Vikings fans...
- Thread starter demoncore1031
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IMO Cousins would have probably been fine if he if the o-line didn't wreck his confidence... I'm not saying he's an amazing QB but with a average to good o-line in front of him he would probably be a solid game manager.
I hate the phrase "took" a sack. Cousins was certainly sacked yesterday but he wasn't just "taking" a few of them. If Reiff doesn't even get a finger on Mack Cousins gets his before he even finishes his drop. When a blitz comes up the middle and Cook gets destroyed Cousins didn't take the sack...Cook got shoved into his lap before he could even consider throwing it.
About the only time they "successfully" block someone is on a hold.
I've said it for 2 yrs. You don't spend $84m guaranteed on ANY QB unless you've first shored up your O-line.
This isn't rocket science folks.
This isn't rocket science folks.
Cousins biggest issue is that he has no pocket awareness and continues to drop the ball. Yes, the line didn't help the situation yesterday but Cousins leads QB fumbles by a wide margin.
I like Zimmer running the ball, but he didn't seem to learn much from the first three quarters that it wasn't happening against the Bears. Hope his game plan against them in Minneapolis is not the same as what we saw in Chicago.
I like Zimmer running the ball, but he didn't seem to learn much from the first three quarters that it wasn't happening against the Bears. Hope his game plan against them in Minneapolis is not the same as what we saw in Chicago.
I dunno man, he's pretty old. Plus he has eye sight issues. Not sure his field awareness would be there.
unfortunately the NFL has turned into a quick fix league; unlike many of the other major sports owners, GMs and Coaches, they don't have the patience to do a full rebuild in the NFL. The GMs and Coaches looking over their shoulder if they don't perform causes the team to take risks when they think they have an opening. Unfortunately, for most, this causes more problems down the line that can effect development when you do have the pieces there.
I'm torn on Zimmer, I think he's a good coach, but not elite. And offensively, I think the games has passed him by a bit. Watching the Vikings offense this season, it doesn't surprise me how many Hawkeye/Vikings fans there are. It's like watching the same team. I bet the Michigan/Iowa game this Saturday will look a lot like yesterdays Bears/Vikings. Bet the under now!
I'd argue that is mostly because he's been on awful teams since leaving MN.
I think he's an elite defensive mind, but his ability to be a HC is questionable. I've never been a fan of his fickleness with kickers. As a kicker in MN, you know you have to be perfect or you're cut. I know the Vikings have a terrible history with kickers, but Zim has 0 patience for failure with kickers and it hurts the team, in my opinion.
There seems to be a big disconnect between front office allocation of cap space and coaching philosophy. That was my point.
Kirk Cousins: 3 years, $84M
Stefon Diggs: 5 years, $81M
Adam Thielen: 4 years, $64M
If Zimmer wants to be run heavy (and he does), why invest this much $ into QB/WRs and not into the OL?
Likewise, if personnel dictates for a quick hitting passing game (decent QB, elite WRs, below avg OL) why would you insist on using a power run game and play action off of that with long developing routes?
The front office hasn't provided personnel that makes sense for the offensive scheme the coach wants to run, and the coach doesn't seem to want to adjust to the personnel he has. It is a bad combination.
I think the problem with Cousins is you a very good O line, RB and receiving corps for him to be effective, yet he demands enough $ that its damn near impossible to do it without being an absolute wizard in the draft.
Yes the defense is still very good, but with the draft picks and contracts invested in it and putting the team in the hands of a defensive guy, the defense better be damn good if not dominant.
Regardless of Keenum's faults, he LED that team. People wanted to play for him and he elevated the performance of his team. At this point I bet the Vikings players would sooner follow the smell of warm apple pie than Kirk Cousins.
You don't just "get lucky" and sneak into a 13-3 finish (12-3 as starter) in the NFL. The fact we threw him out like hot trash after one of the best seasons in a decade is a disgrace. I don't care what his record is for other teams since then. His starting record for the VIKINGS was 12-3. Deserving of a second season at least. End of story.
You don't just "get lucky" and sneak into a 13-3 finish (12-3 as starter) in the NFL. The fact we threw him out like hot trash after one of the best seasons in a decade is a disgrace. I don't care what his record is for other teams since then. His starting record for the VIKINGS was 12-3. Deserving of a second season at least. End of story.
A couple interesting stats per The Athletic. Looking at this, it would implicate both the Oline and Cousins as grossly ineffective. Duh.
Brian O’Neill had another solid game, but every other offensive lineman could be implicated on a sack, and so could Dalvin Cook. But in total, the Vikings allowed a pressure rate of 40.4 percent. That’s not good — it would be in the bottom five over the course of a season – but it’s not extreme.
the Vikings averaged 2.82 seconds per dropback, a long time in the NFL. Five of their six sacks occurred after the 2.5-second mark, and over half of their dropbacks took that long or longer. On those dropbacks, Cousins averaged an abysmal 4.71 yards per attempt. Even in relatively clean pockets, Cousins wasn’t generating many yards. Until the fourth quarter, Cousins was averaging under seven yards per attempt in a clean pocket.
Brian O’Neill had another solid game, but every other offensive lineman could be implicated on a sack, and so could Dalvin Cook. But in total, the Vikings allowed a pressure rate of 40.4 percent. That’s not good — it would be in the bottom five over the course of a season – but it’s not extreme.
the Vikings averaged 2.82 seconds per dropback, a long time in the NFL. Five of their six sacks occurred after the 2.5-second mark, and over half of their dropbacks took that long or longer. On those dropbacks, Cousins averaged an abysmal 4.71 yards per attempt. Even in relatively clean pockets, Cousins wasn’t generating many yards. Until the fourth quarter, Cousins was averaging under seven yards per attempt in a clean pocket.
Keenum commanded nearly as much money as Cousins does. What's he at, $20+MM this year himself? Did spending that much on Keenum really make sense versus spending some more for Cousins at the time?
Exactly. He's a good QB but I never saw him being a franchise guy, even before the injury.
Plus Cousins' deal is fully guaranteed. There aren't many ways for the Vikes to move on from him until the contract runs its full course.
So Cousins is worth ~1/3 more overall (plus the extra year). I'm guessing at the time, the staff expected him to be an upgrade worthy of that cost, and after the 3-year window was gone, they probably also expected to be out of "win now" mode.
Here's the other problem I have with this whole conversation: how often do teams "buy" good OL guys? It's not like guys tend to hit the free agency en masse, teams know when they have good guys and how to keep them. Would it have been worthwhile for the Vikings to trade high-tier skill players for linemen?
Their larger failure in all of this time is the inability to draft NFL-ready linemen.