If Kirk Cousins is a second-tier QB, the Vikings will go far

[purplefaithful]

If Kirk Cousins can carry the Vikings sometimes and elevates his game with special plays — which Minnesota clearly believes he's capable of doing — the Vikings have a chance to win the Super Bowl.

*ESPN.com (Insider required) did its NFL QB rankings by “tiers” for the fifth year in a row. Mike Sando puts the list together with the help of voting by 50 league insiders (mainly coaches and executives), dividing the 32 projected starters into four tiers.
They’re still ranked 1-32, but I like the tier system because it also differentiates between clusters of guys. 
Tier 1 is reserved for stars who can carry their teams.
Tier 2 is for a “quarterback can carry his team sometimes, but not as consistently. He can handle pure passing situations in doses and/or possesses other dimensions that are special enough to elevate him above Tier 3. He has a hole or two in his game.
And Tier 3 is is a legitimate starter, but needs a heavier running game and/or defense to win.
Tier 4 is for recycled veterans and unproven rookies.
Four QBs are in Tier 1: Aaron Rodgers, Tom Brady, Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger. That seems about right, though I might drop Big Ben into Tier 2 and just keep that top three.
After that it gets interesting and relevant to the Vikings. There’s a whole cluster of 10 quarterbacks in Tier 2, as voted on by the insiders. It has guys like Matt Ryan, Andrew Luck, Cam Newton and Matthew Stafford. But it does not have Vikings QB Kirk Cousins, who checks in at No. 15 overall as the first QB in Tier 3.
Cousins is clearly being paid like at least a Tier 2 QB, and he was in that tier a year ago. The tier system might be the best way to define what Cousins needs to be with the Vikings in order to achieve great levels of success.
If Cousins can be a Tier 2 QB, carry the Vikings sometimes and elevate his game with special plays — which Minnesota clearly believes, given the talent around him, he can do — the Vikings have a chance to win the Super Bowl. A Tier 1, future Hall of Fame QB is obviously preferable, but any team with a Tier 2 QB has a quarterback good enough to win it all.
If Cousins plays more like a Tier 3 QB, relying more heavily on the run game and defense without really taking over when he needs to, the Vikings can still be good. They are probably even still a playoff team. But their margin for error come playoff time is diminished, as are their Super Bowl chances.
Cousins needs to be in that second tier and play something like the No. 8-12 best QB in the league instead of around 15. That will define the next three seasons for the Vikings more than anything else.
*Former NFL receiver Chad Johnson — formerly Ochocinco, formerly Johnson before that — is known for being a generous tipper. He left a $260 whopper on a $140 bill, and explained on the receipt that it was because he had 260 yards in a game against the Chargers once. He also added “I love you” on the receipt, because of course he did.
http://www.startribune.com/if-kirk-cousi...488996281/

[Guest]

“Cousins is clearly being paid like at least a Tier 2 Qb”

A least? Highest paid ever, the only 100% guarenteed?   Be honest and admit they think he is a tier three guy and paid like a tier one guy.

I think the Vikings clearly believe he is a legitimate tier 2 guy who at times can play like a tier 1.  It will be interesting to see who is correct.  I am not that familiar with him but it seemed he was a clear tier 2 guy when they brought him here.  I sure hope the Vikes are correct.
With the importance of the bye and home field advantage in the playoffs, every single game is huge.  Hope Kirk kicks ass.

[Guest]

I don't think there's really a doubt that Cousins is Tier 2. But like anyone else coming in new, he'll have to prove it. Honestly, there is less than a handful of Tier 1 QBs in the NFL. Being able to carry a football team is special and unique. I agree with this story saying there are only 4 Tier 1 QBs in the NFL.

 Minnesota overpaid for Cousins, there's no doubt about it but they had a chance to get a very good QB in FA entering his prime without trade compensation and they nailed it. I'd rather overpay for a very good player at the QB position than any other. Maybe one day they'll figure out how to draft one.

[Guest]

Rogers, Brees, Brady...Generational talent. I sure don't put the Pitt QB in the same level. 

I hope with this surround, Cousins is clearly Tier 2 by end of season. Time will tell and time will erode the wow factor of $84mm guaranteed.

Wait till fans see his second contract with the Vikings in just 36 mos

[Guest]

They have Rodgers, Brady, Brees, and Big Ben as the only Tier 1 QBs in the NFL...  given the description of a Tier 1 QB, I don't know that I would include Brees and Big Ben at this point in their careers. 
Brees just took his team to the playoffs for the first time since 2013 and the Saints were 7-9 for 3 straight years.  They finally got back to the playoffs after drafting Alvin Kamara and hitting on a couple defenders in the draft the past couple seasons.  That sounds more like a Tier 2 QB, than a Tier 1...  which I think is what Brees is at this point in his career.
Same thing for Big Ben...  earlier in his career, he won a Super Bowl on the backs of Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker (great running game) and one of the top defenses in the NFL.  The Steelers have been pretty consistent playoff team during Big Ben's career, but until Antonio Brown exploded and they drafted Le'Veon Bell, the Steelers weren't a Super Bowl contender.
As far as Cousins, I think he's a Tier 2 QB.  If Matthew Stafford and others are Tier 2 QBs, you can't leave Cousins out.  He's been a top 8 QB in almost every major statistical passing category since he became a starter.

