Keep KC in DC

One way to become popular is to leech off the popularity of others.  So I thought I would rebrand a pipe dream of a slogan into something that could actually happen.  Keep KC in DC.  The Redskins need to start talking with Kirk Cousins about a contract extension based on his performance over the last three games, his evolution as a passer and leader over the course of this season, and the fact that the future alternatives for the Redskins are ambiguous at best.  Here is a list of reasons why the Redskins need to Keep KC in DC.

Who Would We Replace Him With?
Here is the list of winners who will be free agents with Cousins this offseason. The problem for the Redskins is Cousins has played well enough to out pace all of these guys on that list. If the Redskins let Cousins test the open market he will be the best free agent out there, and you have to assume that teams like the Texans, Jets, Bills, Browns, Broncos, Eagles, and maybe the Rams will put in competitive offers for Cousins's services.  With so many teams in need of a quarterback, and Cousins being 27 and at the top of the free agent list, it is not unlikely that he decides to go where the money is good because this may be his only shot at a big payday. 

Another alternative is the draft, but that road is fraught with even more uncertainty.  The top quarterbacks in the Draft this year are Christian Hackenberg who sucks (I don't care how good he was his freshman year and the "James Franklin's offense ruined his development" argument.  If we let Cousins go for this guy I will be livid), Cardale Jones (read the passage beginning "Said one AFC GM" below the picture of Jones and read the quote from Phil Savage below the picture of Jamarcus Russell), and Connor Cook who may be better but it may also take him time to acclimate to the offense.  The other caveat to these quarterbacks is Cousins may play so well that the Redskins are out of position to draft these guys even if they wanted to.  This list of alternative quarterbacks to Cousins should have Scot McCloughan holding a reverse telethon where he has all the people in the background calling Cousins's agent nonstop.  There are no clear alternatives that are better than Cousins at the moment, and Cousins will be the most sought after free agent quarterback in the offseason.  And for good reason because he has shown improvement over this season.

Cousins's Game Has Evolved Over the Course of the Season
Cousins's stats for the first 6 games of the season (record 2-4):
66.2% completion    1420 yards (237 y/g)    6 TD     8 INT

Cousins's stats the last 3 games:
71.4% completion    858 yards (286 y/g)     8 TD      1 INT

Small sample size for the last three, but suffice to say that Cousins has improved immensely over the last three games.  We will know more when Cousins has to go into Carolina and then come back to DC to face the Giants over Thanksgiving weekend, but there has been improvement over this season to warrant keeping Cousins here. 

Cousins Is the Leader
This is more of an arbitrary qualitative measure but look at what Cousins has done this season.  He has led two dramatic game winning drives, one game tying drive with 50 seconds left, he coined one super charged catch phrase, he would have kept pace with the Patriots if not for a parade of ineptitude, and he hung 47 points on a Saints team that pumped up the defense so much that it led to this exchange at the end of the game.  Imitation is the highest form of flattery, and in this case Chris Baker's action said more than his words.  It shows that the defense is on board with Cousins.  Winning helps that notion take hold, but over the last three games you have seen a concerted effort from the defense to give Kirk every chance to move the ball because he has proven that he has the ability to win games.  Cousins also boasts the fourth highest completion percentage in the league which keep his receivers happy and the offense on the field.  And when he is out there, especially the last three games, you just get this sense that he has command over this offense.  He has cut down on the turnovers, he rarely takes sacks (only Andy Dalton, Derek Carr, and Ryan Fitzpatrick have played 9 or more games and been sacked less than Cousins), his accuracy has gone through the roof when teams know that his game is short to intermediate, and he has developed a passing report with numerous receivers. You just get the sense that something good is going to happen on every offensive possession, and that is not something we have felt in a while.

At this moment the price tag should be about a three to four year contract worth about 5-7 million per year.  If Cousins's agent is smart he will start a bidding war with the team, using his free agent status as leverage, and the contract may get extended longer and for more money.  My guess is that if the Redskins keep winning you could see a four to five year contract worth 10 million plus.  Well worth it for a fourth round pariah who was seen as a coach's hubris pick.  Now, Kirk Cousins is poised to lead the Redskins on a Divisional Championship run that could make him the hottest free agent this summer if the Redskins do not play their cards right.  Let's do the right thing and Keep KC in DC.

