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07-10-2018, 08:25 PM

But, Geoff: WHY would he even want to return to the Redskins? Yeah, I'm sure he COULD'VE found a way to stay with them... but why would he want to? If he wanted out, it seems to me that he "played" it exactly as he should've. He wasn't a distraction (whining about wanting to get out)... but he also didn't sign any contracts that he was going to regret later. Seems about right to me.

07-10-2018, 09:12 PM

Quote: @pumpf said:
But, Geoff: WHY would he even want to return to the Redskins? Yeah, I'm sure he COULD'VE found a way to stay with them... but why would he want to? If he wanted out, it seems to me that he "played" it exactly as he should've. He wasn't a distraction (whining about wanting to get out)... but he also didn't sign any contracts that he was going to regret later. Seems about right to me.

Yep, he wanted a market fair deal. They tagged him instead. So he played that season on a one year deal. Put up his 2nd 4000 yard season. Then he knew he had them. Now give me a market fair deal or pay me more then last year. They chose to tag him again. He put together his 3rd 4000 yard season. He made good money on the tags. No security if something happened to him. They could have ended it last year. He made up his mind the moment they tagged him again. He could have taken a crappy deal. He gambled and won. Now he's still young enough to cash in again in 3 years.

07-12-2018, 04:23 AM

I think it's pretty plain.
The Redskins didn't sign him when they had the chance. Last year when Bradford went down, agents knew that the spot might be open this year. The Jets were going to be looking for a QB this offseason. The Browns too and their cap space was going to open up the market for QBs.

With that situation, Cousins was going to hit FA and look at offers. Or, he was going to get paid a fortune with his 3rd franchise tag.

As the season played out, he put out the numbers and if there was a thought that he would re-sign early his agent probably killed the idea at every turn.
The Skins needed to figure out what to do. Compete with the crazy market that was about to form or come up with a different solution that they could sell. It's hard to sell Alex Smith, but whatever.

For all the knocks on Cousins, you can always point to consistent 4k yards and 25 TDs over the last three years. It's not like he only did it for one season. Throw in a clean image and solid reputation. He's a golden boy that comes along once in a blue moon.

I really don't see Alex Smith walking in and putting up numbers anywhere close to what Cousins managed. He was the best guy that would commit early.

07-12-2018, 07:56 AM

Quote: @"Geoff Nichols" said:
Although the Redskins didn't handle the situation well in the media, Cousins still deserves some of the blame for why things didn't work out. …

But for Cousins, you have to let it go at some point to. Most players aren't going to get a life altering contract after a seasons and a half of strong play.

Have to disagree with you on this Geoff. Cousins had back-to back seasons of 4,000 and 4,900 yards and the Skins still wouldn't give him a market deal. They responded to his 4,900 yd season not by building around him, but by letting both starting WR's go and basically saying, "Let's see you make 4K out of this crap". And although it seems a tiny thing, Gruden more than once called him "Kurt".

If I'm a QB throwing for 4,000+ 2 straight years and the team lowballs me then tags me again and dumps my WR's while the coach can't even bother to get my name right, damn straight I'm not going back to those jerks if I have any other choice.

07-12-2018, 01:22 PM

Quote: @RS Express said:

@"Geoff Nichols" said:
Although the Redskins didn't handle the situation well in the media, Cousins still deserves some of the blame for why things didn't work out. …

But for Cousins, you have to let it go at some point to. Most players aren't going to get a life altering contract after a seasons and a half of strong play.
Have to disagree with you on this Geoff. Cousins had back-to back seasons of 4,000 and 4,900 yards and the Skins still wouldn't give him a market deal. They responded to his 4,900 yd season not by building around him, but by letting both starting WR's go and basically saying, "Let's see you make 4K out of this crap". And although it seems a tiny thing, Gruden more than once called him "Kurt".

