Kirk Cousins is just NOT a big game quarterback

[Purplepain2018]

After the Packers game, I posted on here and said that Kirk Cousins is NOT A BIG GAME QB AND THAT HE CANNOT WIN A BIG GAME!!!

Well, after yesterday, against the Bears and that just horrific performance, I don't think there are many doubters left. Can anyone name a game since he has been in Minnesota in a big game situation where we won? There are none. Now against the bad teams Cousins looks great, but against the good and playoff teams we get what we got yesterday.

It just appears like there is something wrong with how he makes decisions and turns the ball over. As it stands now, Vikings will not make the playoffs and yet the Vikings have to pay this guy one more year $28 mill.

The defense stunk it up yesterday as well. They could not get off the field and they were going against #2 Qb.

They will not have as good a chance to beat the Bears as they did yesterday as so many of the Bears starters were out and then they lose Trubisky.

.

Going to be a long year!!!

[Pondering Her Percy]

After the Packers game, I posted on here and said that Kirk Cousins is NOT A BIG GAME QB AND THAT HE CANNOT WIN A BIG GAME!!!

Well, after yesterday, against the Bears and that just horrific performance, I don't think there are many doubters left. Can anyone name a game since he has been in Minnesota in a big game situation where we won? There are none. Now against the bad teams Cousins looks great, but against the good and playoff teams we get what we got yesterday.

It just appears like there is something wrong with how he makes decisions and turns the ball over. As it stands now, Vikings will not make the playoffs and yet the Vikings have to pay this guy one more year $28 mill.

The defense stunk it up yesterday as well. They could not get off the field and they were going against #2 Qb.

They will not have as good a chance to beat the Bears as they did yesterday as so many of the Bears starters were out and then they lose Trubisky.

.

Going to be a long year!!!

Why are you starting another thread talking about the same thing you already have going? So we can talk about cousins in the 50th thread in the last two years?

[Alaskan]

Never said he didnt deserve criticism. I've said multiple times he's had his own wrong doings this year. What I said was baffling is that he is brought up in every thread at one point or another, usually by a hater, which then starts the same old argument, and so on. I would have to imagine the name "Cousins" has been typed more than any other name ever on this board. If that's not over the top then idk what is.

Four words.

Eighty four million dollars.

When you're a quarterback who makes that kind of money, all guaranteed, you are going to take criticism. If you play poorly, you should expect that criticism to increase exponentially. This is especially true in the salary-cap era, when resource allocation is far more important than individual salaries. We're investing 15% of our salary cap on a single player. Criticism -- good or bad -- comes with the territory.

It's not over the top. It's what Kirk Cousins should expect. And you know, I'm sure he does. After all, Kirk says all the right things in press conferences. But you can say all the right things and still play bad football.

This is an excellent summary! Great post!

[Bowhunting Viking]

Did anybody else see Total Access on NFL Network a little bit ago when they asked Kurt Warner if the Vikes can rely on Cousins to win games. He gave a 2 part answer. His 1st point was that he didn't think they want him to have to pass 30 - 35 times a game. But his 2nd point kinda mirrored something that myself and others have kinda hinted at.. the $84 million. He said he sees Cousins playing tentative , and is worrying about the big contract and not just playing loose and , his words, ripping the ball and letting it go like he has the arm for.
Just repeating what a HOF SB MVP is saying about him.
Like I said , I know that myself and others have wondered if that is part of his head problem.

Here is the thing, Zimmer doesn't want him doing that. He wants a boring controlled game.

