Photo Credit: John McDonnell/The Washington Post
The Redskins are spiraling out of control off the field and it’s getting hard to ignore, especially when it’s all over the news. Most recently Kirk Cousins being named starting quarterback over RG3. No matter what, it looks like Cousins is inevitably going to be set up for failure just like Griffin was.
In terms of stats, Griffin and Cousins don’t really differ all that much. In the 2014 season, Griffin went 147/214 with completed/attempted passes and Cousins went 126/204, leaving Griffin just slightly higher on completions than Cousins. However, Griffin only had 4 touchdowns and Cousins had 10 which is a pretty drastic difference, but this is not going to be a comparison between Cousins and Griffin. However, it’s interesting to see how different Cousins and Griffin actually aren’t.
Griffin has already been set up for failure, but now it’s time to look at Cousins and how he has also been set up for failure. One of the first things that come to mind is when Cousins was drafted. The Redskins had traded up to be able to get RG3 and then in the fourth-round decided to go for Cousins. If the Redskins were already planning on having a star QB in Griffin, why would they pick up Cousins late? Cousins could have been great if the Redskins had molded him into something that they needed instead of making him RG3’s primary backup.
Cousins is also the face of the Washington Redskins franchise right now. As the starting quarterback, almost all of the responsibilities of the Redskins fall on him, figuratively speaking which is something that Cousins just doesn’t seem like he can handle. Sure, he did have a few moments of greatness as RG3’s backup but what has Cousins really done to show that he can handle a whole franchise? While RG3 is charismatic and wild, Cousins is the shy guy who also happens to be pretty decent at sports. Cousins is ultimately the safe choice for Jay Gruden which is why he was chosen, but safe choices don’t get you Super Bowl rings.
While RG3 had a stellar rookie year, it’s doubtful that Cousins will be able to replicate something like that. Sure, Cousins makes some decent decisions in the pocket and usually is able to throw a touchdown or two if he’s lucky and if it’s a good play. One thing that Cousins is really good at is throwing interceptions which is not what you want in your starting quarterback. In last year’s game against the New York Giants, Cousins threw one touchdown to 4 interceptions and in his career, Cousins has thrown 18 touchdowns to 19 interceptions. Of course, quarterbacks throw interceptions, but when you’re one touchdown away from being tied with interceptions, it’s hard to believe that there’s actually going to be greatness to come.
Cousins has also mentioned before that he wouldn’t mind being traded by the Redskins which is overall not a good sign at all for him playing or their franchise. Just let that sink for a second, the guy who is starting for the team now said he wouldn’t mind being traded. If that’s not the biggest sign in the world that Cousins is going to fail, then what is?
