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| Kirk Cousins, DeSean Jackson found chemistry, and it just might be deep | Kirk Cousins, DeSean Jackson found chemistry, and it just might be deep |
| (about 11 hours later) | |
| Early in the third quarter Sunday, with the Buffalo Bills threatening to rally, quarterback Kirk Cousins barked to his speediest wide receiver as the Washington Redskins broke the huddle on a high-risk first-down play: “DeSean, you gotta win, baby!” | |
| Cousins then dropped back and fired a deep, arcing ball to DeSean Jackson on the left sideline. Jackson grabbed it, shook off two defenders and sped for a 77-yard touchdown that extended the lead to 28-3. | |
| “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” Cousins shouted, high-fiving every teammate he passed as he raced downfield to slap Jackson on the back. | “Yeah! Yeah! Yeah!” Cousins shouted, high-fiving every teammate he passed as he raced downfield to slap Jackson on the back. |
| “You’re the best! You are the BEST!” Cousins screamed. “This GUY! How good is HE?” | “You’re the best! You are the BEST!” Cousins screamed. “This GUY! How good is HE?” |
| The pairing of Cousins and Jackson has become a potent weapon for the Redskins, producing eight receptions for 196 yards and a touchdown in the back-to-back victories that have Washington in position to clinch the NFC East with a victory over the 6-8 Eagles on Saturday night at Philadelphia’s Lincoln Financial Field. | |
| [Steinberg: The Redskins see your mean tweets] | |
| Not bad for a quarterback who this time a year ago was regarded as a counted-out career backup and a receiver who 21 months ago was cast off by his former team without explanation. Until Nov. 8, when Jackson rejoined the lineup after missing six games because of a hamstring injury, the two barely had worked together. | Not bad for a quarterback who this time a year ago was regarded as a counted-out career backup and a receiver who 21 months ago was cast off by his former team without explanation. Until Nov. 8, when Jackson rejoined the lineup after missing six games because of a hamstring injury, the two barely had worked together. |
| Cousins rarely threw to Jackson before being named the Redskins’ starting quarterback Aug. 31, having been relegated previously to working with second- and third-team receivers following his short-lived stint in relief of the injured Robert Griffin III in 2014. And once Cousins was handed the offense’s reins for 2015, Jackson wasn’t on the field — missing the preseason because of a shoulder injury, then suffering the hamstring injury that cost him six games. | Cousins rarely threw to Jackson before being named the Redskins’ starting quarterback Aug. 31, having been relegated previously to working with second- and third-team receivers following his short-lived stint in relief of the injured Robert Griffin III in 2014. And once Cousins was handed the offense’s reins for 2015, Jackson wasn’t on the field — missing the preseason because of a shoulder injury, then suffering the hamstring injury that cost him six games. |
| But since Jackson has rejoined the lineup, he and Cousins have started to bring out the best in each other. | But since Jackson has rejoined the lineup, he and Cousins have started to bring out the best in each other. |
| Jackson, whose speed and ball-tracking ability are undisputed, is wholly reliant on a quarterback with the arm and guts to get him the ball deep. And Cousins, still establishing himself as a first-year starter, is eager to prove that his repertoire of throws extends beyond the heavy diet of screen passes that offensive coordinator Sean McVay fed him early in the season. | Jackson, whose speed and ball-tracking ability are undisputed, is wholly reliant on a quarterback with the arm and guts to get him the ball deep. And Cousins, still establishing himself as a first-year starter, is eager to prove that his repertoire of throws extends beyond the heavy diet of screen passes that offensive coordinator Sean McVay fed him early in the season. |
| Cousins and Jackson are a far cry from storied NFL tandems such as Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison, Tom Brady and Wes Welker — quarterback-receiver relationships cultivated over years, fine-tuned by countless repetition until rapport is innate, based on a language without words. With those tandems, a tilt of the head or subtle motion of the hand is all that was needed to convey intent or preference. | Cousins and Jackson are a far cry from storied NFL tandems such as Joe Montana and Jerry Rice, Peyton Manning and Marvin Harrison, Tom Brady and Wes Welker — quarterback-receiver relationships cultivated over years, fine-tuned by countless repetition until rapport is innate, based on a language without words. With those tandems, a tilt of the head or subtle motion of the hand is all that was needed to convey intent or preference. |
