Top Tier QB's

Yup, generally speaking middle of the pack is the worst spot to be in sports. There are obvious exceptions like if you already have your franchise QB or whatever but it's the spot where you don't make the playoffs (or are early exit) but also aren't in a spot to add that franchise changing player where your pick will land. Vikings seem to live in that area lol. All of the people that ask these same questions year after year always seem to ignore the context. I am not surprised drafting a QB hasn't worked for us when we haven't ever really made a huge effort (like drafting one at the top of a draft) to do so. That's actually the entire reason why many would be willing to take a step back right now is for that future potential benefit. Not because we want to watch a team win 3 games lol.

It was the perfect time, we should have gotten rid of Zimmer/Rick/Cousins. I even liked the first two for a while here but the decision to bring in Cousins really created issues even with them. That we kept the guy who has never made it to a NFC championship game in his career while firing the guys that actually lead us there is pretty crazy to me. The biggest mistake they made/where it all fell off was bringing Cousins here in the first place. An aging core, cap problems and a fanbase ready to move on made it all line up. Between the reports about how it played out, what the wilfs have said in public and imo common sense lining up I think this direction was largely forced by ownership who wants a "content" fanbase more than anything.

I think that idea makes a lot of sense and have seen it in other threads. Honestly if I knew then what I knew now I would have preferred a worse season if it meant we just moved on from them all "too early". It felt like we were going to get rid of them all at about the right time at least to me I will say (given that playoff win you can still argue they did deserve more time, Zimmer had a lot of success turning us around pre Cousins and I don't think he ever wanted this route either). Now it feels like we waited until the "too late" timeframe by extending Cousins with a NTC. I do think all of them are in some ways hard to replace, none was horrible at their job or anything while here imo. It doesn't change that it was the right time to do so and we seemingly chose the one that hurts our cap space/has had the least success.

I also get not wanting to get into this class, although I may have taken a shot at Malik Willis instead of our choice at 59 for example at the same time. What I moreso wish is that we traded for future draft capital and probably ended up with a higher pick next year for a better class (with two top level prospects I think in Young/Stroud). I think it makes more sense to just trade Kirk for some value (if rumors are true like say cle offer) than to let him play out one last year and let him walk. I do think that both options are better than extending him though, that is the issue to me, especially with the ntc which would only hurt value wise. It isn't the end of the world but I don't get why anyone defends it either.

Gotta find a way to get it done with a guy - this guy.

PFF's version: 2022 NFL Quarterback Tiers



Rest at link:

www.pff.com/news/nfl-2022-quarterback-tiers-seth-galina

A couple of things about this. 

Rodgers did it twice.  2000--2012.  He went 47-14 and won a Super Bowl.  Did it again from 2018-2021, went 45-19 and won nothing.  I'd note that the first time he did it the defense averaged 19.3 ppg while the second time the defense average 22.7 ppg.  But alas, we know how the QB affects the defense. So, Rodgers couldn't have been the problem the last 4 years.  

Brady did it from 2014-2017. He went 51-13 and won two Super Bowls.  His defense gave up 18.3 ppg during that stretch.  He almost did it again from 2009-2012 but he actually had 37 interceptions during that time period. Although he did lose a Super bowl during that time. He was 45-19 during that run with a defense ppg of 19.9.  However 2010-2012 were three of top four highest scoring offense New England ever had at over 33 ppg.  

Mahomes is right on the edge with 36 interceptions.  One more and he wouldn't have made the cut.  His defense gave up 22.4 ppg during this time but they had to score 30 ppg to win 50 games.  And the year they won the Super Bowl the Defense gave up 19.3 ppg. Not that it matters.  Because we all know how the QB helps the defense. 

Cousins, Wow. what to say.  He won 33 out of 63 games.   But that scrappy defense gave up 23.8 ppg while doing it.  Not that it matters.  His numbers and TOP on offense, and 3 and outs can't be anywhere close to what the other three QB's did.   The fact that Cousins has two of the top 4 scoring offense in Vikings history doesn't matter.  He's not making the defense better with his play.  After all, he's nothing but a loser.

Want to hear something else that's funny?   Brady's Super Bowls in New England, Those years he won the defense averages 17.3 ppg during those years.  But, remember, he made those defenses better by his play.  Out of Brady's top 7 years throwing his most TD's, he has only one one Super Bowl  years throwing more than 33 TD's a year.  And that was in 2020. None in New England. But remember, he made the defense's better with this play, TOP and lack of 3 and outs.  Although, when I looked at the Super Bowl years in NE, they actually had less than 30 minutes TOP for most of those years.  (TOP in 2020 in Tampa was 29:06)

Your right, it is funny.  

I have thought this for years.  The passing TD is supposed to be an indicator of how well a QB helps their offense score, but the reality is that a QB can throw a bunch of TDs and have a lousy offense (Bortles in 2015), while another QB can throw for very few and have good offenses (Aikman's entire career).  

Aaron Rodgers has thrown for more passing TDs since 2008 for instance, but Brady's offenses have been better because he is the better QB.   

To bring it back to the Vikings Kirk Cousins threw for 30 TDs his first year as a Viking, the most of his career to that point.  He lead a bottom 10 scoring offense that year however and it was the worst of his career to that point. In 2019 the Viking adjusted and limited his role more to make things easier and he had his best season of his career throwing his 2nd fewest TDs of his career.