Jay From Ashburn on Line 6

NFL coaches are the first ones to remind us fans “You know quarterbacks get too much credit, and take too much of the blame” yet they are also the last ones to actually remember that truth.

With that… we go to “Jay in Ashburn on line six. Go ahead, Jay…”

“Uh yeah… I think if we’re behind by a lot on Sunday at home against the Titans, like, say 4 points… then if Kirk Cousins has thrown a pick in the first half, we should yank him and try Colt McCoy. I’ll hang up and listen to your answer from the sidelines… uh… I mean.. off the air.”

Jesus. Facepalm. Christ.

What.. are… we… doing… now??

Sure. They won the game. Whoopity do. Too bad Jay Gruden has also lost his mind. The “Kirk Jerks” will now yield to the “Colt Dolts” in RedskinsLandUSA.

We are right back into the whole Rex-Beck-McNabb “Unholy Trinity of Quarterbacks” dynamic. Or worse yet, the “Patrick-Shane-Danny” era. You know, those times when your delusional or clueless coach just rifles through the QB depth chart looking for the football equivalent of a pair of lucky socks.

When you have two starting quarterbacks, you have none. When you have three starting quarterbacks, you have a clownshow.

McCoy had as much to do with that win as the janitor at the White House had to do with killing Osama bin Laden.

The Titans incompetence was never more evident than when Ken Whisenhunt decided that he could just “run out the clock” with 5:32 left in the game from his own 33. A holding penalty on 1st down made it 1st and 20, and yet he still RAN it 3 times and punted.

That’s not exactly trying to WIN the game, now is it? It was an insult to the Redskins offense that he would gladly take his chances with a defense that had let Pierre Garcon take a 6-yard hitch and turn it 70 yards for a touchdown less than 3 feet from the boundary past his entire secondary.

So now what? What?

Colt at Dallas? Monday Night Football? Ridiculous. But here we are.

Shame on this coaching staff for having such little willingness to stick with it on Cousins. The guy is a 62% passer with an 86.4 rating this season. He’s had three full games with a rating over 100. He doesn’t suck. His picks have come in bunches, and they are troubling. But still…

Did you really think the Redskins couldn’t win the game with him in the second half?

Its like all the  “plus” plays Kirk made (the scrambling dime to a streaking Niles Paul to start the game, to name just one) didn’t happen in Jay Gruden’s mind. I get it that Cousins may be pressing, or shellshocked, or whatever.

SO COACH HIM THROUGH IT! That’s what you are paid to do! I was led to believe that your experience as a pro quarterback yourself (albeit, an Arena League slappy) was a main selling point in getting this job.

Kirk’s struggling? Okay. RUN THE BALL MORE! Or maybe, dial up that same Garcon 6-yard hitch for HIM to start the second half, and just SEE WHAT HAPPENS!

This was a mindless move by a coach who already seems to be swimming well out of his depth. And sadly, I fear this is merely the undercard bout anyhow.

The big show is going to be handling RG3’s return from injury. How soon? How much? What kind of plays?

I am already pessimistic about Gruden’s ability to manage difficult personalities like Griffin. When your coach says things like “as long as he doesn’t make the catastrophic mistake and make it about himself more than about the team, you’ve got a chance” …. I cringe. And shake my head.

“Make it all about HIMSELF?” “You’ve got A CHANCE?”

Is it possible Griffin’s improvisation is merely part of a young QB trying to figure out how to play the game? Could you deliver these messages in private, so as not to devalue the kid’s stature with the fanbase, the league, and his fellow players?

Did my head coach just SAY that to a reporter on the record? What in the bloody hell good will THAT for anybody?

Gruden has now burnt one quarterback’s confidence down to the ground, is publicly doubting his other one, and may just start a guy whose last touchdown prior to Sunday was two different teams ago, in December of 2012.

Jay Gruden may indeed have excellent people skills, and a well thought out plan.

But this looks like panic.