Exploring one NFL exec’s claim that Kirk Cousins is ‘not a finisher’

Maybe we need a closer QB?  Capn kirk gets the first 3 quarters and then our closer comes in and nails it down... or kirk can get the regular season but we turn the playoffs over to a specialist...

Article is OK but stats can be slanted in so many ways.

The Redskins under Cousins never had a decent run game and had the one year with WR weapons before they decided to not resign them.  There defense was ranked bottom 5ish in the league all 3 years.  So you want to do an article on not just taking leads but also holding leads as an indication of "clutch" but it is a team game.

Cousins had no run game or defense to allow him to be "clutch".

That changes with the Vikings and we will all see the difference.  One teams incompetence is going to work to our advantage IMO.
Cousins is the right player at the right time and place!

So the NFL should be like the MLB and have relief QBs that come in and close the game???  yeah  ok....  ;)

This. 
One conclusion you could draw is that the all-time great quarterbacks will remain all-time great through thick and thin, but most of the league’s franchise QBs’ narrative and win-loss records are shaped by the quality of their team. 

@"MaroonBells" said: This.  One conclusion you could draw is that the all-time great quarterbacks will remain all-time great through thick and thin, but most of the league’s franchise QBs’ narrative and win-loss records are shaped by the quality of their team. 

And I would add...  some of the "All-time greats" weren't that great early in their career.  The article points out Drew Brees, Ben Roethlisberger, and a few other QBs as finishers.  Well, Drew Brees had a record of 21-21 after his first 3 years as the starter in San Diego.  Kirk Cousins was 24-23-1 in his first 3 full seasons as the starter.
Quite a few of these guys grew into the position...  I mean Ben Roethlisberger and Drew Brees are prime examples of QBs that didn't put up the gaudy numbers early in their career, but they eventually developed into top 5 QBs.
Cousins has the best collection of talent and coaches than he's ever had in his career...  I wouldn't be shocked if he's being mentioned as a top 5 QB in a couple seasons.  The pieces are in place for him to succeed, he's in his prime, and this team is ready to win a bunch of games.  We'll see what happens.

NFL exec's have opinions, not all of them accurate. We'll find out with Cousins.

these are the same execs that pick the spurgeon wynns before Tom bradys. Just sayin..

So I guess Matt Coller and some unnamed exe. are not big Cousins fans. At least Matt laid out his concerns. They are valid in my opinion. Let's see what he does with a better surroundings cast. That and the security of actually being wanted by your owner and GM. As for the unamed.  I can't judge the value of your opinion unless I know who you are. What your motivation might be. Or who you picked as YOUR. "closer". I might have to laugh at you and your opinion. Or could be a rival stirring the pot. ESPN's Sando quoted several NFL exe's. Coller chose this one quote to write an intire article around. OK...what's your take on the others. Did they/any praise the move? I don't know and not looking it up. Just wondering your motivation.

@"suncoastvike" said: So I guess Matt Coller and some unnamed exe. are not big Cousins fans. At least Matt laid out his concerns. They are valid in my opinion. Let's see what he does with a better surroundings cast. That and the security of actually being wanted by your owner and GM. As for the unamed.  I can't judge the value of your opinion unless I know who you are. What your motivation might be. Or who you picked as YOUR. "closer". I might have to laugh at you and your opinion. Or could be a rival stirring the pot. ESPN's Sando quoted several NFL exe's. Coller chose this one quote to write an intire article around. OK...what's your take on the others. Did they/any praise the move? I don't know and not looking it up. Just wondering your motivation.

also... "executive"  doesnt mean he knows shit about football,  a CFO is an executive but I wouldnt necessarily want Steve Poppen making personnel decisions for the Vikes. 

@"JimmyinSD" said:

@"suncoastvike" said: So I guess Matt Coller and some unnamed exe. are not big Cousins fans. At least Matt laid out his concerns. They are valid in my opinion. Let's see what he does with a better surroundings cast. That and the security of actually being wanted by your owner and GM. As for the unamed.  I can't judge the value of your opinion unless I know who you are. What your motivation might be. Or who you picked as YOUR. "closer". I might have to laugh at you and your opinion. Or could be a rival stirring the pot. ESPN's Sando quoted several NFL exe's. Coller chose this one quote to write an intire article around. OK...what's your take on the others. Did they/any praise the move? I don't know and not looking it up. Just wondering your motivation.

hell it could be somebody within the redskins organization....

also... "executive"  doesnt mean he knows shit about football,  a CFO is an executive but I wouldnt necessarily want Steve Poppen making personnel decisions for the Vikes. 

Last off season the Vikings signed a backup QB scrub for nearly league minimum by the name of Case Keenum.  Once he was forced to start, everyone waited and waited for him to fail (myself included).  But he didn't.  The supporting cast around him along with his work ethic and excellent coaching staff made him not only sucessful, but a very weathly FA QB this off season.

