Leave Kirk Alone!

That happens to every QB and in all of our losses if Kirk doesn't completely fall of a cliff in the second half of nearly every game, we don't have to worry about needing a FG to win. We just win. The reason this is not a winning team is because the offense has not been very good. Most of that is on the QB and not the Oline giving up the fewest sacks in the NFL, not the RB who is 5th in rushing yards, and not the great WR duo who are open consistently but getting passed over for passes to CJ Ham.

You feel that way because that is what you want to believe.  There have been a number of articles written showing that the correct play calls are being made and KIRK decided to check it down.  Not Zimmer, not Kubiak, Kirk.  

I believe his success on final drives is the result of the coaching staff recognizing Kirk's failings when given options and his success when being told exactly what to do and them creating scripted late game drives similar to opening drives.  The play against Baltimore to Ham for instance was clearly a designed play identified as something that would work against Baltimore.  Kirk hasn't suddenly become a clutch QB, his coaching staff has adjusted their game plan to make Kirk's inability to improvise, something important in most end game situations, less of an issue.  

 If Cousins isn't the problem firing two fire-able coaches could fix the offense.  If he is the issue, we are F'd in 2022 just like we are F'd in 2021. For that reason I want to believe Cousins is a great QB who can take us to the SB, but my brain just looks at the evidence and won't let me.

Teddy or Case + the 10+ million more in cap per season might have gotten us to the playoffs more and would have given the Vikings flexibility to draft a QBOTF. At worst we would have 1 less divisional round blowout loss over the past 3 seasons.


Teams move on from players that are better than the guy who will replace them all the time. Just look at last year where the Vikings moved on from Griffen, Mac and Waynes despite having nothing on the roster to replace them. Sure the Vikings hoped Odenigbo, Hughes and Hill would be able to step in for those guys without missing a beat, but in the end that didn't happen.

So the question is, with hindsight was it the right move to move on from those guys? Our team would have certainly been better with those three healthy playing over what we did trot out there, but it wouldn't have been close to a SB contender even with them and keeping those three would have required the Vikings mortgaging their cap space future making us worse in 2021 and 2022. In the end, with a competent GM who didn't panic and trade away a 2nd and cap space when he realized he didn't have a single good DE on the team, this team could have taken its lumps dumping those guys and gotten significantly better in 2021 and 2022 at the expense of a 1 and done playoff season in 2020.

Sometimes you need to get worse to get better and sticking with known mediocrity keeps you from finding the greatness that is required to win it all. This is most true with QBs, since with how QB contracts work you cannot get better at the position unless you are willing to not extend a guy who is clearly not the answer.