Cousins

[Ruzious]

I literally would not care if the next Skins QB's skin is purple - as long as they win with him. Sam Darnold might belong in the discussion. He was considered a top 2 pick going into the season (he and Rosen), and now I see him in mocks going as late as 20. He had a tough first half of the year, but he finished strong and played behind what was considered a poor offensive line. He seems like a slightly smaller version of Big Ben. There's talk he's considering returning to school, but it seems to me that people are underrating the season he just had. I'm a fan but... generally I like the strategy of getting a young vet like Bridgewater and drafting a QB in the 3rd round to develop. That allows you to draft a stud at another position in the first round. When you draft a QB in the first round, it seems like you're almost forced to start him as a rookie.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

I literally would not care if the next Skins QB's skin is purple - as long as they win with him. Sam Darnold might belong in the discussion. He was considered a top 2 pick going into the season (he and Rosen), and now I see him in mocks going as late as 20. He had a tough first half of the year, but he finished strong and played behind what was considered a poor offensive line. He seems like a slightly smaller version of Big Ben. There's talk he's considering returning to school, but it seems to me that people are underrating the season he just had. I'm a fan but... generally I like the strategy of getting a young vet like Bridgewater and drafting a QB in the 3rd round to develop. That allows you to draft a stud at another position in the first round. When you draft a QB in the first round, it seems like you're almost forced to start him as a rookie.

I only introduced race because of the love for Kirk Cousins versus some of the hate that RG3 got.

I don't care who the Redskins get for quarterback either. I just got this gut feeling that Lamar Jackson is going to be the best quarterback.

Very similar to how before the last draft Something Told Me Jayson Tatum is going to be the best rookie. Just intuition with a little knowledge of the situation sprinkled in.

Seems to me that kid at Louisville had quite a bit of success kind of similar to what Teddy Bridgewater did when he was in college... I really don't know anything about college football in terms of evaluating talent.

But I did think that Tua Tagovailoa was a lot better than Jalen Hurts. In real life my friend and former pastor is named James Shiroma. He is from Hawaii and he played high school football. We talk local football a lot

I live literally three or four blocks away from where McKenzie Milton went to high school. I knew McKenzie Milton High School coach before ride was coaching at that school. I thought Mackenzie was too skinny to make it. All he did was quarterback Central Florida to a perfect season and a mythical national championship.. I think it's funny that they gave themselves parade. Anyhow one thing about Mackenzie is that he knows offenses really well. Mililani High had an explosive offense. I knew he had some Johnny Manziel in and he could run and he can throw but he's very small.

More Degrees of Separation... I was stationed in Omaha Nebraska at Offutt Air Force Base when Scott Frost was the quarterback of Nebraska at Lincoln.. The Cornhuskers won it all. Back in the mid-90s I was a huge Nebraska fan. My ex-wife still lives in Omaha. My daughter is a Cornhusker and a graduate of the University Nebraska Lincoln. (There is a University of Nebraska at Omaha as well as Creighton University both located in Omaha). I watched Scott Frost 25 years ago during the dominant years of the Cornhuskers. (Scott Frost played in the secondary in the NFL and I think the Jalen Hurts is going to be a pro but also on defense in the secondary. The Redskins had a guy named Ray Fell Cherry years ago there was an outstanding college quarterback and an NFL defensive back)

Now Frost is Mackenzie Milton's coach. I see why they work so well together. (Very similar to last season for the Maryland Terrapins win romelo Trimble a point guard played for Mark turgeon who I remember when he played point guard at Kansas. Very similar players and very similar thinkers to their coach). It's no wonder that UCF had great success because of the principles that Scott Frost has learned along the way from all his coaches and he's had a bunch of great ones.

So on this epic rant I have talked about Tua Tagovailoa. What I didn't tell you is that he went to the same high school as Marcus Mariota. I know somebody that works at at Saint Louis School. The things she says about Marcus make me know that he is just a down-to-earth laid-back guy. What we locally know is that Tua tagovailoa was an even better high school quarterback than Marcus Mariota.

My friend James to Shiroma and I have been really not too pleased about Tua sitting on the bench behind Jalen Hurts. We felt he was the better quarterback but most importantly he would never get a chance to play because Jaylen just keeps winning and he's young. God had other plans then keeping that boy on the bench. Nick Saban is the best coach I've ever seen in college football. He made a Command Decision which gave him the championship. I'm not at all surprised that Tua won that game for him. He just surprised me playing that true freshman and sitting a guy whose feelings he might have hurt.

