Mr. Clutch Minute Man Kirk Cousins

[Frozen Rope]

Nice seeing you take it all in PHP

[psjordan]

Gotta say I find all the “Cousins stats this” and “Cousins stats that” back and forth a bit meaningless. Why bother? So when Kirk has a bad game, or stretch of games, group A can say “I told you so!!!”? And then when he has a decent stretch, Group B can say “up yours, you have no idea what you are talking about”!!!?

[soapbox] People label the last few years in the USA a lot of ways, but what sums it up for me is that we have somehow managed to quintuple the amount of “I TOLD YOU SO!!!” pundits out there. Jeez, who cares? Have we not learned that if you are “right” about something in your own mind, just wait a day or two and somebody somewhere will “prove” you are not? Holy cow I hate social media. [/soapbox]

We have a QB who can make plays. He can also let everyone down at any given moment. This season it’s been way more of the former than latter, but other seasons he’s not been consistently good for a full season.

His contract seems expensive for our W-L record, but so did Watson’s.

Sometimes you just have to roll with what ya got. We can argue the list below all kinds of ways, but at the end of the day Cousins sure seems above average RIGHT NOW as a starting QB IMO. In fact I’d only take 11 starting QB’s over him RIGHT NOW during the bye week.

Is that a horrid spot to be with your QB, even if he's expensive?

Starting QB’s I would take ahead of Cousins:
Lamar Jackson
Josh Allen
Joe Burrow
Patrick Mahomes
Derek Carr
Justin Herbert
Kyler Murray
Dak Prescott
Aaron Rodgers
Matthew Stafford
Tom Brady

Ryan Tannehill seems to be about the Mendoza line for me.

QB’s I would not take over Cousins:
Baker Mayfield
Matt Ryan
Teddy Bridgewater
Davis Mills (Tyrod Taylor)
Carson Wentz
Trevor Lawrence
Tua Tagovailoa
Mac Jones
Zach Wilson
Ben Roethlisberger
Sam Darnold
Justin Fields (Andy Dalton)
Jared Goff
Jameis Winston
Daniel Jones
Jalen Hurts
Trey Lance (Jimmy Garoppolo)
Geno Smith (Russell Wilson)
Taylor Heinicke (Ryan Fitzpatrick)

[Frozen Rope]

We've been through this before. Every year people start talking MVP when Cousins has a few good games. We all know how its going to end. Not buying for a second


For me, I'm having a difficult time cheering for this team. I never liked our starting QB even before the pandemic and I certainly can't stand him now. I appreciate Thielen and Cook but I'd rather have them off this team. I like Zimmer but personally, I'd rather have someone who's more connected with the team. I mean, can you picture Zimmer supporting Kirk like how McDermott supported J.Allen in the press conference? To be fair, can you picture any head coach supporting Cousins like that. I can't.

I wish I could be where most of you are. I wish I didn't think so poorly of Cousins character, and ability. Being a Vikings fan these past 3 years has been a struggle.

I appreciate your honesty. I know the vaccine is a big issue with you, but what don’t you like about Cousins the person. I’ve followed him his whole career, listened to him speak on several occasions and I know what he’s passionate about. If you don’t want to share, no worries.

[CharVike]

Gotta say I find all the “Cousins stats this” and “Cousins stats that” back and forth a bit meaningless. Why bother? So when Kirk has a bad game, or stretch of games, group A can say “I told you so!!!”? And then when he has a decent stretch, Group B can say “up yours, you have no idea what you are talking about”!!!?

[soapbox] People label the last few years in the USA a lot of ways, but what sums it up for me is that we have somehow managed to quintuple the amount of “I TOLD YOU SO!!!” pundits out there. Jeez, who cares? Have we not learned that if you are “right” about something in your own mind, just wait a day or two and somebody somewhere will “prove” you are not? Holy cow I hate social media. [/soapbox]

We have a QB who can make plays. He can also let everyone down at any given moment. This season it’s been way more of the former than latter, but other seasons he’s not been consistently good for a full season.

His contract seems expensive for our W-L record, but so did Watson’s.

Sometimes you just have to roll with what ya got. We can argue the list below all kinds of ways, but at the end of the day Cousins sure seems above average RIGHT NOW as a starting QB IMO. In fact I’d only take 11 starting QB’s over him RIGHT NOW during the bye week.

Is that a horrid spot to be with your QB, even if he's expensive?

Starting QB’s I would take ahead of Cousins:
Lamar Jackson
Josh Allen
Joe Burrow
Patrick Mahomes
Derek Carr
Justin Herbert
Kyler Murray
Dak Prescott
Aaron Rodgers
Matthew Stafford
Tom Brady

Ryan Tannehill seems to be about the Mendoza line for me.

