Kirk Cousins must play better in L.A. because........

[DJ]

Rams, 24-20.

Washington is a lot better than SF.

 

[skinsdad62]

i think he will step up and play well . we just need the win

 

[skinsdad62]

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  John KeimESPN Staff Writer

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ASHBURN, Va. -- The play should have resulted in a touchdown, or, at the least, a first down. Instead, it served as another reminder of an area Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins has struggled: throwing under duress.

So rather than connecting with Jamison Crowder against an all-out blitz for a likely touchdown, Cousins threw a high pass that was intercepted. As coach Jay Gruden said Monday, it was similar to an interception he threw against Arizona last season.

"It was the same exact route and the same exact outcome," Gruden said. "When you have a free hitter in your face, you have got to do a good job of drifting and trying to make a good throw. The ball just got away from him."

It's not as if Cousins always falters in these situations. Sunday, he delivered a ball under duress to running back Chris Thompson, who then turned it into a 26-yard catch and run for a touchdown earlier in Sunday's loss to the Eagles. On a bootleg, he had safety Malcolm Jenkins in his face and righted himself to make a good throw. He also stepped up and pivoted to avoid another free rusher, then completed a pass.

But according to the stats, it is an overall area where Cousins must improve.

definition: if a quarterback must slide to avoid pressure, or alter his throw or if the defender has a clear line on him).

Some stats from ESPN Stats & Information to consider, along with context:

Completion percentage: Among quarterbacks with at least 20 starts since 2015, Cousins ranks 20th in completion percentage (45.3) when under duress. He's one spot behind Aaron Rodgers. And Cousins' percentage ranks ahead of these quarterbacks: Philip Rivers, Derek Carr, Eli Manning, Tom Brady, Marcus Mariota and Cam Newton.

But the result of those passes speaks to the difference. Cousins has thrown eight touchdowns and 10 interceptions when under duress. Rodgers? He's thrown 18 touchdowns to four interceptions. How about Brady, Marriota and Newton? A combined 33 touchdowns and 11 picks. So they might complete a lower percentage than Cousins, but they make teams pay more. And they don't turn it over.

Make them pay: That's one thing Cousins hasn't done and it's reflected in his touchdown totals. He's averaged 5.23 yards per attempt when under duress, 26th in the NFL -- one spot behind Joe Flacco and two behind Drew Brees. The top two quarterbacks in yards per attempt during this period: Jay Cutler and Tyrod Taylor. Ben Roethlisberger ranks fourth here, but has thrown six touchdowns to nine interceptions.

Blitz/duress: It's different when teams blitzed Cousins. Then, he averaged an NFL-best 8.86 yards per pass among quarterbacks with at least 20 starts. And he had a 96.9 passer rating. When blitzed and under duress? Cousins' numbers (four touchdowns, six interceptions, 53.6 passer rating) are comparable to Russell Wilson's (three touchdowns, four interceptions; 56.5 rating).

Passer rating: This isn't always the best measure, but it's one point of reference. So, in the previous two seasons combined, only two current starting quarterbacks have a worse passer rating when under duress: Manning and Alex Smith. But when using the raw quarterback rating, which factors in game situations, Cousins is last at 41.6 out of 100.

Sunday, the Eagles rushed seven against six blockers, so a linebacker was coming free up the middle as Thompson had to block another blitzer right beside him. That meant Cousins had to throw in a hurry. He threw off his back foot while drifting back. Typically, he throws over the top but on this play his arm appeared to drop a little lower. The combination of those factors caused the pass to go over the top of the 5-foot-8 Crowder.

Against Arizona last season, Cousins slid to his right with a blitzing D.J. Swearinger bearing on him from the other side, and another rusher winning against right tackle Morgan Moses. The Cardinals rushed seven as well, facing six blockers.

As Crowder broke inside -- he might have scored on this play, too -- Cousins couldn't get his hips around to throw back towards the middle. The pass was behind him and intercepted. Both were third-down plays. Cousins wasn't fooled by the pressure, he just didn't get the results he needed.

"You've got to be safe with the ball," Gruden said of Sunday's throw. "That was a good rush but I think the ball just sailed on him by a hair unfortunately."

this has to be fixed for a good result to happen

 

[Stymietee]

Or he would have wasted 44M over the last 2 years with no replacement in sight. Seems like sound management to me.

@deanpet21 I was going to write exactly this^^^^^ in response to why Allen would be fired, so thanks @j_y19

 

[Sharkinva]

I agree with you. But if KC does the same thing against the Rams, major red flags have to be rising. The schedule doesn't get any easier with OAk and KC the following weeks.

Dean, when it comes to Cousins, you got more red flags than the Womens Olympic Basketball team when they are all having that time of the month. Cousins could have a stellar game and your first response will be... its only cause the rams defense sucks. If he has an average game, you will proclaim he isnt worth the money. And if he has another bad game, despite the final outcome, you will spout how you told us so.

 

[gkekoa]

Reasons why Allen should be fired...

