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03Jan

kirk cousins’ path prepared him for NFL success

In blog, feature, football by b murf / January 3, 2013 / No Comments

[Editor’s note: This season, the Washington Redskins have asked me to occasionally write feature stories for the team’s official website, Redskins.com. This article is my latest contribution, so please check it out.]

Fans of the Washington Redskins got to see what rookie quarterback Kirk Cousins was all about when he was forced to fill in for an injured Robert Griffin III in the final two minutes of a December game against the Baltimore Ravens.

The 24-year-old was thrust into action with his team trailing by eight points and the game on the line after Griffin suffered a knee injury on a hit by Ravens defensive lineman Haloti Ngata, and he promptly led the Redskins to a thrilling come-from-behind overtime victory.

Cousins’ clutch performance enabled the Redskins to keep their playoff hopes alive and ultimately helped pave the way to Washington’s first NFC East title since 1999 – which is funny, because the Barrington, Illinois native hadn’t even started playing tackle football yet the last time the burgundy and gold reigned supreme in the division.

Cousins didn’t begin playing tackle football until the following year when, as a sixth grader, he finally convinced his parents to let him give it a shot.

“Out in the suburbs where we lived in Chicago, Walter Payton and Mike Singletary lived in that area and both had decided they wouldn’t let their kids play tackle football until they were older,” Cousins said. “They had both played football for so long, gotten beaten up so much and knew the pounding that you take as a football player and felt like you could still learn the rules of the game playing flag football or playing in the backyard. So when guys who played in the NFL and are Hall of Famers are encouraging my dad to not push it too early, my dad listened.”

While his playing days might have started a little bit later in life than other kids, it didn’t take Cousins long to catch up.

“I was never the best athlete,” he said. “I was always a good athlete, but I was never the fastest, the biggest or the strongest. But like my dad always told me, I just have a knack for throwing a football. There’s just something about the nature of throwing a football that came very natural to me. I never really had to work on it and no one has ever told me to change or fix my throwing motion. People just say the way I do it is a good way to do it.”

When he was 13, Cousins’ family moved to Michigan and immediately began searching for a high school with a top-notch football program. Well, things don’t always go as planned and Cousins ended up at Holland Christian School, which wasn’t exactly a dynasty in waiting.

“We were looking for a school system with a good football program because that’s what I knew I wanted to do,” Cousins said. “The school I ended up at though had just started football. As a result, it was still in the early stages and we weren’t very good, the coaching staff wasn’t very experienced and we had to kind of learn on the fly. I had a great experience, but I didn’t really have that powerhouse football experience that a lot of the guys in the NFL probably had.”

Making matters worse, Cousins suffered an injury in his very first game of varsity football during his junior year.

“You dream of playing varsity football,” he said. “With no guaranteed scholarships and in my first game on varsity, I get hit and break my ankle. I had to sit out the rest of the season and it really set me back and hurt me with recruiting.”

By the nature of the position, quarterbacks are going to get hit. They’re going to be knocked down. The good ones get back up and find a way to overcome adversity. Even at an early age, Cousins proved this was one of his biggest strengths.

Click here for the full article.

02Jan

redskins 2012 most valuable player: nick sundberg

In blog, football by b murf / January 2, 2013 / 1 Comment

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Before the 2012 season, expectations were admittedly low for the Washington Redskins.

Sure, they had just landed the highly-touted Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III to solidify the quarterback position, but that didn’t stop the so-called “experts” at ESPN The Magazine from predicting a 2-14 record for Washington this season.

Thankfully, the burgundy and gold were leaps and bounds better than that. Even after losing all of that salary cap space to commissioner Roger Goodell and the NFL mafia and with a paper-thin secondary and injuries to several key contributors, Washington was able to circle the wagons and win the NFC East for the first time since 1999.

How did the Redskins go from worst to first for the first time in franchise history? The answer might surprise you.

It all started when the team was forced to place long snapper Nick Sundberg on injured reserve after the third-year pro broke his left arm against the New Orleans Saints Week 1. You see, even though Sundberg suffered the injury at the end of the first half, he continued to play the rest of the game with a broken arm.

As you might imagine, this impressed the football gods.