QB’s I would not take over Cousins:
Baker Mayfield
Matt Ryan
Teddy Bridgewater
Davis Mills (Tyrod Taylor)
Carson Wentz
Trevor Lawrence
Tua Tagovailoa
Mac Jones
Zach Wilson
Ben Roethlisberger
Sam Darnold
Justin Fields (Andy Dalton)
Jared Goff
Jameis Winston
Daniel Jones
Jalen Hurts
Trey Lance (Jimmy Garoppolo)
Geno Smith (Russell Wilson)
Taylor Heinicke (Ryan Fitzpatrick)

Your list is fine it's your take. Funny that you placed two Super Bowl guys below Cousins Jimmy G and Goff. It comes down to what is around you. IMO Cousins is fine but you better have some players around him. When Brady chose FL or CA as places to live and play he didn't pick Jax. because that had the potential to cause serious injury. Their OL has nothing. He chose a team with a good OL and D. You need both to have a chance. The Chiefs obtained 2 stand out OL guys because there QB needed protection or he don't play as good as he should. That happens with every QB I have ever seen play this game.

[chicagopurple]

the OL is fundamental to ANY success. Just look at KC this year, their generational great QB is looking mortal largely due to injuries on their OL.....Spielman has never understood this, he neglected the OL for a decade and the results have been horrendous. Green Bay has always put good effort into their OL and it paid off in spades. The Bears front office is just as dysfunctional as the Vikes and they too will get no where with J Fields unless they build a quality OL......

[VikingsVictorious]

In Kirk Cousins’ first 3 seasons in Minnesota … when the Vikings trailed by 2 scores or less (including when the game is tied), with 4 minutes or less left in the 4th quarter or in overtime, when the defense knows you’re going to pass, Cousins was terrible. How terrible? He ranked 46th in passer rating, 45th in yards per attempt, and threw more interceptions than touchdowns

Yep, and I was called a Kirk "hater" whenever I pointed that out. Those stats didn't matter before for some reason, but this tiny fraction of Kirk's career when he is doing well in that spot it is all that matters. Cherry picking obscure stats when people don't want hear them, proof that Kirk is great when they fit what they want to believe about their QB. Weird how that works.

Enjoy this moment. It won't last and we know that from 10+ seasons of watching this guy work. When he is extended for another massive fully guaranteed contract and we are looking at how to get out of it before it even kicks in (just like the last one), maybe you will look back on this moment and think it wasn't such a great thing after all that we are beating teams that will end the season sub .500.

OMG you just said that Kirk is doing well. Progress. Of course you called it a tiny fraction and stated like it's a fact that it won't continue. Why do you find it necessary to hold on to your hate? What happens when it does continue? In a season of 17 games 6 is a solid sample size. Based on how Cousins has played we should be 5-1. If Kirk keeps playing like this we will finish the season winners and in the playoffs. Would that really bum you out? Odds are we don't win the Super Bowl. Is that a reason to want to throw Cousins out like garbage. Stop the hate and appreciate how well he is doing.

[VikingLord]

Why is there so much focus on Cousins?

It's pretty clear that Cousins goes right now as his OL goes, and the team goes right now as the defense, offense, and special teams goes.

How did they lose the first game? P1ss poor OL play and sketchy defense in the 1st half, followed by great overall play on both sides of the ball in 2nd half, followed by a phantom fumble call in OT and a blown coverage on defense in OT.

How did they lose the second game? Field goal kicker misses a reasonable attempt to win. Plenty of miscues on defense (again) too.

How did they lose the game against the Browns? OL couldn't pass protect or run block most of that game. Defense played well enough to win probably. Just beaten by a better team.

While Cousins has played well in the wins and most of the losses, if I'm taking anything away from all of these games so far its that the Vikings are winning and losing as a team. Cousins has done well, but so have other elements of the team (e.g. the same field goal kicker that missed to win against the Cardinals makes it to win against the Lions). They (meaning pretty much everyone on the team) have been up and down within games. Heck, even their comfortable win against Seattle they pretty much looked lost on defense for the first half of that game. The 2nd half of that game, OTOH, both sides of the ball put it together and we saw what the team can do when all phases play well.

The long and short of it is, give Cousins his due, but he's one piece of the puzzle right now. He might be doing great in clutch situations, and that is fantastic because that is *exactly* what the Vikings need from him if they're going anywhere this year, but at the same time, no amount of clutch QB play is going to overcome some of the defensive lapses we've seen. No amount of clutch QB play is going to help the kicker make the key kicks. No amount of clutch QB play is going to make the coaches stay aggressive in games when they're ahead.

