saying it. 

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

FWIW, people in the know (gruden, cooley, grant paulsen, who said hes talked to coaches about the play) all say cousins put the ball where it was supposed to be, and that grant just slipped.

 

cousins interview on 106.7 an hour ago seemed to indicate this, without him actually saying it. 

 

Grant Paulsen is the founder of the Kirk Cousins fan club.  As I said above with Cooley, I'd expect them to say it wasn't Kirk's fault regardless.

 

It may very well not be Kirk's fault at all, just those guys having Kirks back is no surprise.

[KokoMike]

I am very concerned about a Cousins pattern that is clear.  Cousins decides early where he is going to throw the ball.  And, then he gets rid of it quickly in that direction, often off by a yard or so.  I think defenses have locked onto this very predictable Cousins trait.  

 

Look at Cousins quote below.  He says he was rushed, had a lot on his mind, made the throw and then the guy made a play.  

 

"I was hot off the left side and felt need to get rid of the football and not take a sack and kill the drive," Cousins said. "... I made the throw and the guy made the play and that was it."

 

Now, look at the quote from the CB Alford.  He identifies the predictable Cousins action and jumped the route.  He was going for the ball all the way.  He wasn't concerned about the receiver, but rather, he was going for the ball as soon as he noted Cousins three step drop.  He jumped the route.  He decided that Cousins was going to throw an out route, and he was right.  He went to where he anticipated Cousins would throw the ball.    

 

“I (saw) the quarterback take a three-step drop,” Alford said. “It’s always a quick pass when he takes a three step drop. I just relied on my instincts… .I just jumped it and it was there for me to make the play on it.”

 

Cousins said what he was thinking.  However, the cornerback said, evidently, that he knew what Cousins was going to do before Cousins knew it.   Cousins' pattern is clear.  I suggest that Cousins knew exactly where he was going to throw it.  Again, I think defenses are on to this trait.  

[knowledge316]

FWIW, people in the know (gruden, cooley, grant paulsen, who said hes talked to coaches about the play) all say cousins put the ball where it was supposed to be, and that grant just slipped.

 

cousins interview on 106.7 an hour ago seemed to indicate this, without him actually saying it. 

 

They can all say whatever they want. A "stop route" doesn't lead the WR to run an out route. A "stop route" is just that, running a certain distance and turning around. The throw was terrible since it looked like an out route pass. Gruden said it was a stop route.

 

Gruden, Cooley, and Paulsen all are all in on Cousins so they won't put blame on them. I get Gruden, he's the coach and has to protect his players. Cooley has been trashing Griffin III every chance he got because he wanted Cousins. Paulsen is the same guy that said something like Cousins played good enough to win in that Giants game. 

 

The local media has their own agenda and aren't impartial at all. Majority of them trashed one guy at every chance they got and went all in on Cousins. Now, they have to back him up and to do that, they put "blame" on other players. 

 

I'm NOT saying Cousins should be benched or anything. He's the starter. But let's not absolve him from his mistakes (he's made plenty of them yesterday). We have fans here blaming Garcon for dropping bunch of passes yesterday (from what I saw, those passes were all terrible and not catchable), yet these are the same fans that said Griffin III threw a bad pass to an open Garcon in the preseason game 1, which caused the drop. 

[grego]

Grant Paulsen is the founder of the Kirk Cousins fan club.  As I said above with Cooley, I'd expect them to say it wasn't Kirk's fault regardless.

 

It may very well not be Kirk's fault at all, just those guys having Kirks back is no surprise.

 

 

i get that grant likes kirk, but grant is saying that coaches are saying kirk put the ball there. grant isnt saying thats his opinion.

 

 

btw- i love cooley on the radio. i know that he likes mcvay, and it seems that hes ok with jay. but i never got the impression that hed hold back criticism because of it. just the opposite, i get the impression that cooley tells it like it is more often than not. 

 

cooley has repeatedly said he likes robert, but he's criticized his play.

 

on the other hand, kevin sheehan will almost never say anything remotely negative about mike or kyle shanahan.

[Wyvern]

Disagree with you on the share of blame on the first pick - I would be the other way round 65% on Kirk and 35% on Garcon. Never want to miss behind.

