Kirk Cousins, NOT IMPRESSED

[TSO]

http://www.nfl.com/news/story/0ap3000000706049/article/kirk-cousins-teammates-frustration-understandable

Kirk Cousins: Teammates' frustration 'understandable'

Quote

With a lifetime's worth of financial securityhanging in the balance, Kirk Cousins is under as much pressure as any quarterback this season.

After tossing three interceptions and missing a host of open receivers through two games, he's facing increased scrutiny.

Washington Redskins wide receivers have already grown frustrated with their quarterback, particularly for locking onto primary reads, NFL Network's Mike Garafolo reported on Monday's edition of Up To The Minute.

In a Monday appearance with WJFK-FM in Washington, Cousins said it's "understandable" that teammates would grouse about their slow start to the season.

"I think people respond with emotion like you said. 0-2 is 0-2," Cousins said. "It's tough. No one wants to be there. I think we all feel like we're too good to be 0-2. We have too many players, too much talent. In a lot of ways, (we) aren't playing at the level we're capable of."

To Cousins' credit, he is neither fanning the flames of discontent nor backing away from the criticism.

"You take ownership, you step to the forefront and you lead and you challenge guys and you say what you need to do better," Cousins continued. "I think together, we can do that. That's what I'm going to do. That's what I've done my whole life, my whole life as a football player. This is no different. This is not new territory for me. I've faced challenges before, adversity before on the football field. We're going to find a way to move forward and play better. We're going to do it together."

Click on the link for more  

Like the way he responded.

[Taylor703]

Just now, Beast2Meast21 said:

Romo is good as dead as far as playing football. Lol

And Wentz isn't better than Eli after two games. And if Kirk from last years 7-game span shows back up he won't be as good as him either. 

[NoCalMike]

People really need to pump the brakes on Wentz & Dak hype.  They look decent so far, but the sample size is so small it is hard to know what will happen once the NFL has time to game plan specifically for what they are doing.

If I had to pick one that looks superior, I'd go with Wentz because they are actually having him consistently throw downfield, and throw the ball generously all over the place, where as Dak is in a much more protected scheme behind a stout O-line that gives him all day to allow the underneath routes to open up.  

Too early to say which of the two will end up better long term, but the eye test to me so far as Wentz is the more polished of the two at the moment.

[Destino]

Wentz needs to be tested, a decimated Bears team and the awful Browns aren't great much of a resume.  He does seem to be mobile and scary accurate, be it driving the ball or delivering touch passes.  The Eagles are doing a nice job of not asking him to do too much.  Their defense and running game have certain carried their share of the weight.  

I'm not sold on Dak.  He hasn't looked bad but he's looked uncertain to me.  I wonder if he'll hold up once coordinators have tape on him.  

[NoCalMike]

11 minutes ago, Destino said:

Wentz needs to be tested, a decimated Bears team and the awful Browns aren't great much of a resume.  He does seem to be mobile and scary accurate, be it driving the ball or delivering touch passes.  The Eagles are doing a nice job of not asking him to do too much.  Their defense and running game have certain carried their share of the weight.  

I'm not sold on Dak.  He hasn't looked bad but he's looked uncertain to me.  I wonder if he'll hold up once coordinators have tape on him.  

Right I don't think either one is deserving of the hype necessarily, but I do understand that it's very exciting when rookie QB's look good right out of the gate.  I remember 2012 quite well still

Both will get tested by better quality teams soon enough, I just think out of the two it seems like Dak is the more limited QB as far as the kind of throws he is being asked to make.  I want to see what happens when a defense can correctly stop those 2-3 yard passes at the point of the catch. What happens when the Cowboys get down by more than a few points. I can't knock the kid for looking good within the confines of the safety net t hat's been created for him, I just want to see what happens when the inevitable takes place.

[SkinsPassion4Life]

Cousins is 0-9 lifetime against teams that finish with season with a winning record; with 12 TD's and 11 INT's....I'm including the Steelers loss, since it's highly likely they will finish with a winning record.

 

 

[Skins3000]

4 hours ago, Destino said:

Prior to this season there weren't many teams interested in Ryan Fitzpatrick.  My evidence, he was a free agent and ended up taking a relatively small one year deal.  The Redskins on the other hand were forced to use a franchise tag.  The only reason to do that is that they felt someone would offer Cousins at least as much as the 16 million a year they offered him.  So what's that tell you about the market that existed for either player?

Remember, many teams have dumped Fitz already.  He's on his 6th team.  Let's also remember how his season ended.  Needing a win against the Bills to capture a wildcard spot, he threw three picks.  Pretty sure the Jets were the only team in the top 10 defensively to miss the playoffs last year.  They also had a top ten rushing offense.