The greatest part was how Jalen Hurts took sitting down at 25 wins and two losses. Made me think about Robert Griffin III. He did not handle his battle with Kirk Cousins the same way. I can't say that I blame him but it wasn't about team.

Getting back to Kirk Cousins and the Redskins.

I told you so.

From the day they drafted both of them on the same day I said the second guy might be better than Robert Griffin.

The best quarterback in college football might not be Darnold, Rosen, the Heisman winner Baker Mayfield, LAMAR JACKSON, or any of these other guys that Mel Kiper and Todd McShay or talking about.

Tua Tagovailoa probably is the best quarterback in football.

That's who I wish the Redskins could get at quarterback.

Now I know why they selected that boy from Hawaii to play for Alabama.

Last but not least: dear God please director thoughts of my son Kendall who is 17 years old and who could not play football this year because of his grades. Georgia is his favorite team and I wish someday if it'd been possible that he could play for them. 4 years ago I sat and talked with Herschel Walker with my son maybe 30 feet away. A former pro football player met my son and tell him yeah he's got the body for it. I'm ranting all this and putting it on real GM just to let you guys know that as a father it's my prayer that my son be well mentally and physically and do whatever God's will is for his life.

I am overwhelmed at how much interwoven all these things are and I know that it's no accident. It is still possible that my son can make it to the NFL someday as doubtful as it seems.


Summary: Hawaii is all over the map in college football. Three local quarterbacks have done quite well. Marcus McKenzie and Tua. My son who is in Georgia right now I'm glad that the Bulldogs lost. He wanted to leave here and live with his mom in Georgia. I made a lot of sacrifices and I still love them but I'm glad the Alabama won that game with a Hawaii guy quarterback.

I KNOW I'VE TYPE WAY TOO MUCH AND THAT MY ILLNESS KIND OF IS SHOWING RIGHT NOW. BUT GOD IS GOOD ALL THE TIME.

[Ruzious]

CCJ, best of luck to your son - whether or not he makes it in football. He can't lose if he has a passionate father on his side.

I don't know much about college football, but I've heard it said about Tua that he's the best QB prospect to come around in a long time. That was quite a performance last night - especially bouncing back from taking a bad sack to make the game-winning pass - amazing.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Thanks, Ruz.

Sent from my [device_name] using [url]RealGM mobile app[/url]

[LyricalRico]

Another possible Cousins replacement - Alex Smith. Not a sexy option, but a veteran who can manage games in a system that's built for him. He's more proven than Bridgewater, probably has more left in the tank than Eli Manning, and is certainly better than Colt McCoy. A big question about Smith would be his asking price.

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Another possible Cousins replacement - Alex Smith. Not a sexy option, but a veteran who can manage games in a system that's built for him. He's more proven than Bridgewater, probably has more left in the tank than Eli Manning, and is certainly better than Colt McCoy. A big question about Smith would be his asking price.

Good veteran. Just as good as Kirk, IMO.

Lots cheaper, and only here for the short run.

[Ruzious]

Another possible Cousins replacement - Alex Smith. Not a sexy option, but a veteran who can manage games in a system that's built for him. He's more proven than Bridgewater, probably has more left in the tank than Eli Manning, and is certainly better than Colt McCoy. A big question about Smith would be his asking price.

Good thought there. I've always thought Alex Smith was underrated - especially with his ability to avoid the rush. Remember when he led SF to a great season and still ended up getting benched in favor of Kaepernick? He's like a better version of what people hoped Colt McCoy would be. He does have a bit of wear and tear on him, though - not sure if he's a little past his prime and doesn't have a big arm, but yeah, I'd take him over Eli.

A lot of the draftnicks are talking about Baker Mayfield. He seems a lot like a young Drew Brees. I think I'd prefer Sam Darnold over Mayfield, but either would be quite interesting. Both gunslinging leaders moreso than Cousins was here.

