Forum The Longship Cousins has always proven himself. He’s ready to d...

Cousins has always proven himself. He’s ready to do it again.

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https://www.inforum.com/sports/pro/vikings-qb-kirk-cousins-has-always-proven-himself-hes-ready-to-do-it-againST. PAUL -- As an 18-year-old growing up in Michigan, Kirk Cousins
remembers preparing for college without any knowledge of what lies
ahead. He was the starting quarterback for Holland Christian High School
at the time, and despite some moderate interest from some schools, he
still hadn’t received a scholarship offer.
“I’m going into my
senior year with no scholarship offers,” he remembered. “I walked off
the field the last game of my high school career with no scholarship
offers.”
After almost every game, Cousins remembers a local
reporter from the Holland Sentinel asking different variations of the
same question: How was he handling the sea of unknowns?
“If you
win football games, and do your part, and put your work in, the rest
will take care of itself,” Cousins said. “That certainly happened in my
high school career.”

That mindset followed Cousins to his college career, where he
won the job at Michigan State during his sophomore year and never gave
it back. That mindset then followed Cousins to his professional career,
where he was a backup with the franchise now known as the Washington
Commanders before taking over as the starter.





Now it’s helping Cousins navigate his current situation with
the Vikings, where he doesn’t have a contract beyond next season. A
couple of months ago, Cousins agreed to restructure his contract, adding
more void years, which essentially allowed the Vikings to free up some
cap space without signing him to an extension.
“I’m looking
forward to this year and wanting to go out there and prove it again,”
Cousins said. “That’s really where my focus is.”

Seen it before
This isn’t the first time Cousins has had to prove himself in the NFL. He twice played on the franchise tag at his previous stop before the Vikings signed him to an unprecedented 3-year, $84 million deal that was fully guaranteed. Since then, both sides have worked out a couple of extensions, meaning this is the first time Cousins has played for the Vikings without a commitment beyond next season. Asked if that bothered him, Cousins joked that it’s been more than the norm throughout his career. He added that most players in the NFL don’t have job security, which, in some ways, can be a good thing because it forces everyone to operate at his best. “There should never be entitlement,” he said. “You’ve always got to go play.” That has been enough for Cousins throughout his career as he’s consistently put himself in position to get paid.

Though he has become a
polarizing player in Minnesota largely because of his huge contract,
Cousins has also put together some impressive performances that
shouldn’t be overlooked. He has thrown for 20,934 yards and 153
touchdowns across 80 games with the Vikings, most recently leading them
to an NFC North championship last season.
In the past, Cousins has
made it clear he wants to retire with the Vikings. That hasn’t changed
even if they’ve put him in a position where he once again has to prove
himself.





“I want to be in Minnesota,” he said. “That’s kind of a no-brainer, so hopefully we can earn the right to do that.”
As
someone who preaches staying in the moment, Cousins manages to do that
by going back to the lesson he learned when he had no idea where life
was going to take him. If he simply focuses on winning football games,
the rest will take care of itself.
“I’m encouraged and excited
because I do think I have a lot of good football ahead of me,” he said.
“I feel positive about the future looking forward and I go back to how
this has kind of been a part of my story.”

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#1 · May 4, 6:45 AM
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@"Riphawkins" said:
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"StickyBun" said: The guy has an amazing attitude. Oozes leadership. Yet half the fanbase dislikes the guy. Its so weird. 


Only one way to quiet haters....



Did San Diego fans hate Dan Fouts as much as Vikings fan hate Kirk? How about Warren Moon? How many fans and experts disrespected him as much Kirk gets disrespected?


I think more than anything the difference is with social media, which didn't exist back in the days of Fouts and Moon.

Whether it's football, politics or culture wars, our social media feeds on Facebook, Twitter, even Google, are designed to push into "sides" or "camps" and keep us there. 

For sure, many of the narratives written about Kirk in the past were just myths: "He's a check down Charlie who doesn't go deep." False, and always has been. Statistics show he's not only a good deep passer, but one of the best. "His stats are built in garbage time." Statistics show this also was demonstrably false. 

But there were also narratives that even I believed to be mostly true. "He's not a leader; he's not clutch; he doesn't win; he's too risk averse." Winning is not a QB stat in my book, but the leader and risk averse thing were always my biggest complaints about Kirk. 

