Amid criticism, Gruden has ‘all the confidence in the world’ in Cousins
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Version 0 of 1. From the moment he pressed for and won the right to bench quarterback Robert Griffin III on Aug. 31, Redskins Coach Jay Gruden has cast his lot with Kirk Cousins. It is Cousins’s success or failure as a starting quarterback in 2015, as much as the Redskins’ win-loss record, that will serve as a referendum on Gruden’s acumen as an NFL talent evaluator, offensive mind and head coach. It may also dictate the length of his tenure in Washington. On Monday, following another two-interception performance by Cousins and a second consecutive defeat that dropped the Redskins to 2-4, Gruden didn’t offer an unqualified endorsement of the starting quarterback, acknowledging that he needed to play better. But Gruden nonetheless made it clear that he’s not considering benching Cousins, who has thrown six touchdowns to eight interceptions this season. “I’m not looking to make any drastic changes right now,” Gruden said. Moreover, in fielding numerous questions about quarterback play in the 34-20 loss at the New York Jets, Gruden indicated that he intended to give the Cousins the full season to prove himself a viable NFL starter. Asked how long he felt it took to gauge a quarterback’s ability, Gruden said: “Hopefully that’ll be answered here in the new few weeks, in the next five, six, seven, eight games. But I don’t want to judge a quarterback based on yesterday’s game. “I think he has done some good things in this season to warrant him some consideration to be a starting quarterback in the National Football League for some time. . . . Let’s see what happens here at the end of the year and go from there. I have all the confidence in the world, still, in Kirk.” [Gruden insists he’s not giving Cousins favorable treatment] If Gruden retreated on any point Monday, it was the litany of factors he offered in rationalizing Cousins’s poor showing immediately after Sunday’s loss, including “wind.” In a performance-based business like pro football, the apologia smacked of coddling. “I’m not trying to make excuses for anybody,” Gruden said. “It wasn’t good enough by anybody — not Kirk, not myself, not the offensive line, not the coaching staff. There’s nobody in this locker room who played good enough to win a football game Sunday afternoon. I’m not making excuses for anybody. I’m not trying to baby anybody.” Despite Cousins’s erratic performance, Gruden said he believes Cousins remains the team’s best option. “Kirk gives us the best chance to win still,” Gruden said. “I want to see him fight through this. That will be the making of a strong person, a strong football player: how they react to some tough times and how they improve.” To be sure, the factors that cost the Redskins the last two games extend far beyond subpar quarterback play. Against the Jets, the Redskins again had no running game, rushing for just 34 yards. They showed no ability to stop the run, either, allowing the Jets 221 rushing yards. And without DeSean Jackson, their lone deep threat in the passing game, the Redskins clung to a limited offensive script that has become far too easy for defenses to foil. Few NFL quarterbacks can consistently lead a one-dimensional offense to victory. The Redskins lack such a quarterback on the roster. Team officials conceded as much through their approach to the offseason, hiring Bill Callahan to retool the offensive line and investing first- and third-round draft picks on a top college lineman and bruising running back, respectively. Driving all of those moves was the belief that the Redskins’ best chance for success was a run-first offense that controlled the clock, led by a quarterback capable of distributing the ball. Against the Jets, Gruden abandoned that plan, much as he did in the previous week’s loss at Atlanta, throwing 44 times and running just 17. Gruden conceded Monday that the play-calling had been “too one-sided” but said that the inability to run the ball took several options off the table, including play-action and bootlegs. “We’ve got to get back to where we want to get, and that’s running the football and getting better at it,” Gruden said. For all the Monday-morning focus on quarterbacking, though, Gruden addressed other topics as well. The team’s abysmal performance in third quarters, in fact, was the topic of an afternoon coaches’ meeting. The Redskins have been outscored 46-3 in the period, allowing the Jets to score 17 unanswered points in the period on Sunday, including an 18-yard touchdown run by 32-year-old Ryan Fitzpatrick, no one’s idea of a mobile quarterback. Cousins, meanwhile, threw both of his interceptions. [Redskins coaches meet to discuss third-quarter struggles] On the injury front, Gruden deferred updates on the status of Jackson, Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams, center Kory Lichtensteiger and tight end Jordan Reed until Wednesday. All four starters missed the Jets game with injuries. Jackson hasn’t played since straining a hamstring in the Sept. 13 season-opening loss to Miami. While Gruden said last Wednesday that Jackson would “definitely” play in the upcoming game against Tampa Bay, the coach said that was no longer certain after Jackson had a mild setback while ramping up his activity in practice Thursday. |