Lions Pre Game Discussion

[Pondering Her Percy]

Ok Stump just wondering something. Serious question, not being a dick here or trying to bait you into anything. Legitimate question here.
It's well documented here the many back n forths you have had with many hear about your feeling about Cousins. I have seen you labeled as a Cousins hater etc, and some feel no matter what he does you will come back with criticism about him.
So, what if he does continue to keep playing like he has? What if he suddenly finally makes that transition to a truly elite QB , and becomes a franchise QB that he is being played to be.
What if he would lead us to a QB win?
If ... and that's a big IF.. but if so, would you change your tune a little and give the guy some credit that would be due? Or is it truly an issue you have with him.
Like I said it's an honest question.
I admit there a some present t and past players that I cant stand. No matter how good they are, I just cant stand them for whatever reason. But I will admit they do play well and stop there.
Just wondering , as many here probably do, if your mind is made up regardless of what he does or if your opinion can be changed with productivity by him?
I come in peace lol. Just inquiring minds wanna know

It is funny, because I had not posted one negative thing about the QB in this thread, and my response to PHP was just me being fed up with all the excuses for a QB who has done nothing to earn excuses. Even after a win, excuses.

To answer your question, if Cousins wins a Super Bowl this season, my first priority for the Vikings in the off season would be to extend him past 2020. I could also see scenarios where he plays lights out and falls short in the playoffs where I am also okay with an extension.

I don't hate him. I hate the excuses people make for him whenever he plays bad. I hate that he was given a contract that will only be justified if he wins it all. I hate the excuses for the contract. I hate that people tear down the rest of the team and the coaches in their efforts make Cousins look better.

He wins it all and all that stuff goes away.

So like I said, no more excuses. It is time to let his play speak for itself.

The problem here is you think anyone that defends Cousins in any way is giving an "excuse". You cant fathom putting yourself on the reality side of an argument. Or understand the fact that Kirk Cousins is not always the reason we lose games. You're saying people "tear down the team and the coaches"?? Reeeally? Adam fricken Thielen and Diggs practically just called out our coaches. Not our QB. Our coaches. Our game plans. The media wants to make it a "Kirk Cousins" thing because that's what they do. Do you really think, even after last year, that Kirk Cousins was purposely not targeting Thielen and Diggs early on?

What about the defense crapping the bed early on in the GB game or not being able to stop Chase Daniel. Or how bad our OL was vs. Chicago. I could just as easily sit here and say you gave "excuses" for the defense and the OL just to make Cousins look worse. Why does the OL get a pass? Why are they being defended? Why are we making excuses for the defense? A unit that should have zero excuses because of the talent that they have. Put yourself on the other side of the line here. You've given just as many excuses for other players, units and staff as anyone has given for Cousins.

Everyone made their mistakes along the way including Cousins. But I have said all along, the OC is the most important. Just like he was the most important when Keenum was here because Keenum wouldnt have done jack shi# under Flip. An OC that knows how to use his players and play to their strengths and balance an offense. When you have the weapons we have, there is no reason to not balance this offense and utilize every guy you can. You need to find a way for Cousins to get the ball in these guys hands. And we've done that the last two weeks. We did it in 2017. We need to continue to do this.


A recent discussion I had with my father:

Teams cannot win in this league by just passing the ball or just running the ball.

Look at the Patriots. Year after year they are hands down the most balanced team in the NFL and havent had a legit RB or deep threat WR in forever. And they go to the SB year after year.

Look at the Rams last year. Balance and good defense. 3rd in passing and 3rd in rushing. Look at them this year, they stopped utilizing Gurley and go from 3rd in the NFL in 2018 to 22nd in 2019 and sitting at 3-3.

Another disgustingly unbalanced team is the Falcons. They throw the crap out of the ball all game but refuse to run the ball practically since the SB in 2016. They have gone in the tank. And guess how balanced they were in 2016? 3rd in the NFL in passing and 5th in the NFL in rushing and went to the SB. Very little has changed since personnel wise and they are currently 2nd in passing but 29th in rushing and are sitting at 1-5. That's not a 1-5 football team. Nobody will tell me any different either.

KC arguably has the most potential of any team in the NFL and have a legit chance to knock off NE but their running game never recovered from losing Hunt and they have a poor defense.