I don't know that a QB has ever defeated narratives more convincingly than Kirk defeated these in '22. Under KOC's guidance, he became a much more vocal leader, he was uber-clutch, he was much less risk averse, and he won. A lot.

So I think we're out of narratives now. And I can see the Haters clinging onto each other, all perched on a tiny ledge called contract and age.  It's all that's left. 

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#42 · May 8, 7:22 AM
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@"Riphawkins" said:
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"StickyBun" said: The guy has an amazing attitude. Oozes leadership. Yet half the fanbase dislikes the guy. Its so weird. 


Only one way to quiet haters....



Did San Diego fans hate Dan Fouts as much as Vikings fan hate Kirk? How about Warren Moon? How many fans and experts disrespected him as much Kirk gets disrespected?


Those guys are in the HOF, a place Kirk and his .500 career of checking it down on 3rd and long will never be.  Maybe you should have gone balls to the wall and compared him to Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes instead.  =)

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#43 · May 8, 8:29 AM
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@"comet52" said:
@"Riphawkins" said:
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"StickyBun" said: The guy has an amazing attitude. Oozes leadership. Yet half the fanbase dislikes the guy. Its so weird. 


Only one way to quiet haters....



Did San Diego fans hate Dan Fouts as much as Vikings fan hate Kirk? How about Warren Moon? How many fans and experts disrespected him as much Kirk gets disrespected?


Those guys are in the HOF, a place Kirk and his .500 career of checking it down on 3rd and long will never be.  Maybe you should have gone balls to the wall and compared him to Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes instead.  =)


Can't speak for Riphawkins but it's possible that the Fouts and Moon comparisons were due to all their Super Bowl successes.

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#44 · May 8, 8:32 AM
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@"1VikesFan" said:
@"comet52" said:
@"Riphawkins" said:
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"StickyBun" said: The guy has an amazing attitude. Oozes leadership. Yet half the fanbase dislikes the guy. Its so weird. 


Only one way to quiet haters....



Did San Diego fans hate Dan Fouts as much as Vikings fan hate Kirk? How about Warren Moon? How many fans and experts disrespected him as much Kirk gets disrespected?


Those guys are in the HOF, a place Kirk and his .500 career of checking it down on 3rd and long will never be.  Maybe you should have gone balls to the wall and compared him to Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes instead.  =)


Can't speak for Riphawkins but it's possible that the Fouts and Moon comparisons were due to all their Super Bowl successes.

I'm sure the HOF qbs who never won a SB would have a good chuckle at being told they are comps for Kirk Cousins.

The comp for Kirk is Jay Cutler, not guys in the HOF.

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#45 · May 8, 8:37 AM
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@"comet52" said:
@"1VikesFan" said:
@"comet52" said:
@"Riphawkins" said:
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"StickyBun" said: The guy has an amazing attitude. Oozes leadership. Yet half the fanbase dislikes the guy. Its so weird. 


Only one way to quiet haters....



Did San Diego fans hate Dan Fouts as much as Vikings fan hate Kirk? How about Warren Moon? How many fans and experts disrespected him as much Kirk gets disrespected?


Those guys are in the HOF, a place Kirk and his .500 career of checking it down on 3rd and long will never be.  Maybe you should have gone balls to the wall and compared him to Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes instead.  =)


Can't speak for Riphawkins but it's possible that the Fouts and Moon comparisons were due to all their Super Bowl successes.

I'm sure the HOF qbs who never won a SB would have a good chuckle at being told they are comps for Kirk Cousins.

The comp for Kirk is Jay Cutler, not guys in the HOF.



Ok then 

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#46 · May 8, 8:56 AM
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@"1VikesFan" said:
@"comet52" said:
@"1VikesFan" said:
@"comet52" said:
@"Riphawkins" said:
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"StickyBun" said: The guy has an amazing attitude. Oozes leadership. Yet half the fanbase dislikes the guy. Its so weird. 


Only one way to quiet haters....



Did San Diego fans hate Dan Fouts as much as Vikings fan hate Kirk? How about Warren Moon? How many fans and experts disrespected him as much Kirk gets disrespected?


Those guys are in the HOF, a place Kirk and his .500 career of checking it down on 3rd and long will never be.  Maybe you should have gone balls to the wall and compared him to Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes instead.  =)


Can't speak for Riphawkins but it's possible that the Fouts and Moon comparisons were due to all their Super Bowl successes.

I'm sure the HOF qbs who never won a SB would have a good chuckle at being told they are comps for Kirk Cousins.

