We are two weeks into the season and the cries for Kirk Cousins are still alive and kicking. It makes you wonder if Washington will ever appreciate their current quarterback, Alex Smith.
If you live in the DC area, you know that Cousins was a fan favorite. Listen to any sports talk radio show and Cousins was constantly built up as the reason the team won but when they lost, it was everyone else. It was the lack of a consistent running game. It was ownership. It was coaching. It was never Kirk.
Yesterday is a prime example of what the entire season could be like if Washington doesn’t make the playoffs. While Cousins and the Vikings were cruising to a tie in Green Bay, Washington’s offense couldn’t punch the ball in the end zone. The Vikings had all but lost that game when Cousins threw and interception that was overturned by one of the worst roughing the quarterback calls in modern history.
“I don’t know what else to do,” Matthews said. “Did I put pressure on him? I thought I hit him within from his waist to chest, got my head across, put my hands down.”
The Packers would drop two more sure interceptions on the same drive. That would allow the Vikings an opportunity to tie the game.
In Washington, it was a lot different. The offense sputtered but as Alex Smith acknowledged, there were plays there. “In the first half… chemistry… rhythm… we didn’t have any of that”. And he’s right, Washington had opportunities throughout the game.
Washington is a work in progress. The fan base knows this. Smith shouldn’t be held to the failures of Robert Griffin III and Kirk Cousins. Unlike Cousins, who is the NFL version of Kevin Durant, Smith didn’t jump on a 13 win team that had success with career back up Case Keenum. The comparisons are far from being fair. Smith doesn’t have Stephon Diggs (9 rec 128 yards) or Adam Thielen (12 rec 131 yards). Those were established entities prior to Cousins arrival in Minnesota.
Smith has been successful at every stop he’s had in the NFL. He had success in San Francisco. He had success in Kansas City. Constantly holding Kirk Cousins, a QB whose never won a playoff game, over Smith’s head is unfair.
Why doesn’t the fan base give Smith the same leeway it gave Cousins? Washington will have to rebound against a tough Green Bay team. They will need to be more efficient on offense and just as stout on defense as they’ve been in the first two weeks. Overall, they must be better… and so does the fan base.
