vikings offense

[Raptorman]

Well yeah Cousins has only been averaging 27 TD's a year compared to Keenum 20 last year. So sure, he won't be nearly as "efficient" He might only have a 65% passing completion percentage.

Cousins has losing record, but it's not from him alone. Most teams that give up 24 points per game over 3 seasons don't have winning records.

 

[Mondio]

I'd be more concerned if the Vikings defense is going to make it another season with relative health over what my QB could do. That is what is going to make or break this team.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Well yeah Cousins has only been averaging 27 TD's a year compared to Keenum 20 last year. So sure, he won't be nearly as "efficient" He might only have a 65% passing completion percentage.

Cousins has losing record, but it's not from him alone. Most teams that give up 24 points per game over 3 seasons don't have winning records.

FWIW Keenum threw 22 TD passes last season in 14 starts so the numbers are pretty close. Once again, I wasn't talking about total numbers but efficiency like QB rating or QBR though. Keenum had pretty good, better numbers than Cousins last season in both categories. Therefore if you expect an improvement in those areas you might be disappointed.

While it's true there aren't a lot of quarterbacks having a winning record with a subpar defense you have to realize the Vikings are paying Cousins like an elite QB. Those guys tend to win even while having to put up a significant amount of points. As an example, Rodgers is 57-26 over the past seven seasons for a team giving up an average of 23 points per game.

 

[HardRightEdge]

He came in and made RG3 look substandard quickly. You can’t look at his stats behind a substandard O line the last several years and say he’s not good.

If Cousins needs a better O-Line to be a winner then he may have gone to the wrong place:

https://www.profootballfocus.com/ne...ine-rankings-all-32-teams-units-entering-2018

According to this link:

- Keenum was the 3rd. most pressured QB last season and he's a lot more mobile than Cousins.
- Vikings O-Line ranked 22nd. in 2017.
- Vikings O-Line is projected 28th. for 2018.
- PFF notes injuries "ravaged" Washington's O-Line last season but noted they were highly graded in previous years.

And in case anybody missed it, Minnesota's O-Line coach Tony Sparano died suddenly and unexpectedly on Sunday.

The people who know Cousins best let him go, something that does not happen with a 29 year old "franchise" QB. Minnesota is paying him $84 mil guaranteed over 3 years. Instead, Washington has committed $60 mil in cap to Smith over the next 3 seasons, with dead cap numbers such that he's all but guaranteed he'll play out at least those 3 season. This is not a money move for Washington. If they thought Cousins was a true franchise guy they could have come up with another $8 mil per year in cap. It may be worth noting that Smith is the more mobile QB despite his age, a characteristic increasingly prized in QBs, not to run the ball but make plays when protection breaks down. Cousins is not that guy.

Is Cousins a bad QB? Clearly not. Is a $28 mil per year winning QB? That's a long shot and that will depend primarily on continuing defensive strength. He might be a good fantasy player in a league that doesn't consider sacks, fumbles or picks. He will not carry this team.

If their O-Line ends up in that 22nd. - 28th. rank range, the Vikings would have been better off with either Keenum or Smith.

 

[HardRightEdge]

I'd be more concerned if the Vikings defense is going to make it another season with relative health over what my QB could do. That is what is going to make or break this team.

Yeah. Why is it Packer fans are concerned about Cousins at the moment but not Stafford?

There's your answer.

 

[HardRightEdge]

I always believed RG3 made himself look substandard.

That's questionable.

It's more like he was a guy who could not transition to the pro style offense. He took the Skins to the playoffs as a rookie in 2012 when read-option was the new-new thing, with RGIII running for 800 yards while setting the rookie record with a 102.4 passer rating. As a run-pass threat he was difficult to defend. Some of us predicted that this new-new thing would be short lived; the injury risk is too great at the most critical and expensive position and then right on schedule RGIII injured his his knee on a run, played on it, then injured it again. After that, trying to make him a pro style QB just didn't work.

I thought maybe one team lacking other options might go to a college-style spread option offense, stocking with a few QBs who don't project to pro-style to cover the injury risk. That didn't even happen.

 

[PackerfaninCarolina]

So, we're going balistic over a 3rd. string QB?

Last I checked he was number 2

It's true that Hundley performed at a terrible level last season but you have to lower your expectations for players selected in the fifth round.

Ridiculous!

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Ridiculous!

It's ridiculous that you expect the Packers to not miss a beat with a fifth round pick starting for the first time in the NFL while replacing the best quarterback in the league.

 

[El Guapo]

Raptor made a good point at how well the Vikings offense has adjusted to changes over time. However, a lot will depend on how much the new OC changes the scheme and calls. Those new QBs always had a team of players and coaches to help them learn. Even Shurmur needed time to transition in 2016 as it wasn't until 2017 that things took off. The Vikings offense will struggle, much like our defense as they both learn new systems. The trump card for the Vikings will be if they have a 100% recovered Dalvin Cook to take the pressure off of Cousins.

Cousins isn't a franchise QB but as someone implied earlier, he is like a Matt Stafford. He can win games if he has the right staff around him. Rodgers is the type of generational QB that can win even without top quality around him.

 

[HardRightEdge]

Last I checked [Hundley] was number 2.

According to whom? I'm surprised you would think so after your tirade. There's a chance you'll get your wish if Kizer goes from penciled in to penned in as the backup with the Packers then putting Boyle or some other cut down guy on the practice squad.

 

[HardRightEdge]

The Vikings currently have one of the deepest at talent QB rosters in the league.

I just got around to checking who the Vikings currently have at QB behind Cousins.

There's Trevor Siemian who's QB rating was barely better than Hundley's last season. Then there's Kyle Sloter and Peter Pujals.

Sloter was an undrafted rookie out of Northern Colorado last season in the Broncos camp, then cut, then picked up by the Vikings for their PS last season. He's yet to take a regular season snap.

Poor Peter Pujals. He doesn't even have a Wikipedia page. Sloter has at least that. Pujals is a rookie undrafted FA who, Like Sloter, hails from a noted football factory, Holy Cross. He doesn't even rank a page in pro-football-reference's college stat section.

Are you sure you're not in some Bradford/Bridgwater time warp?

 

[Heyjoe4]

Well that’s because MM is an idiot and has never been good at “adjusting”. Mix that with what was a bad defense last year? you get the results you saw last year when Rodgers went down. The Vikings can stay afloat with subpar QB play because they had an elite defense.

Agree and they don’t have a sub-par QB. Dalvin Cook back. #1 D intact if not better than last year. The Vikes will, unfortunately, put up plenty of points barring injuries. It hurts just writing this.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Cousins isn't a franchise QB but as someone implied earlier, he is like a Matt Stafford.

Stafford is more talented than Cousins.

Agree and they don’t have a sub-par QB. Dalvin Cook back. #1 D intact if not better than last year. The Vikes will, unfortunately, put up plenty of points barring injuries. It hurts just writing this.

The Vikings don't have an elite offense. They will be a tough opponent for the division crown because their offense is good enough to put up enough points to win a lot of games with their defense though.

 

[rodell330]

So 12th in Yards and TDs, 2nd in completion percentage and 9th in QB rating is subpar. Good to know.

Yes, That’s what I said. Eff the Vikings