Welcome to the Redskins Kirk Cousins QB Michigan State

[C26 Run]

This was a very smart pick by Shanahan for two reasons: 1: because it led to the release of John Beck who shouldn't be allowed to hold a clip board for any team in the NFL, and 2: if the offense is going to undertake a change in philosophy, it'll be better to have 2 young guns learning this offense .

[darrell1106]

Which need?

At the 4th round? OT, C, ILB. We can keep going. But not a "backup" QB for a coach who typically keeps 2 QBs on the active roster and has a great deal of confidence in last years starting QB as a back up. I just don't see it as compared to guys that were still available at that time.

[demarc007]

At the 4th round? OT, C, ILB. We can keep going. But not a "backup" QB for a coach who typically keeps 2 QBs on the active roster and has a great deal of confidence in last years starting QB as a back up. I just don't see it as compared to guys that were still available at that time.

But he doesn't have a "great deal" of confidence in Rex. Did you not see him turn the ball over constantly last season and ink a one year deal. Rex sucks and Shanny knows if RG3 went down at any point our season would be derailed. With Cousins he feels he can still win ballgames. QB is the most important position on the roster and our went from the weakest to potentially the strongest instantly.

[Epochalypse]

At the 4th round? OT, C, ILB. We can keep going. But not a "backup" QB for a coach who typically keeps 2 QBs on the active roster and has a great deal of confidence in last years starting QB as a back up. I just don't see it as compared to guys that were still available at that time.

WE did draft a OT, we drafted 2 Gs and already have 3 guys on the team that can play C. We drafted ILB. If he had great confidence in Rex he wouldn't have drafted his replacement. Who was available that had a better chance of making our team than Cousins?

[B&GVol24]

I don't think this has been posted, but check out the video if you got a minute. After all, he is a Redskin now.

Michigan State Quarterback Kirk Cousins delivers the speech to represent the players at the 2011 Big Ten Season Kickoff Luncheon:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tp15N9BbYgY


Love or hate the decision, it's easy to see why he was a 3-time captain.

[Tay]

I dont understand why people have a problem with this move. We had 12 rookies make the team last year and drafted 9 players this year. We used 1 pick on a backup QB. It's a move for depth. Great pick. Kirk was my 5th fav QB coming into the draft. Great value in the 4th.

[Son of Gadsden]

At the 4th round? OT, C, ILB. We can keep going. But not a "backup" QB for a coach who typically keeps 2 QBs on the active roster and has a great deal of confidence in last years starting QB as a back up. I just don't see it as compared to guys that were still available at that time.

Shanahan already said he got all 3 offensive linemen he targeted. Obviously he felt no need to waste any picks on the others because they either A)didn't fit the system or B)weren't going to work out in the NFL. Picking that way is the way Vinny did it, force a need without regard to actual talent evaluation. He obviously wasnt super impressed with any players at our needs, or he felt the players he wanted were a reach so he took BPA.

Let's not forget that Philly traded Kolb for picks AND Rogers-Cromartie. Was THAT worth it? We develop Cousins in the system send him out a couple games in the preseason or in a slaughter game to impress a few teams, trade him to a desperate QB hungry team like Miami. I don't see what part of this pick isn't intelligent.

[darrelgreenie]

Why wouldn't you want a guy that Shanahan regards as being a decent back up being our future back up?

Imo you're asking the wrong question because it wrongly assumes that people have a problem with finding a decent back-up.

These are the questions I have about the selection:

Why address the back-up QB with such a high pick (especially respective to our draft) where we don't have alot of picks?

I think we all agree that back-up QB is an essential part of a championship contending team.
Back-up QB is typically a position that doesn't play as much as other depth/rotational players therefore cannot help the team as much and its unlikely (although we can hope) that Cousins even wins the back-up spot this year.
So going into the season there is little expectation he'll even be the back-up this year.

Why address that future need with an immediate pick vs using an immediate pick to attempt to provide an immediate and future benefit?

[KDawg]

This thread is making my brain hurt.

Cousins was BY FAR the BPA when we picked. It wasn't even in the realm of close.

And we need a backup quarterback for next year not named Rex Grossman.

Top that with everything else that's been said ad nauseum around here.

Stop letting the media fuel a disdain for this move. Please. I'm begging you. Think about it and formulate your own opinion. Casserly on NFL Network even liked the move. ESPNs talking heads are clueless.