Redskins vs. Ravens: Cousins Makes The Redskins A Team

No more daily injury status updates.  No more endless analysis of self-aggrandizing tweets.  No more attention seeking press conferences and sound bytes.  No more personalized catch phrases with a clothing line attached to them.  No more Robert Griffin in Washington .  Jay Gruden's comments on Sunday may turn out to be the final blow to Griffin's fall from grace in DC despite Gruden giving Griffin the dreaded vote of confidence.  All logical sense points to the Redskins parting ways with Griffin at some point this season, and more than likely before they take the field against the Dolphins in Week 1.  Whatever the Redskins decide to do with Robert Griffin, it is clear that the ascension of Kirk Cousins as the starting quarterback has shifted the narrative from the Redskins fate hinging on the health of one person, to their fate being in the hands of 53 people working together.

The biggest difference between Griffin and Cousins that has been noted this offseason is the fact that the offense seems to operate at a higher level when Cousins is under center.  The Baltimore game clearly showed that Cousins has a better command of the offense, but his new found role as the Redskins starter has done more than just bring the team together on the field.  By naming Cousins the starter, Gruden has released the rest of the team from the media fetters that RG3 has placed on them over the past three years.  Ever since Griffin was drafted all you heard about what RG3, and the players could not get away from having to answer questions about Robert's health or performance.  That was fine in his first year when he was tearing up the field; "Winning is the deodorant that covers all the stink" as Charles Barkley would say.  But once the winning went away it became more of a burden for the team to constantly have to hear about what Robert just said, or tweeted, or what they think of his injury status.  It became more about RG3 the persona than about his performance on the field, and it has come to a head this preseason because this team feels that they have amassed quite a collection of talent that should be fielding questions about their own performance rather than RG3's lack thereof.  With RG3 riding the bench, people should start to notice what the Ravens game highlighted; The Redskins maybe deeper an more talented that you think.

Ryan Grant showed that he has the prowess to keep pace with starting level talent, and he showed that the Redskins can trot out four legit WR's, plus have guys like Jamison Crowder and Rashad Ross to back them up.  The OLB's continued to impress with Preston Smith flashing his closing speed and evolving pass rush and Jackson Jeffcoat showing his ball hawking and plain old fashioned hustle skills.  Matt Jones continued his reign of terror over the Ravens' front seven as they tried to bring him down once he got downhill, and Chris Thompson and Tre Williams proved that they can be a sneaky change of pace to Jones and Morris when called upon.  Even Jordan Reed's athleticism showed up and made some people bring back the notion that he could be the next big TE in the NFL.  And don't look now, but Stephen Paea may prove to be the most valuable offseason signing.  He has shown he can get behind the line, which has freed up Jason Hatcher to some degree and made him more productive.  Finally, David Amerson has shown that offenses are rolling the dice if they throw a comeback pattern on him.  He has good closing speed when defending those routes.  Now if we can only get him to take better tackling angles. 

Sure, there were things that left something to be desired in the Ravens game, such as the fact that the offensive line had trouble opening holes for Alfred Morris, whatever Dashon Goldson calls physical safety play may need some self reflecting on his part, the Redskins failed to convert two fourth and one plays, and the Special Teams.  Oh the Special Teams.  Justin Rogers may have secured a spot on the team with his tremendous tackle to save a kick return touchdown.  The problem was that it came 103 yards after the Ravens returner caught the kickoff, and the Redskins MVP last year (Tress Way) continues to be average at best.  I can see us losing at least one game this year because of special teams play if it doesn't improve.

What the Ravens game really showed us, though,
 is that the Redskins have a lot of talent on this team that should not go to waste trying to figure out whether RG3 can compete at a high level again.  Gruden heeded that call by naming Cousins the starter, and in doing so he may have inadvertently shown a commitment to the rest of the team.  A team that has one of the best receiver tandems in the league with Garcon and Jackson.  A team that has four running backs that could wreak havoc on opposing defenses in various ways.  A team whose front seven is looking more physical and talented than it ever has before, doing it all with a limited contribution from Ryan Kerrigan so far this preseason.  A team with a group of corner backs that, at the very least, proved they will be physical and in your face, and a group of about 40-50 other players who have bought in to that mantra of physicality and intensity.  This may be the best collection of talent at the offensive skill positions that the Redskins have had in a long time, and the defense will at least be better than it has been.  The one position that needs to bring it all together is the one that everyone else no longer has to answer for because of Jay Gruden's decision to not let that be a distraction. Cousins brings a higher level of performance to the offense, and more importantly, he makes the Redskins more of a team both on and off the field.