Yes I agree. It's almost to the point now that Zim has taken this " We wanna run the ball" mantra to a ridiculous extreme. I understand the premise, but that running game HAS to also be used to open up the passing game to be balanced. Especially in a game like Sunday when the running game was not working.
Why pay a QB and 2 great WRs all that money if you aren't gonna use them? I love alot about Zim, but I'm starting to think his stubbornness is becoming a liability.
Back to Warner. What I took was he was saying DON'T have Cousins throw 30 times a game, but when the time comes to throw it... THROW it, give it playmakers a chance to make a big play. But Cousins really does seem to be afraid to to let it go. From what I see, he rarely goes through his progressions anymore. Most of the time he just plays it safe with short check down passes, and is missing guys downfield who are wide open. We saw it Sunday. Romo brought it up a few times where Kirk had receivers wide open for big plays and never saw them, and a few were plays when he wasnt pressured and had time. Remember the one when he had Cook all alone on the sideline with nothing but green grass ahead of him. You could tell Romo couldn't believe he missed it.
Maybe like someone said Zim needs to stay away from the QBs and kickers. Maybe he is in their heads .
I dont know but something isn't right, and unfortunately I don't have the faith in a miracle turn around in his play. If anything I feel the added pressure by the media , fans and now even it seems his teammates, are just gonna make him regress even further in his play.
I hope he proves us all wrong and just starts playing lights out. I WANT the guy to succeed and start helping us win games. I wanna start seeing members of this board talking about how much he has turned his play around and praising the guy. I really do.
But I fear that its gonna just be the opposite. I hope he and the team proves me wrong.

[StumpHunter]

I don't think your lying. In your eyes your opinion is the only one that is right and everybody else is wrong.
The one fumble was on Cousins...You got to protect the ball,which he failed to do...no excuses.
With that kind of pressure why was Cousins taking a 7 step drop.

I also think Zimmer needs to stay away from QB's and Kickers. He messes them up.

Dude what?! It was one of the fastest sacks of week 4. THATS how bad and how quickly Reiff got burned. And cousins was about to pull the ball back to throw. He shouldn’t have to tuck the ball in 2 seconds. His blind side got burned. I would say he’s doing what he’s suppose to be doing in the sense of doing a 7 step drop, and throwing it within 3-4 seconds. But I guess since his LT was burned in a millisecond that’s on cousins....

And why is he doing a 7 step drop? Because that’s what the play calls for. Every play has specific drop backs to them. Are you really trying to fault cousins for taking a 7 step drop?!

It was the 4th fastest sack in week 4, and there was another that was the 14th fastest, that means 4 more took longer than 3.5 seconds.

The line played terrible against a great Bears defense, just like the Packer's line played terrible, the Broncos line played terrible and Redskins line played terrible. That doesn't mean there weren't opportunities missed by the QB and he is blameless in this loss.

[StumpHunter]

Someone posted the coaches film of every play by Cousins versus the Bears on DN:

https://www.dailynorseman.com/2019/10/1 ... ta-vikings

I haven't watched it yet, but this is an opportunity for us to stop guessing what Cousins could have done based on what we remember from Sunday.

Maybe he did all he could, but judging from the comments it sounds like he was who I thought he was.

[TSonn]

Someone posted the coaches film of every play by Cousins versus the Bears on DN:

https://www.dailynorseman.com/2019/10/1 ... ta-vikings

I haven't watched it yet, but this is an opportunity for us to stop guessing what Cousins could have done based on what we remember from Sunday.

Maybe he did all he could, but judging from the comments it sounds like he was who I thought he was.

Thanks for sharing this. I agree that it shows there were quite a few plays where Cousins could have completed a pass for a solid gain if he was looking the right way (aka pre-snap reads). Super disappointing.

Though, I must say, the consistent QB trait under Zimmer (with the exception of Keenum who was never guaranteed a starting job) is overly looking to check down. Kirk has even regressed in this department from the beginning of last year to now. My guess is that Zimmer tells his QBs - if you're not sure about a pass, check it down and don't get a turnover - despite him telling the media this week "sometimes you've just got to pull the trigger".

Also of note - looks like Kirk was the only guy who actually kept playing (for us) after the Diggs fumble.

