Forum The Longship Stafford vs. Cousins

Stafford vs. Cousins

MaroonBells
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This is a totally moot point as this exchange could never happen, but curious if anyone would take Stafford over Cousins. I tend to agree with a tweet I read earlier that said if the teams traded QBs, neither team would notice the difference. 

“A gentleman is someone who can play the accordion, but doesn't." - Tom Waits

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#1 · Jan 24, 7:10 AM
DE
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Fans mostly are easily swayed by things like the media and perception, especially when it comes to players not on their favorite teams where they don't know much. If you asked them why they feel strongly about anything specific, you'd probably be underwhelmed with the answer. Same with politics.

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#2 · Jan 24, 7:24 AM
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Watching Stafford earlier this year in a few games it struck me that he's basically Kirk.  A little more able to run around and make splashy plays, more prone to big bonehead plays at times.  But the end results are about the same.  Puts up numbers, doesn't win most of the meaningful games.

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#3 · Jan 24, 7:41 AM
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Cousins is way more durable, I'll keep him over Stafford.

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#4 · Jan 24, 7:44 AM
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@"Carl Knowles" said: Cousins is way more durable, I'll keep him over Stafford.
https://twitter.com/DustBaker/status/1353249004134543366?s=20
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#5 · Jan 24, 7:46 AM
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They are about equally talented,   just not at exactly the same things in the same way.  I would say it's a toss up.  But I would stay with Cousins at this point if I had to choose. 

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#6 · Jan 24, 8:06 AM
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I would rank them in the same QB tier to be honest.

Both put up good seasons stats, but make enough mistakes to keep their teams from winning consistently.

In terms of which one you'd want, I think it depends on how you construct your team and what type of offense you run.  For example, Zimmer prefers a balanced offense with a strong run game and play action passing to pick up chunk yards through the air.  Cousins is a very good play action passer (one of the best in the NFL actually) so he would be a much better fit for our offense. 

If your offense operated primarily out of the shotgun or pistol and spread teams out I think Stafford would be better suited for that.  He's a better volume passer than Kirk.

Just my two cents.

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#7 · Jan 24, 12:06 PM
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I see no reason to want Stafford over Kirk, especially with our OG play being the biggest problem for the offense...well, that and coaching that won't let it get serious about scoring until we're behind.

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#8 · Jan 24, 12:27 PM
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Neither will ever play in the Superbowl unless they are a back-up

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#9 · Jan 24, 1:04 PM
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But Stafford is a gun slinger. That ain't Kirk. Trust me, if I could choose between these two, it would be Stafford in a second. His upside is Superbowl winner, for sure. And I say this liking Cousins. 

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#10 · Jan 24, 1:54 PM
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@"StickyBun" said: But Stafford is a gun slinger. That ain't Kirk. Trust me, if I could choose between these two, it would be Stafford in a second. His upside is Superbowl winner, for sure. And I say this liking Cousins. 


I think Kirk could be that guy,  look at how much better he looks when he is able to spread things out and let it fly with no concern of trying to sell the run,  I honestly think he looks more comfortable and accurate when he doesn't have to turn his back to the LOS for the play fake.  He s a smart enough guy and has seen enough to read anything pre snap.  He's got a good enough arm that if he isn't forced to rush his mechanics he can deliver about any ball.

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#11 · Jan 24, 2:43 PM
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@"JimmyinSD" said:
@"StickyBun" said: But Stafford is a gun slinger. That ain't Kirk. Trust me, if I could choose between these two, it would be Stafford in a second. His upside is Superbowl winner, for sure. And I say this liking Cousins. 


I think Kirk could be that guy,  look at how much better he looks when he is able to spread things out and let it fly with no concern of trying to sell the run,  I honestly think he looks more comfortable and accurate when he doesn't have to turn his back to the LOS for the play fake.  He s a smart enough guy and has seen enough to read anything pre snap.  He's got a good enough arm that if he isn't forced to rush his mechanics he can deliver about any ball.


But he's never been that guy, its what Gruden insinuated when Cousins left: Kirk pre-snaps a lot of reads, Stafford is a true gun slinger. Its what Gruden meant when Cousins read that criticism and responded this way: "Yeah, I'd throw 30 INTs'. And Gruden said: 'Yeah but he'd throw 45 TDs, too'.

Kirk doesn't have a gun slinger personality, it ain't the schemes or the coaches.

