Cooley on RG3 and Cousins

[CanesSkins26]

Chris ey did his Tuesday Redskins film review on ESPN 980 this week as Redskins Park continued to burn. Of course, this was about 16 hours before reports began circulating that Kirk Cousins would indeed start next weekend against the Falcons.

Still, it was business as usual for ey, who judged each player on the offense not based on past history or salary or potential, but just based on performance against the Chiefs.

Among his observations about the team’s quarterbacks:

* “[Robert Griffin III] only reads one side of the field, and the Kansas City Chiefs were very aware of that. When he takes the snap, his head goes to whatever side of the field he wants to throw to, and so do the rest of the Kansas City Chiefs. He looks right; you’ve got three guys just running right to pick up routes. They aborted the other side of the field in their zones.”

* “His technique right now, as far as dropping and throwing the ball, is dreadful. He’s throwing high over and over and over again. He’s throwing behind guys, he’s missing guys, his accuracy is as low as I’ve seen from a guy who should be a very good quarterback. He is never taking a regular drop from under center. He is only taking awkward pistol drops and shotgun drops. And I believe if you want to evolve him as far as technique goes, it wouldn’t hurt to have him take a five-step drop from under the center. He’s never doing that. We’re never doing that. If they aren’t going to do that ever, they need to work on his technique. It’s like a golfer who moves his feet the entire time he swings….He has such happy feet when he’s in the pocket; even if he’s untouched, free in the pocket, he’s jumping, he’s stepping, he’s got legs flipping everywhere as he throws the ball, and I have such a hard time believing that he can be accurate in that fashion. And he’s not. He’s proving me right, every week. He’s inaccurate.”

* “At this point, my belief is that he may not be getting better; he may be developing worse habits that would stay with him for a longer period of time. When Shanahan talked about keeping him healthy, I don’t hate the idea of him coming out to stay healthy. Because he goes from his first read to looking around the offensive line to see if he needs to run. He doesn’t have faith to sit in that pocket and go from one side of the field to the other. His eyes go from first read to am I getting sacked almost simultaneously. And he’s stepping up and making moves to run in the pocket when he goes off read number 1.”

* “I watched Kirk on four or five plays buy time in the pocket, and move from read one to read two to the other side of the field. Now, I’m not saying that he played outstanding, but it was proven that he could buy time. He had pressure in his pocket and he was able to sit in the pocket.”

* “The problem with Robert is if he’s able to make plays on the move, then that’s one thing. You want him to stay in the pocket, but once he’s out of the pocket, he has no vision downfield. He may be looking downfield, but he has lost coverage. His determination of where the coverage is is gone. And he’s not able to see very accurately down the field. There were four or five times when he was able to escape the pocket forward, had guys that he could have delivered a pass to, and didn’t see them. So I’m not sure if he’s just looking for his guys to block or what, but it’s not very good.”

* “Yeah, Kirk played against the backups. I thought he did some nice things though. He has the presence of a quarterback who sits in the pocket and throws.”

* “Overall Kirk is a better pocket passer right now. That’s apparent, very easily, that he is able to sit and execute the drop-back offense that we want to run at times better than Robert can. Ultimately RGIII gives you a more explosive element, a big-play style that I think is needed in the NFL [more] than Kirk does. But he’s not very good right now when it comes to getting from 1 to 2 to 3. He just isn’t. I think he fears that he’s going to be sacked, I think he fears everything around him in the pocket.”

* “The Chiefs zone-blitzed us four times while Robert was in the game. Four times they blitzed away from our line side, and they had a guy come free. In all four of those instances, one of our offensive linemen was standing with no one to block, away from that blitz. I’m not sure if that’s Will Montgomery, and I’m not sure if that’s Robert. But one of those guys has to be able to pick that up. One time they brought that blitz when Kirk Cousins was in, and the line side changed, and they picked that blitz up.”

* “They also ran double-stick five times in the game out of an empty formation; completed it once. I mean, these are EASY plays, that we can’t even get through our reads and complete. We can’t even get it to our premier guy. I’m pretty blown away by that.”

Eventually, Steve Czaban asked if all of this meant that the Redskins had vastly overpaid for a player who remains a work-in-progress.
“You’re getting close,” ey said. “You’re getting close. You would have said the exact same thing about Cam Newton [last season], and he’s having a much better year. [But] he’s got to find a way to grow.”

