Kirk Cousins is just NOT a big game quarterback

[StumpHunter]

Cousins isn't bad against all good teams. The ATL team we beat last week isn't a bad team. They gutted out a win vs. PHI last night. In the game we lost against LAR, he was probably the best player on the team that day. In the first GB game last season he put us in a position to win several times. The kicker let us down.

They have been games where he has been garbage also. Yesterday was probably the best example we've seen since he signed his contract. Still, hard to give all the blame to him when the Defense surrenders 21 points in the 1st quarter. You can probably lay 7 of those points on Cousins due to the turnover, but the other 14 were all on the D. Not many teams win when they start out down 14-0. I'm not apologize for Cousin's mistakes yesterday, they were awful, but it is silly to not look at how the whole team contributed to the mess.

I'm witholding judgement until week 8. If we are 4-4, then there are probably a lot of issues. If we are 6-2. Well... different story.

The game he threw for 98 yards in? That is your example of him playing good against good teams?

Do good teams get beat when the opposing QB throws for 98 yards?

[Pondering Her Percy]

What annoyed me most about Cousins in this game is we have seen him play A LOT better than he did on Sunday. He was missing a lot of throws.

I wonder if something else is at play here. Like maybe they spent most of training camp installing the zone running scheme and didn't give the passing game the time it needs to develop the crispness required to be successful in the NFL? That is just speculation, but we saw a lot of situations yesterday where Kirk overthrew receivers or, in the case of the Rudolph end zone throw they were not on the same page. It is one thing when a rookie WR / TE makes that mistake. It is another when two vets have it happen. It is obvious that the passing game is not where it needs to be right now in terms of execution. How soon can they fix it?

Given the veteran coaching on the offensive staff, there really isn't a good excuse, so in the end it is just frustrating.

This! I’ve been thinking this as well along the way.

Again, not making excuses for cousins. He played like crap yesterday, I’ve said it multiple times, don’t need guys jumping down my throat here.

My take: Kirk cousins is not an under center QB. At least when it comes to being under center THIS much. The guy can operate under center but we’re throwing the majority of our passes from under center. I don’t buy the “it’s the main part of kubiaks offense”. It’s not because Manning was hardly ever under center in Denver. They still made it work out of the gun. I feel like this constant under center stuff is more zimmers doing than anyone.

I’m just saying, balance it out. Dalvin cook is a beast. The guy can run just as well out of the gun. We don’t have the OL for constant 5-7 step drops from under center. One thing I will say, Kirk has done a MUCH better job when it comes to evading pressure. But there are just some that are obviously unavoidable. I mean let’s be honest, there isn’t a team in the nfl anywhere close to as many under center snaps as we have. I think it’s excessive and out of kirks comfort zone as it would be with most QBs. Diggs and thielen seem frustrated at times. I mean I’m all for being a run first team but we also have an elite WR duo that we aren’t utilizing.

I feel like we went from pass happy to hardly using the pass from last year to now. Balance was key but now I feel like we went in the opposite direction. Granted yesterday was a little more balanced but not from an under center stand point. And maybe they didn’t have this passing game prepared like they should have.

Cousins isn’t an inaccurate QB. I think he’s one of the better pure passers in the nfl. So this is strange. Some of yesterday’s passes were his fault, some were guys not doing their jobs. Run the crap out of the ball, I’m loving it but get creative in the passing game here. It seems like a very “high school” offense. Like how often are we going to run the same play action roll out directly into an unblocked DE? I haven’t seen a single pass play in two games where I’ve said to myself “wow that was a well designed play”. Outside of Beebe’s catch yesterday (which by the way was an elite route on his part) but I don’t think that was by design. That was just a smart option route by Beebe.

Either way, I think it will be fixed. I’m starting to think the pass game is part lack of execution and part lack of creativity. But cousins really doesn’t worry me. I know he can make all the throws. I just want a good balance of running from under center, running from the gun, passing from the gun, passing from under center. Not just sit under center all game, especially with Bradbury’s sweaty as# lol

[VikingLord]

I also don't feel comfortable lying and saying it wasn't 95% Cousins fault we lost to the Packers because the defense gave up a below average number of points and rushing yards to the Bears. If you want to change the wager to something I am willing to do, I am game though.

