Making the Case Why Cousins Should Start

Even before the Redskins drafted Robert Griffin III, all eyes were set on him, as they are now. However, there’s another QB fans should be keeping an eye on for the starting job, and that’s Kirk Cousins.

Mike Shanahan might have already named Robert Griffin III the starter, but that doesn’t mean the job can’t be taken. After-all this is football and Mike Shanahan LOVES competition.

When it comes to Robert Griffin III vs. Kirk Cousins, fans tend to lend more towards RGIII, simply because of what he did at Baylor. He turned a Baylor football team into a well-known and respected team in the Nation. Not to mention he won the Heisman.

Kirk Cousins on the other hand wasn’t nearly as flashy, but does that mean Cousins isn’t just as good or impressive? Absolutely not.

When breaking down the numbers, there’s not much of a difference, but there’s one thing you have to remember. Baylor ran a spread system, which is known for inflating numbers, while Kirk Cousins played in a Pro-Style offense at Michigan State.

Kirk Cousins: 3,316 yards, 25 touchdowns, 10 interceptions, 63.7% completion rate.
Robert Griffin III: 4,293 yards, 37 touchdowns, six interceptions, 72.4% completion rate.

Both quarterbacks also had 3-2 records against top 25 ranked schools.

Kirk Cousins faced five, top 25 rated defenses in 2011, while Robert Griffin III faced zero. In fact, the average ranking of defenses Cousins faced came in at 52, 19 spots below of Griffins 71.

Here you have a quarterback in a pro-style offense (Cousins) putting up impressive numbers against five top 25 rated defenses. While another (Griffin) in a spread system putting up highly impressive numbers, against not one top 25 rated defenses.

Cousins also threw the ball roughly 49 times a game, while Griffin threw for 53 times. It’s important to note that Cousins played in one more game (14) than Griffin did in 2011 (13).

Just for the sake of things, let me point out some other Big 12 QB’s who had terrific careers in college, yet went on to either fail or never start in the NFL.

Chase Daniel (remember him?), Graham Harrell (never taken a snap in the NFL), Vince Young, Chris Simms, Sage Rosenfels, Brad Smith (now WR), Scott Frost (spent his NFL days on defense). Here’s an interesting one. Eric Crouch and Jason White both won the Heisman Trophy, yet neither one ever took a snap in the NFL.

Josh Freeman looked impressive during the 2010 NFL season, but last season he fell apart. Sam Bradford looked promising, but he continues to have interception and injury concerns. Remember how upset fans were that Shanahan didn’t draft Blaine Gabbert last season?

How many Big 12 quarterbacks can you name that won the Super Bowl? The answer is zero. How many can you name from the Big 10? Seven (most notably Tom Brady).

Now I went out on a limb with that, I’m not going to deny it, but who’s to say Robert Griffin III is magically going to fix all of that? We thought Vince Young would, Colt McCoy, and definitely Sam Bradford, but they haven’t.

They say the “sky is the limit” for Robert Griffin III, and I hope it is for what we gave up for him, but the stats show that Cousins has played better in an NFL pro-style offense, and argue he should be the starter if Robert Griffin III shows any signs of struggle.

I’m not referring to rookie hiccups, but rather that he just isn’t ready to be an NFL quarterback at this moment in time.

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5 Comments

1. 

   James

   May 31, 2012 at 9:24 am

   I think the headline is misleading.

   That didn’t read like a case for why Cousins should start. It read like a case for why there should be an open competition between RGIII and Cousins for the starting job.

   I would agree that there is nothing wrong, and a lot right, with allowing Cousins the chance to compete for the starting job.

   If RGIII wins that competition, then he should be the starter. If Cousins wins, the same applies.

   Reply
2. 