The Eagles in 2017....balance and a good defense. 13th in passing, 3rd in rushing, 4th in total defense. SB champion. The following year, 7th in passing and 28th in rushing. Were given a playoff opportunity because we blew ours.

The Vikings in 2017....balance and a good defense. 11th in passing, 7th in rushing, 1st in total defense. NFC runner up. 8-8 the following year, 13th in passing 29th in rushing.

LA Chargers in 2018 balance and a good defense. 10th in passing, 15th in rushing, 9th in total defense. Contender last year. This year...4th in passing, 27th in rushing.



....see my point?? Do you see why the OC is so important? More important than the QB. Do you see why I've been saying all along that neither flip or Stefanski weeks 1-4 were not doing Cousins any favors? Do you see the difference since the Giants game? We arent just beating teams we're destroying them.

**In the last two weeks, we are 3rd in the NFL in passing offense, 3rd in the NFL in rushing offense and 2nd in the NFL in total offense. Obviously our D has played well too. That is a recipe for a contender. Balance and a good defense

[StumpHunter]

I don't hate him. I hate the excuses people make for him whenever he plays bad. I hate that he was given a contract that will only be justified if he wins it all. I hate the excuses for the contract. I hate that people tear down the rest of the team and the coaches in their efforts make Cousins look better.

I could be wrong, but I don't think that is what most people are doing when either Cousins struggles or when the overall team struggles. There just aren't that many true Cousins apologists around. In my experience, people seem a lot more likely to offer unfair or biased criticisms against Cousins than for him.

A lot of that probably comes from the contract he signed and the resultant expectations that created, but if there is a perception bias around Cousins, it seems heavily weighted against him.

And while it's fine to say "let his performance speak for itself", no QB plays in a vacuum where it's trivial to isolate his performance from those around him in every situation.

Take Cousins fumbles, for example. Yeah, he needs to protect the ball better when under pressure, but it's extremely rare for a QB to fumble if he's well protected. If you acknowledge that the protection broke down and Cousins' arm was hit and he fumbled, is it "tearing down the rest of the team" to point out that someone blew it in pass protection? Maybe Cousins held the ball too long. Maybe he got skittish and bolted the pocket early. Those things are on him. But if one of his blockers just got beat and Cousins got hit, I don't think it's unfair to call his teammates out on that.

Ditto for dropped passes. If it's a bad throw, that's likely on Cousins. But it might not entirely be on Cousins. It depends on the situation. Even a botched catch that went for an INT like the one he threw to Diggs against Philly really can't be counted against him.

My basic point is, sure, let his play speak for itself, but there is such a thing as fair criticism of the components around him, including the coaches and the gameplan. This is a team sport.

There is room for fair criticism of the components around Cousins.

If your opinion on the Oline, WRs, Coaches and defense is based on how they actually played that day and not how the QB played that day, by all means, rip away.


If you think the Oline sucked because the QB sucked, or the OC doesn't know how to call a game because the QB had a bad game, then you are just looking for an excuse.

[VikingLord]

If your opinion on the Oline, WRs, Coaches and defense is based on how they actually played that day and not how the QB played that day, by all means, rip away.


If you think the Oline sucked because the QB sucked, or the OC doesn't know how to call a game because the QB had a bad game, then you are just looking for an excuse.

Some of that is subjective, but I agree in general with what you're saying.

But to emphasize, there aren't many fans who will go to the mat to defend Cousins given the contract he signed and the expectations most people had for him individually and the team overall. Most of the criticism I've seen, on this board at least, far from excuses Cousins in the games where the offense struggled. He blew it in the two losses, and even he knew it.

[808vikingsfan]

Pride of Detroit
✔
@PrideOfDetroit
Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen account for...

- 45% of the Vikings' receptions
- 57% of the Vikings' receiving yards
- 100% of the Vikings' receiving TDs

[CharVike]

This Detroit defense isn't very good and I expect Cousins to have a very good game. Yes they played well in GB, it was there Super Bowl, but still lost. For the Lions to have a chance Stafford will need to do something. If he plays well it will be a close game otherwise I expect us to win fairly easily. I found this old post about Cousins and it still holds true.