The comp for Kirk is Jay Cutler, not guys in the HOF.



Ok then 


Are you saying Kirk will get in the HOF?

He could actually get in...if he buys a ticket at the front door like the rest of the tourists.  :p

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#47 · May 8, 9:35 AM
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@"comet52" said:
@"1VikesFan" said:
@"comet52" said:
@"1VikesFan" said:
@"comet52" said:
@"Riphawkins" said:
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"StickyBun" said: The guy has an amazing attitude. Oozes leadership. Yet half the fanbase dislikes the guy. Its so weird. 


Only one way to quiet haters....



Did San Diego fans hate Dan Fouts as much as Vikings fan hate Kirk? How about Warren Moon? How many fans and experts disrespected him as much Kirk gets disrespected?


Those guys are in the HOF, a place Kirk and his .500 career of checking it down on 3rd and long will never be.  Maybe you should have gone balls to the wall and compared him to Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes instead.  =)


Can't speak for Riphawkins but it's possible that the Fouts and Moon comparisons were due to all their Super Bowl successes.

I'm sure the HOF qbs who never won a SB would have a good chuckle at being told they are comps for Kirk Cousins.

The comp for Kirk is Jay Cutler, not guys in the HOF.



Ok then 


Are you saying Kirk will get in the HOF?

He could actually get in...if he buys a ticket at the front door like the rest of the tourists.  :p



This isn't about Kirk being a HOF QB......my original point was even a HOF QB, like Marino, didn't win a Superbowl. Because the negs in the thread put that as the bar: Superbowl trophies. So Marino was an epic failure then.

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#48 · May 8, 9:46 AM
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@"comet52" said:
@"1VikesFan" said:
@"comet52" said:
@"Riphawkins" said:
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"StickyBun" said: The guy has an amazing attitude. Oozes leadership. Yet half the fanbase dislikes the guy. Its so weird. 


Only one way to quiet haters....



Did San Diego fans hate Dan Fouts as much as Vikings fan hate Kirk? How about Warren Moon? How many fans and experts disrespected him as much Kirk gets disrespected?


Those guys are in the HOF, a place Kirk and his .500 career of checking it down on 3rd and long will never be.  Maybe you should have gone balls to the wall and compared him to Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes instead.  =)


Can't speak for Riphawkins but it's possible that the Fouts and Moon comparisons were due to all their Super Bowl successes.

I'm sure the HOF qbs who never won a SB would have a good chuckle at being told they are comps for Kirk Cousins.

The comp for Kirk is Jay Cutler, not guys in the HOF.



Jay Cutler in 11 seasons as a starter:
3,048 for 4,920 for a 62 completion percentage, 35,133 yards, 227 TDs and 160 INTs, QB rating: 85.3
Kirk Cousins in three fewer seasons as a starter:
3,249 for 4,866 for a 66.8 completion percentage, 37,140 yards, 252 TDs and 105 INTs, QB rating: 97.8
Cousins career completion percentage (among QBs with over 100 games) ranks 2nd only to Drew Brees in NFL history, ahead of both Moon and Fouts. Cutler ranks 24th. And before you argue “checkdown,”  in yards per attempt, Cousins ranks 3rd in NFL history. Cutler isn’t even in the top 50. 

In passer rating, Cousins ranks 4th in NFL history, ahead of both Fouts and Moon. Cutler ranks 28th, just below Trent Green and Jeff Garcia. 

Jay Cutler’s best year was 2008. He went to the Pro Bowl that year. He went 384 for 616, for a 62.3 percentage, threw 25 TDs and 18 INTs, for an 86.0 rating. Culter also had several seasons where his TD/INT ratio looked like this: 19/14, 27/26, 20/14, 28/18. 

Cousins never had a seasons anywhere near that bad. In fact, statistically, his WORST year as a starter was last season, his 1st season in KOC's offense. He went 424 for 643, for a 65.9 percentage, threw 29 TDs and 14 INTs for a 92.5 rating, far better than Culter’s best season ever.

But yeah, good comp. 

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#49 · May 8, 9:47 AM
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@"MaroonBells" said:
@"comet52" said:
@"1VikesFan" said:
@"comet52" said:
@"Riphawkins" said:
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"StickyBun" said: The guy has an amazing attitude. Oozes leadership. Yet half the fanbase dislikes the guy. Its so weird. 


Only one way to quiet haters....



