The Washington Redskins are 0-2 and while that is a sign of panic for most NFL teams, it is even worse for the team in the nation's capital, as their electric quarterback Robert Griffin III has not looked like his explosive self this season and that could leave an opening for Kirk Cousins to start, or at least play some snaps.
Griffin has put up good numbers through two games, but those were compiled as the team had to make comebacks in both their losses to the Eagles and the Packers and that has made some wonder whether the team should use Kirk Cousins. Griffin has looked rusty over the first two games and it isn't a surprise since the team held him out of the preseason after getting knee surgery. Griffin has already thrown three picks to just five touchdowns and while he has gone over 320 yards in each game passing, that was done as the team made comebacks and neither were completed, as the team lost 33-27 to open the season and lost 38-20 against the Packers.
Check here for more about Robert Griffin and his text messaging scandal from the summer.
The Redskins went down 24-0 against the Packers in Week 2 and now the team is on the verge of going 0-3 with a game against the Detroit Lions coming up. Now no one is saying that Kirk Cousins is a better player than Robert Griffin, but after watching him play last season, is it so hard to believe that at this very moment he wouldn't be a better option since Griffin clearly is not back to full strength from his knee injury quite yet?
According to SI.com, one man that thinks Cousins could step in and play better RIGHT now and not forever is Tony Dungy, a man that is very respected in the league. On the NBA broadcast for Sunday night football, Dungy said that he thinks that Cousins could be more effective in the offense right now since he is 100 percent, rather than a "a 75 percent RGIII" and while many fans think that is crazy, at 0-2 Mike Shanahan may need to consider it.
The main reason the Redskins held out Griffin all offseason and preseason was due to the fact that they wanted him healthy for Week 1 and while his knee is healed and he has been cleared to play, it's pretty clear that he is not back to full strength. Last season Griffin was amazing as he rushed for over 800 yards and passed for over 3,000 and while he is putting up good stats, it has not translated to a consistent offense and it could hurt the Skins big time if they fall to 0-3 with a loss against the Lions.
Griffin put the blame on himself after the losses and since he has been throwing from the pocket more this season, he is getting more pressure on him and with his knee still coming back, that explosive level of speed has not yet returned. Griffin has only rushed nine times so far this season and with Cousins showing off his skills last season with 329 yards and two touchdowns in a win over the Browns, he could be the answer just for a week or two until Griffin is fully back to speed.