There is a reason folks why the Washington Redskins let Kirk Cousins walk in free agency in 2018. The Vikings and it's fans know this because, unfortunately, we see it play out each and every week. The game today was just another reminder of last years season in that in every big game we had last year, Cousins CHOKED!

Cousins is still the same guy this isn't a kid developing. I feel he's a good QB but he can't lift us up when we need it. He's similar to many others. Foles, Stafford. The Eagles were smart and told Foles to hit the road. We signed Kirk because we had nothing and he became available. Other teams were chasing him also. Nothing more that that. If everything works perfect for us we can win it all. As Foles did. But if we hit a game were Cousins needs to pull it out we are done. That's why QB is still our No 1 draft priority. That's true for every team in our division except one. They have it figured out. There team can challenge regardless of what's around him.

[J. Kapp 11]

This Detroit defense isn't very good and I expect Cousins to have a very good game. Yes they played well in GB, it was there Super Bowl, but still lost. For the Lions to have a chance Stafford will need to do something. If he plays well it will be a close game otherwise I expect us to win fairly easily. I found this old post about Cousins and it still holds true.

There is a reason folks why the Washington Redskins let Kirk Cousins walk in free agency in 2018. The Vikings and it's fans know this because, unfortunately, we see it play out each and every week. The game today was just another reminder of last years season in that in every big game we had last year, Cousins CHOKED!

Cousins is still the same guy this isn't a kid developing. I feel he's a good QB but he can't lift us up when we need it. He's similar to many others. Foles, Stafford. The Eagles were smart and told Foles to hit the road. We signed Kirk because we had nothing and he became available. Other teams were chasing him also. Nothing more that that. If everything works perfect for us we can win it all. As Foles did. But if we hit a game were Cousins needs to pull it out we are done. That's why QB is still our No 1 draft priority. That's true for every team in our division except one. They have it figured out. There team can challenge regardless of what's around him.

Did you just quote yourself?

Look, I keep hearing the "there is a reason the Redskins let Kirk Cousins walk" thing, and it gets old. It sounds like a really smart thing to say, but in the end it's just a bunch of words that mean nothing. There's also a reason they spent nearly $50 million and used the franchise tag on him two years in a row, and that's because he played pretty well. Kirk Cousins has never had this much talent around him. He was never embraced as the starter in Washington, yet he still played well enough for a completely dysfunctional franchise to make the playoffs. He has struggled in some of our big games, for sure, but he's also been tremendous in others -- the 4th quarter comeback against Green Bay in Week 2 last year, the Rams game last year, the past two games this year are a few examples. Would Vikings fans like to see more in big games on big stages? Yes. Absolutely. Will there be some who will never embrace him? Unfortunately, yes.

That being said, your quote of yourself is full of contradictions. The Eagles didn't tell Nick Foles to "hit the road." First of all, HE WAS THE REASON they won the Super Bowl two years ago. He had one of the great playoff runs in league history. He also played last year with them, and started a portion of the season when Carson Wentz was injured -- the Eagles did just as well or better with Foles than they did with Wentz. Philly let Foles go because he was a free agent and there was a market for him. Wentz was (and is) their quarterback, and Foles' salary was going to be too high for a backup ... not to mention, he deserved the shot to be a starter somewhere.

Next, QB is NOT our No. 1 draft priority. It's YOUR No. 1 draft priority for the Vikings. Unless Cousins completely falls apart the rest of this season, I can virtually guarantee you it's not the Vikings' actual No. 1 draft priority, and you will see that next April. You may disagree with that, but it's simply your opinion, which carries no weight with the Vikings coaching staff and front office.

I've been as hard on Cousins this season as any Vikings fan, even though I was fully in favor of us signing him. In fact, it's BECAUSE I was so fully in favor of signing him that I have been largely disappointed. That being said, he's played tremendous football the past two weeks, at least as good as any QB in the league has played. The fact is, the team may just now be figuring out its identity under Stefanski and Kubiak. The first game may have been the worst thing that could have happened. Only needing to throw 10 times probably hurt us ... we became over-reliant on the running game, and when we needed to throw, we couldn't do it. I'm seeing a shift, and if it continues, there won't be many people saying "there was a reason Washington let Cousins go" by the end of the season.