Because the Redskins placed Sundberg on the injured reserve under the newly-established category of “designated to return,” it meant that rather than shutting down the 25-year-old after just one game, they were able to shelve him for eight games and then he was eligible to return to action.

What a decision that turned out to be, because, for my money, Sundberg was unquestionably the team’s most valuable player in 2012.

01Jan

how the redskins defense saved the season

In blog, football by b murf / January 1, 2013 / No Comments

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Well, the 2012 NFL season has come to a conclusion and yet, the Washington Redskins still live to play another day.

Thanks to a remarkable seven-game winning streak, the Redskins claimed their first NFC East division title since ’99 and will now host just the second playoff game in FedEx Field’s miserable history this Sunday when the Seattle Seahawks come to town.

While most of the world is quick to praise the immensely-talented tandem of quarterback Robert Griffin III and running back Alfred Morris, it would be foolish to assume this magical run has come solely because of those two rookies. Which is why Grantland’s Bill Barnwell wrote a column this week suggesting Washington’s improved defense is the biggest reason the team made it to the postseason.

Washington’s improvement, meanwhile, owes more to its defense than you might expect. It’s a leap I wrote about earlier in this run, but the numbers bear out that the Redskins’ defense has had more to do with their big playoff run than has the offense. During their 3-6 start, the Washington offense averaged 25.1 points per game, a figure that improved to an even 30 during the 7-0 finish. That’s a 4.9-point difference. Meanwhile, the Washington defense went from allowing 27.6 points per game during the rough seas of September and October to an even 20.0 points per game after Election Day, a difference of 7.6 points. Plenty of those points came in garbage time against the Cowboys on Thanksgiving Day, too, so that figure even understates the genuine improvement this unit has made over the final seven weeks of the year.

How did they get better? Well, the obvious indicators don’t show any notable changes. Washington forced 16 turnovers through nine games, an average of 1.8 per contest and a figure that rose slightly to 2.1 turnovers per game over their final seven contests. That’s not it. They’ve been bad on third down on both sides of the divide, allowing opposing offenses to convert 43.8 percent of the time during the 3-6 run (which was seventh-worst in the league), a figure that’s up to 45.6 percent after their bye week. Their dismal first-down pass defense allowed 8.8 yards per pass attempt during the first nine weeks of the year, a figure only topped by the Saints and Chiefs. Their more recent run has seen them allow a more respectable 6.8 yards per throw. Their sack rate has also improved from 3.8 percent to 6.0 percent. The steps above that are positive all help a little bit, but not enough to single-handedly change the Redskins, who seem to be getting better out of sheer will.

With that in mind, I talked to nose tackle Barry Cofield to try and gain some perspective from the vocal leader on just what has changed on his side of the ball to allow defensive coordinator Jim Haslett and friends to save a once-sinking ship.

31Dec

photos from the sidelines: week 17

In blog, football, photos by b murf / December 31, 2012 / No Comments

(photo by Brian Murphy)

The Washington Redskins did the unthinkable Sunday evening — they not only rose to the challenge of playing against their hated rival on a national stage with a playoff birth of the line, but they managed to exceed expectations in the way they handled the Dallas Cowboys.

Their 28-18 victory was a blast from the past, as the Redskins ran up and down the field en route to their first NFC East title in 13 years.

“It’s safe to say, I’m the happiest guy in the room,” said Redskins quarterback Robert Griffin III. “I was 9 years old in 1999. So I stand before you at 22, and the Redskins are the NFC East champions. To me, talking to Alfred after the game, it’s the first time the Redskins have been champs since ’99 and we came in and we did it in one year. The sky’s the limit for this team.”

Alfred, of course, is Redskins running back Alfred Morris, who rushed for 200 yards and three touchdowns in the biggest game of his young career. He too, was in elementary school the last time Washington was good enough to win a division title — which is seriously depressing when you stop and think about it.

But this isn’t a time to linger on the sad days. This is a time to celebrate the improbable journey this year’s Washington Redskins have taken us all on. Thanks to a magical seven-game winning streak, Washington will now host a home playoff game for just the second time in FedEx Field history.

So with that in mind, please feel free to peruse my favorite photos I was able to capture from the sidelines this week. After all, there’s something truly enjoyable about watching the Dallas Cowboys fall flat on their collective faces on a national stage.

