Redskins have another QB Controversy
Aug 29, 2015; Baltimore, MD, USA; Washington Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins (8) drops back to pass during the first quarter against the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Tommy Gilligan-USA TODAY Sports
It seems like the Washington Redskins did everything in their power to avoid this. They named Robert Griffin III the starting quarterback in the offseason. They recently stated that RGIII would be the starting quarterback throughout the regular season regardless of what Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy did.
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But it appears as though no matter how much the Redskins try to avoid it, sometimes the inevitable happens no matter what. The concussion RGIII suffered against the Detroit Lions has now opened the door to another QB starting the regular season for the Redskins.
And although Head coach Jay Gruden wouldn’t confirm a QB controversy existed, he had to acknowledge that Kirk Cousins and Colt McCoy are firmly in the discussion for the starting job along with Griffin.
He spoke to the media after the game and when asked about it, here’s what he had to say about Cousins and McCoy:
"“I’m very pleased with the way Colt and Kirk have played since OTA’s, training camp all of it.” Gruden said. “Very, very capable football players, very capable NFL quarterbacks. I said all along I believe we have three NFL caliber quarterbacks on our team and we’re fortunate and they’ve all taken their reps Kirk and Colt taken their reps second and third team with some first team throughout training camp and made the most of them and their competing. You can see it on the field they’ve studied, they’ve prepared, they got themselves ready to play and they played well.”"
Last night in the third preseason game, Kirk Cousins started off slowly, throwing an interception and fumbling a snap but after that he settled down and led the Redskins first unit offense to two first half touchdowns.
Cousins did things consistently that Robert Griffin III hadn’t done in the previous game. He got the ball out of his hands. When there were pass rushers bearing down on him, he remained calm and found the open receiver. Cousins took some hard shots as well and kept getting back up.
Granted, this was only a preseason game but as has been pointed out, it was a bigger preseason game than most. There was a lot of intensity, between players and coaches alike and the Redskins needed a spark to get past the controversy that had engulfed the team for the past few weeks.
But instead of the controversy being around whether RGIII was the best quarterback in the league or if he would or wouldn’t play against the Ravens, now the controversy is who will start at quarterback?
Colt McCoy is also in the mix, because all he’s done this preseason is move the ball and put points on the board. But the most of the speculation surrounds Cousins as reports surfaced that the team planned to start him in week one of the regular season.
Jay Gruden would not make an announcement but acknowledged the team will need to look at the film on each quarterback and determine what to do at the position. First, seeing if Robert Griffin III is healthy and then going from there.
Cousins might end up as the pick. However, even though the Redskins 31-13 win over the Ravens wasn’t your typical preseason game it was still a preseason game. We saw Cousins falter under the pressure of starting last season, will that change during the regular season this year?
It appears as though we’re about to find out.