35 starts (14-21) 9 starts (2-7)
Completion % = 63.9% (679/1063) Completion % = 59.0% (240/407)
8097 yrds – 40 TD - 23 INT – 90.6 – 101 sacks 3040 yrds - 18 TD - 19 INT - 77.5 - 16 sacks
5 Game Winning Drives 1 Game Winning Drive
Colt McCoy (2014-present) "The Lone Ranger"
4 starts (1-3)
5 Game Winning Drives 1 Game Winning Drive
Colt McCoy (2014-present) "The Lone Ranger"
4 starts (1-3)
Completion % = 71.1% (91/128)
1057 yrds – 4 TD - 3 INT – 96.4 – 17 sacks
2 Game Winning Drives
A little Shakespeare to end this saga of Redskins quarterbacks that has gone on for over fifteen years and has led us to this point. The Redskins now find themselves at a crossroads yet again. This time with three quarterbacks who are coming off a season where all of them had significant playing time and neither one of them showing the skills necessary to be the unquestioned starter. One who was supposed to be the face of the franchise, but has suffered set backs and injuries that have people questioning whether or not it is worth it to keep him. One who was the insurance policy but who has shown that he has the physical ability to be the guy if not for his fragile mental state. And one drifter who has a storied win under his belt, and the one who was hand picked by the current head coach, but may not have the time to be the long term solution. We will get a preview of what is to come tonight against the Browns, and there are things that each one of them needs to do in order to be the unquestioned starter this season and to show that Jay Gruden can develop the talent that he has inherited.
Robert Griffin: Dan Snyder finally found his Darth Vader in the 2012 draft but had to pay a heavy price for him. For one year, though, it seemed that our future was set. No one will forget that unbelievable 2012 campaign that had Griffin anointed as the next generation of quarterback, and Mike and Kyle Shanahan's read option lauded as the next evolutionary step in the game. But Griffin could not stay healthy, and the next two season proved that the Shanahans' system catered to Griffin's strengths without developing him as a passer. The read option relied on the threat of Griffin being able to beat the edge rusher with his legs, which he did, but after his knee injury it is clear that he does not have the physical tools necessary to strike that fear into opposing defenses any more. The read option also allowed Griffin to hit on his first read without going through his progressions because, more often than naught, some defender would creep up out of position in order to stop the run leaving a Redskins receiver wide open. It catered to what Griffin had learned at Baylor running a spread style offense but now he needs to evolve. He needs to learn to go through progressions, develop a better pocket awareness, learn better footwork in the pocket to avoid pressure, know when to use his legs to his advantage if leaving the pocket, and learn better pre-snap reads. We have seen Griffin take bad sacks, make hasty decisions when he has more time in the pocket, and run right into opposing rushers without any inkling that he knows how to elude the pass rush. These are the things we need to see from Robert Griffin if he is to become the starter we want him to be. Jay Gruden has done similar work with Andy Dalton, who also came from a spread system at TCU, and he needs to make Griffin believe that he can be an accomplished passer in the NFL.
Kirk Cousins: After the Redskins drafted Cousins in 2012 it was alleged that Shanahan never wanted to move up to draft Griffin, and the Cousins pick was an insurance policy with a little bit of irreverence being shown by Shanahan towards the owner. It proved to be a worthy pick, with Griffin being injured and Cousins proving that he can be a competent quarterback in the NFL. The problem stems from his nickname; "Fallout Boy". Cousins seems to always come in when something bad has happened, mostly an injury to Robert or replacing Robert's poor play, and he is there to manage the fall out. He has also shown a propensity for melting down when things start to turn south for him during games, and his play devolves into something you would see out of a bad high school game. The Eagles and Giants games from Weeks 3-4 this past season illustrate this point. Cousins was having an amazing game against the Eagles until he threw a late interception and he could not recover. The following Thursday against the Giants saw Cousins throw three interceptions in the third quarter when the Redskins had a chance to make it a game. Instead the Giants blew us out and we saw this all too familiar body language from Cousins. If Cousins is to be the starter he needs to develop a tougher skin when it comes to mistakes. He needs to show the confidence he can have on a more regular basis, and he needs to improve on not locking onto receivers. Interceptions will happen, but Cousins pouty face will not fly when it comes time to win football games, and it may get him traded before the season eve starts.
Colt McCoy: There are some who say that McCoy has the best understanding of Gruden's offense, and he should get a legitimate shot at starting this season. The one problem being that his physical attributes limit his ability to access the offense. His arm is not as strong as the other two quarterbacks, which leaves him vulnerable when he needs to zip a pass into a tight spot or throw a deep ball that will not float it's way into a cornerbacks hands. But he beat Dallas. That game should have been the turning point of the season, and had Griffin not been able to go against Minnesota the following week we may be seriously talking about McCoy being the starter. All McCoy can do now is bide his time and have an impressive showing this preseason. His arm probably is not going to get any stronger at this point, but if he can take care of the ball and make the right throws he may find himself starting at some point this season. Let's hope not though because if that happens it means that this saga is not over.
Robert Griffin will get the start Week 1 barring injury. If the Minnesota game taught us anything last year, it is that no matter how dramatic a win Cousins or McCoy are able to engineer, if Robert Griffin can walk he is going to be the starter. And the Redskins need him to be. They do not need him to be 2012 Robert, but they need Griffin to be a legitimate NFL starter that can win at this level. The Redskins have assembled the best collection of talent on both side of the ball that they have had in a long time. The biggest question mark for the Redskins lies in the most important position. If Griffin proves to be a lost cause then we need to hope that Cousins shows enough improvement to be a starter, or worthy enough for someone to trade for him before he becomes a UFA at the end of the season. If not then the Redskins may roll with McCoy for another year or two before drafting another prospect, and we will be back where we have always been since Dan Snyder bought the team: Seeing if we can lure Eli Manning to start in Washington because he has two Super Bowl Rings and no contract for 2016.