31Dec

redskins-cowboys playlist

In blog, football, playlist by b murf / December 31, 2012 / No Comments

(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Damn It Feels Good To Be A Gangsta” by Geto Boys

Coming into their final game of the regular season, the Washington Redskins had a chance to back their way into the playoffs. Had the Chicago Bears and Minnesota Vikings both lost, the burgundy and gold would have been a lock for the postseason regardless of the outcome of their rivalry game with the Dallas Cowboys.

So naturally, both the Bears and VIkings won their games, and the Redskins had just one option left if they wanted to continue their magical run — beat Dallas.

Faced with a “win and you’re in” situation, the Redskins looked every bit like a powerhouse — punishing the Cowboys 28-18 with a heavy dose of the NFL’s best ground game and leaving no doubt that they belong in the playoffs, thanks to a seven-game winning streak.

“I’m really proud of our football team,” said head coach Mike Shanahan. “For them to fight for seven weeks to put themselves in this position just says a lot about who they are and what level they’ve played at for about seven weeks. That we accomplished our first goal is really a tribute to the character of the guys in that locker room.”

Each of the last two seasons, the Redskins were in last place in the NFC East. That’s because head coach Mike Shanahan and company went just 11-21.

Now though, the Redskins are the division’s lone postseason representative. They beat their biggest rival on a national stage to improve to 5-1 against the NFC East and to go 10-6 on the year.

And best of all, because Washington was able to go from “worst to first” for the first time in franchise history, the Redskins will finally get another chance to play football in January while the Cowboys, Giants and Eagles are forced to buy a ticket if they want to get anywhere near the playoffs.

24Dec

happy holidays fellow homers

In blog, football by b murf / December 24, 2012 / 1 Comment

(photo by Brian Murphy)

Lets be honest — if you’re a fan of the Washington Redskins, then you have plenty of reason to give thanks during this holiday season.

For starters your favorite football franchise matters again for the first time since Vietnam.*

*Okay, maybe they’ve won an important game or two since then, but you get my point. It’s been a while.

After two seasons of lackluster play and disappointment, the Mike Shanahan era finally has proven to have an enjoyable moment or two. Oh, and did I mention there’s a rookie quarterback in town who has played a pretty significant role in all of this as well? So while you’ve all already gotten your present early this year, here’s hoping the holiday season still treats you all well.

Sure, in years past ‘Skins fans have had little choice but to drown their sorrows away in a tall glass of eggnog, but thankfully, that’s not needed this year. Either way, I just wanted to take a moment to wish all of you a merry Christmas.

And if you don’t do the whole Christmas thing, that’s cool too. Enjoy your Chinese food and we’ll catch up with everyone in a day or two.

23Dec

redskins-eagles playlist

In blog, football, playlist by b murf / December 23, 2012 / No Comments

(photo by Brian Murphy)

1. “Dancing With The Dead” by 10 Years

For the briefest of moments, it absolutely appeared the Washington Redskins were going to do their best to ruin the holidays.

That’s because, for the briefest of moments, it appeared that Philadelphia Eagles quarterback Nick Foles had completed a third-down pass to receiver Jeremy Maclin, who was wide open in the right corner of the end zone.

Fortunately for the burgundy and gold, the rookie quarterback didn’t get enough on the pass and the ball skipped just short of his intended target — giving the Redskins another chance to close out the game.

Had the Eagles completed that play, more than a few Redskins players believed there was no doubt Philadelphia would have gone for a two-point conversion rather than attempted an extra point and played for overtime.

“We knew they would,” said middle linebacker Perry Riley. “They had nothing to lose and they were trying to mess up our season. Why not go for two? We didn’t want to let it get to that point. We didn’t want to let them score because who knows if they would have gotten it or not?”

In the end though, Foles missed on that golden opportunity and three plays later was whistled for an illegal forward pass to end the game, thanks to pressure by Redskins defensive end Stephen Bowen.

It wasn’t always pretty, but the defense — which finished the game with a season-high five sacks and also created two turnovers — found a way to do just enough to lead the Redskins to a nerve-wracking 27-20 victory over the Eagles.