Kirk Cousins is NOT the problem!

While going through offensive installation with the Los Angeles Rams in 2017 under Sean McVay, Mannion watched plenty of Cousins’ film. McVay’s explosive 2016 offense in Washington put him in the spotlight and ultimately earned him a head coaching gig at the age of 31 and played a role in Cousins garnering an $84 million contract as a free agent.

Mannion remembers being impressed by Cousins’ accuracy.

“I feel like I have more of an appreciation for Kirk before having gotten here than most other people just because of the circumstances with Sean [McVay],” Mannion said following Sunday afternoon’s practice. “I think his accuracy [comes from] the way he plays with his feet, he’s always on time, he doesn’t get behind the play. Sometimes when you get stuck on a read and get behind the timing of a play, that’s when bad decisions tend to happen. Kirk is very sharp at playing first-hitch, second-hitch and really reading with his feet. His accuracy is really at the top.”

The Vikings’ No. 2 quarterback, who is known for his strong, accurate arm himself, said that when he arrived in Minnesota and saw Cousins at work, he had some “wow” moments watching the starter in practice. He described a play with a decoy route that quarterbacks usually ignore but the franchise QB somehow found it for a big play.

“That was something where you are scratching your head like, I don’t know how he saw it but there was a gap,” Mannion said. “I think it’s his vision, his timing. That play in particular, you’re standing back there, fitting yourself in the play and reading it through Kirk and you’re like, ‘whoa,’ something flashed and he let it fly and it was unbelievable.”

The numbers back up the testimonials on Cousins’ ability to consistently throw on target.
PFF’s Quarterback Annual charted every throw the Vikings’ quarterback made in 2018 and found that he had the ninth best Accuracy Percentage, fourth fewest “uncatchable” passes, fifth best accuracy when his receiver had a step on his defender and seventh best in “tight window” accuracy. He was 6.8% better than league average on throws between 10-19 yards. To get even more specific, only 0.9% of Cousins throws were behind receivers, which bodes well for hitting them in stride across the field.

In 2016 Cousins gained 4,917 yards at an impressive 8.1 yards per attempt, which ranked third in the NFL only behind Matt Ryan and Tom Brady. He ranked eighth in Pro Football Focus’s passing grade, a shade behind Drew Brees and Russell Wilson.

The McVay offense is predicated on play-action throws and bootlegs that ask the quarterback to hit intermediate crossing routes in stride and complete deep throws when opportunities present themselves. When using play-action in ’16, Cousins averaged 10.4 yards per attempt (second best in the NFL per PFF) and when launching the ball more than 20 yards in the air the former Michigan State QB posted the fourth highest rating in the league.

Now with Cousins returning to a McVay-style offense under Gary Kubiak and Kevin Stefanski, the Vikings are looking to use his greatest gift to unlock their version of the quarterback that shined in Washington with McVay. And in turn, get Cousins to the “next level.”

‘They have to believe’

The question that keeps popping up is: If Cousins is such a skilled thrower, why hasn’t he been able to repeat his performance from ’16 over the last two seasons? By PFF standards, his accuracy and deep passing have still been strong but his overall grades rank him at 19th and 13th.

Certainly offensive line play has been a factor but they 2016 Washington O-line isn’t walking through that door.

So one potential area of improvement could be in risk taking.

“[Quarterbacks] have to believe they can do it,” Zimmer said. “If they don’t pull the trigger or don’t believe it, it’s probably not going to get there.”

Last year Cousins ranked 20th in “Big-Time Throw Percentage” by PFF and had the fourth best “Turnover-Worthy Play” rate. You could reasonably conclude he was looking to avoid dicey throws into coverage despite having two of the NFL’s best receivers in contested catch rate in Diggs and Thielen.

While Mannion did say that QBs spend all offseason striving for the perfect ball, on many occasions perfect is the enemy of good.

“It really comes down to giving the receiver a chance,” Thielen said.

On throws that are often “big-time” like over-the-shoulder, vertical back shoulder, and horizontal lead throws he is well above average according to PFF’s data.

Whether the Kubiak/Stefanski offense can excel this year after finishing 19th in points and 23rd in yards per pass attempt in 2018 will very likely come down to scheming open throws in which Cousins is routinely above average in accuracy, finding chemistry with his receivers and trusting them enough to put the ball in the air.