[CharVike]

This Detroit defense isn't very good and I expect Cousins to have a very good game. Yes they played well in GB, it was there Super Bowl, but still lost. For the Lions to have a chance Stafford will need to do something. If he plays well it will be a close game otherwise I expect us to win fairly easily. I found this old post about Cousins and it still holds true.

There is a reason folks why the Washington Redskins let Kirk Cousins walk in free agency in 2018. The Vikings and it's fans know this because, unfortunately, we see it play out each and every week. The game today was just another reminder of last years season in that in every big game we had last year, Cousins CHOKED!

Cousins is still the same guy this isn't a kid developing. I feel he's a good QB but he can't lift us up when we need it. He's similar to many others. Foles, Stafford. The Eagles were smart and told Foles to hit the road. We signed Kirk because we had nothing and he became available. Other teams were chasing him also. Nothing more that that. If everything works perfect for us we can win it all. As Foles did. But if we hit a game were Cousins needs to pull it out we are done. That's why QB is still our No 1 draft priority. That's true for every team in our division except one. They have it figured out. There team can challenge regardless of what's around him.

Did you just quote yourself?

Look, I keep hearing the "there is a reason the Redskins let Kirk Cousins walk" thing, and it gets old. It sounds like a really smart thing to say, but in the end it's just a bunch of words that mean nothing. There's also a reason they spent nearly $50 million and used the franchise tag on him two years in a row, and that's because he played pretty well. Kirk Cousins has never had this much talent around him. He was never embraced as the starter in Washington, yet he still played well enough for a completely dysfunctional franchise to make the playoffs. He has struggled in some of our big games, for sure, but he's also been tremendous in others -- the 4th quarter comeback against Green Bay in Week 2 last year, the Rams game last year, the past two games this year are a few examples. Would Vikings fans like to see more in big games on big stages? Yes. Absolutely. Will there be some who will never embrace him? Unfortunately, yes.

That being said, your quote of yourself is full of contradictions. The Eagles didn't tell Nick Foles to "hit the road." First of all, HE WAS THE REASON they won the Super Bowl two years ago. He had one of the great playoff runs in league history. He also played last year with them, and started a portion of the season when Carson Wentz was injured -- the Eagles did just as well or better with Foles than they did with Wentz. Philly let Foles go because he was a free agent and there was a market for him. Wentz was (and is) their quarterback, and Foles' salary was going to be too high for a backup ... not to mention, he deserved the shot to be a starter somewhere.

Next, QB is NOT our No. 1 draft priority. It's YOUR No. 1 draft priority for the Vikings. Unless Cousins completely falls apart the rest of this season, I can virtually guarantee you it's not the Vikings' actual No. 1 draft priority, and you will see that next April. You may disagree with that, but it's simply your opinion, which carries no weight with the Vikings coaching staff and front office.

I've been as hard on Cousins this season as any Vikings fan, even though I was fully in favor of us signing him. In fact, it's BECAUSE I was so fully in favor of signing him that I have been largely disappointed. That being said, he's played tremendous football the past two weeks, at least as good as any QB in the league has played. The fact is, the team may just now be figuring out its identity under Stefanski and Kubiak. The first game may have been the worst thing that could have happened. Only needing to throw 10 times probably hurt us ... we became over-reliant on the running game, and when we needed to throw, we couldn't do it. I'm seeing a shift, and if it continues, there won't be many people saying "there was a reason Washington let Cousins go" by the end of the season.

Your correct it's my thought that QB is no 1. That's not a knock on Speilman either he has built a very talented roster and he also isn't afraid to make trades. He doesn't sit still. He traded for Bradford which took balls. I think Cousins was a great signing. I still do. As I have stated many times that he is the best QB since Fran. Others may feel it was another guy which is OK. Cousins is in his prime. He is what he is. A middle of the road guy. A team can't be happy with that. Detroit is happy with there guy. Look at there record with this guy. He can't pull them up. Another middle of the road guy. Cousins lead us to crap last year. Couldn't make the playoffs. We went backwards. Didn't come close to the previous year with basically the same team. The playoffs were there and the Bears made him look like dog ####. He was afraid. The same thing happened this year. That says nothing at all. I just hope QB isn't removed from our board like it was last year. I don't think we should stick with that type of QB. Everything around him needs to be perfect for him to have success. We seen that the last two weeks. He stood there with zero pressure and I don't think our OL is that great.Those two teams can't bring pressure. The Bears or a D like them will. That's when he will fall apart.

