The NFL Thread 2015: Denver Broncos win Super Bowl 50

[dongo8]

noname2200 said:

dongo8 said:

noname2200 said:

dongo8 said:
The strange thing and the first thing that I noticed about this game was that the Redskins looked...good. They were moving the ball down the field fairly easily, they were running alright, and Cousins looked like a real NFL quarterback. What this tells me is that despite the win, the Giants are a VERY bad team, and if not for a few dumb Washington miscues, the game could have very easily gone the other way.

I had some very different takeaways. The Redskins looked bad from start to finish on both sides of the ball. They couldn't move the game on the ground at all, and while they were getting completions it was (almost?) always because the receiver had a three or five yard cushion between him and the nearest defender. In spite of that Cousins was often inaccurate and threw two picks, the first of which was a bad read and the second of which was pure boneheadedness. He missed open receivers with some regularity, including his oft-open tight end in the end zone. And on defense the team did little to pressure the Giants. Peyton could have looked like Aaron with the time Eli was gifted.

Basically, these were closer to the Redskins we all picked to have that delicious #1 pick. Any good QBs coming up in the draft?

I disagree simply because Washington had nearly 400 yards total offense, which outgained the Giants. Not only that, but crappy Cousins hit 61% of his completions which is at least decent. I'm telling you, without his bonehead picks, this team would have won. They need to eliminate turnovers, and I think they should test RGIII again here in the next couple of games. If he can learn to be a pure pocket passer, only running when he needs to, he could be great, and he is much more accurate than Cousins is. Overall, both of these teams suck, but Washington GAVE the game to New York, they didn't have to take it.

Again though, the Giants' secondary is atrocious. We knew it coming in, and we had further confirmation in this game. The Redskins aren't going to see that level of softness again this season unless they have a game against the Saints.

As for Cousins' performance, we agree now, if you can concede that many of those yards came in garbage time: they had just over a hundred yards in the first half, and the third quarter wasn't very productive either. 203 of their 393 yards came in the fourth quarter. They spent almost all but the last three minutes of that quarter down by three scores.

But you started by saying Cousins looked like a real NFL quarterback, when I don't think that's true at all. If he had, he would not have repeatedly underthrown wide open receivers, causing what should have been back-breaking plays to be ten yarders instead. I'll also add here that RG III is probably not going to be a quality quarterback ever again: he's never been a pocket passer, and I doubt he'll ever be.

Ultimately we agree that both teams suck balls, but I saw the Giants generally moving the sticks, their defense largely stopped the Redskins' supposed strength, and their special teams were solid. By contrast, the Redskins' special teams was atrocious (who lets a running back block a punt!?), their defense produced zero pressure, Giants receivers generally had little problem getting open, and  the Redskins couldn't reliably move the ball until they were down by three scores. Yes, they outgained the Giants by thirty yards, but the game was effectively over before they got half their yards.

I concede, everybody but the Redskins' running backs sucks on these two teams. Cousins is a terrible QB, the reason I said he looked like an NFL QB is because I saw him scrambling kind of a lot due to pass rush and he hit a few tough passes. But you're right, he made too many mistakes to be considered even a mid-tier NFL QB, and although he led them on a couple of decent drives in the first half, a lot of his yardage came in the second half. I am still of the belief that RGIII is better simply because of his accuracy. Wouldn't you like to see if he has progressed any as a starter? Seeing Cousins fail for the 3rd year in a row is enough for me to want to see the switch.