By Richard Rogers

With the season being over, I have a few things I need to get off my chest:

Kirk Cousins’ Contract Negotiations

Kirk Cousins is our quarterback of the future. There’s no question that the Redskins can win with him. Stop with the “yeah but’s”. Stop with the asterisks. He’s our guy. Pay him! But also stop with this notion I’ve heard that somehow Kirk has been disrespected by this organization. If Kirk has hurt feelings about something that has occurred in his five years here, then he needs to get over it. Yes, Kirk was drafted in the 4th round behind Robert Griffin III, a move that’s uncommon when teams give up that much for a QB. In 2012, nobody wanted to see Kirk Cousins play except when Robert was hurt. Kirk did his job in relief at the time and the team made the playoffs. When the Redskins really came to the realization in 2014 that Griffin III could not play, Kirk had his shot. Gruden inserted him into the lineup, but Kirk was not yet ready for prime time. He could have seized the moment and never looked back but he didn’t. But a funny thing happened in September of 2015; Jay Gruden named Kirk the starting QB for the SEASON, not for the opener. Jay and Scot stood on the table for Kirk. Jay put his job on the line and saw his coaching life flash before his eyes in the first half of the Tampa Bay game that season. Jay could have pulled him at the half, but he didn’t. He stuck with him. Kirk, perhaps, could have been one half away from a career backup QB job, but the coach stuck with you. We all know Snyder, and had the Redskins lost that game (it was a homecoming game too), it could have been scorched earth.

So where is this alleged “disrespect”? Kirk had a good 2015 season after the Tampa Bay game, but the team wanted to see more. So they were SO disrespectful that they gave him the franchise tag, paying him 20 million dollars for the 2016 season. Granted, the offer they made Kirk was low, but there are many in this fan base, myself included, that wanted to see more. We’ve seen lots more. Now pay him. But don’t give me this lunacy about how disrespected he’s been.

Scot McCloughan

Scot McCloughan has a proven track record of success building solid teams in San Francisco and Seattle. He’s the most credible GM the Redskins have had since probably Bobby Beathard, but he gets no pass from me for this debacle on defense. You handed our, now unemployed, defensive coordinator 33 year old Kedric Golston as our starting nose tackle, David Bruton Jr. as the starting safety and he’s not even on the team anymore! The have been scraps of players in Jenkins, Goldson, Reyes, Johnson, Toler, Blackmon, Jean-Francois, Hood, etc. all run out onto the field. I’m not excusing Barry, but McCloughan is culpable as well. You brag about the 14 million dollars in cap space you have, but we haven’t had a decent safety in years and we have no defensive lineman that strike fear in the hearts of opposing QB’s. I’m still all in on Scot, but he needs to be a bit less arrogant and do better with free agent acquisitions.

Finally…

I don’t want to hear from any player on this defense until the start of training camp. I don’t want to hear about what they should have, could have or would have done. In some games, there were signs of a mutiny on the sidelines with players yelling at the defensive coordinator. Do me a favor. Shut up! The defensive coordinator has been fired, and I hope the accountability continues downward. Barry gets no pass. YOU get no pass!

This offseason will be interesting to say the least. Fans and media are still performing the autopsy on this season, and I hope our “genius” general manager replaces the dead weight.