Vikes/Seahawks post-game thoughts

[S197]

Samia did not practice today, could we finally see Cleveland? Zimmer also hinted Lynch may get more looks.

What is the rule about DNP and ruling a guy out now?

Sorry I can't recall. I vaguely remember them making some sort of change to the questionable/doubtful designation but I can't specifically remember the rule.

[808vikingsfan]

So except for that TD pass (IMO was 10x better than just "a nice throw" since it was 4th down), you don't give RW any credit for the game winning TD drive that started from the 6 yard line? The 17 yd run to get his team out of the endzone, the 4th and 10 pass, him accounting for every yard on that drive? Contrast that to the Vikings potential game winning drive. How many yards did KC account for? zero. Even the coaches don't trust their QB with the ball when it matters. A sweep on 3rd and 4? That close to the endzone?

He had a lot of misses on that final drive. He hardly looked amazing.

Frankly, I really don't care if Wilson looked amazing or not. I don't care about completion percentage. It's what you do when it counts. In the end, Wilson got the job done when it counted. That's what makes the comparison so glaring.

The Vikings needed to run clock at the end, so run they did. I don't take that as not trusting Cousins. Had they been behind and needed 95 yards to win as the Seahawks did, they would have called on Cousins to throw.

And you think Cousins would do the same? Engineer a game winning drive? Getting blitzed on every down. Under heavy pressure like what RW had to face on his game winning drive? I highly doubt it. Kirk has shown his entire career that he melts under pressure. After 8 years of being in the league, why do we think he'll change?

Why is it so necessary to lionize Wilson, who didn't play all that great along with the rest of the Seahawks, and demonize Cousins, who made some key mistakes but played pretty well along with the rest of the Vikings? I understand the frustration of losing in classic Vikings fashion, and there are many things to criticize on the Vikings, but Cousins was far from the reason the team lost that game. He wasn't on the field when the Seahawks marched 95 yards for the win. He wasn't the ball carrier on the failed 4th down to ice the game. He made some nice plays and generally has overcome some of the worst interior pass blocking I think I've seen in my many years of watching the NFL.

Key mistakes that cost the Vikings the game. Better QB play and the Vikings should have easily won that game. SEA couldn't stop the run, they couldn't even get their offense going until Cousins gift wrapped two TDs for them. I could care less about "some nice plays". I give him that. He can throw a pretty ball. That doesn't win games. I don't buy blaming the OL. It's just an excuse and I'm tired of it. Cousins has more time to throw than most of the league. He's usually #1 in TTT for non scrambling qbs. He just has no feel in the pocket. He holds on to the ball too long. He's not decisive in his decisions. He puts so much pressure on the OL.

Cousins isn't perfect, but he's not the main problem with this team. Far from it IMHO. He wasn't outplayed by Wilson in the loss, either. I give Wilson credit where I see credit is due, but I'm going to be fair and do the same for Cousins where he earns it.

Cousins is far from perfect. He's far from a good NFL QB too. All he can do is throw a pretty ball. Decision making, leadership, feel in the pocket, moving in the pocket, extending plays, he's terrible. I give Wilson all the credit for beating the Vikings. He simply gets the job done. He did it with zero run support. He carried his team on his shoulders. Cousins can't do that. He never could. He never will.

Watch that game winning drive again. See how much pressure Wilson was under. The thing is, he loves being under pressure. That's when he's at his best. Does Cousins thrive under pressure? More like the opposite. That's why he's never been successful in his career.

There are a lot problems on this team why they can't win the big games. Cousins' limitations are a big part of it.
With the season being practically over, I think the Vikings should start thinking about trading Cousins. I'm guessing he'll have a decent stat line against the Falcons. Would be a good time to starting shopping him.

[Raz]

He had a lot of misses on that final drive. He hardly looked amazing.

Frankly, I really don't care if Wilson looked amazing or not. I don't care about completion percentage. It's what you do when it counts. In the end, Wilson got the job done when it counted. That's what makes the comparison so glaring.

The Vikings needed to run clock at the end, so run they did. I don't take that as not trusting Cousins. Had they been behind and needed 95 yards to win as the Seahawks did, they would have called on Cousins to throw.

And you think Cousins would do the same? Engineer a game winning drive? Getting blitzed on every down. Under heavy pressure like what RW had to face on his game winning drive? I highly doubt it. Kirk has shown his entire career that he melts under pressure. After 8 years of being in the league, why do we think he'll change?

Why is it so necessary to lionize Wilson, who didn't play all that great along with the rest of the Seahawks, and demonize Cousins, who made some key mistakes but played pretty well along with the rest of the Vikings? I understand the frustration of losing in classic Vikings fashion, and there are many things to criticize on the Vikings, but Cousins was far from the reason the team lost that game. He wasn't on the field when the Seahawks marched 95 yards for the win. He wasn't the ball carrier on the failed 4th down to ice the game. He made some nice plays and generally has overcome some of the worst interior pass blocking I think I've seen in my many years of watching the NFL.