[StumpHunter]

At first blush watching the film Cousins isn't horrible, which is what I saw live. He did the right thing most of the time, he just failed to do the BEST thing far too often. The Vikings needed plays, and he was settling for check downs instead of taking shots to great WRs who had steps on their guys. He also did a decent job of running from trouble. The biggest thing with that is he would run out of the pocket and throw for a 3 yard dump off. I just don't think he feels comfortable throwing on the run. He also left the pocket too early a few times, which tells me he isn't sensing pressure as much as running after a certain amount of time has passed.

By far his best game against Chicago, which is so very sad.

The Oline looks significantly better than I remember, but all of the sacks are excluded from the film, so that helps.

Bradbury looks like he doesn't belong playing sometimes.

If I feel up to it, and if someone doesn't beat me to it, I was thinking of breaking down every play from a Oline standpoint and from a QB/WR standpoint.

[dead_poet]

Sub-optimal

https://twitter.com/benbbaldwin/status/ ... 35904?s=19

[CharVike]

At first blush watching the film Cousins isn't horrible, which is what I saw live. He did the right thing most of the time, he just failed to do the BEST thing far too often. The Vikings needed plays, and he was settling for check downs instead of taking shots to great WRs who had steps on their guys. He also did a decent job of running from trouble. The biggest thing with that is he would run out of the pocket and throw for a 3 yard dump off. I just don't think he feels comfortable throwing on the run. He also left the pocket too early a few times, which tells me he isn't sensing pressure as much as running after a certain amount of time has passed.

By far his best game against Chicago, which is so very sad.

The Oline looks significantly better than I remember, but all of the sacks are excluded from the film, so that helps.

Bradbury looks like he doesn't belong playing sometimes.

If I feel up to it, and if someone doesn't beat me to it, I was thinking of breaking down every play from a Oline standpoint and from a QB/WR standpoint.

I agree with your Bradberry statement. I've seen this guy on his back. You don't see that to often in the NFL. He is over matched at this point in his career. He really needs to get bigger and stronger. Just like our 4th round pick. I'm not saying they are bad players. But this OL is way beyond bad. I said on another post this Steeler OL is impressive. No pass rush allowed. The QB don't get any interference. Never hit. Just stands there. Short pass there are guys smashing people and huge holes downfield.

[Pondering Her Percy]

Dude what?! It was one of the fastest sacks of week 4. THATS how bad and how quickly Reiff got burned. And cousins was about to pull the ball back to throw. He shouldn’t have to tuck the ball in 2 seconds. His blind side got burned. I would say he’s doing what he’s suppose to be doing in the sense of doing a 7 step drop, and throwing it within 3-4 seconds. But I guess since his LT was burned in a millisecond that’s on cousins....

And why is he doing a 7 step drop? Because that’s what the play calls for. Every play has specific drop backs to them. Are you really trying to fault cousins for taking a 7 step drop?!

It was the 4th fastest sack in week 4, and there was another that was the 14th fastest, that means 4 more took longer than 3.5 seconds.

The line played terrible against a great Bears defense, just like the Packer's line played terrible, the Broncos line played terrible and Redskins line played terrible. That doesn't mean there weren't opportunities missed by the QB and he is blameless in this loss.

When did I say he was “blameless”? But I can already see where you’re going with this. Because the bears defense is legit, that means our OL isn’t as bad as it looked? No sorry. Not gonna fly

[StumpHunter]

It was the 4th fastest sack in week 4, and there was another that was the 14th fastest, that means 4 more took longer than 3.5 seconds.

The line played terrible against a great Bears defense, just like the Packer's line played terrible, the Broncos line played terrible and Redskins line played terrible. That doesn't mean there weren't opportunities missed by the QB and he is blameless in this loss.

When did I say he was “blameless”? But I can already see where you’re going with this. Because the bears defense is legit, that means our OL isn’t as bad as it looked? No sorry. Not gonna fly

You haven't said he was blameless, but you sure have blamed everyone but him. It is almost like you are trying to deflect.

