Besides recapping the injury progress over the much needed bye week, head coach Jay Gruden addressed the New England Patriots similarly to Kirk Cousins.
On the topic of trying to continue, because it is nearly impossible to stop, tight end Rob Gronkowski, Gruden did not commit to automatically doubling the Pro Bowler because “who will cover Edelman”. Gruden maintained that Brady will find how to exploit you in other areas because of the weapons he has in Julian Edelman, Dion Lewis, and Danny Amendola. In my opinion, those three individuals do not always win in one-on-one coverage and therefore should not be given any where close to the same attention as Gronkowski.
It would have helped if the Redskins had all three of their top corners, Chris Culliver, DeAngelo Hall, and Bashaud Breeland, to try and best constain New England’s three main receivers in man coverage. But right now it does not seem like all three will be on the field Sunday, which otherwise would have allowed Washington to double Gronkowski with a linebacker and safety.
The raving of the Patriots, which is unfortunately not an overstatement, was a constant theme in both pressers. Gruden preached to the defense that if you take one play off you better be ready to defend the PAT on the next play because Brady will turn your lack of effort into a touchdown. One of the reason’s Gruden believes Tom Brady is the best quarterback, is because of his ability to know when to get the ball out against a blitz or three man front.
Kirk Cousins chimed in with the discipline and intelligence to be prime factors for the Patriots success. Although it is not completely out of the question, Cousins went so far as to call Brady the “G.O.A.T” (greatest of all time) because he has set the standard for everything else to follow.
With regards to Kirk Cousins, Gruden said that the team can only control his progress and preparation. He hopes to see an increase in poise every week. Cousins similarly mentioned that he actually has to calm himself down from playing with too much passion, which we saw in his post-game comments when he told CSN’s Tarik El-Bashir “you like that”. As a result, Cousins has a goal to “stay poised, stay collected, and operate like a CEO”.
Probably one of the biggest offensive threats that the Redskins have been missing all year in DeSean Jackson, is likely to bring a boost to the team this Sunday. Cousins said that he has a decent chemistry with Jackson and enjoys his return because he is just another option for him to look at. Jackson’s elite speed and ability to take the top off the defense can likely also be beneficial to Alfred Morris and Matt Jones who are trying to to jump start the porous running game.