2 Game Winning Drives
A little Shakespeare to end this saga of Redskins quarterbacks that has gone on for over fifteen years and has led us to this point. The Redskins now find themselves at a crossroads yet again. This time with three quarterbacks who are coming off a season where all of them had significant playing time and neither one of them showing the skills necessary to be the unquestioned starter. One who was supposed to be the face of the franchise, but has suffered set backs and injuries that have people questioning whether or not it is worth it to keep him. One who was the insurance policy but who has shown that he has the physical ability to be the guy if not for his fragile mental state. And one drifter who has a storied win under his belt, and the one who was hand picked by the current head coach, but may not have the time to be the long term solution. We will get a preview of what is to come tonight against the Browns, and there are things that each one of them needs to do in order to be the unquestioned starter this season and to show that Jay Gruden can develop the talent that he has inherited.
Robert Griffin: Dan Snyder finally found his Darth Vader in the 2012 draft but had to pay a heavy price for him. For one year, though, it seemed that our future was set. No one will forget that unbelievable 2012 campaign that had Griffin anointed as the next generation of quarterback, and Mike and Kyle Shanahan's read option lauded as the next evolutionary step in the game. But Griffin could not stay healthy, and the next two season proved that the Shanahans' system catered to Griffin's strengths without developing him as a passer. The read option relied on the threat of Griffin being able to beat the edge rusher with his legs, which he did, but after his knee injury it is clear that he does not have the physical tools necessary to strike that fear into opposing defenses any more. The read option also allowed Griffin to hit on his first read without going through his progressions because, more often than naught, some defender would creep up out of position in order to stop the run leaving a Redskins receiver wide open. It catered to what Griffin had learned at Baylor running a spread style offense but now he needs to evolve. He needs to learn to go through progressions, develop a better pocket awareness, learn better footwork in the pocket to avoid pressure, know when to use his legs to his advantage if leaving the pocket, and learn better pre-snap reads. We have seen Griffin take bad sacks, make hasty decisions when he has more time in the pocket, and run right into opposing rushers without any inkling that he knows how to elude the pass rush. These are the things we need to see from Robert Griffin if he is to become the starter we want him to be. Jay Gruden has done similar work with Andy Dalton, who also came from a spread system at TCU, and he needs to make Griffin believe that he can be an accomplished passer in the NFL.
Kirk Cousins: After the Redskins drafted Cousins in 2012 it was alleged that Shanahan never wanted to move up to draft Griffin, and the Cousins pick was an insurance policy with a little bit of irreverence being shown by Shanahan towards the owner. It proved to be a worthy pick, with Griffin being injured and Cousins proving that he can be a competent quarterback in the NFL. The problem stems from his nickname; "Fallout Boy". Cousins seems to always come in when something bad has happened, mostly an injury to Robert or replacing Robert's poor play, and he is there to manage the fall out. He has also shown a propensity for melting down when things start to turn south for him during games, and his play devolves into something you would see out of a bad high school game. The Eagles and Giants games from Weeks 3-4 this past season illustrate this point. Cousins was having an amazing game against the Eagles until he threw a late interception and he could not recover. The following Thursday against the Giants saw Cousins throw three interceptions in the third quarter when the Redskins had a chance to make it a game. Instead the Giants blew us out and we saw this all too familiar body language from Cousins. If Cousins is to be the starter he needs to develop a tougher skin when it comes to mistakes. He needs to show the confidence he can have on a more regular basis, and he needs to improve on not locking onto receivers. Interceptions will happen, but Cousins pouty face will not fly when it comes time to win football games, and it may get him traded before the season eve starts.
Colt McCoy: There are some who say that McCoy has the best understanding of Gruden's offense, and he should get a legitimate shot at starting this season. The one problem being that his physical attributes limit his ability to access the offense. His arm is not as strong as the other two quarterbacks, which leaves him vulnerable when he needs to zip a pass into a tight spot or throw a deep ball that will not float it's way into a cornerbacks hands. But he beat Dallas. That game should have been the turning point of the season, and had Griffin not been able to go against Minnesota the following week we may be seriously talking about McCoy being the starter. All McCoy can do now is bide his time and have an impressive showing this preseason. His arm probably is not going to get any stronger at this point, but if he can take care of the ball and make the right throws he may find himself starting at some point this season. Let's hope not though because if that happens it means that this saga is not over.
Robert Griffin will get the start Week 1 barring injury. If the Minnesota game taught us anything last year, it is that no matter how dramatic a win Cousins or McCoy are able to engineer, if Robert Griffin can walk he is going to be the starter. And the Redskins need him to be. They do not need him to be 2012 Robert, but they need Griffin to be a legitimate NFL starter that can win at this level. The Redskins have assembled the best collection of talent on both side of the ball that they have had in a long time. The biggest question mark for the Redskins lies in the most important position. If Griffin proves to be a lost cause then we need to hope that Cousins shows enough improvement to be a starter, or worthy enough for someone to trade for him before he becomes a UFA at the end of the season. If not then the Redskins may roll with McCoy for another year or two before drafting another prospect, and we will be back where we have always been since Dan Snyder bought the team: Seeing if we can lure Eli Manning to start in Washington because he has two Super Bowl Rings and no contract for 2016.
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