Still don't get the Cousins hate....

We live in an era where internet tropes seem to exist for the lazy and uninformed. People think they are producing a doctoral thesis from a few memes, wiki, urban dictionary, and and their favorite podcast.

Like so much else in this world, some of the criticism is deserved, a lot of it ain't. 

Fans expectations (especially Midwest) were SB or bust given the $$ of the contract. And most of them aren't going to take the time to see where his $ was/is over time relative to other top 5/6 QB's. 

He's streaky in his play and I'd argue his first 6 games last year cost the team. 

I'm fine with KC for now. I would have liked to have grabbed a QBOTF this past draft though. A high pedigree one, but not over maximizing our chances to win with this team today.  Darrisaw, Davis and an improved D looks good on paper. 

The tweet is one example of an extreme...  but is the extreme take an accurate representation of those that think the Vikings can do better at QB? 

It's like the pro-Cousins fans that keep spouting the tweet that says Cousins is 5-1 with a ridiculously high QB rating when pressured under 20% or whatever it is in 2020.  How much you wanna bet that stat was from both Lions games, Jacksonville, Cowboys, Texans, and the Panthers?  All teams that drafted in the top 10 and were awful pressuring the QB.  Sure it'd be great if we could play trash teams for all 17 weeks of the regular season, but sooner or later you're going to play a good team, especially in the playoffs.

The fact is Cousins is not an elite QB.  He's like Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan, Phillip Rivers, Eli Manning, Jimmy G, Ryan Tannehill, Derek Carr, etc. who can all play well and lead the team to the playoffs when they have a great team around them, but they aren't elevating a good (flawed) roster to the playoffs.

This discussion is getting stale.

Well said Wet....

Very, very few NFL QB's capable of elevating play around them. Which is exactly why GB would be stoopid to trade Rogers - and why it wont happen. 

Cousins is really good. Give him a good OL and he is elite. Might already be elite.

@"Wetlander" said: The tweet is one example of an extreme...  but is the extreme take an accurate representation of those that think the Vikings can do better at QB? 

It's like the pro-Cousins fans that keep spouting the tweet that says Cousins is 5-1 with a ridiculously high QB rating when pressured under 20% or whatever it is in 2020.  How much you wanna bet that stat was from both Lions games, Jacksonville, Cowboys, Texans, and the Panthers?  All teams that drafted in the top 10 and were awful pressuring the QB.  Sure it'd be great if we could play trash teams for all 17 weeks of the regular season, but sooner or later you're going to play a good team, especially in the playoffs.

The fact is Cousins is not an elite QB.  He's like Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan, Phillip Rivers, Eli Manning, Jimmy G, Ryan Tannehill, Derek Carr, etc. who can all play well and lead the team to the playoffs when they have a great team around them, but they aren't elevating a good (flawed) roster to the playoffs.

This discussion is getting stale.

...let's define elevating a good (flawed) roster to the playoffs. Last year was lost in the offseason due to restrictions, losing half the defense to FA, releases, injury, and COVID sit outs. Add to that a new offensive coord. the all too familiar interior O-line that can't hold their water, and what we were left with was a bad record. 

Not sure how true the theory is of QB's elevating the team is when the basics like the solid talent in the trenches or entire defenses are broken.

   

@"Wetlander" said: The tweet is one example of an extreme...  but is the extreme take an accurate representation of those that think the Vikings can do better at QB? 

It's like the pro-Cousins fans that keep spouting the tweet that says Cousins is 5-1 with a ridiculously high QB rating when pressured under 20% or whatever it is in 2020.  How much you wanna bet that stat was from both Lions games, Jacksonville, Cowboys, Texans, and the Panthers?  All teams that drafted in the top 10 and were awful pressuring the QB.  Sure it'd be great if we could play trash teams for all 17 weeks of the regular season, but sooner or later you're going to play a good team, especially in the playoffs.

