DN: Kirk Cousins Prepping to be a Play-Maker

Minniman
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DN: Kirk Cousins Prepping to be a Play-Maker Aug 13, 2020 15:11:59 GMT -6 Reignman likes this

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Post by Minniman on Aug 13, 2020 15:11:59 GMT -6

Aug 11, 2020 19:47:24 GMT -6 legendsofthenorth said:

Aug 11, 2020 9:30:45 GMT -6 Minniman said:

Kirk Cousins number one shortcoming was that he was dead last in getting the ball out last season. Going to the run as a "playmaker" is not going to help him read the defense, go through progressions, and get the ball out quickly and on target to his receivers.

Cousins needs better film room preparation. He needs to have game awareness, and he needs to know plays inside and out. He needs to recognize open receivers before it is obvious, and he needs to make smart choices quickly.

Kirk Cousins has to be sharp, but he often reminds me of one of those cheap pencils that has lead that breaks off in the sharpener just before it gets that nice sharp tip. Grind, grind, ready. Grind, grind, set. Grind, grind, SNAP!

Does that equate to how much play action they used or do they not account for that? Cuz obviously play action is going to take quite a bit longer? I am curious if anyone knows that answer?

Play action can add a fraction of a second, but many teams use much more complicated play action than the Vikings do. Some also screen more, and that takes time as well.

The best QBs go ... read, read, read. Cousins seams to go read, pause, read, pause, put head down. He also often reads just one side of the field deep. He tends to only move to the other side on a designed play, like a screen, or to hit the short outlet. Some of that is play design, but other times he missed Diggs or Thielen wide open deep because he climbed down the passing tree instead of turning his head.

Logic is the beginning of wisdom - not the end.

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DN: Kirk Cousins Prepping to be a Play-Maker Aug 13, 2020 15:20:18 GMT -6

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Post by Minniman on Aug 13, 2020 15:20:18 GMT -6

Aug 12, 2020 20:12:05 GMT -6 spence said:

Kirk just reeled off some of the best football we've seen in a long time at the position. I wouldn't be surprised if he just torches the league this year.

Seen from the Vikings?

Seen from the NFL?

I agree that Cousins had a pretty good season, but he has to get the ball out on target more quickly to be elite.

Logic is the beginning of wisdom - not the end.

Funkytown Owner Purple Pain Big Dog Posts: 67,670 Likes: 31,596 Fan Since: 1998	DN: Kirk Cousins Prepping to be a Play-Maker Aug 19, 2020 13:34:45 GMT -6 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Funkytown on Aug 19, 2020 13:34:45 GMT -6

spence Franchise Player Posts: 3,425 Likes: 986	DN: Kirk Cousins Prepping to be a Play-Maker Aug 20, 2020 1:45:49 GMT -6 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by spence on Aug 20, 2020 1:45:49 GMT -6 I think it would be wise to do more playactions and stuff but if Kirk is scrambling too much it could hurt us
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DN: Kirk Cousins Prepping to be a Play-Maker Aug 20, 2020 10:10:33 GMT -6

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Post by Funkytown on Aug 20, 2020 10:10:33 GMT -6

Aug 20, 2020 1:45:49 GMT -6 spence said:

I think it would be wise to do more playactions and stuff but if Kirk is scrambling too much it could hurt us

I don't think that's a real concern. I mean, he's never going to be a Vick, Jackson, Newton, Hill, etc. He's not going to be scrambling all the time and putting his body/health at risk. However, if he can sneak out and get a few yards with his legs once in a while ... why not? Just gotta find the balance and be smart. Injuries are part of the game, but I don't think Cousins' desire to use his legs a bit more is something to be overly concerned about.

(2020 - You've effed us over enough. Don't you go wrecking any more knees!)

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DN: Kirk Cousins Prepping to be a Play-Maker Aug 22, 2020 23:38:40 GMT -6

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Post by Purple Pain on Aug 22, 2020 23:38:40 GMT -6

PFF: What all 32 NFL teams need from their quarterbacks in 2020

MINNESOTA VIKINGS: COUSINS PLAYS AS HE DID IN 2019

Kevin Stefanski and Gary Kubiak put together the perfect offense for Kirk Cousins in 2019. He may not be one to elevate the play of those around him or be able to make up for the shortcomings of his teammates, but the play-action passes and designed rollouts served Cousins well — he posted a career year in 2019, and the Vikings ended the season with the fourth-most efficient passing attack in regard to EPA per pass play.