| But in Coach Jay Gruden’s view, Cousins and Jackson have taken the first step in a partnership that ought to get more productive each outing. | But in Coach Jay Gruden’s view, Cousins and Jackson have taken the first step in a partnership that ought to get more productive each outing. |
| “The more practice time you get together, the more comfortable they’re going to get with one another,” Gruden said this week. “You look at all the great quarterback-receiver tandems in the NFL, they’ve been together for a while, and they know the route tree just like that and how they’re coming out of breaks and the double moves and where a quarterback can lead him and how far he can lead him.” | “The more practice time you get together, the more comfortable they’re going to get with one another,” Gruden said this week. “You look at all the great quarterback-receiver tandems in the NFL, they’ve been together for a while, and they know the route tree just like that and how they’re coming out of breaks and the double moves and where a quarterback can lead him and how far he can lead him.” |
| [Cousins and his brother have applied to trademark ‘You like that’] | |
| Saturday night’s clash shapes up as an intriguing next installment. | Saturday night’s clash shapes up as an intriguing next installment. |
| Jackson compiled his career highlights in Philadelphia, chosen by the Eagles in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft. He posted four seasons of 1,000-plus receiving yards and earned three Pro Bowl honors as an Eagle, only to be abruptly and unceremoniously dumped in March 2014 by Coach Chip Kelly. Jackson’s dismissal heralded a puzzling roster purge that a year later also jettisoned running back LeSean McCoy and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. It’s a move that Philadelphia Daily News columnist Les Bowen lamented this week. | Jackson compiled his career highlights in Philadelphia, chosen by the Eagles in the second round of the 2008 NFL draft. He posted four seasons of 1,000-plus receiving yards and earned three Pro Bowl honors as an Eagle, only to be abruptly and unceremoniously dumped in March 2014 by Coach Chip Kelly. Jackson’s dismissal heralded a puzzling roster purge that a year later also jettisoned running back LeSean McCoy and wide receiver Jeremy Maclin. It’s a move that Philadelphia Daily News columnist Les Bowen lamented this week. |
| “As the 2015 Eagles stagger toward the finish line, well short of expectations,” Bowen wrote, “it seems clear now that releasing their then-27-year-old, three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver [Jackson], not caring that they were handing him to a division rival while getting absolutely nothing in return, was the start of a trend that has helped put the Kelly era on a downward slope.” | “As the 2015 Eagles stagger toward the finish line, well short of expectations,” Bowen wrote, “it seems clear now that releasing their then-27-year-old, three-time Pro Bowl wide receiver [Jackson], not caring that they were handing him to a division rival while getting absolutely nothing in return, was the start of a trend that has helped put the Kelly era on a downward slope.” |
| The Philadelphia Inquirer polled readers on the same topic this week, soliciting votes on: “Will DeSean Jackson torch the Eagles on Saturday night?” Early returns showed 73 percent voted “Yes.” | The Philadelphia Inquirer polled readers on the same topic this week, soliciting votes on: “Will DeSean Jackson torch the Eagles on Saturday night?” Early returns showed 73 percent voted “Yes.” |
| Jackson, meanwhile, is taking the high road, declining to use the run-up to Saturday’s game as a personal platform. | |
| “I’m not going to make it more than what it is,” Jackson told Redskins reporters Wednesday. “We’ve got a game to go win. That’s really all that matters.” | “I’m not going to make it more than what it is,” Jackson told Redskins reporters Wednesday. “We’ve got a game to go win. That’s really all that matters.” |
| He was slightly more provocative during a conference call with Philadelphia media, when asked about potential matchups. | He was slightly more provocative during a conference call with Philadelphia media, when asked about potential matchups. |
| “I couldn’t care less who covers me,” Jackson said. “Whoever does, good luck to them.” | “I couldn’t care less who covers me,” Jackson said. “Whoever does, good luck to them.” |
| That may sound arrogant to some ears. But it’s reality in the view of many NFL players, past and present. | That may sound arrogant to some ears. But it’s reality in the view of many NFL players, past and present. |
| “Guys like him aren’t a dime a dozen,” said former Philadelphia wide receiver Mike Quick, whose 363 catches rank just ahead of Jackson’s 356 on the Eagles’ career list. “The game is won by players, not the scheme they’re in. It boils down to the skill of one man being able to outduel another man. And to me, he is a special talent.” | |
| There’s no evidence that Jackson, at 29, has lost any of the 4.35 40-yard-dash speed or explosive burst that made him such a hot commodity coming out of Cal. Nor has he lost any of the swagger. At 5 feet 10 and 178 pounds, Jackson packs more confidence per pound than any player on the Redskins’ roster. | |