Any honest fan of this team, or any team, for that matter, has to give Cousins his due so far this year. He's earned it. At the same time, I want the Vikings to win a Superbowl, and that ain't happenin' unless the team gets its overall act together. We've got spotty run defense to discuss. Can that be fixed? Is it just a chemistry issue, the players needing time to acclimate to each other, coaching decisions, or is this a personnel deficiency? We've got the OL to discuss. Can Darrisaw make that much of a difference? We've seen them play well for stretches. Can they do that consistently? We've got health issues to discuss. We've got divisional rivals to discuss. Are the Packers for real again this year? They're 5-1 and have beaten everyone since their Week One drubbing at the hands of the Saints. Are the Vikings capable of competing for the divisional title this year? What needs to happen if we're going to see that?

Lastly, but not least, is the brutal schedule they're facing coming out of the bye where they play divisional leader after divisional leader starting with the Cowboys on Halloween night. What will it take to win those games? Who needs to step up and how for that to happen?

Just so many other things than just one player even if that player is the QB.

[J. Kapp 11]

Why is there so much focus on Cousins?

It's pretty clear that Cousins goes right now as his OL goes, and the team goes right now as the defense, offense, and special teams goes.

How did they lose the first game? P1ss poor OL play and sketchy defense in the 1st half, followed by great overall play on both sides of the ball in 2nd half, followed by a phantom fumble call in OT and a blown coverage on defense in OT.

How did they lose the second game? Field goal kicker misses a reasonable attempt to win. Plenty of miscues on defense (again) too.

How did they lose the game against the Browns? OL couldn't pass protect or run block most of that game. Defense played well enough to win probably. Just beaten by a better team.

While Cousins has played well in the wins and most of the losses, if I'm taking anything away from all of these games so far its that the Vikings are winning and losing as a team. Cousins has done well, but so have other elements of the team (e.g. the same field goal kicker that missed to win against the Cardinals makes it to win against the Lions). They (meaning pretty much everyone on the team) have been up and down within games. Heck, even their comfortable win against Seattle they pretty much looked lost on defense for the first half of that game. The 2nd half of that game, OTOH, both sides of the ball put it together and we saw what the team can do when all phases play well.

The long and short of it is, give Cousins his due, but he's one piece of the puzzle right now. He might be doing great in clutch situations, and that is fantastic because that is *exactly* what the Vikings need from him if they're going anywhere this year, but at the same time, no amount of clutch QB play is going to overcome some of the defensive lapses we've seen. No amount of clutch QB play is going to help the kicker make the key kicks. No amount of clutch QB play is going to make the coaches stay aggressive in games when they're ahead.

Any honest fan of this team, or any team, for that matter, has to give Cousins his due so far this year. He's earned it. At the same time, I want the Vikings to win a Superbowl, and that ain't happenin' unless the team gets its overall act together. We've got spotty run defense to discuss. Can that be fixed? Is it just a chemistry issue, the players needing time to acclimate to each other, coaching decisions, or is this a personnel deficiency? We've got the OL to discuss. Can Darrisaw make that much of a difference? We've seen them play well for stretches. Can they do that consistently? We've got health issues to discuss. We've got divisional rivals to discuss. Are the Packers for real again this year? They're 5-1 and have beaten everyone since their Week One drubbing at the hands of the Saints. Are the Vikings capable of competing for the divisional title this year? What needs to happen if we're going to see that?

Lastly, but not least, is the brutal schedule they're facing coming out of the bye where they play divisional leader after divisional leader starting with the Cowboys on Halloween night. What will it take to win those games? Who needs to step up and how for that to happen?

Just so many other things than just one player even if that player is the QB.

There is so much focus on Cousins for one very simple reason.

The title of the thread is “Mr. Clutch Minute Man Kirk Cousins.”

It’s not “What will it take for the team to compete?”

That’s why we’re talking about Cousins, specifically his play in clutch situations.

Is it OK if we do that?

[VikingLord]

There is so much focus on Cousins for one very simple reason.

The title of the thread is “Mr. Clutch Minute Man Kirk Cousins.”

It’s not “What will it take for the team to compete?”

That’s why we’re talking about Cousins, specifically his play in clutch situations.

Is it OK if we do that?

This has become a "pile on Stumphunter" thread more than a thread about Kirk Cousins.

[allday1991]

[VikingsVictorious]

Why is there so much focus on Cousins?

It's pretty clear that Cousins goes right now as his OL goes, and the team goes right now as the defense, offense, and special teams goes.

How did they lose the first game? P1ss poor OL play and sketchy defense in the 1st half, followed by great overall play on both sides of the ball in 2nd half, followed by a phantom fumble call in OT and a blown coverage on defense in OT.

How did they lose the second game? Field goal kicker misses a reasonable attempt to win. Plenty of miscues on defense (again) too.

How did they lose the game against the Browns? OL couldn't pass protect or run block most of that game. Defense played well enough to win probably. Just beaten by a better team.