Considering all that, I think if the Redskins had let Cousins become a free agent it wouldn't be out of the question for Jets to have signed him instead of Fitz.

After two weeks this season Fitz is playing better.  No question about it, but two weeks might be indicative of how they'll continue playing, it also might not.  

To my understanding and reports, Washington only offered Cousins $24 million guaranteed over the life of his contract at 16 million dollars a year and that was ranked 21st in annual salaries. That is not saying much at all for Cousins as to contract offers and the Skins would not budge. Fitz wanted more money than what he was worth. Fitz wanted Sam Bradford money and he was not worth that kind of money period, hell Sam Bradford should not had seen that money. The Broncos were interested in Fitz but the guy over priced himself just like Kirk. The Jets went 10-6 under Fitz last year, mind you Brandon Marshall and Eric Decker put up career numbers between the two be it yards and touchdowns and Fitz broke team record with 29 tds. 

In order for the Jets to even be in the hunt to win that wild card spot the Jets had to beat the Patriots the week before and Fitz had a hell of a game so lets not pin one bad game on Fitz for not getting a contract because we all know the Skins can pin about 6 bad games against Kirk last year. Let me be clear also, I am in no way a Fitzpatrick fan but I give credit when credit is due and Fitz played well for one year and his good play has continued into the 2016 season granted only two games but Kirk is struggling and struggling bad and it does not get any better with the Giants on the schedule. 

[Momma There Goes That Man]

9 hours ago, zskins said:

They paid Rg3 16 to sit on the bench

No they didn't, he never saw a penny of that $16mil. He rode the bench last year on the final year of his rookie contract 

[Alexa]

Are we talking about the same Ryan Fitzpatrick that threw away the Jets playoff hopes in the last game of the 15 season?  

[Momma There Goes That Man]

Just now, Alexa said:

Are we talking about the same Ryan Fitzpatrick that threw away the Jets playoff hopes in the last game of the 15 season?  

Take your poison. That for $12mil a year or Couisins throwing away our 2016 playoff hopes in week2 for $20mil

[crabbypatty]

On 9/18/2016 at 4:33 PM, Taylor703 said:

This is the guy I thought we would be bringing back. Hate being right about this so far. Hopefully he picks up his play because if he doesn't we'll probably be looking at a new staff. 

 

Yeah, not likely. Don't forget that Bruce Allen in his infinite wisdom signed Gruden to a 5 year deal right off the bat.. I think it was fully guaranteed as well IIRC. I think we're stuck with that dude for another 2 years regardless of how good or bad the team does.

[ThomasRoane]

Only a third of Kirk's issues are his fault. Yes, he looks rusty and out of sync.  He needs to improvise more and get back to seeing the whole field.  He is pressing but at least he hasn't lost his confidence and he hasn't thrown a team mate under the bus.  I remember when we would be drooling over 23 points!  How many QB's have we seen that were two dimensional?  Long ball or check down.  Kirk can make all the throws and he can move the ball; without any help of a running game. 

The coaches are a third of the problem.  They didn't give him nearly enough reps in preseason.  Kirk is not the only one to struggle because of that.  The starters needed to play more and looking back we can probably all agree (penalties, missed tackles, missed assignments, lack of toughness, etc.)  The play calling was just stupid.  How can you not at least go with a run look 1st and goal from the 6?!?!  I'd have no problem with a fade off play action.  But advantage goes to defense with the condensed space when you try to pass from the 10 yard line in.  No where near enough runs were called; and in the dallass game Jones actually looked decent.  The coaches should anticipate the adjustments DC's would make this year and have counters for it.  Can't just keep rolling out the same game plan every year.  You keep your core concepts but you have to add wrinkles to make the defense pay for anticipating a certain play or scheme.  Stupid penalties are a lack of discipline and that's on the coaching staff.  How many more times must we see good plays or good drives stalled by dumb penalties?!?! 

The other third is the piss poor excuse we call a defense.  Vs a rookie QB with only one legit, NFL receiver (Whitten is slowing down - except when he plays us) 23 points should be more than enough. Yes, bad interception by Kirk but to let them drive 75 yards for a walk in TD!?!?!  This defense puts tremendous pressure on a QB - any QB.  Cause let's face it, if our offense doesn't score at least 30 points we won't win.  The running game is still going to be hit or miss.  We don't have a center that can block and everyone knows it.  They put a nose guard or a 1 tech on Kory and that blows up the play.  Jones had to jump cut several times before he could clear the LOS.  So, Kirk has to find some way to produce THREE to FOUR TD's A GAME!!!    Without a running game.  Dealing with dumb penalties.  And being rusty from not enough playing time.

