Team Notes week 3 2016

Despite losing twice at home, and facing all sorts of problem areas, head coach Jay Gruden wants everyone to "stay positive" and "understand we still have 14 games left" and believe that "all our goals are still reachable."

If those phrases make him sound as if he's living in denial, there is no denying this: A loss next Sunday at the New York Giants (2-0) would leave Washington in a big hole in the NFC East, three games out of first place just three games into the season.

"To be 0-2 at home - losing to the Cowboys, losing to the Steelers - is kind of a shock to everybody," Gruden said Monday. "We expected great things this year. We still do."

As the Associated Press notes, a year after winning their division behind a career season from Kirk Cousins, the Redskins have reason to wonder what is going on with the QB . He has one touchdown pass and three interceptions, including an end-zone pick on third-and-goal from the 6 in the fourth quarter of Sunday's 27-23 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

"He's not going to be perfect every week, that's for sure. And no quarterbacks are. It's just a matter of handling his business, going into work the next day and continuing to get better," Gruden said. "Keep his head up and stay confident, stay poised."

Gruden continued: "Sometimes he puts a lot on himself. He puts a lot of pressure on himself. He wants to be great, there's no question about it. And sometimes, if he feels like he's not playing to the standards that we all have set for him, he feels like he's letting everybody down."

There have been problems in the red zone. And on third downs. Cousins' passer rating of 78.5 ranks 27th in the league.

He has not been very accurate: Against Dallas, Cousins overthrew wide-open receivers DeSean Jackson and Jamison Crowder on plays that very easily could have been TDs.

"It wasn't good enough, obviously," Cousins acknowledged. "I need to play better."

His teammates would agree.

Profootballtalk.com's Mike Florio, citing a source with knowledge of the situation, reports that multiple offensive players have begun to complain about Cousins, pointing to a lack of decisiveness, erratic play, and confusion.

Florio asked the source whether the players who are griping would prefer Colt McCoy. Said the source, "At least he'd play with poise."

I suspect this is not something a win or two can't fix.

In addition, there are reasons beyond the obvious that help explain Cousins' struggles.

No quarterback has thrown more often than Cousins' 89 attempts through two games (Jacksonville's Blake Bortles has the same number), and Washington has run the ball a grand total of 29 times, a division of labor that might not serve the Redskins well against the Giants' revamped defense .

"We're not happy with the run-pass balance. Based on the numbers, we're obviously not a 'run-first' team. I'd be standing up here looking like a fool if I said we're a 'pound the rock'-type team right now,'" Gruden said. "First two games, the proof is in the pudding, the numbers."

As the Sports Xchange notes, general manager Scot McCloughan likes to say how much he values a powerful running game. It's how he constructed his rosters in San Francisco and Seattle as an executive. But that's not what he has in place now. That 89 to 29 pass to run ratio is astounding.

McCloughan might blanch at it, but then again what is the coaching staff supposed to do? The talent level at tight end and wide receiver far outpaces what's at running back.

In addition to sounding an optimistic tone Monday, Gruden did say there is plenty his players and coaching staff needed to improve - on offense and defense.

"We've just got to do a better job communicating on defense, making sure we're in the right spot, getting the calls out to the defensive backs, linebackers, defensive line. Offensively, making sure we know exactly where to go with the ball, when to go to it, and just do a better job of letting the players know what we're trying to accomplish with each play call, both (on) offense and defense," the coach said. "The players have got to understand what we're doing and do it to the best of their ability."

Still, as ESPN.com's John Keim put it, "If the Redskins are going to climb out of an 0-2 hole, then Cousins has to lead them."

He had a strong finish in 2015, helping the Redskins make the playoffs -- even as the defense continued to have some issues. Not a whole lot has changed in that area. The Redskins already face an absolutely must-win game after only two weeks. In order to turn this around, Cousins must play better.

A few final notes here. ... DeSean Jackson didn't practice on Wednesday because of knee and ankle injuries. Gruden said that Jackson got hurt sometime in the third quarter of last Sunday's loss to the Cowboys.

As you'd expect, Jackson's status for this week's game came up for discussion but an answer didn't come. Gruden said during his press conference that he has no idea about whether Jackson will be able to play at this point in the week.

The team will practice twice more before setting injury designations for the game on Friday, but it would seem unlikely that Jackson will be on the field if he isn't feeling well enough to work on Thursday or Friday.

Tight end Niles Paul caught a 17-yard pass against the Cowboys on Sunday. It was his first reception since Week 17 of the 2014 season, Paul missed all of last year with a fractured and dislocated left ankle.

TE Vernon Davis played in his 150th career game on Sunday against Dallas.

Rookie receiver Josh Doctson had one reception for 57 yards against the Cowboys. It was the longest reception by a Redskins rookie wide receiver since 2001. He was targeted on four other occasions, with most of those coming in the red zone on fade routes.

DEPTH CHART
QBs: Justin Fields, Tyson Bagent, Nathan Peterman
RBs: Khalil Herbert, D'Onta Foreman, Roschon Johnson, Travis Homer, Khari Blasingame
WRs: D.J. Moore, Darnell Mooney, Tyler Scott, Velus Jones Jr., Trent Taylor, Equanimeous St. Brown
TEs: Cole Kmet, Robert Tonyan, Marcedes Lewis, Jake Tonges