In-Depth Analysis of KC and Vikings QB'ing...
When the Vikings signed Kirk Cousins, they expected to get more out of him than Washington did in both his personal production and in team success and in 2019 they achieved that goal. By every possible measure — even QB Wins — Cousins produced the best season of his career.
Fueled by a Kubiak-style offense that required the veteran QB to take deep shots downfield that were opened up by play-action, Cousins became the best downfield passer in the NFL.
He produced the second highest quarterback rating throwing downfield (min. 50 passes) behind only Kansas City superstar Patrick Mahomes (per PFF). In total Cousins went 24-for-61 with nine touchdowns, one interception and a 119.7 rating when throwing the ball more than 20 yards in the air.
The Vikings tapped into this strength at a much higher rate than in 2018. Cousins finished ninth in the percentage of throws that went deep, a jump from 25th in ’18.
Cousins was one of the most accurate overall passers in the league. Per NFLNextGEN’s “expected completion percentage” metric, his completion percentage was 5.6% above expectation based on the probability of completing throws. That was third in the NFL only behind Ryan Tannehill and Drew Brees.
He was even solid when pressured, ranking sixth in pressured QB rating and Cousins saw his sack total reduce from 40 to 25 from ’18 to ’19.
Overall PFF graded Cousins the fifth best QB this year only behind Tannehill, Brees, Russell Wilson and Lamar Jackson.
The only metric that wasn’t particularly impressive was ESPN’s QBR, which factors game situation. Cousins was 13th, ranking just one spot ahead of where he finished his first season as a Viking.
His QBR is a product of several games that were unwinnable because of quarterback play. In the 1-100 system, he produced scores of:
- 7.4 in Week 2 vs. GB
- 21.4 in Week 4 vs. CHI
- 40.4 in Week 13 vs. SEA
- 24.2 in Week 16 vs. GB
The first conclusion we can draw is that the scheme worked. Using Cousins on rollouts and bootlegs turned out to be a brilliant idea as he was an elite thrower outside the pocket despite a lack of mobility.
Beyond play-actions, maximizing Dalvin Cook’s receiving ability and yards after catch produced 8.0 yards per throw behind the line of scrimmage — which nearly doubled from 2018.
The fit was right, the weapons (aside from an Adam Thielen injury) were used correctly and the offense was excellent overall. Per Pro-Football Reference, the Vikings had the eighth most “Expected Points Added” through the air. That’s a gain from 22nd last year and a gain of approximately 70 points based on the effectiveness of the passing game.
But the black cloud over this season is the failure to come through in a number of important games that could have set the Vikings up with a home playoff game
https://www.skornorth.com/vikings-2/2020/01/the-future-of-the-vikings-part-1-quarterbacks-2/
Hurry-up Vikings, we ain't getting any younger!
@"PSBLAKE" said: I agree the Oline needs an upgrade. But the remaining teams in the championship games do not have perfect lines either. it seems on offense we just cannot adjust and hide our weaknesses when we are up against good competition.GB, Tennessee and KC have significantly higher graded Lines than Minnesota. And San Francisco isn't far behind them with a no-name interior. The OZBS helps the 9ers. But they don't have world-beaters at OG or C. Or really LT since he's getting long in the tooth.
That's why I've been preaching that modest upgrades will make a dramatic improvement. Elf is terrible. Put a Kline-level Player in his place, which you can easily get in the Draft, and the difference will be the same as when Kline replaced Remmers.
Jason Peters will be 38 but just graded as a Top 3 LT. Sign him and draft Becton from Louisville to play LG and replace Peters when Father Time finally tracks him down. As long as Bradbury improves you have a Line comparable to the 9ers, which combines with the OZBS will do Kirk and Dalvin wonders.
Let us not forget in this playoff run if Kyle Sloter had been on the bench thoughout the post season this team would have been much tougher both mentally and physically. LOL
@"MaroonBells" said:@"greediron" said:@"Ralphie" said:@"greediron" said:No matter what, you have to draft for the future.If we could eliminate Cousin's turtle plays, I think we would all be very happy with our QB.
I agree we need to develop a QB, but the age old questions are "which one?" and "how long do you develop?" Many thought Sloter could be that guy. Next.
Check out http://www.nfl.com/draft/history/fulldraft?type=position to see just how many QB's have been drafted since 1936, rounds 1 through 7. It's stunning. Just since 2010 there have been 118 QB's drafted...and that doesn't include FA's or trades. Minnesota has drafted 6 which, by comparison, matches Cleveland and more than Jacksonville's 5. Green Bay...2.
Some teams seem to draft a QB every 2 years. Is that the "development curve"...show us what you got in 2 years or hit the bricks? If so, then gauging QB talent at the college level and extrapolating that to the pros sounds about as easy as guessing Powerball winning numbers.Sloter was a good investment. A few 100 thousand to find out if the between the ears matched the physical measurables. He was given a chance and obviously the raw just turned warm and mushy rather that properly cooking. It was only the fans that got bent out of shape about him, but that is normal. Backup QB is always popular when things go wrong, unless your name is Mannion.
So yes, keep investing. If a good one falls like Teddy did, jump on it. If not, take some mid round shots. The investment cost determines how long you try to develop.
Mannion was kept over Sloter for a few reasons (experience obviously one of them), but the prevailing wisdom was that they didn't think Sloter would be as helpful to Kirk as the sideline and QB-room "co-pilot."Biggest complaint about Rick is the backup QB. He has not developed that position at all. Maybe this is on the coaches as well, but always has had a guy that wasn't going to challenge the starter. Remember we had Shaun Hill backing up Teddy, which forced a trade for Bradford. Case was decent, but not really a long term solution, more like a younger Shaun Hill. Sloter was an effort to develop , but still we had Mannion as the backup.
Kirk is a robot. Mike wants a robot. Sloter was not a robot. Mannion is a robot. Case was not a robot...see a trend?
Kirk is not a winner. His best ever year was only good enough for 10-6, 2-4 in division. The 2nd part of that is not getting you to the Super Bowl.
Easiest route to a championship is through winning your division and getting a bye week.
The bad Kirk weeks took us right out of that possibility.
The best Kirk is was not and likely never will be good enough when needed most.
Lastly Kirk is not worth $30 million a year. Nobody who is only good enough to win if everything is good around him is worth that kinda money.
Bad return on investment.
@"suncoastvike" said: Lastly Kirk is not worth $30 million a year. Nobody who is only good enough to win if everything is good around him is worth that kinda money. Bad return on investment.I agree. HIs script has to go perfect for him to win.
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