[Ruzious]

Thing is - there are choices out there. A lot of the local sports guys act like it's the end of the world if we don't keep Cousins. We were 9-7, 8-7-1, and 7-8 with Cousins, and every year - he played poorly in the last game. He was good, and he put up a lot of yards - if not TD's - but as far as being a guy who wins games... I don't see it, and at 30 years old, he is what he is. What was his record against teams with good defenses? Very bad. He can help you beat bad teams. He hasn't shown he can do more than that. Paying him 30 mil a year would be absurd. Good luck to him, and I think it will be refreshing for all sides to have a change at QB next season.

[Ruzious]

Good article on Bridgewater: https://www.sbnation.com/2018/1/21/16906642/teddy-bridgewater-vikings-quarterback-case-keenum

All 3 of Minny's QB's - Keenum, Bridgewater, and Sam Bradford are free agents. What are they going to do?

[LyricalRico]

Thing is - there are choices out there. A lot of the local sports guys act like it's the end of the world if we don't keep Cousins. We were 9-7, 8-7-1, and 7-8 with Cousins, and every year - he played poorly in the last game. He was good, and he put up a lot of yards - if not TD's - but as far as being a guy who wins games... I don't see it, and at 30 years old, he is what he is. What was his record against teams with good defenses? Very bad. He can help you beat bad teams. He hasn't shown he can do more than that. Paying him 30 mil a year would be absurd. Good luck to him, and I think it will be refreshing for all sides to have a change at QB next season.

As much as I've been in Cousins' corner, I can't argue much with your reasoning. For me, it will all come down to cost.

For example, if the choice ends up being something like $25M+per for Cousins vs. $15M per for Case Keenum or Alex Smith - it would be very tempting to go with Keenum/Smith and use the rest of the money for other things. (Kevin Sheehan on 980 would have a heart attack, but it would make for great radio. ) OTOH, if the difference is much smaller, I'd probably still lean towards Kirk.

Also, if it's going to be an Alex Smith (or, for the sake of discussion, Eli Manning), I'd still be concerned about the longterm plan. Signing an aging vet to a 2 year deal might be cost effective, but without a potential longterm solution waiting in the wings it just kicks the can down the road. I'd have the same concern with the Teddy Bridgewater idea we discussed earlier. A short-term reclamation project where he can bolt after a year or two isn't ideal.

[Ruzious]

Thing is - there are choices out there. A lot of the local sports guys act like it's the end of the world if we don't keep Cousins. We were 9-7, 8-7-1, and 7-8 with Cousins, and every year - he played poorly in the last game. He was good, and he put up a lot of yards - if not TD's - but as far as being a guy who wins games... I don't see it, and at 30 years old, he is what he is. What was his record against teams with good defenses? Very bad. He can help you beat bad teams. He hasn't shown he can do more than that. Paying him 30 mil a year would be absurd. Good luck to him, and I think it will be refreshing for all sides to have a change at QB next season.

As much as I've been in Cousins' corner, I can't argue much with your reasoning. For me, it will all come down to cost.

For example, if the choice ends up being something like $25M+per for Cousins vs. $15M per for Case Keenum or Alex Smith - it would be very tempting to go with Keenum/Smith and use the rest of the money for other things. (Kevin Sheehan on 980 would have a heart attack, but it would make for great radio. ) OTOH, if the difference is much smaller, I'd probably still lean towards Kirk.

Also, if it's going to be an Alex Smith (or, for the sake of discussion, Eli Manning), I'd still be concerned about the longterm plan. Signing an aging vet to a 2 year deal might be cost effective, but without a potential longterm solution waiting in the wings it just kicks the can down the road. I'd have the same concern with the Teddy Bridgewater idea we discussed earlier. A short-term reclamation project where he can bolt after a year or two isn't ideal.

I don't want to overpay for Keenum. Smith faded again in the playoffs, and at his age and usage - I don't think he'll cost more than 10 mil a year for 2 guaranteed years. They can get a vet like Smith AND draft a QB - who'll be stuck on a rookie contract for 4 years. Bring the rookie along slowly and learn behind the veteran(s).

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

They listened to Ruzious.



Sent from my [device_name] using [url]RealGM mobile app[/url]

[Chocolate City Jordanaire]

Thing is - there are choices out there. A lot of the local sports guys act like it's the end of the world if we don't keep Cousins. We were 9-7, 8-7-1, and 7-8 with Cousins, and every year - he played poorly in the last game. He was good, and he put up a lot of yards - if not TD's - but as far as being a guy who wins games... I don't see it, and at 30 years old, he is what he is. What was his record against teams with good defenses? Very bad. He can help you beat bad teams. He hasn't shown he can do more than that. Paying him 30 mil a year would be absurd. Good luck to him, and I think it will be refreshing for all sides to have a change at QB next season.