[2v2nv]

Honestly, IMO, we could have addressed better needs than at this round but I definitely don't knock the pick. I feel like this was based on one HUGE problem we've had. We have not had a QB in decades that could do crap. Its not so much insurance in case RG3 will suck as it is insurance that in case something happens to RG3(God forbid), we might still be able to have a chance at winning. These two young QB's can learn this offense and possibly fortify this awful position for years to come.

[KDawg]

Imo you're asking the wrong question because it wrongly assumes that people have a problem with finding a decent back-up.

They do. "We had other needs" is basically saying you didn't want a backup QB.

Why address the back-up QB with such a high pick (especially respective to our draft) where we don't have alot of picks?

We had 9 draft selections. You're supposed to have 7. We had picks.

He was by far the BPA on the board, and it wasn't close.

I think we all agree that back-up QB is an essential part of a championship contending team.
Back-up QB is typically a position that doesn't play as much as other depth/rotational players therefore cannot help the team as much and its unlikely (although we can hope) that Cousins even wins the back-up spot this year.

Cousins wasn't drafted to be the backup this year. Grossman is the in-between to keep there from being a controversy. Shanahan will likely have three QBs on the roster this year. Grossman being the back up. Joe Gibbs always said the two most important positions on a football team are quarterback and backup quarterback. Look at the Bears last year. Look at the Texans. Backup QBs played a large role in their failures and successes. This year isn't the important part for Cousins. Next year is.

A player not being on the field doesn't diminish their value. If that was the case, there would be no need for depth.

So going into the season there is little expectation he'll even be the back-up this year.

Why does that matter?

Why address that future need with an immediate pick vs using an immediate pick to attempt to provide an immediate benefit?

Because they weren't in love with the other players available, and Cousins was by far their BPA on the board. At that pick, he was, in my opinion of course, BY FAR the BPA. And it's not close.

[darrelgreenie]

Stop letting the media fuel........Please. I'm begging you. Think about it and formulate your own opinion.

Casserly on NFL Network even liked the move. ESPNs talking heads are clueless.

Can't speak for anyone else by my opinion is certainly not fueled by media; the irony is you use media to support your view.

[KDawg]

Can't speak for anyone else by my opinion is certainly not fueled by media; the irony is you use media to support your view.

Only because it seems so important to so many. I've been defending the move since before Casserly said anything. But nice try, dg.

Also, I notice you failed to address any of the actual points I put up, but instead opted for a strawman.

[Pedro]

Why address the back-up QB with such a high pick (especially respective to our draft) where we don't have alot of picks?

A 4th round pick shouldn't be expected to make an immediate impact (outside of Teams that we have lots of bodies for). If there was a QB likely available later they liked more, I'd be willing to bet money we wouldn't have drafted Cousins. That we did suggests Cousins was the QB we liked as a back up, not A N Other QB (Vinny style).

We had 9 picks, 2 more than 7 every team starts of with prior to trades.

Where are you getting the '4th round draft pick is an immediate pick' from?

EDIT: Aside from that, what I meant to say was welcome to the Redskins Kirk. Hope you enjoy your time in the B&G.

[scruffylookin]

Some people are just going to piss and moan no matter what the Redskins did in the draft.

They take 3 offensive linemen. All within the first 200 picks (first time the franchise has done that in 31 years) and they still will whine that "they should have taken more linemen.

Then we have that noted rocket scientist Tracy Hamilton in the Post this morning first still whining about "the cost" to acquire Griffin and then, giving one the impression she has not been paying attention to what the Redskins have done the last two seasons, she whined about how the Redskins failed to draft a wide receiver. She even admits that the likelihood of finding a starting wideout in the 4th or later is a longshot but that the Skins "should have taken a flier on one" (my paraphrase. Really?

So after drafting Hankerson, Paul and Robinson last year. Signing Garcon and Morgan this year. This armchair GM feels that the Redskins ****ed up by not drafting yet another receiver?

Again some people just have a predetermined philosophy of ripping whatever the Redskins do. Had they drafted more wideouts and one less lineman and perhaps no Cousins, then a person like Hamilton would whine that the Redskins failed to add enough linemen and "who is their third string development QB, John Beck?"

Whine whine whine