[J. Kapp 11]

This is one of the best articles I've seen that outlines Cousins' problems as a quarterback. Their premise has several parts:

1. Kevin Stefanski is trying to run an offense that he's not comfortable with -- had never run it before Kubiak's arrival.
2. Kirk Cousins only had two seasons as a backup under Shanahan and one season as a starter under Gruden, who ran a combo of Shanahan's offense and his own West Coast variation. So Cousins himself isn't exactly comfortable with it.
3. Mike Zimmer wants to run the ball so much that they're falling on their faces when they try to pass.
4. Cousins has the most time to pass in the NFL, but has attempted the fewest 10-20 yard passes by far in the league (a total of 14 in four games).
5. Play-action isn't working, despite the presence of a solid rushing attack.
6. Kirk Cousins lacks the arm talent to make tight-window throws.

It's a pretty sobering article, but the interesting thing is that it's a very well-researched and backed version of what we've been saying on here all along ... that our issues are a combination of Zimmer, overall coaching, the O-line, and Cousins.

Here's a great quote about proof that our play-action has sucked this year.

NFL teams do not need to run the ball effectively to produce a good play-action passing game. The Vikings are proof of this. Despite their woeful running game, the Vikings were one of the best play-action passing teams in 2018. In 2019, the roles have been reversed. Dalvin Cook has been the NFL’s best running back, but Cousins play-action numbers have plummeted. He’s averaging -0.14 Expected Points Added per attempt in 2019 after averaging 0.27 EPA/attempt a season ago.

Here's the link to the article. I recommend that all Vikings fans read it. Then drink until you pass out.

The Vikings are asking Kirk Cousins to be something he's not: A QB worth $84 million

[CharVike]

This is one of the best articles I've seen that outlines Cousins' problems as a quarterback. Their premise has several parts:

1. Kevin Stefanski is trying to run an offense that he's not comfortable with -- had never run it before Kubiak's arrival.
2. Kirk Cousins only had two seasons as a backup under Shanahan and one season as a starter under Gruden, who ran a combo of Shanahan's offense and his own West Coast variation. So Cousins himself isn't exactly comfortable with it.
3. Mike Zimmer wants to run the ball so much that they're falling on their faces when they try to pass.
4. Cousins has the most time to pass in the NFL, but has attempted the fewest 10-20 yard passes by far in the league (a total of 14 in four games).
5. Play-action isn't working, despite the presence of a solid rushing attack.
6. Kirk Cousins lacks the arm talent to make tight-window throws.

It's a pretty sobering article, but the interesting thing is that it's a very well-researched and backed version of what we've been saying on here all along ... that our issues are a combination of Zimmer, overall coaching, the O-line, and Cousins.

Here's a great quote about proof that our play-action has sucked this year.

NFL teams do not need to run the ball effectively to produce a good play-action passing game. The Vikings are proof of this. Despite their woeful running game, the Vikings were one of the best play-action passing teams in 2018. In 2019, the roles have been reversed. Dalvin Cook has been the NFL’s best running back, but Cousins play-action numbers have plummeted. He’s averaging -0.14 Expected Points Added per attempt in 2019 after averaging 0.27 EPA/attempt a season ago.

Here's the link to the article. I recommend that all Vikings fans read it. Then drink until you pass out.

The Vikings are asking Kirk Cousins to be something he's not: A QB worth $84 million

That's a good article you found. The highlights shows there are guys open downfield. Sobering is one word for it. I'll admit I got sucked into our ground game. But as many pointed out before the Bear game we will need our passing game to help. They were right. I was hoping that if we kept using our ground game it would click eventually. Some even pointed out the need for balance. That really becomes true against strong teams. I really liked that dominating on the ground. It was different for sure. But our passing game is really bad and it seems players are getting upset.

[StumpHunter]

Ooph.
http://espn1005.com/week-4-nfl-qb-award ... line-dime/

Although he averaged 2.69 seconds in the pocket per dropback, the second-highest mark of Week 4, Cousins’ average pass traveled 4.8 yards short of the line to gain. That’s an exceptionally conservative figure, and it suggests at least some of the pressure was a result of holding onto the ball too long.