[StumpHunter]

This Detroit defense isn't very good and I expect Cousins to have a very good game. Yes they played well in GB, it was there Super Bowl, but still lost. For the Lions to have a chance Stafford will need to do something. If he plays well it will be a close game otherwise I expect us to win fairly easily. I found this old post about Cousins and it still holds true.

There is a reason folks why the Washington Redskins let Kirk Cousins walk in free agency in 2018. The Vikings and it's fans know this because, unfortunately, we see it play out each and every week. The game today was just another reminder of last years season in that in every big game we had last year, Cousins CHOKED!

Cousins is still the same guy this isn't a kid developing. I feel he's a good QB but he can't lift us up when we need it. He's similar to many others. Foles, Stafford. The Eagles were smart and told Foles to hit the road. We signed Kirk because we had nothing and he became available. Other teams were chasing him also. Nothing more that that. If everything works perfect for us we can win it all. As Foles did. But if we hit a game were Cousins needs to pull it out we are done. That's why QB is still our No 1 draft priority. That's true for every team in our division except one. They have it figured out. There team can challenge regardless of what's around him.

Did you just quote yourself?

Look, I keep hearing the "there is a reason the Redskins let Kirk Cousins walk" thing, and it gets old. It sounds like a really smart thing to say, but in the end it's just a bunch of words that mean nothing. There's also a reason they spent nearly $50 million and used the franchise tag on him two years in a row, and that's because he played pretty well. Kirk Cousins has never had this much talent around him. He was never embraced as the starter in Washington, yet he still played well enough for a completely dysfunctional franchise to make the playoffs. He has struggled in some of our big games, for sure, but he's also been tremendous in others -- the 4th quarter comeback against Green Bay in Week 2 last year, the Rams game last year, the past two games this year are a few examples. Would Vikings fans like to see more in big games on big stages? Yes. Absolutely. Will there be some who will never embrace him? Unfortunately, yes.

That being said, your quote of yourself is full of contradictions. The Eagles didn't tell Nick Foles to "hit the road." First of all, HE WAS THE REASON they won the Super Bowl two years ago. He had one of the great playoff runs in league history. He also played last year with them, and started a portion of the season when Carson Wentz was injured -- the Eagles did just as well or better with Foles than they did with Wentz. Philly let Foles go because he was a free agent and there was a market for him. Wentz was (and is) their quarterback, and Foles' salary was going to be too high for a backup ... not to mention, he deserved the shot to be a starter somewhere.

Next, QB is NOT our No. 1 draft priority. It's YOUR No. 1 draft priority for the Vikings. Unless Cousins completely falls apart the rest of this season, I can virtually guarantee you it's not the Vikings' actual No. 1 draft priority, and you will see that next April. You may disagree with that, but it's simply your opinion, which carries no weight with the Vikings coaching staff and front office.

I've been as hard on Cousins this season as any Vikings fan, even though I was fully in favor of us signing him. In fact, it's BECAUSE I was so fully in favor of signing him that I have been largely disappointed. That being said, he's played tremendous football the past two weeks, at least as good as any QB in the league has played. The fact is, the team may just now be figuring out its identity under Stefanski and Kubiak. The first game may have been the worst thing that could have happened. Only needing to throw 10 times probably hurt us ... we became over-reliant on the running game, and when we needed to throw, we couldn't do it. I'm seeing a shift, and if it continues, there won't be many people saying "there was a reason Washington let Cousins go" by the end of the season.

I think we win 6 of our next 10 and make the playoffs this season. If that happens, and in those 6 wins Cousins plays well, the 4 losses against the playoff teams left on the schedule he plays bad, do you think we should prioritize QB in next years draft? It will be essentially the same season as last year, with an easier schedule making our record better. Another year where the QB comes up small in almost every big game.

I don't think it would be the Vikings priority in that scenario. Rick would still be the GM and moving on from Cousins 2 years after that massive contract is a bad look for him. It would be the smart move though.