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/dc-sports-bog/wp/2013/12/11/cooley-cousins-a-better-pocket-passer-than-rgiii/

[Burgundy&Wha?]

Robert has all of the physical tools, without a doubt. The problems listed in this article are accurate. You can see it on the replays. On one of the sack replays (from the KC game) shown in the news reports from yesterday show pressure in the pocket, Alfred Morris slipping out as an outlet, and Robert not throwing the ball and instead taking the sack. These are things he needs to, and will, learn. He's a smart guy and a proven, hard worker. I expect he will put in the time to learn from these mistakes to become the QB we all want and need.

Acknowledge the deficiencies, identify the problems, set goals, and expect better.

[RayNAustin]

You know, it's fine to say Robert is going to learn and get better. That should be an expexted given with any young QB. But, what CC is saying here is as disturbing as it is remarkably candid, as you cannot ignore the fact that we traded so much to get him, while Cousins is by CC'S assessment much further along, when he was a 4th round pick.

Does anyone read CC's critique of RG3 as anything other than damning? Now, my take is that while Chris is obviously far better qualified to make such judgments than the average fan like us, some of these things that look true this year were absolutely not true last year. Particularly the accuracy problems. Last year RG3 seemed to be very accurate, so there must be an explanation for this dramatic decline, and accuracy issues are generally caused by poor mechanics (in players that have previously proven to be accurate).

So what is the root cause of the poor mechanics? Is it th knee or the brace? They insist that the knee is fine. You can't blame missing camp and preseason as a valid excuse in week 14, with 13 games under his belt. So that leaves only two possibilities ... RG3 is not responding well to his coaching ... or he's not being coached very well. We better hope it's the latter.

[Kilmer72]

You know, it's fine to say Robert is going to learn and get better. That should be an expexted given with any young QB. But, what CC is saying here is as disturbing as it is remarkably candid, as you cannot ignore the fact that we traded so much to get him, while Cousins is by CC'S assessment much further along, when he was a 4th round pick.

Does anyone read CC's critique of RG3 as anything other than damning? Now, my take is that while Chris is obviously far better qualified to make such judgments than the average fan like us, some of these things that look true this year were absolutely not true last year. Particularly the accuracy problems. Last year RG3 seemed to be very accurate, so there must be an explanation for this dramatic decline, and accuracy issues are generally caused by poor mechanics (in players that have previously proven to be accurate).

So what is the root cause of the poor mechanics? Is it th knee or the brace? They insist that the knee is fine. You can't blame missing camp and preseason as a valid excuse in week 14, with 13 games under his belt. So that leaves only two possibilities ... RG3 is not responding well to his coaching ... or he's not being coached very well. We better hope it's the latter.

Yeah, I'm right there with you Ray. I heard ey say it was his knee. I don't have a link because it was on 980 radio. He said he wasn't planting he was back peddling. It has to be his knee. That is the difference between this year and last. Last year like you said he was extremely accurate. ey also did say he is learning bad habits that are hard to break. That I can believe.

[Kilmer72]

Cousins doesn’t have the same footwork issues that Griffin is dealing with after knee ligament injuries. Footwork begins the throwing motion; If a quarterback gets that right, then it sets all the rest of his mechanics in the right direction.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/foo ... iffin-iii/

[SkinsJock]

The most important question going forward and for those that really know the NFL and especially what it takes to be a good NFL QB … The Washington Redskins have 2 QBs, Kirk Cousins and Robert Griffin III - which of these 2 will be the better NFL QB over the next 10 years if both are given the best help and coaching available?

we all can hypothesize all we want about what has happened here and why

the only thing that really matters is that we ensure we help the QB that we think gives us the best chance at success in the future

I could care less what anyone thinks would have been the best choice at QB for the past 2 seasons - that horse is long gone





let's hope that Robert gets it all together here over the next 9 months so he can come out and light it up with Kirk backing him up

[riggofan]

I'm just not sure how ey can say definitively that Kirk is much further along in his development. By what measurement??? How many real live NFL games has Cousins played compared to RGIII?

ey has also said that Cousins is his best friend on the Redskins. So, you know...

