Game Thread: Week 17: Giants @ Redskins

[Caliskinsfan]

 

[Sportster 72]

I'm not so much interested in QB comparisons

Just noting that playing big when it matters most under bright lights continues to elude Kirk and this team.

So the first back to back winning years and 6 comebacks against lesser teams count less? When was Green Bay's last loss? Who had Detroit beat before the D blew it?

 

[skinsdad62]

So the first back to back winning years and 6 comebacks against lesser teams count less? When was Green Bay's last loss? Who had Detroit beat before the D blew it?

they dont want to see it some times

 

[Caliskinsfan]

So the first back to back winning years and 6 comebacks against lesser teams count less?

They count as improvement. I'm hopeful and encouraged by progress. What does that have to do with simultaneously being disappointed in this team's inability to shine in the biggest games?

 

[Sportster 72]

True dad, certain players polarize fans. I understand that. Hence the term cut off your nose to spite your face.

All that being said I am not sure SM doesn't do the same. I think he will get tagged again but not sure he is here long term.

 

[Sportster 72]

They count as improvement. I'm hopeful and encouraged by progress. What does that have to do with simultaneously being disappointed in this team's inability to shine in the biggest games?

I guess none Cali. Your original post was a shot at Cousins. Although he made the key mistake and I was too disappointed I did not see the reason to blame him only. I guess I just did not see a reason to diminish him at this point although it is human nature when his pick ended the season or at least was the last straw that broke the camel's back for 2016. I think there were a lot of other straws though.

 

[SoCalWizFan]

I guess none Cali. Your original post was a shot at Cousins. Although he made the key mistake and I was too disappointed I did not see the reason to blame him only. I guess I just did not see a reason to diminish him at this point although it is human nature when his pick ended the season or at least was the last straw that broke the camel's back for 2016. I think there were a lot of other straws though.

The way things ended may work out to be a blessing in disguise long term. Now you can't really sugar coat the many shortcomings on this team. They need improvement just about everywhere especially in trying to compete with what now may be the best division in the NFL. Time for SM and company to earn their money.

 

[Caliskinsfan]

I guess none Cali. Your original post was a shot at Cousins. Although he made the key mistake and I was too disappointed I did not see the reason to blame him only. I guess I just did not see a reason to diminish him at this point although it is human nature when his pick ended the season or at least was the last straw that broke the camel's back for 2016. I think there were a lot of other straws though.

Agree

I looked back at my post and I don't see it as a 'shot' at Kirk. Just reality regarding games. Feel that way regarding the team too.

We've seen improvement. And we've got a lot more improving we need to do. We simply aren't there yet.

Jerry Brewer sums it up with no sugar coating

 

[Caliskinsfan]

Excerpt

But the sluggish finish to the season — and especially Sunday’s anticlimax — will leave a bitter aftertaste. Former players spent much of the day launching withering critiques of the team’s effort; “We love you, but this was an embarrassing showing today,” Hall of Famer Darrell Green wrote on Twitter. “This is absolute GARBAGE!!!” beloved ex-player Brian Mitchell wrote. “This is beginning to look like a motivation issue,” ex-running back Larry Brown wrote.

And slow and steady progress — while preferable to the drudgery of past Redskins seasons — isn’t an easy sell after years of mediocrity. The Redskins haven’t won 11 games in a season since 1991, the longest such drought in the NFL. They celebrated the 25th anniversary of their last Super Bowl win this year, which casts an awful shadow on 8-7-1. That likely explained some of the blank stares in that sad crowd filing out for the last time this season.

 

[Caliskinsfan]

Redskins Playoff Hopes Slip Away Into the FedEx Field Night | Czabe.com

Excerpt

Now, to the elephant in the room: Kirk.

First of all, he choked. CHOKED. Badly. Not just with the game-ending throw – late, and over the middle, a cardinal sin – but also with the fact he missed wide-open TD balls to Crowder and Jackson earlier in the game. This is disappointing, but not troubling. And there’s a big difference.

