Kirk Cousins has been the guy under center for the Washington Redskins and has done a number of great things. At home, the team is 5-1 in FedEx Field, but they've been terrible on the road. Not all Kirk Cousins' fault, but let's face it, most of the blame is going to be placed on the quarterback whether you win or you lose. After defeating the New York Giants 20-14, Cousins has this team in first place in the division at 5-6 (2-1 NFC East).
Some may say well, the NFC East is terrible and wide open so anyone can win it. They're right. The NFC East is horrible and it has been for quite some time. The Redskins are still ahead in any case, and they are playing better football than the rest of the teams in the division.
Going back to the quarterbacks, ex-NFL head coach of the Baltimore Ravens and Super Bowl winner, Brian Billick, thinks of Kirk Cousins as just a backup, mentioning his touchdown-interception pattern, this according to NFL.com's Connor Orr.
"He's a touchdown-for-interception guy, that's the definition of a backup," Billick said. "You need to make a quarterback that can make plays outside of the design of the offense ... Kirk Cousins is just a good solid guy, and unfortunately for Washington, they're going to need a lot more."
Jay Gruden's decision to stick with Kirk Cousins over Robert Griffin III, whom I will talk about shortly, is the best move for the Redskins right now. Is he the future? The jury is still out on that. I agree with Billick that Cousins does need to show more. By more, I mean more accuracy with the football and less interceptions.
When it comes to Robert Griffin III, he has fallen from grace in Washington and it started when Mike Shanahan was coaching this team and progressively got worse when Jay Gruden came in. Robert Griffin III needs to go elsewhere and start over with a new team. He is an afterthought in Washington now; and with the various reports that surfaced about his personal relationships with teammates, good or bad, true or false, he needs to be set free.
Anyone could see a clear difference in the way the offense flowed when Griffin was under center compared to Cousins. It was night and day. Who knows what will happen with Griffin now that his option was picked up. The Redskins need to let him go and keep the $16 million for free agents or other acquisitions.
He still can be a good player in this league, just not with the Washington Redskins. Cousins, on the other hand, seems to fit what the team is trying to do. Even though it hasn't translated into success away from FedEx Field, Kirk Cousins is still leading this team and time will tell what else he is capable of doing.
His next challenge will be the Dallas Cowboys, Sunday night in prime time.
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