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#12 · Jan 24, 4:04 PM
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@"StickyBun" said:
@"JimmyinSD" said:
@"StickyBun" said: But Stafford is a gun slinger. That ain't Kirk. Trust me, if I could choose between these two, it would be Stafford in a second. His upside is Superbowl winner, for sure. And I say this liking Cousins. 


I think Kirk could be that guy,  look at how much better he looks when he is able to spread things out and let it fly with no concern of trying to sell the run,  I honestly think he looks more comfortable and accurate when he doesn't have to turn his back to the LOS for the play fake.  He s a smart enough guy and has seen enough to read anything pre snap.  He's got a good enough arm that if he isn't forced to rush his mechanics he can deliver about any ball.


But he's never been that guy, its what Gruden insinuated when Cousins left: Kirk pre-snaps a lot of reads, Stafford is a true gun slinger. Its what Gruden meant when Cousins read that criticism and responded this way: "Yeah, I'd throw 30 INTs'. And Gruden said: 'Yeah but he'd throw 45 TDs, too'.

Kirk doesn't have a gun slinger personality, it ain't the schemes or the coaches.



Hes at his best when we have to play hurry up and he is able to see the field the whole play,  he can pre snap that and be more comfortable improvising from there is his first read is taken away since he has seen the whole play as the defense moves instead if turning around and starting from there.  Maybe he would suck,   but from what we've seen when he's behind and get to play from the gun he seems pretty comfortable back there letting it fly.

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#13 · Jan 24, 4:25 PM
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@"StickyBun" said:
@"JimmyinSD" said:
@"StickyBun" said: But Stafford is a gun slinger. That ain't Kirk. Trust me, if I could choose between these two, it would be Stafford in a second. His upside is Superbowl winner, for sure. And I say this liking Cousins. 


I think Kirk could be that guy,  look at how much better he looks when he is able to spread things out and let it fly with no concern of trying to sell the run,  I honestly think he looks more comfortable and accurate when he doesn't have to turn his back to the LOS for the play fake.  He s a smart enough guy and has seen enough to read anything pre snap.  He's got a good enough arm that if he isn't forced to rush his mechanics he can deliver about any ball.


But he's never been that guy, its what Gruden insinuated when Cousins left: Kirk pre-snaps a lot of reads, Stafford is a true gun slinger. Its what Gruden meant when Cousins read that criticism and responded this way: "Yeah, I'd throw 30 INTs'. And Gruden said: 'Yeah but he'd throw 45 TDs, too'.

Kirk doesn't have a gun slinger personality, it ain't the schemes or the coaches.



Sidetrack: Gruden is an idiot

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#14 · Jan 24, 5:05 PM
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I think theyre about equal. And for that reason I’d say yes to a swap. 

We’ve tried winning with one of them. The results have been so-so. So if we have a chance to swap, it’s a no-brainer. At worst we continue to not get to to the NFCCG. 

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#15 · Jan 24, 7:34 PM
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@"StickyBun" said:
@"JimmyinSD" said:
@"StickyBun" said: But Stafford is a gun slinger. That ain't Kirk. Trust me, if I could choose between these two, it would be Stafford in a second. His upside is Superbowl winner, for sure. And I say this liking Cousins. 


I think Kirk could be that guy,  look at how much better he looks when he is able to spread things out and let it fly with no concern of trying to sell the run,  I honestly think he looks more comfortable and accurate when he doesn't have to turn his back to the LOS for the play fake.  He s a smart enough guy and has seen enough to read anything pre snap.  He's got a good enough arm that if he isn't forced to rush his mechanics he can deliver about any ball.


But he's never been that guy, its what Gruden insinuated when Cousins left: Kirk pre-snaps a lot of reads, Stafford is a true gun slinger. Its what Gruden meant when Cousins read that criticism and responded this way: "Yeah, I'd throw 30 INTs'. And Gruden said: 'Yeah but he'd throw 45 TDs, too'.

Kirk doesn't have a gun slinger personality, it ain't the schemes or the coaches.



I don't know that Kirk's had more than a handful of consecutive games in his whole career where he was really enabled to air it out.  With Zimmer's clock control fetish, Cousins was tasked with handoffs and moving the chains (when he could stay upright) until the team inevitably fell behind.

I don't think he lacks ambition, his ability to make big throws proves that.  I think he's played within the lane(s) drawn for him by his teams and coaches.

As for Stafford's "gun slinging", he's not as accurate nor has he ever won in the postseason.  As bad as Detroit is, the same judgements that supposedly damn Cousins should be laid on Stafford the same way.

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#16 · Jan 24, 8:15 PM
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