Suggest something.

I say this is a 3 quarter defense, and against quality opposition they will have at least one quarter or the equivalent of folding and/or outright failure.

Any wager to that effect is fine by me. If you want to make it the whole season, I'm fine with that. I won't wager you on total points/yards or anything that tends to smooth over the impact of that quarter+ of failure. If Cousins is going to be held to the fire for every mistake he makes regardless of the circumstance he's put in, the defense has to be as well.

[mansquatch]

I don't think Cousins is that inaccurate of a thrower. (Yesterday to the contrary.) Most commentators will acknowledge that he can make all the throws. (He can.) IMO, yesterday it felt like we saw a QB in particular and a passing offense in general that needed more practice time. (The overthrows and location issues) At the same time we also saw a QB make some REALLY bad decisions with the football.

The former issue to me is fixable and is as much a symptom of it being September as it is anything else. The haters can hate on the guy, he deserves some of it after yesterday, but it is undeniable that in 2017 we saw Cousins make the kinds of throws we saw him mess up yesterday. So it isn't like a Ponder where you have zero confidence that guy can even get the ball where it needs to be. Hopefully the coaches see this for what it is and put in the time to fix it.

The 2nd issue is to me the bigger one. Cousins needs to be more responsible with the football. That is on him pure and simple. On strips you can throw the OL under the bus to some extent, but on the play where he ran it, he needs to either slide and/or cover the thing up. On the picks... SIGH. The one in the endzone was inexcusable, that was total malfeasance with the football. This has long been a knock on Cousins, at least on the fumble side of things. Not sure how better those are going to get. The INTs definitely felt worse yesterday than what we saw last season.

That first fumble was really the worst turnover of the game IMO. The defense was on it's heels and desperately needed the offense to at least spend some time on the field so they could make the adjustments needed to contain the Packers. I think if they don't drop it on the 33 there and instead put together a drive of 8-10 plays, then the score stays 14-0 instead of 21-0 and maybe the Vikings win the game. Instead they drop it almost immediately and the Pack do what any NFL team would do and just pile on.

This divisional race is far from over. For 3 quarters yesterday GB looked like a team trying to choke what should be an easy win. Don't believe all the media swooning you'll hear this week. CHI has so far looked quite pedestrian on offense. The Lions are a wild card, they are showing grit, but do they really have the roster to win it all? It doesn't look like it.

The NFC East is always the media darling early. But Dallas has played two bad teams. Still not yet sold on Dak at QB... The Eagles just had both starting WR hit the injury report. That division outside of PHI is still a poser palace. The Saints just lost Brees and the Panthers are a dumpster fire. I like ATL there to be honest and we housed them. SEA has looked gritty our West, but their pass defense is showing weakness. The Rams are winning on offense, but do not look as domineering as last season. How long will Gurley last?

The NFC race is WIDE OPEN. Don't get worried yet.

[Alaskan]

What annoyed me most about Cousins in this game is we have seen him play A LOT better than he did on Sunday. He was missing a lot of throws.

I wonder if something else is at play here. Like maybe they spent most of training camp installing the zone running scheme and didn't give the passing game the time it needs to develop the crispness required to be successful in the NFL? That is just speculation, but we saw a lot of situations yesterday where Kirk overthrew receivers or, in the case of the Rudolph end zone throw they were not on the same page. It is one thing when a rookie WR / TE makes that mistake. It is another when two vets have it happen. It is obvious that the passing game is not where it needs to be right now in terms of execution. How soon can they fix it?

Given the veteran coaching on the offensive staff, there really isn't a good excuse, so in the end it is just frustrating.

This! I’ve been thinking this as well along the way.

Again, not making excuses for cousins. He played like crap yesterday, I’ve said it multiple times, don’t need guys jumping down my throat here.