I'd disagree with you. True the pass was behind Garçon -- but it was also too low to be intercepted by the Falcon defender, under any normal set of circumstances. Garçon was the guy best positioned to get his hands on the ball, not the defender.

In most cases the results of Cousins pass would have been either clearly incomplete, a 'trapped reception' ruled incomplete, or a great "trapped reception" that upon review was ruled complete. Oddly, by Garçon going for the great play and almost making it... he triggered an unlucky string of events that led to the INT.

[knowledge316]

i get that grant likes kirk, but grant is saying that coaches are saying kirk put the ball there. grant isnt saying thats his opinion.

 

I think it's the coaches taking responsibility away from Cousins to keep his confidence up. Gruden said it's a stop route; the pass was an out route or a terrible throw for a stop route. The DB said he looked at Cousins and played an out route and jumped the route. 

[Taylor703]

I'd disagree with you. True it was behind Garçon -- but it was also too low to be intercepted by the Falcon defender, under any normal set of circumstances. Most cases that would have been either incomplete, a trapped reception ruled incomplete, or a great "trapped reception" ruled complete. Oddly, by Garçon going for the great play and almost making it... he triggered an unlucky string of event that led to the INT.

You can't possibly blame Garçon for that. You just can't. He tried to make a play on a ball thrown way behind him and the outcome was unfortunate. Blaming Garçon is silly.

[KokoMike]

Blaming Garcon for what happened is like blaming Garcon for catching that TD pass last week when the pass was thrown way out in front and Garcon could have gotten killed.

[knowledge316]

You can't possibly blame Garçon for that. You just can't. He tried to make a play on a ball thrown way behind him and the outcome was unfortunate. Blaming Garçon is silly.

 

Can you imagine how the coaches/fans/media would rip Garcon if he didn't make an attempt to catch all those terrible passes his way yesterday? As a wideout, he did what is expected of him. The INT was unfortunate, but definitely not Garcon's fault. 

[Wyvern]

I'm not blaming Garçon. I'm saying that the pass was in a location that it would take a very odd set of circumstances to be anything but incomplete.

[BatteredFanSyndrome]

i get that grant likes kirk, but grant is saying that coaches are saying kirk put the ball there. grant isnt saying thats his opinion.

 

 

btw- i love cooley on the radio. i know that he likes mcvay, and it seems that hes ok with jay. but i never got the impression that hed hold back criticism because of it. just the opposite, i get the impression that cooley tells it like it is more often than not. 

 

I like Cooley on the radio as well but he's been very pro Jay/Kirk since camp got started.

 

Everyone on this board, in the media, etc. has drawn their line in the sand with who they believe should be QB of this team.  It leaks out into their 'analysis' and the bias is on display at times.  It just is what it is.

[dc1]

Yep your receiver slipped on the play. Even though pressure was coming, it wasn't a bad throw by Cousins at all.

The receiver slipped trying to turn back to a ball that was thrown behind him. People need to stop saying that he slipped... Really should stop.

[Going Commando]

The thing that confused me is why he went to that side in the first place. If he reads hot he has Garcon on a shallow cross to the other side, that is probably where he should have gone.

 

Agree with your other points. Cousins was not sharp in the 2nd and 3rd and when he misses he tends to miss behind or high. I am more encouraged by him now than I was coming into the season though. He has led a couple of clutch drives now in back to back weeks and has been much better in 3rd and passing situations. He HAS made progress - it needs to continue.

Yeah he's progressing. He looks tough and he's doing most of the things you want to see from a young QB. He's been patient and he's been reading coverages and fronts pretty well. I think he's been effectively managing games and you're right that he's made big strides in throwing on third and long.

He seems to be handling the tough points of leading a locker room and huddle pretty well. The moment is not too big for him, and basic though it is, this can make or break a young QB's career.

The next steps for him, IMO, is to continue to learn how to read defenses, refine his footwork, and and to increase his accuracy to the point where you don't really have to worry about that part of the execution of the pass play. The best and most seasoned QBs get to the point where they are automatic in their timing and placement in the short passing game. Time and work are the only paths to accomplishing this.