I get Ray's point that we gave up so much to get RGIII. But I think at the end of the day, if it turns out Cousins was the better QB to draft that year then so what? Good for us. If it took us drafting two QBs last year and trading all of those picks and whatever to find our franchise QB, I won't be crying about it. I just want to find our franchise QB.

[hanburgerheel]

This is an area where the owner can make it difficult. He loves money more than wins. Griffin earned him a record selling jersey. He also probably likes Griffin more as a result. So, if Kirk is the better QB, that will be a tougher sell to an owner who has already chosen his favorite.

[riggofan]

This is an area where the owner can make it difficult. He loves money more than wins. Griffin earned him a record selling jersey. He also probably likes Griffin more as a result. So, if Kirk is the better QB, that will be a tougher sell to an owner who has already chosen his favorite.

Great point, man. From a marketing standpoint, RGIII is a GOLDMINE. Not hard to understand why Snyder wants him to be the guy (on top of everything else).

[SkinsJock]

Look at Seattle they paid a lot to bring in Flynn from Green Bay - then found that Wilson was OK - bye bye Flynn

Robert will become a really good NFL QB and Kirk Cousins will prove to be a very good back up QB for us - we are V lucky

nobody needs to worry about that

[riggofan]

Look at Seattle they paid a lot to bring in Flynn from Green Bay - then found that Wilson was OK - bye bye Flynn

Exactly. I'm sure it sucks to have paid Flynn that money, but who cares at this point? Cost of doing business and a legit shot at the super bowl this year.

[StorminMormon86]

I'm just not sure how ey can say definitively that Kirk is much further along in his development. By what measurement??? How many real live NFL games has Cousins played compared to RGIII?

ey has also said that Cousins is his best friend on the Redskins. So, you know...

I get Ray's point that we gave up so much to get RGIII. But I think at the end of the day, if it turns out Cousins was the better QB to draft that year then so what? Good for us. If it took us drafting two QBs last year and trading all of those picks and whatever to find our franchise QB, I won't be crying about it. I just want to find our franchise QB.

ey was referencing the film he had watched against KC.

And I am in 100% agreement with you. I could care less if Griffin is a bust as long as Cousins turns out to be the QB we need. I'm just glad we have two viable options right now. I will say this though, if Cousins lights it up in the last three games I would really want to see some legitimate competition for the starting job next year and not just hand the reigns right back over to Griffin.

[Kilmer72]

In 2012 Cousins played well in relief of RGIII. But given what we know about the team in terms of its defense and special teams, can inserting Cousins just automatically turn a bad team into a good one overnight? I don’t think so. I think Cousins will do everything in his power to play well, but he’s only started one game in his career, and the Redskins were a better team then.

http://riggosrag.com/2013/12/11/can-rea ... k-cousins/

If Mike Shanahan thinks Griffin’s safety would be at risk, why should it be any different for Cousins? Cousins has mobility, but not on the level of RGIII. So is pass protection supposed to improve overnight? Is the Redskins defense suddenly going to become a world beater simply because Cousins is at QB? I doubt it. But we’ll see.

Crossing my fingers and hoping for the best.

[Kilmer72]

I'm just not sure how ey can say definitively that Kirk is much further along in his development. By what measurement??? How many real live NFL games has Cousins played compared to RGIII?

ey has also said that Cousins is his best friend on the Redskins. So, you know...

I get Ray's point that we gave up so much to get RGIII. But I think at the end of the day, if it turns out Cousins was the better QB to draft that year then so what? Good for us. If it took us drafting two QBs last year and trading all of those picks and whatever to find our franchise QB, I won't be crying about it. I just want to find our franchise QB.

ey was referencing the film he had watched against KC.

And I am in 100% agreement with you. I could care less if Griffin is a bust as long as Cousins turns out to be the QB we need. I'm just glad we have two viable options right now. I will say this though, if Cousins lights it up in the last three games I would really want to see some legitimate competition for the starting job next year and not just hand the reigns right back over to Griffin.

ey has been brutally honest. He says the truth from his view point. I like it.

[OldSchool]

I don't know if the Skins will win on Sunday but I feel we have a reason to watch now, I want to see to see Cousins play. I don't know if he can play well enough to energize this demoralized team but I going to watch and see and for the first time this year I expect something good to happen!