While Cousins has played well in the wins and most of the losses, if I'm taking anything away from all of these games so far its that the Vikings are winning and losing as a team. Cousins has done well, but so have other elements of the team (e.g. the same field goal kicker that missed to win against the Cardinals makes it to win against the Lions). They (meaning pretty much everyone on the team) have been up and down within games. Heck, even their comfortable win against Seattle they pretty much looked lost on defense for the first half of that game. The 2nd half of that game, OTOH, both sides of the ball put it together and we saw what the team can do when all phases play well.

The long and short of it is, give Cousins his due, but he's one piece of the puzzle right now. He might be doing great in clutch situations, and that is fantastic because that is *exactly* what the Vikings need from him if they're going anywhere this year, but at the same time, no amount of clutch QB play is going to overcome some of the defensive lapses we've seen. No amount of clutch QB play is going to help the kicker make the key kicks. No amount of clutch QB play is going to make the coaches stay aggressive in games when they're ahead.

Any honest fan of this team, or any team, for that matter, has to give Cousins his due so far this year. He's earned it. At the same time, I want the Vikings to win a Superbowl, and that ain't happenin' unless the team gets its overall act together. We've got spotty run defense to discuss. Can that be fixed? Is it just a chemistry issue, the players needing time to acclimate to each other, coaching decisions, or is this a personnel deficiency? We've got the OL to discuss. Can Darrisaw make that much of a difference? We've seen them play well for stretches. Can they do that consistently? We've got health issues to discuss. We've got divisional rivals to discuss. Are the Packers for real again this year? They're 5-1 and have beaten everyone since their Week One drubbing at the hands of the Saints. Are the Vikings capable of competing for the divisional title this year? What needs to happen if we're going to see that?

Lastly, but not least, is the brutal schedule they're facing coming out of the bye where they play divisional leader after divisional leader starting with the Cowboys on Halloween night. What will it take to win those games? Who needs to step up and how for that to happen?

Just so many other things than just one player even if that player is the QB.

I agree with you that there is too much focus on Cousins, but it's needed to counter a certain poster who acts like every time the team loses it's all on the QB, but when they win it's other reasons. With the addition of Darrisaw is the OL at least average now. We've been pleading and begging for an average OL for years. This team could go places. Tough game out of the bye against the Cowpukes. We need to pull that one out and we will have momentum going.

[VikingsVictorious]

There is so much focus on Cousins for one very simple reason.

The title of the thread is “Mr. Clutch Minute Man Kirk Cousins.”

It’s not “What will it take for the team to compete?”

That’s why we’re talking about Cousins, specifically his play in clutch situations.

Is it OK if we do that?

This has become a "pile on Stumphunter" thread more than a thread about Kirk Cousins.

Any comment that has anything positive about Kirk is by default going to be piling on Stump . I truly believe Kirk's play so far has been worthy of MVP consideration. I hope we don't need him to be so clutch moving forward. I hope we start winning games without needing that.

[Pondering Her Percy]

There is so much focus on Cousins for one very simple reason.

The title of the thread is “Mr. Clutch Minute Man Kirk Cousins.”

It’s not “What will it take for the team to compete?”

That’s why we’re talking about Cousins, specifically his play in clutch situations.

Is it OK if we do that?

This has become a "pile on Stumphunter" thread more than a thread about Kirk Cousins.

[J. Kapp 11]

There is so much focus on Cousins for one very simple reason.

The title of the thread is “Mr. Clutch Minute Man Kirk Cousins.”

It’s not “What will it take for the team to compete?”

That’s why we’re talking about Cousins, specifically his play in clutch situations.

Is it OK if we do that?

This has become a "pile on Stumphunter" thread more than a thread about Kirk Cousins.

Wow. You’re actually serious.

Just … wow.

Here’s the deal. I’ll talk about Kirk Cousins if I darn well please. I don’t care what you, StumpHunter, or anybody else says or thinks. If you’re tired of talking about Kirk Cousins, then maybe don’t chime in on a thread ABOUT Kirk Cousins.

As for StumpHunter, cry me a river. Go to any thread where Kirk Cousins is mentioned and see what his comments are. I’ve had the guy insult me when I’ve agreed with him, and on multiple occasions, so I’d say he brings a lot of this sh!t onto himself. Not only that, Stump’s a big boy. I’m guessing he can take care of himself.

[allday1991]

Kirk Cousins QB ranks since the start of last season.

6034 yards (6th, more than Aaron Rodgers)

48 passing tds (6th, more than Mathew Stafford)

5 game winning drives (5th, more than Patrick Mahomes)

68.2% completion percentage (8th, higher than Josh Allen)

105.1 passer rating (8th, better than Tom Brady)

The guy is a top 10 quarterback.