Trader Rick chimes in on the Viking's victory

This says a lot imo....
The main thing you notice about Cousins was his quick decision-making. His familiarity with the offense was really impressive and his relationship with head coach Kevin O’Connell was evident. O’Connell calling the plays directly to Cousins is a good thing. I believe it is a big difference as far as a quarterback and coach communicating on the same level. Good communication can help strengthen the relationship between the quarterback and the head coach.

Am I the only one who thinks this is a little overblown? Yes, love to see the positivity, the communication between HC and QB. And yes, Cousins played well. And that was a very good defense he picked apart.

But he's played well before. Let's not forget, JJ broke NFL records before his QB suddenly became "good" this year. I've heard people mention the audibles, as if he's never done that before. 

It reminds me of an interview I saw with Cousins last year where the reporter asked about his deep passes in the game and if he thinks that will change his "check down" reputation. Cousins was nice about it but you could tell he was frustrated. The numbers don't lie. There are few passers in the NFL who throw the ball deep as often as Cousins and few who are as good at it. 

And yes, this also means that "bad Kirk" will probably show up this year. But that's OK too. Just don't overreact about every damn thing...and remember, "bad Stafford" had a residency in LA last year. He went 0 fer November, throwing 5 picks with a passer rating in the 60s. That guy won the Super Bowl. 

Just sayin...

Have to revel in the hype now.....because it won't last. And then the fans will turn in a heartbeat and it'll all be shit. Vikings aren't going 17-0. Can't win a Superbowl before February. Can't win here, can't win in this situation, etc. Its all coming. Kirk isn't clutch. New boss is same as the old boss. Wash, rinse and repeat. 

My hope is that the Vikings are competitive, well coached situationally and get to the playoffs. When the team does lose games, its not in some kind of god awful, horrific shit show of a meltdown. I've had more than enough of those in my time as a Viking's fan. But I refuse to not live in the moment with the Vikings: I enjoy the season too much. This week is a good week, but next week might not be. That's how it goes. But that won't impact me until late Monday night.

Aint that the way the world is today in general?

Hell, I'm that way week to week with a win vs loss - and I've been a fan since the 70's

@"StickyBun" said: Have to revel in the hype now.....because it won't last. And then the fans will turn in a heartbeat and it'll all be shit. Vikings aren't going 17-0. Can't win a Superbowl before February. Can't win here, can't win in this situation, etc. Its all coming. Kirk isn't clutch. New boss is same as the old boss. Wash, rinse and repeat. 

My hope is that the Vikings are competitive, well coached situationally and get to the playoffs. When the team does lose games, its not in some kind of god awful, horrific shit show of a meltdown. I've had more than enough of those in my time as a Viking's fan. But I refuse to not live in the moment with the Vikings: I enjoy the season too much. This week is a good week, but next week might not be. That's how it goes. But that won't impact me until late Monday night.

Yeah, hope that didn't come off as too wet blanket. Trust me, no one was singing Skol Vikings as loud as me at the Viking bar on Sunday. Winning week one, against our biggest competition for the division, and our biggest rival, was HUGE. And it felt spectacular. Still does. 

I just know some folks will bitch about his 1st bad game and declare "this is who he is." No, that's who he was for that game. Every game is different. And every QB has bad games. But I do expect a LOT more good Kirk than bad.

@"purplefaithful" said: This says a lot imo.... The main thing you notice about Cousins was his quick decision-making. His familiarity with the offense was really impressive and his relationship with head coach Kevin O’Connell was evident. O’Connell calling the plays directly to Cousins is a good thing. I believe it is a big difference as far as a quarterback and coach communicating on the same level. Good communication can help strengthen the relationship between the quarterback and the head coach.

Veiled shots at Zimmer.   Not that Zim doesn't deserve them...

I have decided to pledge not to write about Spielman and Zimmer for the rest of this (so far) fine season.  Water under the bridge.

@"comet52" said:

@"purplefaithful" said: This says a lot imo.... The main thing you notice about Cousins was his quick decision-making. His familiarity with the offense was really impressive and his relationship with head coach Kevin O’Connell was evident. O’Connell calling the plays directly to Cousins is a good thing. I believe it is a big difference as far as a quarterback and coach communicating on the same level. Good communication can help strengthen the relationship between the quarterback and the head coach.

Veiled shots at Zimmer.   Not that Zim doesn't deserve them...

@"MaroonBells" said: Am I the only one who thinks this is a little overblown? Yes, love to see the positivity, the communication between HC and QB. And yes, Cousins played well. And that was a very good defense he picked apart.

But he's played well before. Let's not forget, JJ broke NFL records before his QB suddenly became "good" this year. I've heard people mention the audibles, as if he's never done that before. 