1- In 2010, Allen used the uncapped season to rid the Redskins of two contracts which they were told not to do. While I agree the 36 million dollar cap penalty was illegal, it nevertheless was allowed.

2- My personal opinion, firing the Shanahan's was a mistake. All Kyle did was go to Atlanta and lead one of the most dynamic offenses in history and give Matt Ryan a shocking MVP title.

3- RG3 and the forever push to make him succeed. Shanahan didn't want him but was forced to take him. Eventually, all coaches, to include the current coach and former GM SM wanted RG3 gone but they were forced to keep him until RG3 was so bad BA could be convinced to let KC play.

4- The handling of SM was not only disgraceful, it was illegal. An employer cannot reveal the reasons they fired you or give a bad reference. BA publically made it known SM was being fired for alcohol, which was questionable, after lying to the fans (just wrong).

5- The handling of KC and his contract. He has paid out 43 million dollars in guaranteed money over the last two seasons and we have no rights over KC still. To keep him, we will likely have to pay out 100 million in guarantees, on top of what we already paid.


Bruce Allen is a disgrace to this organization.

 

[gkekoa]

Dean, when it comes to Cousins, you got more red flags than the Womens Olympic Basketball team when they are all having that time of the month. Cousins could have a stellar game and your first response will be... its only cause the rams defense sucks. If he has an average game, you will proclaim he isnt worth the money. And if he has another bad game, despite the final outcome, you will spout how you told us so.

The funny thing is, Dean also said he would sign KC to an Andrew Luck contract.

 

[deanpet21]

Dean, when it comes to Cousins, you got more red flags than the Womens Olympic Basketball team when they are all having that time of the month. Cousins could have a stellar game and your first response will be... its only cause the rams defense sucks. If he has an average game, you will proclaim he isnt worth the money. And if he has another bad game, despite the final outcome, you will spout how you told us so.

Not true at all. I complimented KC a lot last year. I thought his GB game was the best of his career.

 

[deanpet21]

The funny thing is, Dean also said he would sign KC to an Andrew Luck contract.

That's right. I like the guy but I can also critique him.

 

[deanpet21]

Dean, when it comes to Cousins, you got more red flags than the Womens Olympic Basketball team when they are all having that time of the month. Cousins could have a stellar game and your first response will be... its only cause the rams defense sucks. If he has an average game, you will proclaim he isnt worth the money. And if he has another bad game, despite the final outcome, you will spout how you told us so.

why would I want him to fail? I want to see my team win. You are not making sense. I posted my opinions about his play on Sunday. I just didn't like anything about his game from Sunday.

 

[Sharkinva]

why would I want him to fail? I want to see my team win. You are not making sense. I posted my opinions about his play on Sunday. I just didn't like anything about his game from Sunday.

So are you saying its not remotely possible for you to want the team to do well, yet not like a player and thus want him to fail?? More to the point, are you saying you have to like a player just because he is on our roster??

I agree you want the team to do well, but I dont buy that you want Cousins to succeed. You have been dead set on getting rid of him since week 17 of last year, and nothing about that has changed.

 

[deanpet21]

So are you saying its not remotely possible for you to want the team to do well, yet not like a player and thus want him to fail?? More to the point, are you saying you have to like a player just because he is on our roster??

I agree you want the team to do well, but I dont buy that you want Cousins to succeed. You have been dead set on getting rid of him since week 17 of last year, and nothing about that has changed.

I do want KC to succeed. Why do I want to search for another Qb? I don't like the money he is getting to be honest. He is just not worth it. When you see games like Sunday it really gets me upset b/c it speaks volumes about his talent.

 

[gkekoa]

why would I want him to fail? I want to see my team win. You are not making sense. I posted my opinions about his play on Sunday. I just didn't like anything about his game from Sunday.

Here is the perception of several of us. We believe you would rather be correct than see the team successful. It is our perception based on many of the things you write. Right or wrong, that is our perception.

The reason I perceive this is you constantly pound your chest when you are right and pretend to be right when you are wrong. When that doesn't work, you change the narrative rather than simply admitting you are wrong. There is nothing wrong with being wrong.

You posted your opinions and we even agreed with you. That wasn't good enough for you and you started ranting on how we don't fairly critique KC. You then point to a specific play that lost the game for us and blamed a specific trait, decision making, because you tried to correlate it to the NYG and Dallas games of last season. This is where we called you out. You then start to quote people like Cooley as though you listened to the podcast. I don't listen to Cooley so I didn't combat you on it. Samurai did and called you out. You use false statements and narratives to try and make your opinions seem correct. This is a problem.

As a suggestion, and I do mean this kindly, ask more questions and actually listen to the answers. Don't try to read more into them than what is stated. If you would like clarification on a statement, ask more questions. Seriously, I am just trying to help you out here. I am no longer in a bitchy mood. I am over game 1. On to game 2.