My take: Kirk cousins is not an under center QB. At least when it comes to being under center THIS much. The guy can operate under center but we’re throwing the majority of our passes from under center. I don’t buy the “it’s the main part of kubiaks offense”. It’s not because Manning was hardly ever under center in Denver. They still made it work out of the gun. I feel like this constant under center stuff is more zimmers doing than anyone.

I’m just saying, balance it out. Dalvin cook is a beast. The guy can run just as well out of the gun. We don’t have the OL for constant 5-7 step drops from under center. One thing I will say, Kirk has done a MUCH better job when it comes to evading pressure. But there are just some that are obviously unavoidable. I mean let’s be honest, there isn’t a team in the nfl anywhere close to as many under center snaps as we have. I think it’s excessive and out of kirks comfort zone as it would be with most QBs. Diggs and thielen seem frustrated at times. I mean I’m all for being a run first team but we also have an elite WR duo that we aren’t utilizing.

I feel like we went from pass happy to hardly using the pass from last year to now. Balance was key but now I feel like we went in the opposite direction. Granted yesterday was a little more balanced but not from an under center stand point. And maybe they didn’t have this passing game prepared like they should have.

Cousins isn’t an inaccurate QB. I think he’s one of the better pure passers in the nfl. So this is strange. Some of yesterday’s passes were his fault, some were guys not doing their jobs. Run the crap out of the ball, I’m loving it but get creative in the passing game here. It seems like a very “high school” offense. Like how often are we going to run the same play action roll out directly into an unblocked DE? I haven’t seen a single pass play in two games where I’ve said to myself “wow that was a well designed play”. Outside of Beebe’s catch yesterday (which by the way was an elite route on his part) but I don’t think that was by design. That was just a smart option route by Beebe.

Either way, I think it will be fixed. I’m starting to think the pass game is part lack of execution and part lack of creativity. But cousins really doesn’t worry me. I know he can make all the throws. I just want a good balance of running from under center, running from the gun, passing from the gun, passing from under center. Not just sit under center all game, especially with Bradbury’s sweaty as# lol

Just an FYI. Payton Manning ran primarily out of the pistol in Denver in 2015 under Kubiak. There is a difference. This article goes into some detail as too why. There are several other articles as well.

http://nocoastbias.com/how-the-pistol-f ... e-broncos/

Let’s be real. Cousins in no Manning pre snap. Few are. Cousins is average at BEST pre snap. And that is probably being generous. The truth is he operates best out of play action from under center. Your a big stat guy. Look it up. A simple google search will do.

[TSonn]

I'd be OK with Cousins throwing that INT if he was known as a gunslinger (aka Favre) and he's won games by forcing tough throws. The old "he'll win some and he'll lose some" argument. But he hasn't won some for us yet and he's digging himself into a pretty deep hole that's going to hard to get out of with this fan base.

It's very clear that Cousins is only successful when everything goes right: good protection, good routes, good fundamentals. He seems to struggle in that improvise/gunslinger territory. It appears to get worse (with us) in close games in the 4th quarter. He had 12 game winning drives with Washington in 3 years and he's had 0 for us through 18 games. More pressure here?

He threw some wild throws that worked in GB in 2018 so maybe he thought he could do it again this year?

[Pondering Her Percy]

This! I’ve been thinking this as well along the way.

Again, not making excuses for cousins. He played like crap yesterday, I’ve said it multiple times, don’t need guys jumping down my throat here.

My take: Kirk cousins is not an under center QB. At least when it comes to being under center THIS much. The guy can operate under center but we’re throwing the majority of our passes from under center. I don’t buy the “it’s the main part of kubiaks offense”. It’s not because Manning was hardly ever under center in Denver. They still made it work out of the gun. I feel like this constant under center stuff is more zimmers doing than anyone.

I’m just saying, balance it out. Dalvin cook is a beast. The guy can run just as well out of the gun. We don’t have the OL for constant 5-7 step drops from under center. One thing I will say, Kirk has done a MUCH better job when it comes to evading pressure. But there are just some that are obviously unavoidable. I mean let’s be honest, there isn’t a team in the nfl anywhere close to as many under center snaps as we have. I think it’s excessive and out of kirks comfort zone as it would be with most QBs. Diggs and thielen seem frustrated at times. I mean I’m all for being a run first team but we also have an elite WR duo that we aren’t utilizing.

