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Its a nagging question for me. I know things can be somewhat circus-like on that team, but that doesn't answer it all. The obvious answer is they liked him, but didn't love him. They wanted him but not at a top-level contract cost. Ok, but why not then? He produced, but didn't elevate the team. The rumor I heard was that Cousins sometimes was reluctant to 'pull the trigger' on some throws. And the way the organization has bagged on Cousins since his departure is so odd, its not normal procedure.
In any event, we'll certainly find out this season but its a little bit of a head-scratcher for me.
The easy answer would be. They're run by an idiot. They wouldn't commit to Cousins but they'll take on 34 year old Alex Smith for basically the same money. Smith is a guy not different too much from Kirk. He had some good teams around him in KC and San Fran. He wasn't clutch when needed. While Kirk played for a dumpster fire organization. I think there's more to this story. Snyder painted himself into a corner on this one if you asked me. Fired a coach and derailed a playoff team over his RGIII man crush. I understood the 1st year tag. The 2nd was stupid. Should have signed him or traded. In the end he let him walk. Is it fair if Smith fails on that team if Cousins does well here? Good luck Alex. Or maybe if I was Kirk I'd say...welcome to MY nightmare.
I'm with Suncoast on this one...
It appears this is a lot more about a dysfunctional operation/ownership Washington vs we just tied-up a SB window in someone with flaws that could derail Viking aspirations.
Washington's loss is a big gain for us and will cause fan discontent in GB, Det and Chicago...
One word... EGO.
You had an owner who loved RGIII and his marketability as a young, high draft pick with a flashy game. The football guys (Mike Shanahan and his coaching staff) liked Kirk Cousins more. Go read quotes after Mike Shanahan was fired... he loved Kirk Cousins and thought he was going to be a great NFL QB.
Snyder just couldn't get over the fact that he lost his star rookie QB to injury and looked like a fool for giving up a king's ransom of draft picks. To further rub salt in the wound, the guy they drafted later on in the same draft turned out to be a much better NFL QB. The next coach that Sndyer hired was Jay Gruden who had no ties to Cousins.
The cards were stacked against him from the start... RGIII put Washington back on the map as a rookie. Instead of admitting that Cousins was pretty good and thanking their lucky stars they drafted him, they kept lowballing him on contract offers and completely soured the relationship. How would you feel if your Cousins? The owner is flying RGIII to Hawaii on his honeymoon and giving him all kinds of special treatment... then RGIII gets hurt, Cousins has success, and the team won't give him a market rate deal? I'd say fuck you too and go to a team that wanted me.
All very good replies....but do you really think its just that? I have a hard time believing it completely.
Quote: @StickyBun said:
All very good replies....but do you really think its just that? I have a hard time believing it completely.
I certainly think so... I mean Cousins isn't perfect, but show me an NFL QB that is. Brady and Rodgers are the only two currently playing who can elevate teams with average/above average talent and make them a perennial playoff team/Super Bowl contender. Peyton Manning was another recent example, but the rest of the league rises and falls based on the talent level they have each season.
Look at Phillip Rivers in San Diego... great QB, but he's been to the playoffs once in the past 8 seasons. Eli Manning has won 2 Super Bowls and has only taken his team to the playoffs once since they last won it all in 2010. Drew Brees could only guide his team to a 7-9 record for 3 straight years before they finally hit on Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, and drafted a couple really good defenders last year.
Those are just a few examples, I'm sure I could dig up more. I think Cousins has shown he can produce like a top 10 QB, he just didn't win as much as you would expect because the talent around him was lacking. He won't have that same issue with the Vikings...
Quote: @Wetlander said:
@ StickyBun said:
All very good replies....but do you really think its just that? I have a hard time believing it completely.
I certainly think so... I mean Cousins isn't perfect, but show me an NFL QB that is. Brady and Rodgers are the only two currently playing who can elevate teams with average/above average talent and make them a perennial playoff team/Super Bowl contender. Peyton Manning was another recent example, but the rest of the league rises and falls based on the talent level they have each season.
Look at Phillip Rivers in San Diego... great QB, but he's been to the playoffs once in the past 8 seasons. Eli Manning has won 2 Super Bowls and has only taken his team to the playoffs once since they last won it all in 2010. Drew Brees could only guide his team to a 7-9 record for 3 straight years before they finally hit on Michael Thomas, Alvin Kamara, and drafted a couple really good defenders last year.
Those are just a few examples, I'm sure I could dig up more. I think Cousins has shown he can produce like a top 10 QB, he just didn't win as much as you would expect because the talent around him was lacking. He won't have that same issue with the Vikings...
Agreed. With a handful of exceptions, supporting cast is the biggest part of a QB's perceived level of talent. You give a career backup a good one (Keenum) and he's top 10. You take a couple key pieces away from a young hotshot QB (Carr) and he's not so hot.
Unless our OC struggles with play calling, the Vikings are going to look very smart in this signing. Surrounded by this much talent, Cousins is going to look elite whether he actually is or not.
Its not that the skins didnt want him... its that Cousins no longer wanted the skins. I think he was hurt when they tagged him the second time and he made up his mind then that he wanted out of that dumpster fire of an organization. the skins were still trying to play games with him this year right before FA. You know that meme that has KC screaming at the camera something about "how you like that?" well I think that was him venting some frustration towards the skins ownership and management. He was never going to stay in DC after the way he was treated and kept dangling by them IMO.
for now I like to think of it as "never look a gift horse in the mouth"
Quote: @MaroonBells said:
Agreed. With a handful of exceptions, supporting cast is the biggest part of a QB's perceived level of talent. You give a career backup a good one (Keenum) and he's top 10. You take a couple key pieces away from a young hotshot QB (Carr) and he's not so hot.
Unless our OC struggles with play calling, the Vikings are going to look very smart in this signing. Surrounded by this much talent, Cousins is going to look elite whether he actually is or not.
Good point on Carr... I'd also add Matthew Stafford to the list. He's taken Detroit to the playoffs 3 teams in his 9 year career. He's never won a playoff game.
The Falcons went 4-12, 6-10, and 8-8 with Matt Ryan. Those years were preceded by them going 13-3 (lost in the NFCCG) and followed the 8-8 year with a Super Bowl appearance in 2016.
Cousins isn't an elite QB. But I'd argue that Brees, Big Ben, Matt Ryan, Matthew Stafford, etc. aren't either. They're very good QBs and can jump into that "elite QB" category when they have very good talent around them. Statistically, Cousins has been a top 8 QB for the past three seasons. If he can keep that up or even improve upon his career numbers AND win a bunch of games (including the playoffs), he'll get the same respect as these other QBs.
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