mansquatch wrote: ↑Thu Oct 18, 2018 12:37 pm
I'm still shocked people are even debating this. Cousins has been everything he was advertised to be and more.
Do I hate the fumbles, sure. But 22 points in Lambeau in the 4Q and someone is going to nitpick that he didn't win the game? The kicker lost that one. 3 times over.
You can put the Buffalo game on the offense and Cousin played his part in that. However, in EVERY OTHER GAME, he has been legit and a major contributor to success.
I hear ya, man. I just don't get it.
Here's my armchair analysis on the fumbles.
First of all, the Roc Thomas fumble was credited to Cousins ... that was supposed to be a pass, and Thomas biffed it.
The other fumbles are, I believe, a product of his time in Washington. The guy was constantly looking over his shoulder, and constantly under pressure to make plays. I believe he developed a habit of not throwing the ball away when he had nothing.
I've watched every snap of his games with the Vikings multiple times, and I can't think of a single time Kirk Cousins has thrown the ball away. Not once. All of his strip-sack fumbles have come on third down with the exception of the Rams game, and that was definitely a situation that called for making a play. I just think his DNA is to always try to make a play, to never give up. We all remember Adrian Peterson fumbling in exactly the same situations, where he was trying to bust a play or thrash and work for every yard. That's Cousins. He's struggling to make plays ... sometimes when simply throwing the ball away or even taking the sack would be perfectly fine.
I think as this defense continues to get better, and as Kirk Cousins realizes that he doesn't have to make a play every single time, he'll fumble less.
Beyond the fumbles, Kirk Cousins has played out of his mind. And the idea that our receivers somehow make every quarterback look like an all-pro ... give me a break. Thielen, Diggs, Rudolph AND Treadwell are on pace for career years. There is simply no comparison between Cousins and any quarterback we've had since Favre in '09.