In the Washington DC area, there is a crisis occurring. A quarterback crisis. It has captured national media attention and caused a divide amongst Redskin fans.
Coming into the 2014 season, there was an excitement about the team’s acquisitions of Desean Jackson and Andre Roberts on the offensive side of the ball to hopefully assist Robert Griffin III in the passing game. After a few snaps in week two, the dynamic of the season changed.
Griffin going down with an injury causes Kirk Cousins to enter the game, eventually throwing two touchdowns in a rout of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Cousins then proceeded to throw nine interceptions over his next five games, all losses. The combination of an injured RGIII and a turnover-prone Cousins, forced first year coach Jay Gruden’s hand in playing Colt McCoy on a Monday Night game in Dallas. After a Tom Brady-like performance and a win in primetime, the job appeared to be McCoy’s to lose.
Many people believed McCoy would start the next game against the Vikings, however the start was given to RGIII, who played like a high school JV quarterback over the following three games, plummeting the Skins to a (3-8) record that could have easily been (6-5).
Fast-forward to today, the Skins have dropped two consecutive games in ugly fashion, and McCoy is injured. So now what?
If McCoy is healthy, he is the starter… or that is what has been said this week by both Jay Gruden and Colt himself. McCoy has played rather average this season, which in the Redskins case means he is their best option. He has not had a game like the Cowboys game, but that is not what is expected of him.
His job is to keep the team in the game, something he failed to do against the Rams due to ghastly offensive line play. It is obvious when watching McCoy play that he can deliver the ball in a timely manner with decent accuracy, but his success is dependent on quality pass protection up front.
In his best performance, he was being protected the best.. someone should explain that to the O-line coaches. The matchup against the Giants would put the Redskins offense up against a Giants secondary that has been very thin and vulnerable due to injuries, giving McCoy a chance to succeed, look for a big game from Pierre Garçon.
In the instance that McCoy cannot play on Sunday here are the options:
Robert Griffin III: If RGIII starts against the Giants, it is almost certain that Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen are the ones telling Gruden to play him. Griffin has looked dazed and confused in the pocket all season long. It is time to face the reality that he will never be successful in DC again.
I’m sure he will sign somewhere else and be put into a system where he can succeed (Maybe Cleveland or Philadelphia) and I wish him well, but in this system, on this team; he is finished. Having RGIII as the quarterback is a lot like an ex-girlfriend: when things were going good, it was great, and when they weren’t… well just look at this season. The Rams have six active, productive players from the picks the Redskins gave up to get RGIII. The Redskins have Subway commercials and a plethora of drama.
Kirk Cousins: Cousins would be more deserving of a start over RGIII if the choice had to be made. He has his issues with interceptions, but at least he is getting rid of the ball. Cousins is a very interesting player, at times he looks like the next Peyton Manning and then he will go look like Eli and throw endless INTs. With proper coaching by Gruden, I believe Cousins could be a very good starting quarterback. In his time with the Bengals, Gruden developed Andy Dalton to be a top-tier (at least that’s what his contract says) and I believe he could do the same with Cousins.
If I were the GM, McCoy would start if he is healthy. If he can’t play, Cousins is the starter with RGIII as the backup. It will be interesting to see what happens this offseason. O-Line and DBs need to be a focal point in the draft. Let McCoy, Cousins, and maybe a veteran free agent signing like Brian Hoyer battle it out for the starting QB next season. End the RGIII era and move on, allowing Gruden to mold a QB and build a team around him.
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