If I'm a QB throwing for 4,000+ 2 straight years and the team lowballs me then tags me again and dumps my WR's while the coach can't even bother to get my name right, damn straight I'm not going back to those jerks if I have any other choice.

this!

they treated him like a red headed step child and never showed him any respect (money isnt respect) if the Vikings had lucked into a player like that the fans would have revolted if the team management/ownership had their heads so far up their asses that they alienated a solid QB. They should have been 100% ready to give him a solid extension (as in money commensurate to his position and his production) as soon as he played through that first tag. They offered him shit, he got offended, and he instead took their tag and said see ya. I dont like contract negotiations for the top tier athletes and how they usually hold teams hostage, and typically side with the team, but in this case he had every right to be feeling a little red assed.

07-12-2018, 07:37 PM

I’ll have to go w/ Stoopid...?

07-15-2018, 02:06 AM

It certainly is a unique and strange situation all around, especially when you add in the fact that the Vikes let 3 qbs go.

If it came down to it I probably would have kept Teddy and Keenum and used all that money to improve the O and D lines. The problem with that is just because you have the money, it doesnt mean there is the talent available to improve where they needed to.

The Vike front office has done enough to earn some trust. They studied the problem and this is their answer. I hope it doesnt cost us some talent lost to FA. I am not one for looking back or second guessing what could have been. I am really glad to have such a committed ownership. We are spoiled as hell.

I am sure Cousns is going to do everything he can to make the most of this great opportunity. We will just have to wait week to week and see how it plays out.

Skol

07-15-2018, 02:57 PM

Quote: @StickyBun said:
All very good replies....but do you really think its just that? I have a hard time believing it completely.

I think it has more to do with what Cousins wanted than the Redskins. Afterall, they franchised him twice paying him a lot of money. Takes two to make a long term contract go and he was more interested in playing elsewhere. They had to take a bit of a downgrade moving on to Smith but it could have been worse. Snyder is a dumb owner but I doubt he liked watching Cousins the player leave. The Skins simply didn’t have a choice in the matter.

BTW they offered him more guaranteed than any QB in history.

07-15-2018, 04:53 PM

Quote: @Havoc1649 said:

@StickyBun said:
All very good replies....but do you really think its just that? I have a hard time believing it completely.
I think it has more to do with what Cousins wanted than the Redskins. Afterall, they franchised him twice paying him a lot of money. Takes two to make a long term contract go and he was more interested in playing elsewhere. They had to take a bit of a downgrade moving on to Smith but it could have been worse. Snyder is a dumb owner but I doubt he liked watching Cousins the player leave. The Skins simply didn’t have a choice in the matter.

BTW they offered him more guaranteed than any QB in history.

Maybe it is me but I dont think the players like the franchise tag very much and tend to see it as a negative, a means for the owners to continue to own the rights to player without fair market value. Teams dont tend to frqnchise playersmthat are worth less than the franchise tag amount., only when it is more.

Also the lack of multi year guarenteed money is a HUGE negative. Then to do it two years back to back? Teams send some messages to players and dont seem to care how they take it.

If the Vikes franchise tag Diggs for two years do you think he is going to say thanks?

07-15-2018, 05:03 PM

I think it's about ticket sales. The Redskins have watched their season ticket base disappear over the past years. I think the RG3 thing got them so high at first that his failure created a panic and it sucked the air out of the fan base. He was going to lead that organization to the "big things" ahead. When Cousins stepped in nobody cared, his presence represented failure in the mainstream. I guess it was a cool story at first when he arrived out of nowhere to salvage the draft pick - but their fan base quickly held it to the RG3 standard of expectations. They were eager to believe Cousins' was NOT RG3. Once he proved he could play at a high level they were still salty about the RG3 thing; Cousin's either Tom Brady'ed them into relevance or nothing; .500 ball with an exciting player gives people more hope. Their success was never viewed as a lucky building block; the team's failure over Cousin's years was put in the context of RG3's "ceiling" and viewed with that disdain.

Alex Smith gives them something that they already had, a competent QB. But he also gives their fan base an upper they can ride high on into the season. He doesn't need to match stats, he needs to push their record to 9+ wins to get people excited for NEXT year. I think that's it. A mediocre year with Cousins means massive disdain by their fan base. A mediocre year with Smith and hey, maybe you can get the fan-base into buying in again in the name of "moving forward."