Kirk has always struggled vs the gnats.  If he can play a good game vs them (even if it's a loss) then he's fine and will shut people up.  I personally think he will come out strong this week. 

[XtremeFan55]

Drama follows this team like flies on a carcass.  The 'anonymous' source has always been Tony Wyllie IMO who gets his orders from Snyder.  Look at the stats.  Redskins have 5th worst defense and no run offense...yet they go after the quarterback when the passing game is the only part that is working.  If I were Cousins I would play out this year with class then in the offseason get as far away from this toxic team as possible.  

[Thinking Skins]

On 9/18/2016 at 5:49 PM, Skinarchy said:

I'm not down on capt. Kirk

The minor probem Is his misses the major problem, is the other team knows we WON'T commit to the run game...even if the rb. Is averaging 4.7

Coaching...getumm' out 

 

I think this is the nail on the head right here. The at least last year were running it to keep teams honest. Now they're daring us to run it because they know we won't run it more than 3 times on a 14 play drive. You depend on your QB that much and he's going to make mistakes.

[fjblair]

I love the 2 game hysteria. 0-2 is a bad start not the end of the season. KC is a slow starter and I expect he will look sharp in game 3. We were not outplayed all night, we blew a game we should have won. Deep breaths.

[TheGreek1973]

Still I blame Gruden for not playing Cousins every game in the preseason if reports were true he had accuracy problems in camp.  But the main issue with this team is the fact that our DC is simply an idiot.  Again if we are going to look at Cousins and say he has not beaten a winning team which is true, how about Barry going 0-16 with the Lions.  WTF did we see in this guy to fix our defense?

[Skinsinparadise]

12 hours ago, Skins3000 said:

Actually my point invalidates yours because you failed to mention on those 30 carries the Cowboys only mustered 101 total yards rushing and less than 3. 5 yards a carry. Cowboys moved the ball up and down the field via the pass but settled for field goals instead of touchdowns, while the Giants scored touchdowns while in their redzone attempts. Dak threw 0 ints while Kirk threw 2, one costing the Redskins the game. As I said before the Giants were stout against the run but the Cowboys made adjustments something this team does not understand. 

 

Shanny explained it well among others multiple times -- yes, its nice to get 5 yards a carry versus 3 plus yards a carry but its not the overriding point about committing to the run.  The overriding point about committing to the run is keeping the defense honest.  So the actual commitment to a large number of carries is the key for taking pressure off the QB.   Forcing your opponent to bring in the safeties.  Creating some bite to set up play action.   All of which helps the passing game because its tougher to key in on it.

If you are running the ball 30 times like the Cowboys did against the Giants: 

A.   You aren't IMO putting the offense on Dak's back as you claimed.

B.  Scoring 19 points -- 4 points less than Kirk

C.  Losing a close game

IMO doesn't add up to Dak showed that he can carry a game with the passing game on his back -- apples to apples to Kirk.  Less points, with a much bigger commitment to the run game, and a loss -- doesn't add up to "see Dak did it" against the Giants -- just because he didn't throw an INT.  The dude lost.  He didn't do it.  He didn't put up as many points as Kirk.  And yeah his team was VERY committed to the run game. 

[Suffolk_Skins]

10 hours ago, Destino said:

Wentz needs to be tested, a decimated Bears team and the awful Browns aren't great much of a resume.  He does seem to be mobile and scary accurate, be it driving the ball or delivering touch passes.  The Eagles are doing a nice job of not asking him to do too much.  Their defense and running game have certain carried their share of the weight.  

I'm not sold on Dak.  He hasn't looked bad but he's looked uncertain to me.  I wonder if he'll hold up once coordinators have tape on him.  

 

I am so pissed about the Eagles. They looked doomed but then got rid of Chip, offloaded those big Chip contracts, Maxwell, Alonso etc. Look like they have smartly moved up to get Wentz and even got their number 1 back for Bradford?!? UGH!!

[KokoMike]

Time is running out.  Kirk needs to show a sense of urgency.  Since the NFL expanded to eight divisions, only one team has made it to the playoffs after starting 0-2 at home, the 2003 Eagles.

Gruden, too, can say it is a long season.  But, it is time for Gruden/Kirk to show some urgency.  If not them, who?

[Alexa]

3 hours ago, Momma There Goes That Man said:

Take your poison. That for $12mil a year or Couisins throwing away our 2016 playoff hopes in week2 for $20mil

The Redskins had no choice but to sign Cousins to a one year deal. What else could they have done? Let him walk after the season he had? That would be just stupid. Sometimes you have to overpay in the NFL. They did the smart thing, see more of a starting sample size to make a decision.