 

[gkekoa]

I do want KC to succeed. Why do I want to search for another Qb? I don't like the money he is getting to be honest. He is just not worth it. When you see games like Sunday it really gets me upset b/c it speaks volumes about his talent.

OK, another point. A single game does not speak about your talent. Every QB has bad games.

The 7 Worst Games of Tom Brady’s Career

 

[deanpet21]

Here is the perception of several of us. We believe you would rather be correct than see the team successful. It is our perception based on many of the things you write. Right or wrong, that is our perception.

The reason I perceive this is you constantly pound your chest when you are right and pretend to be right when you are wrong. When that doesn't work, you change the narrative rather than simply admitting you are wrong. There is nothing wrong with being wrong.

You posted your opinions and we even agreed with you. That wasn't good enough for you and you started ranting on how we don't fairly critique KC. You then point to a specific play that lost the game for us and blamed a specific trait, decision making, because you tried to correlate it to the NYG and Dallas games of last season. This is where we called you out. You then start to quote people like Cooley as though you listened to the podcast. I don't listen to Cooley so I didn't combat you on it. Samurai did and called you out. You use false statements and narratives to try and make your opinions seem correct. This is a problem.

As a suggestion, and I do mean this kindly, ask more questions and actually listen to the answers. Don't try to read more into them than what is stated. If you would like clarification on a statement, ask more questions. Seriously, I am just trying to help you out here. I am no longer in a bitchy mood. I am over game 1. On to game 2.

when you argue with me and I turn out to be right I am going to bust balls. Your perception is wrong. I make predictions on here and some posters cant handle it. How am I pounding my chest? I am as pissed as anyone we lost Sunday. I didn't research the cooley thing but that wasn't my point. it was meaningless.

 

[deanpet21]

OK, another point. A single game does not speak about your talent. Every QB has bad games.

The 7 Worst Games of Tom Brady’s Career

I agree. I wasn't happy about his game at all Sunday

 

[gkekoa]

when you argue with me and I turn out to be right I am going to bust balls. Your perception is wrong. I make predictions on here and some posters cant handle it. How am I pounding my chest? I am as pissed as anyone we lost Sunday. I didn't research the cooley thing but that wasn't my point. it was meaningless.

First, I prefer not to argue. I would rather discuss.

If you want to argue, and then you want to bust somebody's balls, make sure you are right first.

Perhaps my perception is wrong. It is your job to change the perception because there are very good reasons I perceive this to be true.

You aren't currently pounding your chest because you have basically been proven wrong.

The Cooley thing is exactly the point. You claimed it was a bad decision. You then used Cooley to justify your answer and said Cooley agreed with you. This was a flat falsehood. Even if Cooley had agreed with you, it doesn't make you right. It just means somebody agreed with you.

 

[deanpet21]

First, I prefer not to argue. I would rather discuss.

If you want to argue, and then you want to bust somebody's balls, make sure you are right first.

Perhaps my perception is wrong. It is your job to change the perception because there are very good reasons I perceive this to be true.

You aren't currently pounding your chest because you have basically been proven wrong.

The Cooley thing is exactly the point. You claimed it was a bad decision. You then used Cooley to justify your answer and said Cooley agreed with you. This was a flat falsehood. Even if Cooley had agreed with you, it doesn't make you right. It just means somebody agreed with you.

I don't remember using Cooley to justify my answer. I gave you the reasons why I thought it was a bad decision to throw the ball.

 

[gkekoa]

I don't remember using Cooley to justify my answer. I gave you the reasons why I thought it was a bad decision to throw the ball.

Post 14 on Is Dean a fan of the Redskins

BTW, I shouldn't question your fan hood. Don't take this wrong but the TV thing kinda proves you are a fan. Maybe a little insane, but a fan. So I am sorry about that. I still question if you would rather be right or win. Again, up to you to change that perception.

 

[Stymietee]

Reasons why Allen should be fired...

1- In 2010, Allen used the uncapped season to rid the Redskins of two contracts which they were told not to do. While I agree the 36 million dollar cap penalty was illegal, it nevertheless was allowed.

2- My personal opinion, firing the Shanahan's was a mistake. All Kyle did was go to Atlanta and lead one of the most dynamic offenses in history and give Matt Ryan a shocking MVP title.

3- RG3 and the forever push to make him succeed. Shanahan didn't want him but was forced to take him. Eventually, all coaches, to include the current coach and former GM SM wanted RG3 gone but they were forced to keep him until RG3 was so bad BA could be convinced to let KC play.

4- The handling of SM was not only disgraceful, it was illegal. An employer cannot reveal the reasons they fired you or give a bad reference. BA publically made it known SM was being fired for alcohol, which was questionable, after lying to the fans (just wrong).

5- The handling of KC and his contract. He has paid out 43 million dollars in guaranteed money over the last two seasons and we have no rights over KC still. To keep him, we will likely have to pay out 100 million in guarantees, on top of what we already paid.


Bruce Allen is a disgrace to this organization.

Great reminders GK....all very valid points!!