Cousins produced an 85.9 passing grade last season, fourth in the NFL. However, that grade rank jumped to second on just play-action passes, and it ranked first on designed rollouts. Stefanski is now with Cleveland as their head coach, but the offense will remain relatively similar under Kubiak. Cousins doesn't need to be superman. He can win with this offense, as he proved last season.

Rest of the NFCN:

CHICAGO BEARS: AT LEAST AVERAGE PLAY

It's no secret at this point that Mitchell Trubisky has completely underwhelmed in his time in the Windy City. He has had a couple of impressive performances, with his most memorable being against the Buccaneers in Week 4 of 2018, but he has more often produced at a below-average level. In fact, Trubisky has 14 games since 2018 in which he has failed to produce a passing grade of at least 60.0. That's two more instances than any other quarterback in the NFL over that span. For perspective, Patrick Mahomes and Deshaun Watson combined for only 11 such games.

Week in and week out, Chicago is home to some of the worst quarterback play in the entire NFL. Nick Foles offers the most upside and has a shot at giving the Bears at least average play at the position, something the team desperately needs. He has two of the best games we have ever seen in the postseason at the position — in 2017 in the conference title game and in the Super Bowl (PFF grades of 93.8 and 92.3) — and failed to produce a 60.0 passing grade in only two of his 10 games with at least 15 pass attempts over the past two years (including postseason).

DETROIT LIONS: THE MVP-CALIBER MATTHEW STAFFORD WE SAW PRIOR TO INJURY LAST YEAR

Stafford was having a career year in 2019 before suffering a season-ending injury midseason. Through Weeks 1-9, Stafford produced an 82.6 PFF grade, which stands as the best of his career and ranked eighth in the NFL at the time.

A big reason why he was in the MVP conversation before his injury is because he was finally given the green light to air it out and push the ball deep. Stafford's average depth of target jumped over 4 yards from 2018 to 2019 (11.4) and was 2.5 yards more than any other single season of his career. That aggressive playstyle clearly paid off for Detroit's offense, leading to 25 big-time throws from Stafford through Week 9, which placed him among the league leaders at the time (in second, behind Russell Wilson). Detroit's offense is high-risk, high-reward, but it will lead Stafford to success in 2020 assuming no injuries get in the way.

GREEN BAY PACKERS: GET BACK TO HITTING EASY THROWS AT THE SHORT AND INTERMEDIATE LEVELS

Aaron Rodgers was still a top-10 quarterback in 2019 in regard to passing grade, but it's no secret that he isn't the same player of the past. He's still producing a high rate of big-time throws and avoiding turnover-worthy plays, but as PFF's Steve Palazzolo outlined in our quarterback rankings article, Rodgers has been such a great quarterback because of his ability to routinely hit the easy throws. And he is slipping in that regard.

Last year, Rodgers produced a below-average negatively graded throw rate on passes targeted between 1-19 yards downfield that ranked 18th of 32 qualifying quarterbacks. Among that same group, he tied for 20th in percentage of accurate passes thrown. While he is slowly declining, Rodgers is still very much one of the top quarterbacks in the league. If he can get back to hitting those easy throws, Rodgers will reclaim his top-tier status.

www.pff.com/news/nfl-what-all-32-nfl-teams-need-from-their-quarterbacks-in-2020

Funkytown Owner Purple Pain Big Dog Posts: 67,670 Likes: 31,596 Fan Since: 1998	DN: Kirk Cousins Prepping to be a Play-Maker Oct 6, 2020 12:13:31 GMT -6 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Funkytown on Oct 6, 2020 12:13:31 GMT -6

Funkytown Owner Purple Pain Big Dog Posts: 67,670 Likes: 31,596 Fan Since: 1998	DN: Kirk Cousins Prepping to be a Play-Maker Oct 6, 2020 12:53:11 GMT -6 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Funkytown on Oct 6, 2020 12:53:11 GMT -6