Teams who prioritize QB out of a future need and not an immediate one tend to have a lot of success drafting them. The Packers with Rodgers, the Chiefs with Mahomes, even the Colts kind of did that with Luck, although that is a bit different. When you are drafting out of necessity though, you end up taking guys like Ponder in the first, who aren't really great prospects, but who are the best you can get in that particular draft.

Now if Cousins takes us far in the playoffs and plays great even if we lose against those 4 playoff teams remaining, this all becomes moot. Stranger things have happened, but we really need our 8th year QB to grow a ton as a QB this season. Hopefully he does.

[J. Kapp 11]

Did you just quote yourself?

Look, I keep hearing the "there is a reason the Redskins let Kirk Cousins walk" thing, and it gets old. It sounds like a really smart thing to say, but in the end it's just a bunch of words that mean nothing. There's also a reason they spent nearly $50 million and used the franchise tag on him two years in a row, and that's because he played pretty well. Kirk Cousins has never had this much talent around him. He was never embraced as the starter in Washington, yet he still played well enough for a completely dysfunctional franchise to make the playoffs. He has struggled in some of our big games, for sure, but he's also been tremendous in others -- the 4th quarter comeback against Green Bay in Week 2 last year, the Rams game last year, the past two games this year are a few examples. Would Vikings fans like to see more in big games on big stages? Yes. Absolutely. Will there be some who will never embrace him? Unfortunately, yes.

That being said, your quote of yourself is full of contradictions. The Eagles didn't tell Nick Foles to "hit the road." First of all, HE WAS THE REASON they won the Super Bowl two years ago. He had one of the great playoff runs in league history. He also played last year with them, and started a portion of the season when Carson Wentz was injured -- the Eagles did just as well or better with Foles than they did with Wentz. Philly let Foles go because he was a free agent and there was a market for him. Wentz was (and is) their quarterback, and Foles' salary was going to be too high for a backup ... not to mention, he deserved the shot to be a starter somewhere.

Next, QB is NOT our No. 1 draft priority. It's YOUR No. 1 draft priority for the Vikings. Unless Cousins completely falls apart the rest of this season, I can virtually guarantee you it's not the Vikings' actual No. 1 draft priority, and you will see that next April. You may disagree with that, but it's simply your opinion, which carries no weight with the Vikings coaching staff and front office.

I've been as hard on Cousins this season as any Vikings fan, even though I was fully in favor of us signing him. In fact, it's BECAUSE I was so fully in favor of signing him that I have been largely disappointed. That being said, he's played tremendous football the past two weeks, at least as good as any QB in the league has played. The fact is, the team may just now be figuring out its identity under Stefanski and Kubiak. The first game may have been the worst thing that could have happened. Only needing to throw 10 times probably hurt us ... we became over-reliant on the running game, and when we needed to throw, we couldn't do it. I'm seeing a shift, and if it continues, there won't be many people saying "there was a reason Washington let Cousins go" by the end of the season.

I think we win 6 of our next 10 and make the playoffs this season. If that happens, and in those 6 wins Cousins plays well, the 4 losses against the playoff teams left on the schedule he plays bad, do you think we should prioritize QB in next years draft? It will be essentially the same season as last year, with an easier schedule making our record better. Another year where the QB comes up small in almost every big game.

I don't think it would be the Vikings priority in that scenario. Rick would still be the GM and moving on from Cousins 2 years after that massive contract is a bad look for him. It would be the smart move though.

Teams who prioritize QB out of a future need and not an immediate one tend to have a lot of success drafting them. The Packers with Rodgers, the Chiefs with Mahomes, even the Colts kind of did that with Luck, although that is a bit different. When you are drafting out of necessity though, you end up taking guys like Ponder in the first, who aren't really great prospects, but who are the best you can get in that particular draft.

Now if Cousins takes us far in the playoffs and plays great even if we lose against those 4 playoff teams remaining, this all becomes moot. Stranger things have happened, but we really need our 8th year QB to grow a ton as a QB this season. Hopefully he does.

I'll answer your question with a question.

If the Vikings DO win 10 games, and as you said, that's not good enough, then wouldn't drafting a quarterback in that situation be out of necessity?

