Kirk Cousins’ performance as RGIII’s stand in comes as a surprise to many. Not to Hog Heaven. I have seen him win too many games in the last two minutes for the Spartans to be surprised by his performance in the last two weeks.
In fact, his last pass thrown behind Pierre Garcon was a bit of a shock. After an otherwise great performance, I expect that more first team practice reps with Pierre Garcon and DeSean Jackson will correct that sort of thing.
Kirk’s performance was enough to feed both sides of the debate about him.
Can we please stop pointing to Cousins performance last season? No one in the organization, from the owner down, looked good in the dumpster fire known as 2013.
(Mmm, forgot about DeAngelo Hall. He looked good. Hall deserved the contract offered him for this year. Hall suffered a ruptured Achilles. He will have corrective surgery and will be OUT for the rest of the season.)
Redskins Cornerback DeAngelo Hall Out for Season with Ruptured Achilles Tendon « CBS DC http://t.co/MthKb8WMN4
— Anthony Brown, The RedsCommander (@RedsCommanders) September 22, 2014
Before the Big Ten acquired Maryland and Rutgers, football fans in the Middle Atlantic were not familiar with B1G players. They knew little of Cousins, or Russell Wilson, before 2012. Wisconsin is another of my schools. The 2011 MSU-Wisconsin series that featured Cousins and Wilson was a joy to watch. I watched Cousins win too many games in East Lansing in the last two minutes not to have the same expectation of him now.
The next time the Redskins are inside the last two minutes with the game on the line. I expect Cousins to complete that pass to Garcon.
The quarterback question will resolve itself with Cousins’ play, Griffin’s return and his mobility when he returns.
Before the season, there were fans standing on their heads to swap Cousins for Draft picks, often to take pressure off Robert Griffin III. (Huh?) It takes two to tango. Teams were not lining up for that deal. They might with another two or three weeks of what Capt. Kirk delivered yesterday.
The Redskins are surely calculating the odds that RGIII can play a complete season without injury. Their over/under line will set their approach to a trade offer.
If their line is 15 games, then wrap Kirk in a ribbon and take the first second-round offer that comes their way. Colt McCoy is your new back-up. But if that line as 12 or fewer games, I doubt the Redskins would accept less than a first-round pick for Kirk.
There is no need to decide anything before early November, the soonest Griffin might return, and February 2015, when teams may trade players. The point is that Cousins can show enough to change minds of other GMs about his value. If he changes teams, it will be before the start of 2015 OTAs.
Like many of you, Hog Heaven figured the officials blew the call against Chris Baker for blocking poor, defenseless Nick Foles. Mike Piereira, Fox TV’s NFL Rules expert, backed the game official. I wasn’t having it until I read Bleeding Green Nation, the SBN blog covering the Eagles.
Chris Baker did not legally hit Nick Foles pointed to the exact rule that Baker broke. The way it reads, the officials had no choice. Meh, some rules are made to be broken.
See that post here, if you are interested.
Naturally, I cannot pump another site without reference to Bloguin’s own Eagles site, Eagles Eye blog. Tom Jackson writes I went to a hockey fight … and a football game broke out. Tom’s choice line is this one:
“The run was stuffed better than a Thanksgiving turkey by the Redskins.”
The Eagles won the Special Teams battle. The stats show how ugly it was. Fans look at returners, kickers and punters, but that is not the whole deal. Coverage is the thing. This team does not cover well. Hog Heaven cannot think of a short-term suggestion, but here are two solutions for the long term.
Play more front-line starters on special teams. Sean Taylor played on special teams. The Redskins angled kickoffs to the right, Taylor’s side of the field. Players on the left angled their downfield rush towards the ball to channel the returner to Taylor. This was a beautiful thing to see from my end zone seats.
Draft players for special teams. No, I do not think they do that now. I suspect the Redskins draft “best player available” with fourth to seventh-round picks. Select players specifically for special teams instead.
That would not have worked in 2012 when Mike Shanahan selected Alfred Morris. But what if he picked a player specifically for Teams in 2013 instead of Bacarri Rambo, who was not on special teams.
Something has to change with the notion that special teams is how you make the team until you start on offense or defense. Then you cannot wait to off.
Brian Mitchell was a fifth-round pick in in 1990. Lorenzo Alexander was an undrafted free agent with the Panthers and Ravens before joining the Redskins practice squad. He was a free agent specialist and back-up lineman.
The Redskins could not fit him in the salary cap (Sanctions) last season. His worth as a special teamer was more than whatever he was asking.
The Redskins did that when they picked K Zach Hocker in the 2014 seventh round. Kai Forbath won the job in training camp. They may have Hocker’s number on speed dial.
The Redskins need a lot of strategic thinking here.
ESPN.com: Eagles 37, Redskins 34
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