Washington Redskins: Why Jay Gruden must be fired
Management of the Redskins quarterback position
Jay Gruden is no stranger to controversial personnel decisions in D.C. Originally brought in to solve the Rubiks cube that was left of Robert Griffin III, Jay set the franchise and the fans on fire after benching the former AP Rookie Of The Year. The decision was correct in 2015. The management of the situation leading up to the decision in 2014, was pitiful, to say the least.
Back in his very first season in Washington, the “continuity” Jay Gruden mentions now in 2019, wasn’t seen whatsoever. With no true starter named after the RG3 injury, everything from under center was week-to-week as far as who would be starting. From rushing back Robert after a dislocated ankle with minimal practice reps, benching Kirk for Colt, and then Colt for RG3, then RG3 for Colt, and finally to RG3 starting the final three games, the plan for the position was totaled from the jump with no insurance. Did I mention this is all in the first season of an entirely new system?
On the same topic of quarterbacks, I’m sure we are all aware of the Colt McCoy injury. The injury isn’t at all Jay Gruden’s fault. The rushing back of Colt McCoy, in hopes he can continue a playoff run for the once 6-3 Redskins, is his fault. Gruden is on the record mentioning “We probably rushed him back” when mentioning Colt McCoy’s rehab off of a broken fibula. His management of crucial situations involving the quarterback continues to be befuddling. Now, Colt McCoy after a multitude of setbacks, barely being able to push off of his back foot to throw a pass, is in a pretty bad situation, and at least a part of it could’ve been avoided. Did I mention he’s in a contract year?
Lastly, this past season has been the absolute worst management of the quarterback position during Gruden’s entire tenure. Selecting Dwayne Haskins at No. 15 was a decision that had to be made. After the most devastating injury to this franchise within the last twenty years, the Redskins needed a quarterback. The local Maryland kid out of THE Ohio State was destined to be a Redskin, cue the Ha(Skins).
The decision to many analysts was a bright one, as Haskins was viewed among NFL Draft experts as either the first or second-best quarterback in the entire draft. It was a very smart pick, but guess what? Days leading into the draft, and months after the draft, somehow it comes out that Jay Gruden wasn’t very high on Haskins. It comes out that the front office led the charge for Dwayne, not the head coach. It only gets better from there.
As the Redskins progressed through the offseason, the constant position held by the coaching staff remained the same. “Case or Colt will be the starter, Dwayne is the backup.” Understandable. Haskins had under 20 starts since high school; he has a ton of upside, but a newly turned 22-year old learning Gruden’s West Coast offense too quickly isn’t ideal.
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Throughout training camp, preseason, and the regular season, Dwayne Haskins sees next to nothing in terms of first-team reps, which again, is understandable for a backup. As the Redskins struggle mightily throughout preseason, and the first two weeks of the season, Dwayne continues to see zero reps. We get to Week 4, and the Redskins have gotten thumped the past three weeks. Let me add, their starting quarterback turned the ball over five times the week before. And yet, Dwayne Haskins splits first-team reps with Colt McCoy for two days, while Case Keenum rehabs a foot injury.
Yes, Haskins splits reps with the quarterback I mentioned earlier, who is just now being able to push off of his back foot to throw a pass. Week 4 comes, the Redskins are getting worked. After abysmal play from Case Keenum, Jay decided to put Haskins in, to “provide a spark.” On cue, Haskins starts well, and then a timing route comes upon a goal-to-go situation. Guess what play is called? A speed out to Vernon Davis, the route Haskins struggled with in the preseason. The route that is solely based on timing, especially in the end zone.
With minimal practice reps with the first-team, Jay Gruden trotted out Dwayne Haskins essentially to “see what he’s got” with little to no preparation, a completely one-dimensional yet simple game plan which is understandable. The thing is, when you’re down 14 at the half, you must come up with something different. Well, you can’t come up with something else, because Haskins wasn’t prepared for anything other than a vanilla game plan. The better option was to stick with Keenum until Miami and start Dwayne against the worst team in the NFL. Mismanagement of the position. having your players not prepared, expecting anything other than low-level production from a 22-year old rookie who hasn’t seen much outside of scout team reps, is a laughable approach. This is a continuing factor to the point, Jay Gruden continuously mismanages the quarterback position.