The first few weeks of Kirk Cousins’ audition as starting signal-caller for the Washington NFL team were impressive. Cousins threw for five touchdowns and racked up close to 700 yards in two games after the oft-injured Robert Griffin III went down with a broken ankle early in the first half of Washington’s second game of the season. Then came the night of Sept. 25, when Cousins tossed four interceptions en route to Washington’s 45-14 drumming by the New York Giants at Fed Ex Field. With a full season left and perhaps another two months until Griffin is healthy enough to return, will Cousins perform well enough to hold onto the job for the rest of the season? Perry Green and Stephen D. Riley debate of the AFRO Sports Desk debate the question.
Green: Washington gave up too much to land Griffin a few years ago to just toss him to the wayside. The quarterback job is his, and although Cousins has impressed in limited time, the franchise has invested too heavily into Griffin’s future to see him fail. But honestly, I trust Cousins with the job a lot more than I do Griffin. Cousins may not be as talented as Griffins, but he’s a lot more durable. A great arm and blazing speed doesn’t help much if you can’t stay on the field to play, and I don’t know if Griffin will ever remain fully healthy.
Riley: Perhaps the best thing that could have happened to this franchise was Griffin tweaking his ankle. Cousins is cut from the same pocket-passing mold as Cincinnati Bengals quarterback Andy Dalton. And Coach Jay Gruden helped Dalton to become a serviceable starter with potential to improve. The Giants game aside, Cousins has been fantastic. And considering that Washington’s defense let the Giants waltz up and down the field, I’m not ready to blame Cousins’ four interceptions solely on him, as he was clearly pressing to compensate for the lack of pressure from his defense. It’s clear to me that Cousins gives the team the best chance for the offense to move the ball and score points. Dating back to last season, Griffin has just three touchdown passes in his last four full games played, not counting his early exit against Jacksonville in Game Two. That type of production won’t cut it in the NFL.
Green: I don’t want to use last season as an indicator because Cousins didn’t look too good in the few games he played last season either. And I entered this season giving Griffin the benefit of the doubt because he played for an out-of-date coach last year and he also wasn’t fully healthy. But there’s no excuse this year. He was fully healthy at the start of the year, and he wasn’t looking very good in the little playing time he had before he went on to injure himself again. I’m really afraid that we will never see the RGIII that we saw during his rookie year in 2012. His knee injury may have ruined him, and it may be time for the Washington fan base to come to grips with that. The team won’t accept that reality just yet, simply because they’ve invested too much into acquiring him in the draft. But that doesn’t mean the fans should keep drinking the Kool-Aid. I’m not saying Cousins is the answer in replacing Griffin. The point is: Griffin may not be the answer either.
Riley: You may be right; people need to get the image of Griffin eluding defenders and sprinting long yards for touchdowns out their minds. His rookie season was two years ago, and we’re still grading him off of that. The facts are he’s been wildly inconsistent and the team has floundered under his leadership behind center. His rookie year was amazing, but it’s time to let that go. Former Tennessee Titans quarterback Vince Young had a robust rookie campaign before defenses adjusted to him, and he never could recover. Griffin could be headed down the same path unless major changes in his game are made. At 1-3, the season may already be over for Washington, but if the club is serious about its franchise then it needs to give a hard look at Cousins and make a decision next summer on who will remain. If Cousins continues to post major yardage and efficiency then it should be a no-brainer.
