Cheers back at ya! And thanks for the props on the posts.raddmann wrote:Kaap. I've read many of your posts here and am usually in full agreement with your accessments. The reason I think Cousins is fantasyland is because of his price. I often read that it will require 30 to 35 million to get him and if that's true there won't be much leftover to sign some of those young defensive guys like Hunter and I don't think Zim will be agreeable to that. I have to confess that I have not seen Cousins play much. One game he was very bad and then got about 200 yards during garbage time in the 4th quarter so his game stats looked better than they really were. The other time I saw him he was fantastic. For some reason I have very little memory of how he played against us this year. Beer probably had something to do with this.
I agree that his stats are great but I've seen guys like Rivers, Stafford and even Cutler put up big stats too and how many times have they choked in the later stages of an important game. If somehow they could sign him in 23 to 25 million range then I'd be much more interested in him so it's all about his price for me. I definately agree that he is easily the top FA qb out there.
I'm not really infatuated with Smith and would prefer we get a younger guy but if he could be had for 12 to 15 million I see him as a better value. There are a few other guys too like Fitzpatrick but again I've just not seen them play enough to make a proper evaluation.
Cheers
First, I don't think Kirk Cousins would cost the Vikings $30 to $35 million. If the Redskins tag him for a 3rd straight year, THEY would have to pay him $34 million. But in free agency, he'd probably get just a hair north of what Matthew Stafford got (5 years, $135 million, $27 million average yearly). Yes, it's a lot.
As for stats, I happen to think there's more to Cousins than the numbers. From what I read, he's a smart guy, a strong leader (the Washington media call him "Captain Kirk," and it's not a dig), a solid citizen, and a very talented player. I also happen to believe he gets an unfair rap when it comes to his play in the clutch. Media types latch on to his failures, but they fail to acknowledge his 12 game-winning drives. And here's something else. He can get red-hot for long periods of time. He had a 10-game stretch in 2015 where he had 23 TDs, 3 picks and a 119 QBR. Stats, I know, but guess what else? Washington won 7 of those 10 games. I guess I'm just more sold on Kirk Cousins as a complete quarterback than some are.
For what it's worth, Cousins played fairly well against us. It wasn't the greatest performance of his career, but solid. He rushed for 2 TDs. I've seen him have many games where he was just about the only thing Washington had. I mean, think about it. The guy threw for 4,000 with Terrelle Pryor as the 'Skins' big free agent signing.
Here's another way to analyze this. Many on this board have advocated for the Vikings using the franchise tag on Case Keenum at $24 million. Is Kirk Cousins at, say, $28 million a better value than Keenum at $24 million? I think so.