[CharVike]

I'm not saying Cousins is a nothing guy. He is a good QB and can have some tremendous games. That has been proven. The two last wins have been great our entire team did there job including Cousins. Our OL looked like the best in the game. Guess why? He did what was expected and that's also a positive thing and it's not an easy thing to do. I give him credit for that. But I want that against a top flight team. He seems to always come up short in his short stint here. We had two tough games this year and what happened? When or if we make the playoffs this year there will be no Giant like teams there. He will be playing the best. I don't have much confidence in him being able to score against the Bears. 3 games so far and nothing. It would be hard to play much worse. That's one team or one step. So yes with a middle of the road guy QB needs to be priority one. So if Herbert drops to us then pick him. Or if he gets close trade up. He can ride the pine for a year. Last year I was screaming at the TV to take Lock. No luck on that one. Of course trading up to number 1 is out of the question and I realize that. But if he drops to 10 or so he better trade up. That's all I request. And I don't care if QB is priority 100. We still need one.

[CharVike]

The big question regarding Cousins is why did the Redskins let him leave. Found this below.
Think about how Aaron Rodgers has always masked the Green Bay Packers' issues with his magical play. Better yet, think about the immediate impact that Jimmy Garoppolo had on the San Francisco 49ers when he took over as the team's starter toward the end of the year. With Jimmy GQ at the helm, a Niners squad that had been a 1-10 afterthought won five straight games to close out the season as one of the hottest entities in the NFL.

With that in mind, I can see why the Redskins aren't in a rush to apply the tag to Cousins a third consecutive time, which would cost them $34.5 million in 2018. Doing so would limit Washington's ability to upgrade the supporting cast around him, meaning the team would be counting on Cousins to push the team to the next level on the strength of his right arm. In short, the Redskins would need Cousins to be a "truck" (QB capable of carrying his team with little-to-no support), when he really hasn't shown the football world he can do that.

That is exactly what we got. He won't lift us. With that it will come down to our D. Zim who is supposedly a defensive master can't allow these top teams to do what ever they want. You can't shut down Rodgers but make it tough on him. When we played the Bears you can't let a backup bum lead a masterful march down the field. That's a D problem. That put us in a hole big time. So the way our team is configured our D will need to carry us. I want us in the show and I see that as the only way. Play great D. Don't expect Cousins to carry us. He can't do that. We had to pay because we had nothing. We still have nothing in the hole which I feel is a big mistake. I don't see any reason why having a kid there is a bad idea.

[StumpHunter]

I think we win 6 of our next 10 and make the playoffs this season. If that happens, and in those 6 wins Cousins plays well, the 4 losses against the playoff teams left on the schedule he plays bad, do you think we should prioritize QB in next years draft? It will be essentially the same season as last year, with an easier schedule making our record better. Another year where the QB comes up small in almost every big game.

I don't think it would be the Vikings priority in that scenario. Rick would still be the GM and moving on from Cousins 2 years after that massive contract is a bad look for him. It would be the smart move though.

Teams who prioritize QB out of a future need and not an immediate one tend to have a lot of success drafting them. The Packers with Rodgers, the Chiefs with Mahomes, even the Colts kind of did that with Luck, although that is a bit different. When you are drafting out of necessity though, you end up taking guys like Ponder in the first, who aren't really great prospects, but who are the best you can get in that particular draft.

Now if Cousins takes us far in the playoffs and plays great even if we lose against those 4 playoff teams remaining, this all becomes moot. Stranger things have happened, but we really need our 8th year QB to grow a ton as a QB this season. Hopefully he does.

I'll answer your question with a question.

If the Vikings DO win 10 games, and as you said, that's not good enough, then wouldn't drafting a quarterback in that situation be out of necessity?

A necessity for 2021. Cousins makes too much to get benched, and will start in 2020 barring a Ponderlike season.

Looking at QBs in the upcoming draft gives us two chances to find someone instead of the one if we wait until his contract is up.

The Vikings won't even consider one though, because our GM has never really been a forward thinker when it comes to QBs, and will be in desperation mode in 2021.

[FullWood]

I won't be able to watch the game but I think we are on a roll while the Lions are slowing down. Lions got robbed against Packers and I think the Lions match up well with us. I think we win this game, beat the spread, and go over. 31-17

[CharVike]

21 all at half never would have thought that.

[Passepartout]

Well Bailey missed a F.G. there a 45 yard one.