Post by FSUVike on Jul 11, 2022 16:30:00 GMT -6
There are only 32 GM and HC positions. If I'm O'Connell and my first chance to run a Team hinges on me saying I support the 12th or so best QB that can have Top 6ish runs of play in an outdated version of my Offense why the heck would I say no?
Kwesi and Kevin will do everything to coax the best out of Cousins. And he will play well in the McVay system. I don't think Kirk has Goff's arm talent, but he's smarter with the ball and has arguably better weapons than Jared had when the Rams made it to the Superbowl. And while the O-Line still isn't all that comparable to what the Rams had it will still be good enough during the regular season.
The Offense will be Top 10 and maybe even 7ish. The Defense will be OK until injuries hit. The Team will likely win a Playoff game and then get stomped by the Rams or Bucs or another Team with better Lines and a more consistent QB in pressure situations.
And in that game the Wilfs will see incontrovertible evidence that Kirk can't carry a Team unless he's got everything perfect around him and Minnesota is too far away from getting to that position given where Cousins is at in terms of age and cost.
Kwesi and Kevin are smart. They know they can show the Wilfs how explosive an Offense can be and make a case for moving on from Kirk with a Rookie who can continue to keep JJ happy while bringing some off-platform playmaking potential. Which will continue to sell merch and put butts in seats. And free up some cap space to accelerate the Defensive Rebuild.
But by the end, you're trying to make the case that our new hires are just going to use this season to demonstrate that Cousins should be dumped because he can't get past the 2nd round of the playoffs. But why do you think that a winning season and a playoff win is going to lead the Wilfs to dump Cousins? That was enough to give Zimmer two more years and generate an extension for Cousins, so why would it lead to a sea change now? Wouldn't they decide the team was just a player or two away?
There is such attachment to Cousins that I don't see him leaving if the team has above-average success. It will have to be a case of, "The McVay offense cannot work with Cousins because he is too (fill in the blank)". That's why I suggested that they push him to the max, make him fail hard if he can't perform better, and then get the owners to move on.
They almost moved on from the whole thing after beating NO and then getting stomped by the 9ers. When they get stomped in the 2nd Round it will be easy for Kwesi & Kevin to say 'Kirk can't carry an imperfect roster and we can't perfect it with what he makes'.
There was no realistic replacement this offseason. But the next Draft is loaded with QBs. O'Connell can say 'look what I did with that statue that won't throw guys open and imagine what I can do with [insert college QB] while giving Kwesi enough money to keep investing in the Lines and the Secondary'.
Not a hard sell at all.
... and neither is this Chris guy.