[SkinsJock]

DFTT

[OldSchool]

Cousins is an effective pocket passer who can also rollout and throw on the move, I don't know if he can play well enough to energize this demoralized team and win some games but I am eager to see how it goes for three games.

I don't know if Shanny made this decision to provoke a firing or because he knows he's going to get fired so he might as well do what he wants for the last three weeks but whatever the reason it makes sense. Cousins may win some games and reward the loyal fans with some end of the year fun.

[riggofan]

Cooley was referencing the film he had watched against KC.

Yeah I understand that, and I agree he's been very objective in those film breakdowns all year. I'm just talking about the statement that "Cousins is further along in his development vs. RGIII". I don't understand how there could be any way to make that comparison. We haven't seen Kirk play a regular season game this year and neither has ey. So there is no way anyone, even Mike Shanahan, can make that statement.

And I am in 100% agreement with you. I could care less if Griffin is a bust as long as Cousins turns out to be the QB we need. I'm just glad we have two viable options right now. I will say this though, if Cousins lights it up in the last three games I would really want to see some legitimate competition for the starting job next year and not just hand the reigns right back over to Griffin.

You wouldn't be alone in that opinion. I will say this: the games coming up v. the Giants and especially the Cowboys will be very revealing. RGIII played both of those teams, and we saw what he did in them. I think you could make the case that they will be even tougher games for Cousins, just because we're out of playoff contention. Seeing how Cousins performs in those games will provide a fair comparison of these QBs.

[SkinsJock]

We need to keep in mind that Kyle will not be game planning or calling plays for Kirk that he would have done if Robert were in there

it's kind of like some fans being really pissed that we gave away the (potential) 2nd pick overall in the 2014 draft - how STUPID is that?


FACT - I want and hope that Kirk plays really, really well these next 3 games - I hope we can keep Kirk as our back up QB because he's a very good QB
no matter what we see - there's NO WAY that Kirk will be the starting QB for the Redskins instead of Robert - NONE

of course - given that both are healthy and available here next season

[OldSchool]

We need to keep in mind that Kyle will not be game planning or calling plays for Kirk that he would have done if Robert were in there

it's kind of like some fans being really pissed that we gave away the (potential) 2nd pick overall in the 2014 draft - how STUPID is that?


FACT - I want and hope that Kirk plays really, really well these next 3 games - I hope we can keep Kirk as our back up QB because he's a very good QB
no matter what we see - there's NO WAY that Kirk will be the starting QB for the Redskins instead of Robert - NONE

of course - given that both are healthy and available here next season

What do you mean by not going be game planning or calling plays for Kirk that he would have done if Robert were in there.

Are you suggesting that Kyle won't call red option plays with Cousins or are you invested in some conspiracy theory that Kyle has saved the good plays for Cousins?

[SKINS#1]

With the rumor that Snyder was the one that wanted RG3 with or with out Shannys approval maybe that is why MS drafted Cousins. if
he believes Cousins is the better QB and he thinks he will be fired, now is the time to make his point and rub it in Snyder's face.

[SkinsJock]

With the rumor that Snyder was the one that wanted RG3 with or with out Shannys approval maybe that is why MS drafted Cousins. if
he believes Cousins is the better QB and he thinks he will be fired, now is the time to make his point and rub it in Snyder's face.

THAT is just BS - IMHO

[SKINS#1]

With the rumor that Snyder was the one that wanted RG3 with or with out Shannys approval maybe that is why MS drafted Cousins. if
he believes Cousins is the better QB and he thinks he will be fired, now is the time to make his point and rub it in Snyder's face.

THAT is just BS - IMHO

BS - Maybe not. According to SI article Snyder, not Shanahan was the "impetus" behind the blockbuster trade for RG3. IF true, Shanahan drafting Cousins makes more sense.

http://www.fannation.com/truth_and_rumo ... nbar_fn_dd

[StorminMormon86]

I just would like to see some legitimate competition for the starter next year if Cousins performs well in these next three games.

[SkinsJock]

I just would like to see some legitimate competition for the starter next year if Cousins performs well in these next three games.

Both QBs will be given every opportunity and assistance to be better QBs this off season but Kirk Cousins is not going to be able to look like he's the better QB