Star wrote:
Cousins had 4,300 yards, 30 TD passes and 70% completion percentage.
And was healthy for all 16 games.
Yes, he choked at the end and didn't step up in games at Chi, at NE and at Seattle.
But compare him to any QB that was available after last year and he was way better than anyone of them.
People seem more mad at the money Cousins made than anything else.
He has had four straight years of starting all 16 games for his team and passing for over 4,000 yards each year.
He is similar to Matthew Stafford in stats and team record who has his own $135 M contract.
There’s a reason that they call Stafford “Stat Padford.” Great stats. Lots of yards. Good amount of TD’s. Decent completion percentage. But what do these guys do in big games? Guys like Stafford, Dalton, and Cousins will win you your run of the mill 1:00 Sunday afternoon game against sub .500 teams. But when they land a prime time game slot against a formidable opponent, they fold.
Let’s look Minnesota’s record in prime time games, which includes Thursday night, Sunday night, and Monday night games:
Week 4 (Thursday): loss to the rams
Week 8 (Sunday night): loss to the saints
Week 12 (Sunday night): win against the packers
Week 14 (Monday night): loss to the Seahawks
So 1-3 in prime time. Their one win came against a sub .500 team. Which leads me to my next point:
The Vikings had one win against an above .500 team. That team? The Eagles, which snuck into the playoffs off of the Vikings’ late season meltdown.
I don’t feel like pulling up Cousins’ stats in games versus opponents with winning records, but I can assure you they’re not pretty, and they obviously weren’t good enough to win. Russell Wilson has some ugly stats from a couple games this year, but he found ways to win. Cousins had ugly stats and losses to align with said stats.
At the end of the day you don’t need a pro bowl caliber or hall of fame QB to win the SB. Foles, Wilson as a rookie, Flacco, Dilfer, Brad Johnson were all average QBs that helped buoy a balanced offense that was backed up by an elite defense, which was enough to win the title. Keenum could have definitely fit that role, and the money saved on a QB could have addressed other weaknesses on the Vikings. But they decided to pursue the glitzy QB, thinking that would be enough to get them to the SB.
News flash- you limit your success when paying a QB top dollar. Some evidence from this year:
1. Rodgers/GB: no playoffs
2. Ryan /ATL: no playoffs
3: Cousins/Minnesota: no playoffs
4. Jimmy/SF: no playoffs
5. Stafford/DET: no playoffs
6. Brees/NO: playoffs
7. Carr/OAK: no playoffs
8. Luck/INDY: playoffs
9. Smith/WAS: no playoffs
10. Flacco/BAL: playoffs with a DIFFERENT QB