The fact is Cousins is not an elite QB.  He's like Matthew Stafford, Matt Ryan, Phillip Rivers, Eli Manning, Jimmy G, Ryan Tannehill, Derek Carr, etc. who can all play well and lead the team to the playoffs when they have a great team around them, but they aren't elevating a good (flawed) roster to the playoffs.

This discussion is getting stale.

Agreed. It seems that any concerns or criticisms of Cousins labels one as a hater around here. I believe you can be critical or even a doubter, and still like the player, as well as wish him the best. 

The final chapters in the Cousins debate are still to be written. It is my hope that an improved supporting cast will be the magic formula that gets the whole team over the hump, despite having some reservations based on past history.
Besides, I have far more reservations about the defense than I do about the Quarterback.

It's not complicated.  Cousins has a career 51-51-2 winning record, which is like the definition of average and the longer this continues, the less you can point at the various teams put around him, and the more is on Cousins being the common factor.  Cousins is going to need to string together 3-4 10+win seasons in a row with some playoff wins to shake this stigma of not being a winner.

He has some positives.  Puts up good stats.  Accurate downfield.  Good on rollouts.  A little better at moving to avoid sacks than he gets credit for, however he is unable to improvise for the most part which is a distinct trait of most high-level qb's.  This keeps him in the 2nd tier with the Tannehills, Garrapolos, Goffs, etc.  That's his ceiling after this many years in the league.   You could win a SB with him if everything else goes just perfect in a given year.  And the knucklehead coach somehow morphs from a guy who folds in the big game to a guy who goes after it.   All very unlikely.

The other problem is no matter the team around him he seems to take it to right around 8-8.   He's like a football gravity well from which no team he is part of can escape to avoid their .500 destiny lol.

One ring cures everything...Go re-read the tale of John Elway. 

Some more Cousins facts...

* No QB in the NFL has a higher passer rating from a clean pocket the last two years than Kirk Cousins. 

* Since joining the Vikings, Cousins ranks 5th in the NFL in TD passes and 7th best passer rating. 

* Flavor of the month, Josh Allen had 21 dropped interceptions in 2020, tying Jameis Winston's 2019 epic mark. Six of Cousins' interceptions last year were either tips, deflections or hail marries. Most in the NFL. 

* List of NFL QBs with a 90+ passer rating every season since 2015. Brees, Cousins, Rodgers and Wilson

* Highest completion percentage in NFL history: 1. DeShaun Watson (67.9), Drew Brees (67.7), KIrk Cousins (67.0). Especially impressive considering....

...Cousins ranks 1st in the NFL the last six seasons in the amount of 25+ yard passes attempted (180). He ranks 1st in completions of those passes. His 63% of on-target deep passes led the NFL in 2020.

* Games missed due to injury since becoming a starter in 2015: ZERO. You'd think a team with a history of Teddy, Bradford, Daunte, etc would appreciate that more. 

Is he elite? What's elite? Is he top 5? Yeah, in some things, like deep ball accuracy, for sure. Top 10 in others. And middle of the pack in a few others. But I'm happy we have him leading this roster in '21 and not the next Tua, Trubisky, Haskins, Rosen, Goff, Wentz, Winston, Mariota, etc., etc. 

I think more people hate the contract. Yeah I know, it could be worse and he was the best available. The front office agreed to the contract. I think the extension pissed some people off. It is what it is. He is not the worst and not the best. Not elite but next tier. We'll see how it goes with the OL and defense. I don't hate him. I am hoping for success but there are still other things that need to come together as well. 

Why is Cousins the only player on the roster that is held accountable?  Why is every loss placed on his shoulders and is considered a failure?  Isn't football still considered a team sport?  You win as a team or you lose as a team.
Lots of the opinions regarding Cousins is simply he wasn't their choice as quarterback and not warranted the guaranteed contract.  Since most fans know more about football that the coaches, scouts and the organization, they should have been the ones choosing the quarterback.
Cousins with a good surrounding cast can do much better than previous years.  The organization has to some extent, retooled the defense, upgraded both offensive and defensive lines and have added more speed to the overall team. 
I'm ready to see a better up-coming season with a playoff run to it...