I feel like we went from pass happy to hardly using the pass from last year to now. Balance was key but now I feel like we went in the opposite direction. Granted yesterday was a little more balanced but not from an under center stand point. And maybe they didn’t have this passing game prepared like they should have.

Cousins isn’t an inaccurate QB. I think he’s one of the better pure passers in the nfl. So this is strange. Some of yesterday’s passes were his fault, some were guys not doing their jobs. Run the crap out of the ball, I’m loving it but get creative in the passing game here. It seems like a very “high school” offense. Like how often are we going to run the same play action roll out directly into an unblocked DE? I haven’t seen a single pass play in two games where I’ve said to myself “wow that was a well designed play”. Outside of Beebe’s catch yesterday (which by the way was an elite route on his part) but I don’t think that was by design. That was just a smart option route by Beebe.

Either way, I think it will be fixed. I’m starting to think the pass game is part lack of execution and part lack of creativity. But cousins really doesn’t worry me. I know he can make all the throws. I just want a good balance of running from under center, running from the gun, passing from the gun, passing from under center. Not just sit under center all game, especially with Bradbury’s sweaty as# lol

Just an FYI. Payton Manning ran primarily out of the pistol in Denver in 2015 under Kubiak. There is a difference. This article goes into some detail as too why. There are several other articles as well.

http://nocoastbias.com/how-the-pistol-f ... e-broncos/

Let’s be real. Cousins in no Manning pre snap. Few are. Cousins is average at BEST pre snap. And that is probably being generous. The truth is he operates best out of play action from under center. Your a big stat guy. Look it up. A simple google search will do.

I’m aware play action is his forte. But you can run play action out of the gun and if you have successful runs out of the gun (which should happen given cook is leading the nfl in rushing) there is no reason that shouldn’t work. And in turn, it gives Cousins more time to throw. When he goes into a 7 step drop, I hold my breath because I’m waiting for him to get smothered. A perfect example was his fumble yesterday. Kenny Clark dominated our entire interior and got a clean shot at cousins and in turn, it resulted in a fumble.

Like I said before, I think cousins has done a solid job in the pocket. He’s made a lot of contested throws and has escaped a lot of pressure and made good plays. But for every couple good plays he makes, a sack, fumble or pick are going to come. He can’t dodge them all. He was under pressure 60% of his throws yesterday. SIXTY! That’s unheard of. I mean how long does a 7 step drop take from under center? 3 seconds? That’s 3 seconds less he’s getting to read a defense. And it’s 3 seconds longer his OL has to hold up a DL. That’s an eternity.

And somehow, Cousins was sacked 1 time yesterday. That’s what I’m saying with him doing a good job getting away from pressure and being more aware than last year. Being under pressure 60% of your drop backs and getting sacked once is good on the QB but when you’re inaccurate and throwing picks like he was isn’t. But is that pressure causing that? I would say yes simply because Cousins has never been an inaccurate QB. So take it for what it’s worth it’s just I think this can be “somewhat solved” by getting into the gun and running out of the gun more. Not all game, not changing our entire look, just look to utilize it more.

It’s not like we’re the 2012 Vikings that have to force our RB to carry us because we have no QB or WRs. We have a talented QB and two legit WRs with other weapons sprinkled in. Balance. Just fricken balance. Throw new looks at these teams. Show some creativity. Keep defenses on their toes. And figure out this pass protection

[YikesVikes]

Just an FYI. Payton Manning ran primarily out of the pistol in Denver in 2015 under Kubiak. There is a difference. This article goes into some detail as too why. There are several other articles as well.

http://nocoastbias.com/how-the-pistol-f ... e-broncos/

Let’s be real. Cousins in no Manning pre snap. Few are. Cousins is average at BEST pre snap. And that is probably being generous. The truth is he operates best out of play action from under center. Your a big stat guy. Look it up. A simple google search will do.

