Another point was during the 2018 draft, the Vikings were set to start adding pieces to better the offensive line. But we all seen the run on offensive linemen in that first round of the draft. For the Vikings, picking in the 30th spot left the cupboards bare. With the except of O'Neil taken in the second run, but was still considered a project at the time.
Quote: @HappyViking said:
@ StickyBun said:
This is what happens when you ignore the offensive line and it comes back and bites you in the ass when you take a big swing like Minnesota did with Cousins.
To be fair, they just came off a 13-3 season, and thought a "great" QB was all that was needed on offense. They added Cousins, and found out:
a) Cousins isn't "great"
b) The entire team wasn't as good as they thought. (players and coaches)
I hear you, Happy....but at the same time, they were a miracle play from losing at home to the Saints and got annihilated in Philly. So how good were they really? Nice regular season for sure. Zimmer had some smart NFL coaches last year exploit his defense, although his changes and tweaks the last 4-5 games made a big difference. I don't think that will happen again, but he's got to keep being proactive in that regard.
p.s. If the Viking's offensive line is putrid AGAIN this season, what a colossal waste of cap money and Cousins's prime years.
Quote: @StickyBun said:
p.s. If the Viking's offensive line is putrid AGAIN this season, what a colossal waste of cap money and Cousins's prime years.
that could be said about many of the teams players. I cant recall when the team ever had so many quality players in their prime at the same time since the early years.
Quote: @JimmyinSD said:
@ StickyBun said:
p.s. If the Viking's offensive line is putrid AGAIN this season, what a colossal waste of cap money and Cousins's prime years.
that could be said about many of the teams players. I cant recall when the team ever had so many quality players in their prime at the same time since the early years.
There's just one guy that has a fully guaranteed contract, the first of its kind in NFL history. Some fans may not want to admit it, but the Cousins signing is teetering on the precipice of full blown failure....and a chunk isn't Cousins' fault. No excuses this season.
Quote: @StickyBun said:
@ JimmyinSD said:
@ StickyBun said:
p.s. If the Viking's offensive line is putrid AGAIN this season, what a colossal waste of cap money and Cousins's prime years.
that could be said about many of the teams players. I cant recall when the team ever had so many quality players in their prime at the same time since the early years.
There's just one guy that has a fully guaranteed contract, the first of its kind in NFL history. Some fans may not want to admit it, but the Cousins signing is teetering on the precipice of full blown failure....and a chunk isn't Cousins' fault. No excuses this season.
i dont think there are too many that are going to say its on Cousins. He had a few WTF moments last year, but the shell shocking he took at times from opposing defenses getting home quickly, without having to bring more than 4, was certainly an indicator of where the failure was stemming from. As far as players wasting players in their prime as well as cap space... again that could be said about a lot of players on the team if they arent going be able to protect better and run the ball more efficiently early in the games.
Y'know...
...I see the line about "needing a supporting cast", and I just shake my head. EVERY QB needs at least a passable supporting cast to excel. Do Cunningham/Johnson turn in the '98 season without the line plus Smith/Carter/Moss/Reed? Does Favre have his last heroic season without AD/CT/Rice/Harvin and decent o-line play? Brady has had Gronk and Edelman, Erin has had Jordy and others, and so on.
Does Cousins fumble as much if he'd had even mediocre protection? Our line was rated so badly that even a 10-place improvement barely gets them into the teens, ranking-wise.
I see these articles about Cousins needing supporting players, and I can't name one good QB that wasn't at least partially a product of his supporting cast. For people to single him out for that is bizarre.
I'll never claim he's perfect, and this season is a massive "step up or shut up" time for him...but the lengths some people go to in order to s**t on him are just whacked.
Quote: @JimmyinSD said:
@ StickyBun said:
@ JimmyinSD said:
@ StickyBun said:
p.s. If the Viking's offensive line is putrid AGAIN this season, what a colossal waste of cap money and Cousins's prime years.
that could be said about many of the teams players. I cant recall when the team ever had so many quality players in their prime at the same time since the early years.
There's just one guy that has a fully guaranteed contract, the first of its kind in NFL history. Some fans may not want to admit it, but the Cousins signing is teetering on the precipice of full blown failure....and a chunk isn't Cousins' fault. No excuses this season.
i dont think there are too many that are going to say its on Cousins. He had a few WTF moments last year, but the shell shocking he took at times from opposing defenses getting home quickly, without having to bring more than 4, was certainly an indicator of where the failure was stemming from. As far as players wasting players in their prime as well as cap space... again that could be said about a lot of players on the team if they arent going be able to protect better and run the ball more efficiently early in the games.
It doesn't require $84 million in guaranteed money to miss the playoffs for 3 straight years....one down, two to go. Like I said, big year for the Vikings upcoming. If the changes they've made to the coaching staff and players theyve' signed and drafted turn around the team to the playoffs this year, good stuff. Excellent. They've righted the ship. But if not, its a freaking disaster for the organization and there's no other way to look at it.
Quote: @StickyBun said:
This is what happens when you ignore the offensive line and it comes back and bites you in the ass when you take a big swing like Minnesota did with Cousins.
Absolutely!!
Quote: @Ralphie said:
@ purplefaithful said:
There is a lot in that tryst I don't agree with - including signing EG for the $ they did was a good idea.
And I am not convinced Cousins doesn't have the chance to be one of the better QB's we've had here since Bert. Not many QB's are going to look even decent behind that OL RS and Zimmer fielded.
So many already tossing dirt on the Cousins era, so many I hope end-up looking foolish.
Agreed. The hatred towards Cousins is palpable in that piece. Calling Cousins a "journeyman" yet calling Bridgewater and Keenum "veteran talent" is laughable. While Keenum's year was magical, his ceiling was limited, and he'll be playing for his fifth team in seven years. And Teddy is a backup to a HOF QB.
Holding Cousins accountable for his play is fair game but the continued hatred for him signing his contract is getting really, really old and petty.
Glad I didn't waste my time reading it.
One year in a crap system isn't a definition of a career. People get caught up in labels IMO. Cousins was slapped with the label of non-winner in DC. He rescued that team from the failure of RGIII and the trade that led to his draft. I am optimistic about this year. A better offense with an actual running game and play action should help him immensely. Most of the anger at the waste of last year should be directed at Flip and the missing running game. Cousins struggled and needs to be better, but on a one dimensional offense, nobody looks good. Or should I say, nobody wins. Anyone can put up stats (Bradford) while losing.
And yes, veteran talent is hardly the term anyone would use for those two. One had potential, the other was a journeyman (by definition, many teams, usually a backup, unlike Cousins) that had a magical year.
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