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DN: Kirk Cousins Prepping to be a Play-Maker Oct 9, 2020 9:38:07 GMT -6

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Post by Purple Pain on Oct 9, 2020 9:38:07 GMT -6

Zone Coverage: Kirk Cousins is More Aggressive Than You Think

There has been plenty of concern surrounding Kirk Cousins over the course of a sputtering 1-3 start for the Vikings. One of the most common is an accusation that Cousins lacks necessary aggression. He has a reputation for declining risky deep throws in favor of safe but unproductive checkdowns. Quarterback play, however, is a lot more complicated than that.

Aggression usually refers to two things for quarterbacks: depth of target and the size of throwing windows. With the technology we have now, we can look up both of these things and see where Cousins ranks. Among quarterbacks with at least 70 attempts so far, Cousins ranks first with 12.1 average yards per target, according to Pro Football Focus.

Cousins throws more bombs than anyone in the league. He ranks first among quarterbacks with at least 30 attempts with 25 of his 100 pass attempts so far going past 20 yards. The results are mixed, with a few Hail Mary interceptions and some iffy accuracy, but the Vikings’ passing offense is anything but conservative.

Next Gen Stats considers a tight window to be any throw with a defender a yard or closer to the receiver. By that measure, Cousins throws into tight windows more than all but five quarterbacks in the league. His attempts also average about 1.6 yards past the sticks, the fifth furthest in the NFL. So why does Cousins have this reputation?

He throws into plenty of tight windows, but Next Gen Stats and PFF can’t chart the passing opportunities he declines.

...

Cousins has proven that he will test 1-on-1 matchups he expects, even if the coverage is tight. That’s a good choice in situations where Thielen and Jefferson would be targets, since their contested catch ability de-emphasizes the need for separation. But he won’t test the range of a safety if the play design instructs him so, no matter who that safety is or which receiver it challenges. That puts a lot of pressure on play design to work as intended, and removes a ton of pressure from the pass catchers to get separation against man coverage. But it can also waste elite plays from elite receivers and the opportunities that creates.

Perhaps a conversation for another day is the effect this tendency had on Stefon Diggs and his experience playing for the Vikings.

I wouldn’t call Cousins a conservative quarterback, however. Conservative play, as we mostly discuss it, involves quarterbacks throwing short of the sticks or checking down too often. That’s not a factor for Cousins, but he needs to be more aggressive to bring out the best in his receivers.

More at link:

zonecoverage.com/2020/minnesota-vikings-news/kirk-cousins-is-more-aggressive-than-you-think/

Funkytown Owner Purple Pain Big Dog Posts: 67,670 Likes: 31,596 Fan Since: 1998	DN: Kirk Cousins Prepping to be a Play-Maker Dec 14, 2020 11:14:25 GMT -6 Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by Funkytown on Dec 14, 2020 11:14:25 GMT -6 He's definitely showing more this season. One positive!

whoskmoon Content Creator Posts: 8,880 Likes: 7,224	DN: Kirk Cousins Prepping to be a Play-Maker Dec 14, 2020 11:32:05 GMT -6 via mobile Quote Select Post Deselect Post Link to Post Member Give Gift Back to Top Post by whoskmoon on Dec 14, 2020 11:32:05 GMT -6 Dec 14, 2020 11:14:25 GMT -6 Funkytown said: He's definitely showing more this season. One positive! Is it? Why?

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DN: Kirk Cousins Prepping to be a Play-Maker Dec 14, 2020 11:57:41 GMT -6

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Post by Funkytown on Dec 14, 2020 11:57:41 GMT -6

Dec 14, 2020 11:32:05 GMT -6 whoskmoon said:

Is it? Why?

Sliding out of the pocket and using his legs to get a few first downs when things break down? That's a good thing with this freaking OL. Wish he had better wheels. He's certainly trying, but watching him run is pretty painful. But he's definitely shown improvement compared to the last couple of years.