Also, how do you throw away your season after two games? That comment makes no sense to me at all. Kirk had at least been the qb of a division winner. What has Fitzpatrick really done besides bounce around the league? He's played on like 15 teams. Let's not crown the guy cause he's had two good games. His history says he's coming back down to earth. 

I think we all need to lower our expectations on Kirk. He's probably not as bad as he's played the first two weeks, but maybe not as good as the last half of the season. We probably have an average NFL Qb that needs a running game and doesn't need to be dropping back 45 times a game. 

[Thinking Skins]

On 9/18/2016 at 11:47 PM, Voice_of_Reason said:

If this keeps up, my bet is GMSM lets him walk, drafts a guy early with our high 1st round pick, and they let Colt play until whoever we draft is "ready."

I really like Kirk.  But I think he's completely lost his confidence at this point.  The thing that was most distressing is that the sideline reporter (whoever it was) reported that Kirk was almost inconsolable after the pick, that he was just looking at the sky.  I think I know why: He just realized that not only had he just thrown a pick in the end-zone, which was possibly going to cost him the game, but he also might have just sealed the fate of any "max deal" long term contract, because at 0-2 with a historically bad defense, chances are your'e not making the playoffs.  Couple a poor record with a reputation of throwing untimely INTs, and there goes your starting career in the NFL.

I kinda wonder if they had gotten a deal done in the off-season, if he would have responded better.  Don't really care, and the team clearly did the right thing.  but it's an interesting psychological question.  

 

This probably belongs in an offseason/draft thread, but I think thats a bad idea. I'd re-sign Kirk for whatever we were offering this past offseason and keep him at the QB position. He has his problems but he's a guy we can win with. If we start over at QB, not only does that enter a definite rebuilding phase, it also means that one more high pick thats not used to address the DL and LB positions. I want more quick and athletic LBs that can play with instincts. I blame Kirk for his mistakes these first two games, but lets not ignore that we have a horrible defense. This may be the worse defense I've seen here since the Norv years and that's really sad.

[NoCalMike]

There also seems to be a expectation gap between what our fanbase expected to do and what most media and experts expected.  I know it's popular to bash the media when we think they are slighting our team, but a large majority of them picked this team to be 8-8 or worse this season, and right about now that is exactly what this team looks like. I know it's only 2 games in, but thus far the only evidence we can go by is the games they have play which was getting picked apart by a very good team, and playing a tightly contested game against a mediocre team that ended up a loss.   So I am not sure why there is this expectation that this team was going to be so good this year except maybe due to feeling the rest of the division would be bad too, which still very well may end up true when all is said and done.

[Cliffmark1]

On 9/18/2016 at 4:39 PM, Gamebreaker said:

How can we? Did you miss the wide open WRs streaking down the field? Did you miss how he left 3 TDs on the field because his deep ball is inaccurate and he threw into triple coverage in the redzone? That has nothing to do with playcalling. 

if you get four+ straight fade route calls to the same area of the Red Zone, and no longer call run plays in the RZ after the RB scored in the RZ, then I think the play calling would make  anyone look bad.  

 

The coaches are detached from reality. Two quick examples  Breeland gets burned every play against a number 1, **** it, we are making that assignment stick, not adding double teams and not letting Norman travel.  Running Back scored in the RZ, let's stop calling RZ runs.  

They telegraph everyplay on offense and defense.  The coaching staff needs to be changed at the end of the year with a HC Scot picks. 

[Suffolk_Skins]

7 minutes ago, Cliffmark1 said:

if you get four+ straight fade route calls to the same area of the Red Zone, and no longer call run plays in the RZ after the RB scored in the RZ, then I think the play calling would make  anyone look bad.  

 

The coaches are detached from reality. Two quick examples  Breeland gets burned every play against a number 1, **** it, we are making that assignment stick, not adding double teams and not letting Norman travel.  Running Back scored in the RZ, let's stop calling RZ runs.  

They telegraph everyplay on offense and defense.  The coaching staff needs to be changed at the end of the year with a HC Scot picks. 

Kirk had the ability to check down to a run on all those fades. I agree the constant fades were not ideal in the RZ but no getting away from the fact he blew that game. The deep ball to Doctson for example was a beautifully dialed up play but he under threw him. As was the one to Crowder that he overthrew.

[Rattlesnake88]

Kirk shows up vs the vagiants and then crushes the Browns, book it. 

 

Ive been down on him and feel he was 100% responsible for last weeks loss. This team lives and dies by #8. That's a lot of pressure for someone in a contract season.

 

its no excuse to suck however, hence the dismissal by fans week two of the regular season. Here is the deal though.

Once Captain Kirk goes into dr evils compound and gets his mojo back, it's gonna be ****ing on. Our offense is going to be explosive once Kirk starts gelling. Just watch. We may not make the playoffs but things WILL get better.