As much as I've been in Cousins' corner, I can't argue much with your reasoning. For me, it will all come down to cost.

For example, if the choice ends up being something like $25M+per for Cousins vs. $15M per for Case Keenum or Alex Smith - it would be very tempting to go with Keenum/Smith and use the rest of the money for other things. (Kevin Sheehan on 980 would have a heart attack, but it would make for great radio. ) OTOH, if the difference is much smaller, I'd probably still lean towards Kirk.

Also, if it's going to be an Alex Smith (or, for the sake of discussion, Eli Manning), I'd still be concerned about the longterm plan. Signing an aging vet to a 2 year deal might be cost effective, but without a potential longterm solution waiting in the wings it just kicks the can down the road. I'd have the same concern with the Teddy Bridgewater idea we discussed earlier. A short-term reclamation project where he can bolt after a year or two isn't ideal.

I don't want to overpay for Keenum. Smith faded again in the playoffs, and at his age and usage - I don't think he'll cost more than 10 mil a year for 2 guaranteed years. They can get a vet like Smith AND draft a QB - who'll be stuck on a rookie contract for 4 years. Bring the rookie along slowly and learn behind the veteran(s).

4 years at 23.5 million per.

94Mil

70Mil guaranteed.

Sent from my [device_name] using [url]RealGM mobile app[/url]

[Ruzious]

It's amazing to me that they paid that much for a 34 year old QB who's had concussion issues. Trading Kendall Fuller - who graded out as the Skins best defensive player and has 2 more years left on a 3rd round pick contract plus trading a 3rd rounder... replacing those assets is going to cost more than any cost savings from not signing Cousins. They most likely were not planning on resigning Breeland - now they pretty much have to and will likely overpay for him or someone like him who's considerably worse than Fuller. These things happen when you have Bruce Allen pretending to know what he's doing as a fake GM. And reports are that there has been ZERO contact between the team and Cousins' agent since the end of the season - so the Skins didn't even due their due diligence. You trade for a 34 year old QB when you're ready to contend. The Skins don't have a starting RB, they don't have any established WR's, they don't have a 2-way TE, and they have an offensive line that couldn't begin to stay healthy last season. And they just traded away their highest graded defensive player. They are not a playoff contender next season. They are a terribly run football organization with a lousy future.

[LyricalRico]

It's amazing to me that they paid that much for a 34 year old QB who's had concussion issues. Trading Kendall Fuller - who graded out as the Skins best defensive player and has 2 more years left on a 3rd round pick contract plus trading a 3rd rounder... replacing those assets is going to cost more than any cost savings from not signing Cousins. They most likely were not planning on resigning Breeland - now they pretty much have to and will likely overpay for him or someone like him who's considerably worse than Fuller. These things happen when you have Bruce Allen pretending to know what he's doing as a fake GM. And reports are that there has been ZERO contact between the team and Cousins' agent since the end of the season - so the Skins didn't even due their due diligence. You trade for a 34 year old QB when you're ready to contend. The Skins don't have a starting RB, they don't have any established WR's, they don't have a 2-way TE, and they have an offensive line that couldn't begin to stay healthy last season. And they just traded away their highest graded defensive player. They are not a playoff contender next season. They are a terribly run football organization with a lousy future.

Co-sign. Too rich of an extension and shouldn't have given up Fuller. I'd much rather have kept Fuller (and the pick), then offered Case Keenum something in the $18M per year range.

[LyricalRico]

As much as I've been in Cousins' corner, I can't argue much with your reasoning. For me, it will all come down to cost.

For example, if the choice ends up being something like $25M+per for Cousins vs. $15M per for Case Keenum or Alex Smith - it would be very tempting to go with Keenum/Smith and use the rest of the money for other things. (Kevin Sheehan on 980 would have a heart attack, but it would make for great radio. ) OTOH, if the difference is much smaller, I'd probably still lean towards Kirk.

