Big Opportunity For Cousins, McCoy

Contrary to earlier reports that Washington Redskins starting quarterback Robert Griffin, III would play in tonight’s game against the Baltimore Ravens, he was not cleared by a neurologist.

You can’t lose your job to injury, right?

Well that happens all the time in the NFL and Redskins head coach Jay Gruden certainly has an itchy trigger finger when it comes to Griffin.

Griffin hasn’t been able stay healthy or effective since his rookie season and he doesn’t seem to be a good fit for Gruden’s system which is primarily based on timing.

“He’s not productive in that system, it doesn’t use his athletic ability moving in and out of the pocket,” NFL Network analyst Willie McGinest said.  “Jay Gruden’s system in my opinion does not fit what Robert Griffin III does. It doesn’t. It just doesn’t fit.”

With RG3 not playing tonight, the door is open for either Kirk Cousins or Colt McCoy to potentially unseat him as the starter.  Both quarterbacks have played well this season, better than Griffin, although it has come against second- and third-string defenses.

The upside of both Cousins and McCoy are extremely limited.  With more film on Cousins last season he struggled with turnovers.  McCoy is a very good backup, but that’s all he is.

If the Redskins are going to be able to climb out of the cellar in the NFC East anytime soon it will have to be with RG3 under center.  The problem is that Gruden’s timing offense doesn’t work with Griffin’s “slow eyes.”

Either the Redskins need to change their system or the quarterback that runs it.

Texans Release Stevie Brown

The Houston Texans released free agent signee Stevie Brown on Friday afternoon.

Brown was a poor fit in the Texans system and with the team bringing in Quintin Demps last week, Brown was expendable.

The audition only cost the team $40,000, the guaranteed portion of his salary.

This gives Brown a chance to catch on with another team, possibly even the New York Giants where he spent 2012-2014, leading the team with eight interceptions in 2012.

The Giants are desperate at safety right now.

Notable Quotes

– 15-year veteran wide receiver Reggie Wayne made his New England Patriots debut and caught exactly no passes for no yards, while being targeted once.

“You go from on the beach chilling to playing football, so it was definitely a shock to the body,” Wayne said after the game.

– Detroit Lions veteran cornerback Rashean Mathis is back for his 13th season and Football Insiders asked him about the length of the preseason concerning preseason injuries.

“It’s impossible to reduce (preseason) games to two,” the veteran from Bethune-Cookman said.  “You have too many young guys fighting for their livelihood.  Do you want it shorter?  Yeah, but in reality, preseason can’t be shorter.  You have evaluations you have to do and you have to get the older guys ready to play.”

– When the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the Tennessee Titans 34-10 on Friday night (in a weather-shortened game), the two starting quarterbacks had something very specific in common.

Both Alex Smith and Marcus Mariota were extremely high draft picks, Smith being first-overall in 2005 and Mariota being second-overall this past April.  Being a quarterback selected that highly, there is  plenty of pressure and criticism that go along with the job.

Smith gave some advice for Mariota from his own experiences.

“For me, it was battling the anxiety of being the top pick and justifying that, and that’s what I fought for so long, and it took me a while,” Smith said.  “In some ways,” he said, “you have to play yourself out of that, and I think I did.”