Post by Purple Pain on Aug 15, 2023 12:59:32 GMT -6
Purple Insider's 1-on-1 with Kevin O'Connell: Breaking down routes where Kirk Cousins is most accurate
Some highlights:
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Hit the link above ^ for the rest. Great read.
On Monday at TCO Performance Center, O’Connell used all of his football teaching body language in a one-on-one conversation with Purple Insider to break down why quarterback Kirk Cousins is one of the most accurate passers in the NFL and all of the intricacies that go into executing three common patterns.
It’s worth explaining why — of all things — accuracy on three specific routes would be the subject of discussion with the Minnesota Vikings’ second-year head coach. (I could have been asking him about guards and kickers, for goodness sake!)
First, because writer Derrik Klassen of the football data website Reception Perception recently tracked every throw by Cousins in 2022 and found that his passes on slants, posts and corner routes were among the best in the NFL. That’s interesting on its own. But beyond that, analyzing the throws with the HC also provided a peak behind the curtain at O’Connell’s attention to detail and thought process that drives his passing attack. And it allowed a first-hand look at what it’s like to learn from him inside the QB room…
Let’s start with the numbers. Here’s the chart from Reception Perception that I showed O’Connell:
You will notice that the three highest accuracy routes are the slant, corner and post routes.
The line of questioning for the Vikings’ head coach was simple: What are the factors that go into those throws? Why is Cousins so good at them?
Off we go…
It’s worth explaining why — of all things — accuracy on three specific routes would be the subject of discussion with the Minnesota Vikings’ second-year head coach. (I could have been asking him about guards and kickers, for goodness sake!)
First, because writer Derrik Klassen of the football data website Reception Perception recently tracked every throw by Cousins in 2022 and found that his passes on slants, posts and corner routes were among the best in the NFL. That’s interesting on its own. But beyond that, analyzing the throws with the HC also provided a peak behind the curtain at O’Connell’s attention to detail and thought process that drives his passing attack. And it allowed a first-hand look at what it’s like to learn from him inside the QB room…
Let’s start with the numbers. Here’s the chart from Reception Perception that I showed O’Connell:
You will notice that the three highest accuracy routes are the slant, corner and post routes.
The line of questioning for the Vikings’ head coach was simple: What are the factors that go into those throws? Why is Cousins so good at them?
Off we go…
Some highlights:
“Any in-breaking route in the short or intermediate area, you have to know and see a lot more,” O’Connell explained.
The former quarterback pointed out that running slants against man coverage can be wonderful but defenders have tools in their toolbox to combat it. He used his hands to demonstrates cornerbacks playing off the receivers at the line of scrimmage but having help underneath from linebackers or corners playing tight and having help from safeties. In order to hit the slant, the QB has to see all of that happening or it could turn into a calamity.
That doesn’t mean the Vikings throw it out. Per RP’s stats, 16% of Cousins’s throws were slants of some kind. A huge part of making it work is timing and footwork. There are 3-step, 5-step and 7-step drops on slants. If it’s a 3-step, you better hit the back foot and sling it or don’t throw it at all. Many times though, the slant starts out looking like something else. Maybe the receiver begins the route selling a fade and then turns it into a slant. Well, that takes an extra half tick. O’Connell shows with his feet how quarterbacks are trained to “sit” on their back foot in that case.
“He’s not ready to catch the ball for another half click, sit on the back foot when he’s out of the break and then boom,” he said, making a throwing motion.
O’Connell talked another key part: The eyes. You best not be staring down that receiver unless you want to draw attention his way and get him smacked or the pass picked.
“You’re possibly not able to watch the route because you’re trying to hold those help players inside as long as you can and then throw,” he said, moving his head to give me an idea how the QB would need to look one way and then snap back and throw over the middle.
It starts to make sense why Cousins would be good at these things. He’s technically sound with his footwork and wouldn’t have a problem sitting on his back foot until it was time to trigger the throw. He’s also capable of reading defenders, getting his eyes in the right place and then timing the throw correctly. Stuff like that is how he got here.
The former quarterback pointed out that running slants against man coverage can be wonderful but defenders have tools in their toolbox to combat it. He used his hands to demonstrates cornerbacks playing off the receivers at the line of scrimmage but having help underneath from linebackers or corners playing tight and having help from safeties. In order to hit the slant, the QB has to see all of that happening or it could turn into a calamity.
That doesn’t mean the Vikings throw it out. Per RP’s stats, 16% of Cousins’s throws were slants of some kind. A huge part of making it work is timing and footwork. There are 3-step, 5-step and 7-step drops on slants. If it’s a 3-step, you better hit the back foot and sling it or don’t throw it at all. Many times though, the slant starts out looking like something else. Maybe the receiver begins the route selling a fade and then turns it into a slant. Well, that takes an extra half tick. O’Connell shows with his feet how quarterbacks are trained to “sit” on their back foot in that case.
“He’s not ready to catch the ball for another half click, sit on the back foot when he’s out of the break and then boom,” he said, making a throwing motion.
O’Connell talked another key part: The eyes. You best not be staring down that receiver unless you want to draw attention his way and get him smacked or the pass picked.
“You’re possibly not able to watch the route because you’re trying to hold those help players inside as long as you can and then throw,” he said, moving his head to give me an idea how the QB would need to look one way and then snap back and throw over the middle.