Disappointing because Kirk is better than that, and we needed him in that moment. But I’m not troubled by it, because I do not assume that he will ALWAYS choke in the clutch. Or that he lacks the so-called “big moment” capability.

I think if given a larger sample of “big moments” over his career, Kirk will both gloriously win some, and tragically lose some. See Favre, Manning, Romo, Brady, Luck, Flacco, Wilson, Newton…. and… do I need to go on?

Kirk Cousins is almost the same player as Eli Manning right now, only better in several statistical categories and he’s more mobile. But he has no rings. Or massive contract. I won’t even bother to throw the numbers out here. You can look them up. Last 2 years, Eli vs. Cousins. Go ahead.

But in sportstalk radio logic, to have won a ring is somehow proof that you are in fact a unicorn, and not just an average QB. Ergo: because Eli Manning WAS clutch on two occasions, he is ALWAYS going to be clutch, and that his clutchness is baked into his football DNA.

Kirk Cousins remains trapped by circumstances beyond his control. He was drafted in the 4th round. He had to sit and wait behind RG3 for three seasons. From a perception standpoint, these things are hard to overcome. Had Cousins been a 1st round pick, paying him a franchise-QB-level $100M deal would have been a moot point. The average fan and NFL pundit hangs on where a guy was drafted – no matter how stupidly wrong it was! – for far too long.

Think about this: had Kirk been drafted in the 1st round (late, let’s say) and started right away, struggled and muddled through seasons 1-3, but blossomed these last 2 years into the franchise record smasher that he has become….. WOULD THIS EVEN BE A DEBATE!?

The Redskins low-balling him last winter, and then kicking the can down the road with the franchise tag has only complicated and exacerbated the matter.

Think about this: last season in his 8th year as starter, Matt Ryan threw 16 INT’s and had 8 fumbles!!!! Ryan has thrown for 2x digit INT’s in 7 of his 9 seasons as a pro! And yet… and yet… there has never been a serious discussion in Atlanta of “let’s get out of the Matty Ice business.” None.

Why? He was picked 3rd overall, and he started right away.

When the Dolphins invested in Ryan Tannehill, the Bengals in Andy Dalton, the Chiefs in Alex Smith, and the Ravens in Joe Flacco… none of them did so thinking they have an NFL “unicorn” at QB. They just knew those guys were starters, and that you can win with them. And let’s not forget: you can easily LOSE with NFL “unicorns” too. Cam Newton, Andrew Luck, Philip Rivers, Drew Brees.

Even when investments in QBs for significant money go bad – the Bears with Jay Cutler, the Jets with Mark Sanchez, the Niners with Colin Kaepernick – you sign the checks, cut the cord, and move on. Those teams’ problems went far deeper than just them.

With all of that as background, the “decision” on Kirk Cousins is a no-brainer. Pay him. Love him. Coach him. Give him a decent running game and a defense, I bet Kirk Cousins will make you melt in a puddle of joy.

If you disagree, that’s fine. But I’m done trying to change minds.

So this year is over. What a steaming turd they left on the ground at FedEx Field. It’ll go down as an all-time disappointment in franchise history. And the streak of seasons between back-to-back playoffs appearances now stretches to 26 and counting – the Kings of “One-In-A-Row.”

 

[Sportster 72]

Thanks for the article Cali. I don't read most. They are writers not athletes, not to mention I am hard headed and lean on what I know.

At the end of the year and the last game I am disappointed the Skins did not make the playoffs while at the same time I am happy with the progress of the past two years.

Every year is a new year though. A new cast of characters etc. It is what makes the NFL relevant though the off season. I think we have a few people here that get more excited about the off season than the regular season. All good. I like to see all the offensive toys back and have SM work on getting better players on the other side. Not a fan of Barry either. I'll let that speak for itself. I liked the idea of trying to get the DC from the Bengals to come here. I am not interested in either Ryan.