Couldn't agree more.  Cousins doesn't deserve the $hitstorm he gets.
He's a damn good QB, and we are fortunate to have him.

We will like 12 games last year if our defense holds our opposition to under 30 points.

His CONTRACT however.....is like a kick in the pills

@"Vanguard83" said: Couldn't agree more.  Cousins doesn't deserve the $hitstorm he gets. He's a damn good QB, and we are fortunate to have him.

We will like 12 games last year if our defense holds our opposition to under 30 points.

His CONTRACT however.....is like a kick in the pills

Interesting thing about that contract is that the one we gave him back in 2018--the one that everyone screamed about, the one that made him the highest paid player in NFL history (for about 5 minutes)--would rank somewhere in the middle of the pack right now among QBs.

And even with his extension, his average per year ranks 7th and his guaranteed money ranks 9th.

Just not so sure that's so far out of line with where he ranks in terms of performance.

The Cousins hate is one of the more inexplicable things of the past few years. 

Where does everyone see the
"Cousins hate" posts?   Maybe I missed them, but I haven't seen any recently. 

I want him to do well, but I still don't expect him to be this great leader.  His record as a starter is average, and he's never lead a team deep
into the playoffs, so fans question if he's a franchise QB or not.  It's
not like he's a rising young QB that just needs a few seasons under his belt to
bloom into greatness.

To me Cousins is exactly what we see. 
He can make some awesome throws, but really doesn't strike fear to opposing
defenses.  Before he was a Viking, I never worried about KC when the Vikes played
Washington.  I think he's better now, but I certainly don't feel like the
Vikes have an "elite" QB that other teams fear. 

Surround him with a great OL, RB, WRs, TEs, then throw in a top 10 D, and then let’s see what happens.  He should get the
Vikes their money's worth then, right?

@"HappyViking" said: Where does everyone see the "Cousins hate" posts?   Maybe I missed them, but I haven't seen any recently. 

I want him to do well, but I still don't expect him to be this great leader.  His record as a starter is average, and he's never lead a team deep
into the playoffs, so fans question if he's a franchise QB or not.  It's
not like he's a rising young QB that just needs a few seasons under his belt to
bloom into greatness.

To me Cousins is exactly what we see. 
He can make some awesome throws, but really doesn't strike fear to opposing
defenses.  Before he was a Viking, I never worried about KC when the Vikes played
Washington.  I think he's better now, but I certainly don't feel like the
Vikes have an "elite" QB that other teams fear. 

Surround him with a great OL, RB, WRs, TEs, then throw in a top 10 D, and then let’s see what happens.  He should get the
Vikes their money's worth then, right?

This. 

Might be different if I lived in the twin cities and listened to sports radio every day, then maybe I’d be exposed to more of Kirk’s haters? Sure a lot of people wish he was even better, but I don’t hear anyone saying he sucks.

@"pattersaur" said:

@"HappyViking" said: Where does everyone see the "Cousins hate" posts?   Maybe I missed them, but I haven't seen any recently. 

I want him to do well, but I still don't expect him to be this great leader.  His record as a starter is average, and he's never lead a team deep
into the playoffs, so fans question if he's a franchise QB or not.  It's
not like he's a rising young QB that just needs a few seasons under his belt to
bloom into greatness.

To me Cousins is exactly what we see. 
He can make some awesome throws, but really doesn't strike fear to opposing
defenses.  Before he was a Viking, I never worried about KC when the Vikes played
Washington.  I think he's better now, but I certainly don't feel like the
Vikes have an "elite" QB that other teams fear. 

Surround him with a great OL, RB, WRs, TEs, then throw in a top 10 D, and then let’s see what happens.  He should get the
Vikes their money's worth then, right?

This. 

Might be different if I lived in the twin cities and listened to sports radio every day, then maybe I’d be exposed to more of Kirk’s haters? Sure a lot of people wish he was even better, but I don’t hear anyone saying he sucks.