I’m aware play action is his forte. But you can run play action out of the gun and if you have successful runs out of the gun (which should happen given cook is leading the nfl in rushing) there is no reason that shouldn’t work. And in turn, it gives Cousins more time to throw. When he goes into a 7 step drop, I hold my breath because I’m waiting for him to get smothered. A perfect example was his fumble yesterday. Kenny Clark dominated our entire interior and got a clean shot at cousins and in turn, it resulted in a fumble.

Like I said before, I think cousins has done a solid job in the pocket. He’s made a lot of contested throws and has escaped a lot of pressure and made good plays. But for every couple good plays he makes, a sack, fumble or pick are going to come. He can’t dodge them all. He was under pressure 60% of his throws yesterday. SIXTY! That’s unheard of. I mean how long does a 7 step drop take from under center? 3 seconds? That’s 3 seconds less he’s getting to read a defense. And it’s 3 seconds longer his OL has to hold up a DL. That’s an eternity.

And somehow, Cousins was sacked 1 time yesterday. That’s what I’m saying with him doing a good job getting away from pressure and being more aware than last year. Being under pressure 60% of your drop backs and getting sacked once is good on the QB but when you’re inaccurate and throwing picks like he was isn’t. But is that pressure causing that? I would say yes simply because Cousins has never been an inaccurate QB. So take it for what it’s worth it’s just I think this can be “somewhat solved” by getting into the gun and running out of the gun more. Not all game, not changing our entire look, just look to utilize it more.

It’s not like we’re the 2012 Vikings that have to force our RB to carry us because we have no QB or WRs. We have a talented QB and two legit WRs with other weapons sprinkled in. Balance. Just fricken balance. Throw new looks at these teams. Show some creativity. Keep defenses on their toes. And figure out this pass protection

His number from the gun with PA is notably worst. He is better at the line.

[VikeFanInEagleLand]

The name of this thread isn't 'Kirk Cousins is NOT a good quarterback". He can make all the throws. He can make the plays. And there are games when he does. But there are also games, and it seems that's it's becoming obvious that they are usually important games, where he doesn't. In the history of football, there have always been those types that can look great UNTIL the big game.

It's not the execution. Like many point out, maybe receivers are running bad routes; maybe the OL isn't providing protection; maybe the refs are making awful calls...it doesn't matter. Because in a big game when none of that is true; when everyone around him is playing near perfectly, he will falter.

What completely blows me away is this: I never took a snap in the pros, nor in college, nor in high school. The only time I ever took a snap was playing back yard football, YET if I had been shoved into the game on Sunday on the 1st down play, and the call from the sidelines was a pass, I would know in the huddle, and when I lined up behind center, that unless there was a receiver WIDE open, I'm throwing the ball away. If I get any pressure, I'm throwing the ball away. So how is it that "non-football playing me" knows this, but an experienced NFL QB doesn't? Winners know when NOT to take sacks. Winners know when NOT to try and force a throw. Losers do it time after time after time. Thus they will never take their team to the big game. They just become a QB with great stats every year that watch the playoffs on TV.

[allday1991]

I'd say the same about the Vikings defense under Mike Zimmer.

Well let's take a look at last year?

Against the Rams, 100% the defense sucked in that game.

Eagles? Nope, held the Eagles to 14 until a last minute garbage TD.

Saints? 23 points given up by the defense against a team that averaged 32. Didn't shut them down, but held them to well below their average.

Bears? Held them to 18, turned them over 3 times.

NE? Held an offense that averaged 27 to 24 and fell apart at the end giving up 14 points in the final quarter and a half. Against the greatest QB of all time with the offense doing nothing the entire game.

Seattle? 14 points given up.

Chicago? 24 points given up against a team that averaged 26.

One out of 7 playoff teams scored more points than they averaged on the season. 3 out of the 7 I would argue were really good defensive performances. 3 more were at least above average performances.

Room for improvement, but Zimmer's defenses are far from consistently "bad" against good teams.

What I take from this is that we are slightly better than the average defense, which is a real problem because that's where we have invested the majority of our salary and draft picks, for slightly better than average.