Did San Diego fans hate Dan Fouts as much as Vikings fan hate Kirk? How about Warren Moon? How many fans and experts disrespected him as much Kirk gets disrespected?


Those guys are in the HOF, a place Kirk and his .500 career of checking it down on 3rd and long will never be.  Maybe you should have gone balls to the wall and compared him to Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes instead.  =)


Can't speak for Riphawkins but it's possible that the Fouts and Moon comparisons were due to all their Super Bowl successes.

I'm sure the HOF qbs who never won a SB would have a good chuckle at being told they are comps for Kirk Cousins.

The comp for Kirk is Jay Cutler, not guys in the HOF.



Jay Cutler in 11 seasons as a starter:
3,048 for 4,920 for a 62 completion percentage, 35,133 yards, 227 TDs and 160 INTs, QB rating: 85.3
Kirk Cousins in three fewer seasons as a starter:
3,249 for 4,866 for a 66.8 completion percentage, 37,140 yards, 252 TDs and 105 INTs, QB rating: 97.8
Cousins career completion percentage (among QBs with over 100 games) ranks 2nd only to Drew Brees in NFL history, ahead of both Moon and Fouts. Cutler ranks 24th. And before you argue “checkdown,”  in yards per attempt, Cousins ranks 3rd in NFL history. Cutler isn’t even in the top 50. 

In passer rating, Cousins ranks 4th in NFL history, ahead of both Fouts and Moon. Cutler ranks 28th, just below Trent Green and Jeff Garcia. 

Jay Cutler’s best year was 2008. He went to the Pro Bowl that year. He went 384 for 616, for a 62.3 percentage, threw 25 TDs and 18 INTs, for an 86.0 rating. Culter also had several seasons where his TD/INT ratio looked like this: 19/14, 27/26, 20/14, 28/18. 

Cousins never had a seasons anywhere near that bad. In fact, statistically, his WORST year as a starter was last season, his 1st season in KOC's offense. He went 424 for 643, for a 65.9 percentage, threw 29 TDs and 14 INTs for a 92.5 rating, far better than Culter’s best season ever.

But yeah, good comp. 



Meh...

Quit trying to discuss facts vs beliefs will yah? :p

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#50 · May 8, 10:28 AM
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Without circling the drain on Kirk even further since we all have our opinions, I got to thinking— how many tenured QBs have actually changed their reputation over the course of their careers?

Recently, Stafford comes to mind but then he got hurt immediately after and now the Rams are a mess.

Russell Wilson and Carson Wentz kind of did, but in a bad way.

The best example I can think of is Eli Manning, and he did it by winning a couple rings. 

For Kirk he’ll always be polarizing for some but I really think the only way the narrative for the majority of folks will change is if he wins a Super Bowl, whether in MIN or elsewhere.

But maybe I’m forgetting some other examples?

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#51 · May 8, 10:34 AM
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@"pattersaur" said: Without circling the drain on Kirk even further since we all have our opinions, I got to thinking— how many tenured QBs have actually changed their reputation over the course of their careers?

Recently, Stafford comes to mind but then he got hurt immediately after and now the Rams are a mess.

Russell Wilson and Carson Wentz kind of did, but in a bad way.

The best example I can think of is Eli Manning, and he did it by winning a couple rings. 

For Kirk he’ll always be polarizing for some but I really think the only way the narrative for the majority of folks will change is if he wins a Super Bowl, whether in MIN or elsewhere.

But maybe I’m forgetting some other examples?

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#52 · May 8, 10:44 AM
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@"MaroonBells" said:
@"Riphawkins" said:
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"StickyBun" said: The guy has an amazing attitude. Oozes leadership. Yet half the fanbase dislikes the guy. Its so weird. 


Only one way to quiet haters....



Did San Diego fans hate Dan Fouts as much as Vikings fan hate Kirk? How about Warren Moon? How many fans and experts disrespected him as much Kirk gets disrespected?


I think more than anything the difference is with social media, which didn't exist back in the days of Fouts and Moon.

Whether it's football, politics or culture wars, our social media feeds on Facebook, Twitter, even Google, are designed to push into "sides" or "camps" and keep us there. 

For sure, many of the narratives written about Kirk in the past were just myths: "He's a check down Charlie who doesn't go deep." False, and always has been. Statistics show he's not only a good deep passer, but one of the best. "His stats are built in garbage time." Statistics show this also was demonstrably false. 