Also, if it's going to be an Alex Smith (or, for the sake of discussion, Eli Manning), I'd still be concerned about the longterm plan. Signing an aging vet to a 2 year deal might be cost effective, but without a potential longterm solution waiting in the wings it just kicks the can down the road. I'd have the same concern with the Teddy Bridgewater idea we discussed earlier. A short-term reclamation project where he can bolt after a year or two isn't ideal.

I don't want to overpay for Keenum. Smith faded again in the playoffs, and at his age and usage - I don't think he'll cost more than 10 mil a year for 2 guaranteed years. They can get a vet like Smith AND draft a QB - who'll be stuck on a rookie contract for 4 years. Bring the rookie along slowly and learn behind the veteran(s).

4 years at 23.5 million per.

94Mil

70Mil guaranteed.

Sent from my [device_name] using [url]RealGM mobile app[/url]

Yep, that's what I was afraid of with Smith, that his price would be too high. At that point we could have just gone to $27-28M to keep Cousins, and held onto Fuller and the pick. With what we'll have to shell out to fill the hole at corner, the money would have come out the same.

[Ruzious]

Another possible Cousins replacement - Alex Smith. Not a sexy option, but a veteran who can manage games in a system that's built for him. He's more proven than Bridgewater, probably has more left in the tank than Eli Manning, and is certainly better than Colt McCoy. A big question about Smith would be his asking price.

Ricostradomos there. You nailed it!

[LyricalRico]

Another possible Cousins replacement - Alex Smith. Not a sexy option, but a veteran who can manage games in a system that's built for him. He's more proven than Bridgewater, probably has more left in the tank than Eli Manning, and is certainly better than Colt McCoy. A big question about Smith would be his asking price.

Ricostradomos there. You nailed it!

Maybe I should stick to football.

But the part that I missed was that clearly Cousins already had both feet out the door as soon as the season ended, so no deal was ever going to get done and thus Washington already knew they had to get another QB. So, rather than waiting until free agency where anything can happen, they took the only sure thing that was available. From that perspective, it's much a more understandable decision (even if the execution was somewhat flawed).

I went back and listened to the 980 audio vault from this morning, and Bram Weinstein's first hour was pretty convincing that this was probably the best they were going to be able to do. Yes, this was a situation of their own making, but they still had to do something and they could have done a lot worse. (I also came to the conclusion that "Cooley & Kevin" is completely un-listenable at this point. Sheehan is so full of himself, and Cooley is awful when he's doing anything other than breaking down game film.)

[Ruzious]

Another possible Cousins replacement - Alex Smith. Not a sexy option, but a veteran who can manage games in a system that's built for him. He's more proven than Bridgewater, probably has more left in the tank than Eli Manning, and is certainly better than Colt McCoy. A big question about Smith would be his asking price.

Ricostradomos there. You nailed it!

Maybe I should stick to football.

But the part that I missed was that clearly Cousins already had both feet out the door as soon as the season ended, so no deal was ever going to get done and thus Washington already knew they had to get another QB. So, rather than waiting until free agency where anything can happen, they took the only sure thing that was available. From that perspective, it's much a more understandable decision (even if the execution was somewhat flawed).

I went back and listened to the 980 audio vault from this morning, and Bram Weinstein's first hour was pretty convincing that this was probably the best they were going to be able to do. Yes, this was a situation of their own making, but they still had to do something and they could have done a lot worse. (I also came to the conclusion that "Cooley & Kevin" is completely un-listenable at this point. Sheehan is so full of himself, and Cooley is awful when he's doing anything other than breaking down game film.)

Exactly right about Cooley & Kevin. I listen to them for a few minutes at a time when the Junkies don't have a good guest, and it's like a train wreck - they're so bad. Rico & Ruz could do better.

It's not that Smith was a bad Plan B - I'm actually a fan of his. But when ya look at what SF paid for Garrafalo (a 2nd round pick), and he's what - a decade younger and on his way to possible stardom. And Smith still had a year left till free agency - when he'd be a soon to be 35 year old. There's zero chance he gets anywhere near the 4 year $94 mil extension from any other team - with a lot guaranteed. If they had offered that to Cousins last offseason, there's little doubt in my mind, he would have taken it. Getting Smith wasn't the problem. It's what they gave up and then what they paid to keep him. Not to mention, it's getting into this situation in the first place. It's a series of needless miscalculations.

[LyricalRico]

Rico & Ruz could do better.

Let's do it, bro! We can rent time at Tony K's restaurant studio.