Colt McCoy Has an Opportunity to Seize His Moment

There is more on the line for Washington Redskins quarterback Colt McCoy than what many may think. He was named the starting quarterback by Jay Gruden for a reason; now he has to go out and prove he deserves it.

Reports have been surfacing over the last two weeks about what the future holds for Robert Griffin III in Washington. But what about what the future holds for McCoy?

I know, most Redskins fans wouldn’t feel comfortable with the notion that McCoy is in line to be the franchise quarterback. But, what if he’s the answer to all of the Redskins’ problems? Despite his past struggles with the Cleveland Browns, what if he can resurrect himself in D.C. and become the quarterback many expected him to be coming out of college?

I think he deserves a fair shake in this whole Redskins quarterback situation. He has played well while out on the field, and that’s all everyone has asked of Griffin — just play well, and the drama disappears. But obviously, for Griffin, that hasn’t been an easy process. When a team is losing, everything else seems to head south as well. And with the expectations that fans have for Griffin, he’s getting the short end of the stick.

Yes, it’s noticeable that Griffin hasn’t been very good. There’s some games where he’s been absolutely terrible, but he’s not the sole reason why the Redskins are struggling this season.

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But since there’s so much attention given to the quarterback, lets focus on McCoy for a second.

McCoy has played in two and a half games this season, and the Redskins went 2-1. Griffin has played in four full games and one quarter against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Redskins went 1-4.

If the win-loss column doesn’t appeal to you, and you’re more of a stats person, how about this: McCoy has thrown for 819 yards, four touchdowns and one interception in two and a half games; Griffin has thrown for 869 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions in his five appearances.

Oh, and what about this: The two games where McCoy played from beginning to end, he threw for 299 yards and 392 yards; Griffin’s high this season was 267 yards in Week 1, where he also threw zero touchdowns. McCoy thew for more touchdowns in Washington’s loss to Indianapolis Sunday (3) than Griffin has thrown all season (2). McCoy is completing 75.3 percent of his passes, while Griffin has completed 69.7 percent of his passes. The list goes on, and on.

McCoy has undoubtedly played better than both Griffin and Kirk Cousins this season. And, he’s shown the ability to win games. The offense seems to rally and play well when he’s under center, and he runs Gruden’s offense very smoothly.

Not to say he’s the for sure answer in Washington, but doesn’t he deserve a chance? His past can’t hinder him forever. He started in 21 games for the Browns, and even though they were only 6-15 in those games, McCoy did show at times that he had what it takes to be a starter in the NFL. And then the other side of it; he played for the Browns. The same Browns team that has had only one winning season in the past 12 years.

I don’t know what’s going on with the Redskins when it involves Griffin, and I don’t think anyone truly knows what’s going on in that locker room — especially with all the conflicting reports. But I know this, McCoy has outplayed the former Heisman Trophy winner.

I’m not saying McCoy is the savior, but give him a chance to prove himself. He has to also take advantage of the opportunity and not just drop the ball like Cousins did last season, but lets see what he’s got here to finish out the season.

Josiah Turner

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