| That’s what was at the heart of the frustration he displayed during the Redskins’ recent loss to Dallas on “Monday Night Football,” flapping his arms at Cousins to signal he was open — even if he didn’t appear to be — when a series of safer throws went to the opposite side of the field. | |
| As Jackson explained later, what he has advised Cousins is this: “The worst thing that can happen is you can overthrow me. But as far as interceptions go, if the ball is a complete-able ball, if I can’t get it, the defender’s not going to get it.” | As Jackson explained later, what he has advised Cousins is this: “The worst thing that can happen is you can overthrow me. But as far as interceptions go, if the ball is a complete-able ball, if I can’t get it, the defender’s not going to get it.” |
| Cousins took Jackson’s lobbying in stride, telling reporters that he appreciated the input. How else is he to know, in live-game situations, if he’s passing on bigger opportunities? | Cousins took Jackson’s lobbying in stride, telling reporters that he appreciated the input. How else is he to know, in live-game situations, if he’s passing on bigger opportunities? |
| [Chip Kelly sees Cousins as Redskins’ biggest offensive threat] | |
| In similar fashion, as his confidence has grown during the course of the season, Cousins has lobbied McVay for the latitude to take more aggressive shots downfield. | In similar fashion, as his confidence has grown during the course of the season, Cousins has lobbied McVay for the latitude to take more aggressive shots downfield. |
| Mic’d up by NFL Films for Sunday’s victory over the Bills, an amped-up Cousins was captured in a telling exchange on the sidelines after the 77-yard touchdown pass to Jackson. | |
| “Look at what putting our foot on the gas pedal the whole time has done!” Cousins said. “Basically, man, the first like seven or eight games we didn’t want to put it all on me because I’m new. But now that we’re doing it, it’s been our best shot!” | “Look at what putting our foot on the gas pedal the whole time has done!” Cousins said. “Basically, man, the first like seven or eight games we didn’t want to put it all on me because I’m new. But now that we’re doing it, it’s been our best shot!” |
| That summation of the Redskins’ offense was as accurate as any offered by an expert NFL analyst this season. And McVay readily agreed, vowing to keep calling bold plays for his quarterback, saying, “I’m learning, too!” | |
| It’s also true that Cousins wasn’t ready to “floor” the offense’s gas pedal as the Week 1 starter. He brought a résumé of contradictions to the job: diligent student, impressive practice player, poor performer in must-have, fourth-quarter situations. The result was more interceptions than touchdowns — a pattern Gruden and McVay had to break, which was reason enough to protect him with a heavy dose of running plays on first down sprinkled with short- to mid-range pass plays. | It’s also true that Cousins wasn’t ready to “floor” the offense’s gas pedal as the Week 1 starter. He brought a résumé of contradictions to the job: diligent student, impressive practice player, poor performer in must-have, fourth-quarter situations. The result was more interceptions than touchdowns — a pattern Gruden and McVay had to break, which was reason enough to protect him with a heavy dose of running plays on first down sprinkled with short- to mid-range pass plays. |
| But Cousins’s learning curve has been impressive. He also has been helped by solid protection form the offensive line and a cadre of receivers — Pierre Garcon, tight end Jordan Reed, in addition to Jackson — capable of making mid-stride adjustments to corral balls that are less than pinpoint accurate. | But Cousins’s learning curve has been impressive. He also has been helped by solid protection form the offensive line and a cadre of receivers — Pierre Garcon, tight end Jordan Reed, in addition to Jackson — capable of making mid-stride adjustments to corral balls that are less than pinpoint accurate. |
| “This is essentially his rookie season you would say, first time being handed the reins to a team,” left tackle Trent Williams noted. “He’s definitely gaining experience, gaining maturity. He’s coming into his own.” | “This is essentially his rookie season you would say, first time being handed the reins to a team,” left tackle Trent Williams noted. “He’s definitely gaining experience, gaining maturity. He’s coming into his own.” |
| Said Gruden: “Kirk is starting to trust the fact that these guys are great players and they are making plays for him. So it works hand in hand. Kirk has to pull the trigger, but the receivers have to make the plays for him.” | Said Gruden: “Kirk is starting to trust the fact that these guys are great players and they are making plays for him. So it works hand in hand. Kirk has to pull the trigger, but the receivers have to make the plays for him.” |