It reminds me of an interview I saw with Cousins last year where the reporter asked about his deep passes in the game and if he thinks that will change his "check down" reputation. Cousins was nice about it but you could tell he was frustrated. The numbers don't lie. There are few passers in the NFL who throw the ball deep as often as Cousins and few who are as good at it. 

And yes, this also means that "bad Kirk" will probably show up this year. But that's OK too. Just don't overreact about every damn thing...and remember, "bad Stafford" had a residency in LA last year. He went 0 fer November, throwing 5 picks with a passer rating in the 60s. That guy won the Super Bowl. 

Just sayin...

Exactly.  Like the positivity of the new staff, and that the HC is the offensive mind so we aren't constantly changing that.  But yes, Zimmer had some good OCs that got jobs elsewhere.  And Kirk put up big numbers, JJ, Diggs, AT and Cook all put up big numbers as well.  

So enjoy the change, but the need to denigrate the previous never really helps the argument.  Just reveals the bitterness.

@"StickyBun" said: Have to revel in the hype now.....because it won't last. And then the fans will turn in a heartbeat and it'll all be shit. Vikings aren't going 17-0. Can't win a Superbowl before February. Can't win here, can't win in this situation, etc. Its all coming. Kirk isn't clutch. New boss is same as the old boss. Wash, rinse and repeat. 

My hope is that the Vikings are competitive, well coached situationally and get to the playoffs. When the team does lose games, its not in some kind of god awful, horrific shit show of a meltdown. I've had more than enough of those in my time as a Viking's fan. But I refuse to not live in the moment with the Vikings: I enjoy the season too much. This week is a good week, but next week might not be. That's how it goes. But that won't impact me until late Monday night.

FirethenextcoachNOW.com is still available.

@"greediron" said:

@"StickyBun" said: Have to revel in the hype now.....because it won't last. And then the fans will turn in a heartbeat and it'll all be shit. Vikings aren't going 17-0. Can't win a Superbowl before February. Can't win here, can't win in this situation, etc. Its all coming. Kirk isn't clutch. New boss is same as the old boss. Wash, rinse and repeat. 

My hope is that the Vikings are competitive, well coached situationally and get to the playoffs. When the team does lose games, its not in some kind of god awful, horrific shit show of a meltdown. I've had more than enough of those in my time as a Viking's fan. But I refuse to not live in the moment with the Vikings: I enjoy the season too much. This week is a good week, but next week might not be. That's how it goes. But that won't impact me until late Monday night.

FirethenextcoachNOW.com is still available.

@"greediron" said:

@"MaroonBells" said: Am I the only one who thinks this is a little overblown? Yes, love to see the positivity, the communication between HC and QB. And yes, Cousins played well. And that was a very good defense he picked apart.

But he's played well before. Let's not forget, JJ broke NFL records before his QB suddenly became "good" this year. I've heard people mention the audibles, as if he's never done that before. 

It reminds me of an interview I saw with Cousins last year where the reporter asked about his deep passes in the game and if he thinks that will change his "check down" reputation. Cousins was nice about it but you could tell he was frustrated. The numbers don't lie. There are few passers in the NFL who throw the ball deep as often as Cousins and few who are as good at it. 

And yes, this also means that "bad Kirk" will probably show up this year. But that's OK too. Just don't overreact about every damn thing...and remember, "bad Stafford" had a residency in LA last year. He went 0 fer November, throwing 5 picks with a passer rating in the 60s. That guy won the Super Bowl. 

Just sayin...

Exactly.  Like the positivity of the new staff, and that the HC is the offensive mind so we aren't constantly changing that.  But yes, Zimmer had some good OCs that got jobs elsewhere.  And Kirk put up big numbers, JJ, Diggs, AT and Cook all put up big numbers as well.  

So enjoy the change, but the need to denigrate the previous never really helps the argument.  Just reveals the bitterness.

@"StickyBun" said: Have to revel in the hype now.....because it won't last. And then the fans will turn in a heartbeat and it'll all be shit. Vikings aren't going 17-0. Can't win a Superbowl before February. Can't win here, can't win in this situation, etc. Its all coming. Kirk isn't clutch. New boss is same as the old boss. Wash, rinse and repeat. 

My hope is that the Vikings are competitive, well coached situationally and get to the playoffs. When the team does lose games, its not in some kind of god awful, horrific shit show of a meltdown. I've had more than enough of those in my time as a Viking's fan. But I refuse to not live in the moment with the Vikings: I enjoy the season too much. This week is a good week, but next week might not be. That's how it goes. But that won't impact me until late Monday night.

I am getting much better at not getting too worked up, positively or negatively. Took years but I have come to realize a Vikings result  shouldn't be taken personally, doesn't have a damn thing to do with my life really.