But there were also narratives that even I believed to be mostly true. "He's not a leader; he's not clutch; he doesn't win; he's too risk averse." Winning is not a QB stat in my book, but the leader and risk averse thing were always my biggest complaints about Kirk. 

I don't know that a QB has ever defeated narratives more convincingly than Kirk defeated these in '22. Under KOC's guidance, he became a much more vocal leader, he was uber-clutch, he was much less risk averse, and he won. A lot.

So I think we're out of narratives now. And I can see the Haters clinging onto each other, all perched on a tiny ledge called contract and age.  It's all that's left. 



I'm far from a hater. I loved the signing at the time as he was by far the best QB available to us. But, you've left one of the bigger narratives & it still holds true. He's not a mobile QB that can extend plays w/ his feet. In today's NFL, offenses w/ mobile QBs have an advantage over offenses that don't. 

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#53 · May 8, 10:59 AM
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@"pattersaur" said: Without circling the drain on Kirk even further since we all have our opinions, I got to thinking— how many tenured QBs have actually changed their reputation over the course of their careers?

Recently, Stafford comes to mind but then he got hurt immediately after and now the Rams are a mess.

Russell Wilson and Carson Wentz kind of did, but in a bad way.

The best example I can think of is Eli Manning, and he did it by winning a couple rings. 

For Kirk he’ll always be polarizing for some but I really think the only way the narrative for the majority of folks will change is if he wins a Super Bowl, whether in MIN or elsewhere.

But maybe I’m forgetting some other examples?


I think winning a Super Bowl would help a lot, but it didn't really help Eli. He's still not considered one of the better QBs from that era, despite the fact that he won 2 Super Bowls and was MVP of both. 

Eli just wasn't really that good during his career, or even in either of their Super Bowl seasons. The season after which he won his first Super Bowl, he threw 23 TDs and 20 picks. Had a 73.0 passer rating. That has to have broken some kind of record. His second Super Bowl season, he threw 29 TDs and 16 INTs. Much better, but still worse than Cousins' worst year ever. Plus, Manning could be just horrible at times. In 2013, his 10th year in the league, he threw 18 TDs and 27 INTs! 

I think if Cousins wins a Super Bowl all of his very good stats will resonate more. A good example is the Giants playoff game. No QB had a better playoff game than Cousins. Not Mahomes, not Allen, not Burrow, not Hurts. But because our defense was horrible, we lost the game, and so it goes unnoticed. 

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#54 · May 8, 11:00 AM
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@"Knucklehead" said:
@"MaroonBells" said:
@"Riphawkins" said:
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"StickyBun" said: The guy has an amazing attitude. Oozes leadership. Yet half the fanbase dislikes the guy. Its so weird. 


Only one way to quiet haters....



Did San Diego fans hate Dan Fouts as much as Vikings fan hate Kirk? How about Warren Moon? How many fans and experts disrespected him as much Kirk gets disrespected?


I think more than anything the difference is with social media, which didn't exist back in the days of Fouts and Moon.

Whether it's football, politics or culture wars, our social media feeds on Facebook, Twitter, even Google, are designed to push into "sides" or "camps" and keep us there. 

For sure, many of the narratives written about Kirk in the past were just myths: "He's a check down Charlie who doesn't go deep." False, and always has been. Statistics show he's not only a good deep passer, but one of the best. "His stats are built in garbage time." Statistics show this also was demonstrably false. 

But there were also narratives that even I believed to be mostly true. "He's not a leader; he's not clutch; he doesn't win; he's too risk averse." Winning is not a QB stat in my book, but the leader and risk averse thing were always my biggest complaints about Kirk. 

I don't know that a QB has ever defeated narratives more convincingly than Kirk defeated these in '22. Under KOC's guidance, he became a much more vocal leader, he was uber-clutch, he was much less risk averse, and he won. A lot.

So I think we're out of narratives now. And I can see the Haters clinging onto each other, all perched on a tiny ledge called contract and age.  It's all that's left. 



I'm far from a hater. I loved the signing at the time as he was by far the best QB available to us. But, you've left one of the bigger narratives & it still holds true. He's not a mobile QB that can extend plays w/ his feet. In today's NFL, offenses w/ mobile QBs have an advantage over offenses that don't. 


Fair enough. But again, I'm all for drafting more mobile, and cheaper, QBs who will eventually replace Cousins. Just wish folks would appreciate just how good he's been in the face of ridiculous, and mostly false, criticisms leveled at him. 