If Case can turn his career around and flourish with this Vikings offense, I have no reason to believe that Kirk can't do the same.  As a matter of fact, I think we all expect Kirk to exceed the great play of Case's 2017 season. 

Look at the scrub backup that became the SB MVP.  Experts also kept waiting for Foles to suck and play poorly.  That didn't happen, and he not only whipped our Vikings, but he beat the great HOF Brady and the Pats.

I think this proves it doesn't really matter what Kirk did with the Redskins.  It's a new chapter in his career.

proof that capn Kirk is indeed a finisher....

That's a pretty interesting article. I'm very excited about what Cousins will bring to this very talented roster, but I can't help but feel like someone is twisting a knife somewhere in my gut when I read that he was 39th of 46 qualifiers in red zone accuracy...knowing that the NFL's #1 ranked QB in red zone accuracy was not Manning or Brady or Brees, but young Teddy Bridgewater...as a rookie.  He was 1st that year in accuracy under pressure also. Then the following year ranked #1 on PFF's total accuracy rankings. 

Bridge, water and all that... 

@"MaroonBells" said: That's a pretty interesting article. I'm very excited about what Cousins will bring to this very talented roster, but I can't help but feel like someone is twisting a knife somewhere in my gut when I read that he was 39th of 46 qualifiers in red zone accuracy...knowing that the NFL's #1 ranked QB in red zone accuracy was not Manning or Brady or Brees, but young Teddy Bridgewater...as a rookie.  He was 1st that year in accuracy under pressure also. Then the following year ranked #1 on PFF's total accuracy rankings. 

Bridge, water and all that... 

@"JimmyinSD" said: Maybe we need a closer QB?  Capn kirk gets the first 3 quarters and then our closer comes in and nails it down... or kirk can get the regular season but we turn the playoffs over to a specialist...

@"MaroonBells" said: That's a pretty interesting article. I'm very excited about what Cousins will bring to this very talented roster, but I can't help but feel like someone is twisting a knife somewhere in my gut when I read that he was 39th of 46 qualifiers in red zone accuracy...knowing that the NFL's #1 ranked QB in red zone accuracy was not Manning or Brady or Brees, but young Teddy Bridgewater...as a rookie.  He was 1st that year in accuracy under pressure also. Then the following year ranked #1 on PFF's total accuracy rankings. 

Bridge, water and all that... 

@"greediron" said:

@"MaroonBells" said: That's a pretty interesting article. I'm very excited about what Cousins will bring to this very talented roster, but I can't help but feel like someone is twisting a knife somewhere in my gut when I read that he was 39th of 46 qualifiers in red zone accuracy...knowing that the NFL's #1 ranked QB in red zone accuracy was not Manning or Brady or Brees, but young Teddy Bridgewater...as a rookie.  He was 1st that year in accuracy under pressure also. Then the following year ranked #1 on PFF's total accuracy rankings. 

Bridge, water and all that... 

Yeah water gone by, but that was one area that I really was excited for watching TB.  He was spot on when it counted.  Late in games and in the red zone.

@"MaroonBells" said: That's a pretty interesting article. I'm very excited about what Cousins will bring to this very talented roster, but I can't help but feel like someone is twisting a knife somewhere in my gut when I read that he was 39th of 46 qualifiers in red zone accuracy...knowing that the NFL's #1 ranked QB in red zone accuracy was not Manning or Brady or Brees, but young Teddy Bridgewater...as a rookie.  He was 1st that year in accuracy under pressure also. Then the following year ranked #1 on PFF's total accuracy rankings. 

Bridge, water and all that... 

I don't know if that tweet is referencing some advanced stats from PFF...  but looking at Pro Football Reference, Cousins completion percentage in the red zone (for 2017) was 50%. 
That is tied with Phillip Rivers, just behind Roethlisberger (52.7%), and ahead of Dak Prescott (47.8%), Andy Dalton (47.6%), Matthew Stafford (47.5%), Carson Palmer (46.3%), Matt Ryan (46.1%), Jameis Winston (45.8%), Marcus Mariota (45.3%), Alex Smith (44.0%), and DeShone Kizer (31.8%).
I don't know how much you can draw from accuracy percentage in the red zone.  I mean I think Keenum was like 4th in the NFL in red zone accuracy percentage on PFF (if I'm remembering correctly), but as a team, the Vikings TD % in the red zone last season ranked 13th in the NFL at 55.56%.  On the flip side, Cousins is 39th out of 46th in red zone accuracy percentage according to PFF, but the Redskins TD % in the red zone ranked 16th at 54.35%.  I'm not seeing a significant correlation to red zone accuracy and how that leads to scoring more in the red zone.

@"StickyBun" said: NFL exec's have opinions, not all of them accurate. We'll find out with Cousins.

@"JimmyinSD" said:

proof that capn Kirk is indeed a finisher....