The clutch drives actually don't surprise me. In the 2010 and 2011 college seasons I spent a lot of time watching the QBs and discussing them in the draft threads. I saw Kirk play a lot because I really liked the Michigan State offense. Classic smashmouth run first offense, but with a ton of trick plays and an elaborate play action passing game built into it. I really enjoyed watching both him and then LeVeon Bell the next year, and I'm enjoying watching Connor Cook this year. Anyway, one of the defining things about Kirk's career at Michigan St. was all of the clutch fourth quarter drives and come back wins he had. That plus his toughness were the two things I liked best about him as a prospect.

[TheGreek1973]

You can't possibly blame Garçon for that. You just can't. He tried to make a play on a ball thrown way behind him and the outcome was unfortunate. Blaming Garçon is silly.

I agree with you, he tried to make a play on a ball that was behind and the result was an INT.  No different IMO than Julio Jones just happen to recover a fumble in the endzone that 8 times out of 10 goes to the D.

 

And we will never know exactly what would have happened if Grant has not slipped, although after seeing the play 50 times I say Cousins really threw a pass that at worse it gets picked (but not for a pick 6 since Grant should tackle him) at best its a catch for a first down.

 

What interesting to me is very few people this morning are talking about the play calling of Gruden after Breeland intercepted the ball.  That to me is the REAL story, and as a secondary story why we couldn't stop Atlanta on 3 different 4th down tries.  BTW think about it, the first two 4th downs they converted by passing and here we are, 4th and 2, short field and we don't blitz the hell out of their QB?  You blitz the ****ers with 8, and play man.  To me that is the story nothing else.

[dc1]

I like Cooley on the radio as well but he's been very pro Jay/Kirk since camp got started.

Everyone on this board, in the media, etc. has drawn their line in the sand with who they believe should be QB of this team. It leaks out into their 'analysis' and the bias is on display at times. It just is what it is.

So much truth in this statement. So much of it that I have to pause and smile.

It sickens me that we have a rookie of the year (based on his accuracy and his ability to throw the ball) that won games in the crunch and was straight up hurt all of 2014 and part of 2015...but somehow can not get a fraction of the overt graciousness afforded to the "captain".

I wish our team the best and hope the Cap does well. But I have lost all faith in our local media and Jay.

[grego]

So much truth in this statement. So much of it that I have to pause and smile.

It sickens me that we have a rookie of the year (based on his accuracy and his ability to throw the ball) that won games in the crunch and was straight up hurt all of 2014 and part of 2015...but somehow can not get a fraction of the overt graciousness afforded to the "captain".

 

 

 

ahhh...now i get it. 

 

i think (sorry- battered fans) statement applies to more people than you realize.

 

for the record, i dont know if kirk is the long term answer or not. i dont give a **** about who the QB is, as long as we're playing the best one we got. 

[Larry]

I've spent enough time listening to Cooley during my commute from camp until now to know that he would echo the coach regardless.

In fact, he's so good at echoing the coach, that he echoed the coach before the coach said it.

[RedskinsLegacy]

I am very concerned about a Cousins pattern that is clear.  Cousins decides early where he is going to throw the ball.  And, then he gets rid of it quickly in that direction, often off by a yard or so.  I think defenses have locked onto this very predictable Cousins trait.  

 

 

Every qb in this league has timing plays where they put the ball where the receiver is suppose to be,  none of this would be discussed  if Grant ran the correct rout . Honestly watching the replay, I don't think grant knew where the hell he was going. This is because this Redskins team is very young and learning in their system, compared to many teams like Atlanta that's been together for 5 + years.

 

They will start to gel and get the timing and routs down, but what I'm surprised about is this young team was without their TE Reed and deep threat Djax, without 2 starting CB's and still handled  an undefeated team that no other team could contain very well, and damn near beat them. I'm liking this team and they will only get better as the season goes on. I can vision a division champion next season, and maybe this one if they stay healthy. 

[Cooleyfan1993]

Um, I hate to be needy and appreciate the work for this thread, but can you shorten the gif? Maybe like the last 3/4 of it could go away. Ols

What, the pick 6 part?

[PortisBetts]

I am honestly more concerned about the conservative play calling rather than the pick 6. I actually think the conservative play calling is what caused the cb to creep up and be there for the pick. We havent went downfield much at all. Maybe 2 times a game. Not even the fact that it hasnt been deep, but the intermediate routes seem few and far between as well.

Ive been saying this for weeks. The run game has started to take a hit as well because they are starting to move db's closer to the ball since they havent really been challenged down the field.