[Guest]

@Wetlander said:
They have Rodgers, Brady, Brees, and Big Ben as the only Tier 1 QBs in the NFL...  given the description of a Tier 1 QB, I don't know that I would include Brees and Big Ben at this point in their careers. 
Brees just took his team to the playoffs for the first time since 2013 and the Saints were 7-9 for 3 straight years.  They finally got back to the playoffs after drafting Alvin Kamara and hitting on a couple defenders in the draft the past couple seasons.  That sounds more like a Tier 2 QB, than a Tier 1...  which I think is what Brees is at this point in his career.
Same thing for Big Ben...  earlier in his career, he won a Super Bowl on the backs of Jerome Bettis and Willie Parker (great running game) and one of the top defenses in the NFL.  The Steelers have been pretty consistent playoff team during Big Ben's career, but until Antonio Brown exploded and they drafted Le'Veon Bell, the Steelers weren't a Super Bowl contender.
As far as Cousins, I think he's a Tier 2 QB.  If Matthew Stafford and others are Tier 2 QBs, you can't leave Cousins out.  He's been a top 8 QB in almost every major statistical passing category since he became a starter.

Agree with this completely. But I'd say there are only two tiers. QBs who carry their teams (Brady and Rodgers) and QBs who win or lose based on their supporting cast (everyone else). And you're exactly right about Brees. Look what improving that supporting cast did for him. 

A tier-3 QB is not worth 84 million dollars. And you can't argue we overpaid him because that was his market, even before we paid it. If we didn't pay it another team would have. 

The Vikings are likely going to look very smart this season for "recognizing the talent in Cousins" that some didn't see. But the truth will be more that we signed a pretty good QB and put him on a very good team. I suspect his yardage numbers won't blow people away because we'll run the ball a lot, but his QBR and his TD to INT ratio are going to rank among the best. 

[Guest]

I only see one tier 1 guy by their definition. Can clearly carry their team. Rodgers is the only one that fits that to me. Brady is maybe the greatest even...maybe, but has had superior coaching of the team around him as well. Rodgers has often made his coaches look brilliant and won in spite of McCarthy. Brees and Ben are great but their teams don't succeed without talent around them.
I would say Rodgers, Brady, Brees and Roethlisberger are all tier 1. Just not all, by the narrow parameters they set.
Cousins falls in tier 2. Around Stafford, Wilson and Rivers. Behind Matt Ryan. Who is the closest to tier 1 of the 2's. Screw it! I like Ryan I'm making him a 1. While I'm at it I'll drop Ben to a 2. At this point of his career. See how very arbitrary it is.

[Guest]

*Former NFL receiver Chad Johnson — formerly Ochocinco, formerly Johnson before that — is known for being a generous tipper. He left a $260 whopper on a $140 bill, and explained on the receipt that it was because he had 260 yards in a game against the Chargers once. He also added “I love you” on the receipt, because of course he did.

When did grown men - journalists to boot! - start writing like 22 year old hot chicks commenting on Instagram?! "because of course he did." Shut up! Walter Cronkite would kick this guy in the ovaries.

[Guest]

I don't really care too much about these types of rankings.  I do think that Cousins and Smith both deserve to be in the Tier2 category.  I also am not a big fan of them moving young, inexperienced guys to the front of the list.  I wouldn't put Garoppolo or Watson that high without having a little more of a track record even though they look promising.  I also wouldn't put Luck that high given he's coming off a season where he missed the entire season due to injury, especially when Bradford is so low, which I assume is due purely to injury.

[Guest]

I would say they are way off even discussing Cousins in Tier 3. He was easily Tier 2 last year without a very good team around him. In my opinion he’s as good as Matt Ryan right now. Actually they seem like similar players to me. Tier 2 guys with flahes of more. Roethlisberger is a Tier 2 guy in my opinion. 

Personally I think the Vikings made a great decision getting Cousins. He’s a legit franchise QB which rarely come available and his best years are ahead. He is coming off of three straight seasons of high level play and started every game. The Redskins wanted to keep him but it sounds like the feeling was not mutual. That’s the risk a team takes when they tag a guy twice. 

The way I see it, Cousins is undervalued by the media and many fans. I have very high expectations for him and expect he’ll be around for years to come.