It starts to make sense why Cousins would be good at these things. He’s technically sound with his footwork and wouldn’t have a problem sitting on his back foot until it was time to trigger the throw. He’s also capable of reading defenders, getting his eyes in the right place and then timing the throw correctly. Stuff like that is how he got here.
You know what’s worth the risk vs. reward? Corner routes. Cousins’s near 91% accuracy on corners is obscene. Patrick Mahomes only hit 70% accuracy on corners. Joe Burrow? 50%. Not even Aaron Rodgers (87%) matched him.
These throws require calculations by the quarterback to be made at hyper speed. Cousins has to see the receiver’s angle because he might have flattened out his route in front of a zone defender or taken it more vertical if the defender is trailing. That usually happens after the snap and can’t be predetermined. So the height, speed and area of the corner throw is made in the moment.
O’Connell puts it this way: Let’s say you’re golfing and you are about 160 yards from the green. You pull an 8 iron, judge the wind, look at the hazards and what happens if the ball goes short or long. Oh, the pin is in the front? Give me the 9 iron instead. Alright, now line it up and swing. That’s what it’s like to throw a corner route except all of that has to happen in 0.25 seconds — and with dangerous dudes on defense trying to crush your face.
“You have to see the angle and you have a split second. Your computer in the brain has to tell your finish, ‘I’m going to take a little off this and layer the ball up and over or I might drive this throw with anticipation,’” O’Connell said.
These throws require calculations by the quarterback to be made at hyper speed. Cousins has to see the receiver’s angle because he might have flattened out his route in front of a zone defender or taken it more vertical if the defender is trailing. That usually happens after the snap and can’t be predetermined. So the height, speed and area of the corner throw is made in the moment.
O’Connell puts it this way: Let’s say you’re golfing and you are about 160 yards from the green. You pull an 8 iron, judge the wind, look at the hazards and what happens if the ball goes short or long. Oh, the pin is in the front? Give me the 9 iron instead. Alright, now line it up and swing. That’s what it’s like to throw a corner route except all of that has to happen in 0.25 seconds — and with dangerous dudes on defense trying to crush your face.
“You have to see the angle and you have a split second. Your computer in the brain has to tell your finish, ‘I’m going to take a little off this and layer the ball up and over or I might drive this throw with anticipation,’” O’Connell said.
Post routes are about landmarks and receivers who track the ball like they have built-in radar.
Sending a receiver deep over the middle has a lot of the same elements of corner routes where it can be different types of throws but these are less about touch and more about the QB letting it rip. Whether it’s a “drive shot” in the red zone or a bomb over the middle, it isn’t being floated in there.
“That one is hard for the quarterback because every millisecond that they let a guy that runs 4.4 [40-yard dash] run away from them it becomes sheer math at that point,” O’Connell said. “I can throw the ball 65 yards on my best day and he’s going to get 65 yards by the time this ball lands and he’s going to get there fast.”
That’s where the landmarks come in. The quarterback is flinging it to the near upright or the area between the hash and the numbers. Depending on the coverage the QB might be throwing it all the way across the field.
It’s not easy to practice.
Sending a receiver deep over the middle has a lot of the same elements of corner routes where it can be different types of throws but these are less about touch and more about the QB letting it rip. Whether it’s a “drive shot” in the red zone or a bomb over the middle, it isn’t being floated in there.
“That one is hard for the quarterback because every millisecond that they let a guy that runs 4.4 [40-yard dash] run away from them it becomes sheer math at that point,” O’Connell said. “I can throw the ball 65 yards on my best day and he’s going to get 65 yards by the time this ball lands and he’s going to get there fast.”
That’s where the landmarks come in. The quarterback is flinging it to the near upright or the area between the hash and the numbers. Depending on the coverage the QB might be throwing it all the way across the field.
It’s not easy to practice.
THE END
Listening back to our conversation, there was a lot to process. And that was just the 15 minute version. I can’t imagine the Ph.D class on these throws. How anyone plays quarterback in the NFL with that level of detail at those speeds is unthinkable. But the other takeaway beyond that Cousins won’t be so easy to replace when it comes to these types of throws was that the Vikings have a head coach who deeply analyzes every nuance of every passing concept and weighs way more than we would ever think before scheming up something or calling in a play into Cousins’s headset.
O’Connell is also a master communicator. If he can get us to understand how these complex concepts work, he can certainly relay it to his quarterbacks in terms (and physical motions) that they can connect with. That would seem to matter quite a bit for the present and future of the Vikings QB position.
Listening back to our conversation, there was a lot to process. And that was just the 15 minute version. I can’t imagine the Ph.D class on these throws. How anyone plays quarterback in the NFL with that level of detail at those speeds is unthinkable. But the other takeaway beyond that Cousins won’t be so easy to replace when it comes to these types of throws was that the Vikings have a head coach who deeply analyzes every nuance of every passing concept and weighs way more than we would ever think before scheming up something or calling in a play into Cousins’s headset.
O’Connell is also a master communicator. If he can get us to understand how these complex concepts work, he can certainly relay it to his quarterbacks in terms (and physical motions) that they can connect with. That would seem to matter quite a bit for the present and future of the Vikings QB position.
... and neither is this Chris guy.