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DN: Kirk Cousins Prepping to be a Play-Maker Dec 14, 2020 13:10:15 GMT -6 Funkytown likes this

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Post by vikingpwr on Dec 14, 2020 13:10:15 GMT -6

Dec 14, 2020 11:57:41 GMT -6 Funkytown said:

Dec 14, 2020 11:32:05 GMT -6 whoskmoon said:

Is it? Why?

Sliding out of the pocket and using his legs to get a few first downs when things break down? That's a good thing with this freaking OL. Wish he had better wheels. He's certainly trying, but watching him run is pretty painful. But he's definitely shown improvement compared to the last couple of years.

I'm surprised you replied to those questions. Kirk has always been known to melt under pressure in the pocket. This year he seems to be running with a purpose and not just panicking. He really helps himself by picking up 1st downs and getting a fresh set of downs.

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DN: Kirk Cousins Prepping to be a Play-Maker Dec 14, 2020 13:29:59 GMT -6

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Post by whoskmoon on Dec 14, 2020 13:29:59 GMT -6

Dec 14, 2020 13:10:15 GMT -6 vikingpwr said:

Dec 14, 2020 11:57:41 GMT -6 Funkytown said:

Sliding out of the pocket and using his legs to get a few first downs when things break down? That's a good thing with this freaking OL. Wish he had better wheels. He's certainly trying, but watching him run is pretty painful. But he's definitely shown improvement compared to the last couple of years.

I'm surprised you replied to those questions. Kirk has always been known to melt under pressure in the pocket. This year he seems to be running with a purpose and not just panicking. He really helps himself by picking up 1st downs and getting a fresh set of downs.

When I wrote it I realized it would come off like I was nit-picking, but that isn't the case. I don't care if Cousins runs more. He isn't a real threat with his legs and defenses aren't going to put a spy on him to stop him from scrambling for firsts. It is better than taking a sack, but scrambling for 1sts is something rookie QBs do really well, not something the Brady's and Brees's do well.

I would much prefer to see a stat saying he is reading defenses faster and getting rid of the ball quickly so he doesn't have to run. Or even if he was running around buying time more, avoiding sacks and then throwing downfield like a Rodgers or Wilson does.

If Cousins kept needing to scramble like this I would say this is actually a bad sign, but I think Sunday was just him taking advantage of a very aggressive pass rush and scheme that allowed him to run free. Not an indication that he is transforming into Lamar Jackson, and probably more of an indication TB did a good job confusing him with their coverages.

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DN: Kirk Cousins Prepping to be a Play-Maker Dec 14, 2020 15:11:19 GMT -6

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Post by Funkytown on Dec 14, 2020 15:11:19 GMT -6

Dec 14, 2020 13:29:59 GMT -6 whoskmoon said:

Dec 14, 2020 13:10:15 GMT -6 vikingpwr said:

I'm surprised you replied to those questions. Kirk has always been known to melt under pressure in the pocket. This year he seems to be running with a purpose and not just panicking. He really helps himself by picking up 1st downs and getting a fresh set of downs.

When I wrote it I realized it would come off like I was nit-picking, but that isn't the case. I don't care if Cousins runs more. He isn't a real threat with his legs and defenses aren't going to put a spy on him to stop him from scrambling for firsts. It is better than taking a sack, but scrambling for 1sts is something rookie QBs do really well, not something the Brady's and Brees's do well.

I would much prefer to see a stat saying he is reading defenses faster and getting rid of the ball quickly so he doesn't have to run. Or even if he was running around buying time more, avoiding sacks and then throwing downfield like a Rodgers or Wilson does.

If Cousins kept needing to scramble like this I would say this is actually a bad sign, but I think Sunday was just him taking advantage of a very aggressive pass rush and scheme that allowed him to run free. Not an indication that he is transforming into Lamar Jackson, and probably more of an indication TB did a good job confusing him with their coverages.

Come on now, no one implied that, but is it so hard to give the guy a little credit for making some plays when things have broken down? Yes, ideally, things don't break down, lol, but when they do, he's doing more to get away and get a few yards. It's something he said he needed to work on and improve - and he has, so it's okay to acknowledge that. Really, it is.