Key mistakes that cost the Vikings the game. Better QB play and the Vikings should have easily won that game. SEA couldn't stop the run, they couldn't even get their offense going until Cousins gift wrapped two TDs for them. I could care less about "some nice plays". I give him that. He can throw a pretty ball. That doesn't win games. I don't buy blaming the OL. It's just an excuse and I'm tired of it. Cousins has more time to throw than most of the league. He's usually #1 in TTT for non scrambling qbs. He just has no feel in the pocket. He holds on to the ball too long. He's not decisive in his decisions. He puts so much pressure on the OL.

Cousins isn't perfect, but he's not the main problem with this team. Far from it IMHO. He wasn't outplayed by Wilson in the loss, either. I give Wilson credit where I see credit is due, but I'm going to be fair and do the same for Cousins where he earns it.

Cousins is far from perfect. He's far from a good NFL QB too. All he can do is throw a pretty ball. Decision making, leadership, feel in the pocket, moving in the pocket, extending plays, he's terrible. I give Wilson all the credit for beating the Vikings. He simply gets the job done. He did it with zero run support. He carried his team on his shoulders. Cousins can't do that. He never could. He never will.

Watch that game winning drive again. See how much pressure Wilson was under. The thing is, he loves being under pressure. That's when he's at his best. Does Cousins thrive under pressure? More like the opposite. That's why he's never been successful in his career.

There are a lot problems on this team why they can't win the big games. Cousins' limitations are a big part of it.
With the season being practically over, I think the Vikings should start thinking about trading Cousins. I'm guessing he'll have a decent stat line against the Falcons. Would be a good time to starting shopping him.

All true but the end it would be all but impossible to trade this poison contract, if this team is 4 and 8 down the stretch I’d seriously consider just cutting him and his 42 million of dead money wouldn’t want him to mentor a new kid

[VikingLord]

There are a lot problems on this team why they can't win the big games. Cousins' limitations are a big part of it.
With the season being practically over, I think the Vikings should start thinking about trading Cousins. I'm guessing he'll have a decent stat line against the Falcons. Would be a good time to starting shopping him.

I want to be clear - I am not trying to say that Cousins is awesome or his flaws aren't significant.

My observations were that he wasn't outplayed by Wilson.

As far as next steps, I'd say don't cut him and take the dead cap hit. That is pointless in my view. Instead, find his replacement, either in FA or preferably in the draft, and let that guy take the reins when he's ready while Cousins holds things down. That's not an immediate fix, but the way I see it, the Vikings need to focus on fixing the OL much more urgently than doing something drastic at QB.

[S197]

There are a lot problems on this team why they can't win the big games. Cousins' limitations are a big part of it.
With the season being practically over, I think the Vikings should start thinking about trading Cousins. I'm guessing he'll have a decent stat line against the Falcons. Would be a good time to starting shopping him.

I want to be clear - I am not trying to say that Cousins is awesome or his flaws aren't significant.

My observations were that he wasn't outplayed by Wilson.

As far as next steps, I'd say don't cut him and take the dead cap hit. That is pointless in my view. Instead, find his replacement, either in FA or preferably in the draft, and let that guy take the reins when he's ready while Cousins holds things down. That's not an immediate fix, but the way I see it, the Vikings need to focus on fixing the OL much more urgently than doing something drastic at QB.

The problem with doing this is they’ll be paying Cousins $45 million to hold a clipboard.

Absent a trade, the Vikings basically have two options. Cut Cousins before next year and take a $31M cap hit (plus $10M more in 2022) or keep him, at which point 2022 becomes guaranteed $45M. Neither are good options but I’d rather they cut him and start the rebuild one season earlier. Cousins at $45M in 2022 helps no one.

[TSonn]

I want to be clear - I am not trying to say that Cousins is awesome or his flaws aren't significant.

My observations were that he wasn't outplayed by Wilson.

As far as next steps, I'd say don't cut him and take the dead cap hit. That is pointless in my view. Instead, find his replacement, either in FA or preferably in the draft, and let that guy take the reins when he's ready while Cousins holds things down. That's not an immediate fix, but the way I see it, the Vikings need to focus on fixing the OL much more urgently than doing something drastic at QB.

The problem with doing this is they’ll be paying Cousins $45 million to hold a clipboard.

Absent a trade, the Vikings basically have two options. Cut Cousins before next year and take a $31M cap hit (plus $10M more in 2022) or keep him, at which point 2022 becomes guaranteed $45M. Neither are good options but I’d rather they cut him and start the rebuild one season earlier. Cousins at $45M in 2022 helps no one.

I'd cut and bring in Mariota via trade. I'd like to see if he's got anything worth salvaging.

[Purple Reign]

I still feel like it was a good call, and simply not having Cook in the game turned it from a 51% "winning" play into a 49% "losing" play.

Pretty sure those 2 are saying the same thing.