[YikesVikes]

I personally think that Kirk Cousins is broken. Some how we have broken this mans confidence. When I look at him, I dont see a guy that believes in himself. I see a guy trying not to make a mistake. Listening to him, he isnt a guy I would run through a wall for. He is a nice guy and a decent QB but I strongly believe that all the ridicule he was gotten for having a simple contract has gotten to him. I think Zimmer had gotten to him. I dont believe he thinks, he is the best player on the field. He is a guy acting a part. He is broken.

[Alaskan]

I’m aware play action is his forte. But you can run play action out of the gun and if you have successful runs out of the gun (which should happen given cook is leading the nfl in rushing) there is no reason that shouldn’t work. And in turn, it gives Cousins more time to throw. When he goes into a 7 step drop, I hold my breath because I’m waiting for him to get smothered. A perfect example was his fumble yesterday. Kenny Clark dominated our entire interior and got a clean shot at cousins and in turn, it resulted in a fumble.

Like I said before, I think cousins has done a solid job in the pocket. He’s made a lot of contested throws and has escaped a lot of pressure and made good plays. But for every couple good plays he makes, a sack, fumble or pick are going to come. He can’t dodge them all. He was under pressure 60% of his throws yesterday. SIXTY! That’s unheard of. I mean how long does a 7 step drop take from under center? 3 seconds? That’s 3 seconds less he’s getting to read a defense. And it’s 3 seconds longer his OL has to hold up a DL. That’s an eternity.

And somehow, Cousins was sacked 1 time yesterday. That’s what I’m saying with him doing a good job getting away from pressure and being more aware than last year. Being under pressure 60% of your drop backs and getting sacked once is good on the QB but when you’re inaccurate and throwing picks like he was isn’t. But is that pressure causing that? I would say yes simply because Cousins has never been an inaccurate QB. So take it for what it’s worth it’s just I think this can be “somewhat solved” by getting into the gun and running out of the gun more. Not all game, not changing our entire look, just look to utilize it more.

It’s not like we’re the 2012 Vikings that have to force our RB to carry us because we have no QB or WRs. We have a talented QB and two legit WRs with other weapons sprinkled in. Balance. Just fricken balance. Throw new looks at these teams. Show some creativity. Keep defenses on their toes. And figure out this pass protection

His number from the gun with PA is notably worst. He is better at the line.

Your correct!
And on top of that the percentage of negative run plays goes up from the gun.....or pistol. If you have Payton Manning as your quarterback who could dissect a defense pre snap and make checks at the line those percentages of negative plays go way down. Cousins is not that guy......or anything close. I can see our run game and pass game going in the wrong direction if we start operating out of the gun or pistol more. Play action from under center is Cousins biggest asset. The interior line is gonna be an issue all year. Cousins needs to protect the ball, period. Take a sack, throw it away. Live to play another down, or punt and lean on your defense. Kubiaks system is as good as it’s going to get for Cousins. No more excuses. That’s all I hear from people about him. He has never been a winner, ever. He’s a liability IMO. The weakest link at the most important position on a roster that is stacked top to bottom. I have been saying this since before we signed him. As much as I like Kubiak and his system and this team in general, I have been having a hard time getting excited about these past couple seasons for one reason. Kirk Cousins. He’s a high character guy, a great person and probably good for business........but those things don’t equal wins on the football field and thats what I care about most

[J. Kapp 11]

Here's a stat I just found, per Pro Football Focus.

Since the start of the 2017 season, Cousins has the lowest quarterback rating in the NFL when inside the opponents’ 10-yard line. He’s completing less than 45 percent of his passes and is averaging 1.6 yards per attempt.

That says a lot, doesn't it?

[StumpHunter]

Well let's take a look at last year?

Against the Rams, 100% the defense sucked in that game.

Eagles? Nope, held the Eagles to 14 until a last minute garbage TD.

Saints? 23 points given up by the defense against a team that averaged 32. Didn't shut them down, but held them to well below their average.

Bears? Held them to 18, turned them over 3 times.

NE? Held an offense that averaged 27 to 24 and fell apart at the end giving up 14 points in the final quarter and a half. Against the greatest QB of all time with the offense doing nothing the entire game.