   Troy

   May 31, 2012 at 3:50 pm

   While competition is good… To argue that Cousins could even challenge RG3 for the starting job is preposterous. Even one knows you can make any argument you want from statistics these days. Case in point, the poster made a point of Breaking down the success or lack thereof with Big 12 QB’s…. Ummm… Why don’t we do that with Michigan State… How many Michigan State QB’s have had that level of success that the Big 12 QB’s have not… Actually I think the Big 12QB’s may have fared a tad bit better. Has Michigan St. even had a successful pro QB in the last 20 years? Let check out the previous QB’s this “pro-style” offense has put out: John Leister, Clark Brown, Dave Yarema, Bobby McAllister, Dan Enos, Jim Miller, Tony Banks (set fumble record), Todd Schultz, Bill Burke, Jeff Smoker, Drew Stanton, Brian Hoyer(wasn’t even drafted) Now thats not a super-stellar pedigree now is it? So obviously playing in a pro-style offense in college doesn’t mean that will convert to instant success in the Pro’s. Otherwise they would have put out better QB products in the past. So let’s disperse with the statistics and deal with the talent and abilities of these two draft picks. They were picked 2 and 102 for a reason.
   I don’t mean any harm or disrespect to Cousins… but if he were perceived to be good enough to contend for the starting job in Washington… He would have gone higher in the draft. There were 5 other QB’s picked in the draft before him. The Broncos, Seahawks, and Eagles all drafted QB’s before him… Why would these clubs have passed on a QB that contends with the #2 draft pick? Esp. the Bronco’s (Payton’s neck is still suspect right now so a good backup would be nice just in case…) and the Eagles (Vick’s style of play makes it almost a certainty that he will miss games due to injury and only has 2-3 years left in the tank at most…. This is a team that is looking for a backup to become a starter)
   Knowing this, they passed on a QB that could possibly get the starting job over the #2 pick? I don’t think so… The simple fact is.. Right now, RG3 is the better proven QB in the Pool. He will be the starter. Point blank. Now that doesn’t mean that he won’t flop and Cousins could grow to be the starter later in the season. But to have a discussion that he should be able to compete for the starting job now is silly. He already did compete for the starting job and lost it. It’s called College and the NFL draft. The #2 pick will always be the starter over the one picked 100 picks later. End of discussion. Now let’s get back to important stuff… BEAT DEM COWBOYS!!!!! GO SKINZ!!!!!

   Reply
3. 

   dmc

   June 2, 2012 at 11:07 am

   Excellent point troy, especially about the Michigan state qb’s and using the same criteria to analyze their lack of success in the nfl coming from a pro style offense. I concur. I wondered myself why cousins was passed over by so many teams I contend it had more to do with the style of offense that nfl teams are running and drafting for.

   Cousins apparently is a good for the shanahans offense but the # 2 pick RG3 is an even better fit and as far as an open competition for the starting job after drafting RG3 and the skill set he brings to the table…I don’t think so.

   Reply
   • 

     Scott

     June 2, 2012 at 5:13 pm

     The comparison isn’t Michigan State Qb’s to Big 12 Qb’s. An apples to apples comparison would be Big 10 Qb’s to Big 12 Qb’s. . . . and . . . that is where there is no comparison. Drew Brees, Tom Brady, just too start the list.

     Reply
     • 

       Troy

       June 4, 2012 at 11:49 am

       Hey Scott… I think you misunderstood my point. The purpose wasn’t to compare Michigan St. Qb’s to Big 12 Qb’s… It was to emphasize how you can use historical statistics to pretty say whatever you want. The original poster said Big 12 QB’s haven’t had much success in pro’s post college… He also suggested that Michigan St.’s Pro-style offense may have better prepared Cousins for an easier transition to the pros than Baylors did RG3. I merely said that the same thing said about Big 12Qb’s can be said of Michigan St. Qb’s from looking at the pro QB prospects that have come out of that system. Now if that’s the case… Why should we be thinking that he could be a better possible fit as a starter than RG3? Just b/c he happened to go to a school in the same conference that Brees and Brady went to? Am I the only one here that thinks that’s faulty logic?
       Don’t get me wrong… Baylor’s Qb prospects haven’t been any better up until now… But if your going to say that one schools system is so much more prepatory then you should have some successful post collegiate prospects to back that statement up. Otherwise you should be comparing their schools output to the other schools ouput. That would be a fair Apple to Apples comparison. Now since neither Baylor nor Michigan St. has put out any quality candidates in the last 20 years…. All we really have to go on now when making a comparison is the individual talent of the two Qb’s… And I think we all know who wins that comparison… Correct?
       I just don’t see why someone would think Cousins should get the benefit of the statistical success of Qb’s from other schools just because they happen to be from a school in the same conference as his alma mater when his hasn’t put out a decent prospect in over 20 years. Now if Cousins was coming out of the Perdue or Michigan system… Then I might the poster had a case… and may have jumped right on the Cousins bandwagon LOL… But since he did not, I just think it’s a little silly to use overall conference statistics to say that he has a chance to start over the #2 overall pick.
       Now I always like to end a comment on a high note… So with all that said… I’d take Cousins over Rex Grossman ANY DAY… Stats or No Stats… LOL

       Reply