Seattle? 14 points given up.

Chicago? 24 points given up against a team that averaged 26.

One out of 7 playoff teams scored more points than they averaged on the season. 3 out of the 7 I would argue were really good defensive performances. 3 more were at least above average performances.

Room for improvement, but Zimmer's defenses are far from consistently "bad" against good teams.

What I take from this is that we are slightly better than the average defense, which is a real problem because that's where we have invested the majority of our salary and draft picks, for slightly better than average.

They were slightly better than average about half the time. Very good for about half, against the top teams.

[Pondering Her Percy]

The name of this thread isn't 'Kirk Cousins is NOT a good quarterback". He can make all the throws. He can make the plays. And there are games when he does. But there are also games, and it seems that's it's becoming obvious that they are usually important games, where he doesn't. In the history of football, there have always been those types that can look great UNTIL the big game.

It's not the execution. Like many point out, maybe receivers are running bad routes; maybe the OL isn't providing protection; maybe the refs are making awful calls...it doesn't matter. Because in a big game when none of that is true; when everyone around him is playing near perfectly, he will falter.

What completely blows me away is this: I never took a snap in the pros, nor in college, nor in high school. The only time I ever took a snap was playing back yard football, YET if I had been shoved into the game on Sunday on the 1st down play, and the call from the sidelines was a pass, I would know in the huddle, and when I lined up behind center, that unless there was a receiver WIDE open, I'm throwing the ball away. If I get any pressure, I'm throwing the ball away. So how is it that "non-football playing me" knows this, but an experienced NFL QB doesn't? Winners know when NOT to take sacks. Winners know when NOT to try and force a throw. Losers do it time after time after time. Thus they will never take their team to the big game. They just become a QB with great stats every year that watch the playoffs on TV.

Here is my thing with the “good team bad team” argument.

Last year vs GB week 2, he did everything we wanted him to in order to come back from a deficit. Threw a TD pass with a guy in his face with 30 seconds left and then converted the 2 point conversion. Just for our kicker to blow it, more than once. This year was similar in the sense that we were in a hole and we needed him to get us out of it.

My question is, why does last years GB game not count as a “good team” or “big game” but this year does? It was nearly an identical situation. They barely beat Chicago on the road last year no different than they did week 1 this year. They go into week 2 1-0, we go in 1-0. But since we later found out, GB wasn’t a good team because they finished 6-9-1, that means that wasn’t a big game? Or what about a good defense like the rams that he shredded all game and put up 31 points but lost because our D gave up 38. What about Philly who he tore apart on the road? Does Philly not count either because they were .500 then? I can name a fair share of games cousins crapped in (Chicago x2, Seattle, New England, GB this year), but I can also honestly sit here and say that he had his slew of good games against “good teams”. But fans want to disregard those games because “philly wasn’t playing good at the time”, or “GB ended up sucking” or “the rams game he fumbled in the end (even though Reiff whiffed his block on the back side)”. I can sit here and say that we wouldn’t have been in those games or win those games if it wasn’t for Kirk cousins. He was lights out vs the rams going toe to toe all game against a good D, he drastically outplayed Aaron Rodgers twice last year and beat him once and had him beat the other time if it wasn’t for Carlson and he carved up the defending SB champs on the road in a hostile environment. Why do those not count? Why do fans overlook those games? Because that’s what fans do with this guy. They look at it as “he’s making $84 million so that means SB” or “we made the nfc championship game and then improved our QB so that means SB”. It’s NOT that easy. Cris carter recently said that in an interview. New season, new coach, new schedule, new team. You don’t just get a good player or two and win it all. It takes a TEAM. The team didn’t do their job last year. Some cousins, some flip, some Zim, some the defense, etc. Against GB this year, multiple guys, including cousins didn’t do their job. I just don’t buy all the good team bad team stuff. He’s done well before and won “big games” (whatever you want to define “big” as). He didn’t play well yesterday, I get it, I’m aware but this team needs to play better. Period. Cousins, thielen, diggs, the defense, etc. Everyone.