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#55 · May 8, 11:07 AM
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@"MaroonBells" said:
@"comet52" said:
@"1VikesFan" said:
@"comet52" said:
@"Riphawkins" said:
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"StickyBun" said: The guy has an amazing attitude. Oozes leadership. Yet half the fanbase dislikes the guy. Its so weird. 


Only one way to quiet haters....



Did San Diego fans hate Dan Fouts as much as Vikings fan hate Kirk? How about Warren Moon? How many fans and experts disrespected him as much Kirk gets disrespected?


Those guys are in the HOF, a place Kirk and his .500 career of checking it down on 3rd and long will never be.  Maybe you should have gone balls to the wall and compared him to Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes instead.  =)


Can't speak for Riphawkins but it's possible that the Fouts and Moon comparisons were due to all their Super Bowl successes.

I'm sure the HOF qbs who never won a SB would have a good chuckle at being told they are comps for Kirk Cousins.

The comp for Kirk is Jay Cutler, not guys in the HOF.



Jay Cutler in 11 seasons as a starter:
3,048 for 4,920 for a 62 completion percentage, 35,133 yards, 227 TDs and 160 INTs, QB rating: 85.3
Kirk Cousins in three fewer seasons as a starter:
3,249 for 4,866 for a 66.8 completion percentage, 37,140 yards, 252 TDs and 105 INTs, QB rating: 97.8
Cousins career completion percentage (among QBs with over 100 games) ranks 2nd only to Drew Brees in NFL history, ahead of both Moon and Fouts. Cutler ranks 24th. And before you argue “checkdown,”  in yards per attempt, Cousins ranks 3rd in NFL history. Cutler isn’t even in the top 50. 

In passer rating, Cousins ranks 4th in NFL history, ahead of both Fouts and Moon. Cutler ranks 28th, just below Trent Green and Jeff Garcia. 

Jay Cutler’s best year was 2008. He went to the Pro Bowl that year. He went 384 for 616, for a 62.3 percentage, threw 25 TDs and 18 INTs, for an 86.0 rating. Culter also had several seasons where his TD/INT ratio looked like this: 19/14, 27/26, 20/14, 28/18. 

Cousins never had a seasons anywhere near that bad. In fact, statistically, his WORST year as a starter was last season, his 1st season in KOC's offense. He went 424 for 643, for a 65.9 percentage, threw 29 TDs and 14 INTs for a 92.5 rating, far better than Culter’s best season ever.

But yeah, good comp. 



You could meet Kirk at the HOF front door and buy his ticket for him.  Invite Jay Cutler along and make a 3 Amigos day of it! =)

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#56 · May 8, 11:39 AM
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@"StickyBun" said:
@"comet52" said:
@"1VikesFan" said:
@"comet52" said:
@"1VikesFan" said:
@"comet52" said:
@"Riphawkins" said:
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"StickyBun" said: The guy has an amazing attitude. Oozes leadership. Yet half the fanbase dislikes the guy. Its so weird. 


Only one way to quiet haters....



Did San Diego fans hate Dan Fouts as much as Vikings fan hate Kirk? How about Warren Moon? How many fans and experts disrespected him as much Kirk gets disrespected?


Those guys are in the HOF, a place Kirk and his .500 career of checking it down on 3rd and long will never be.  Maybe you should have gone balls to the wall and compared him to Tom Brady and Patrick Mahomes instead.  =)


Can't speak for Riphawkins but it's possible that the Fouts and Moon comparisons were due to all their Super Bowl successes.

I'm sure the HOF qbs who never won a SB would have a good chuckle at being told they are comps for Kirk Cousins.

The comp for Kirk is Jay Cutler, not guys in the HOF.



Ok then 


Are you saying Kirk will get in the HOF?

He could actually get in...if he buys a ticket at the front door like the rest of the tourists.  :p



This isn't about Kirk being a HOF QB......my original point was even a HOF QB, like Marino, didn't win a Superbowl. Because the negs in the thread put that as the bar: Superbowl trophies. So Marino was an epic failure then.

I would never set the bar for Kirk at SB trophies, and shame on those who do. You can't go setting goals for guys that they will never achieve, it's just not fair!

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#57 · May 8, 11:42 AM
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@"purplefaithful" said:
@"pattersaur" said: Without circling the drain on Kirk even further since we all have our opinions, I got to thinking— how many tenured QBs have actually changed their reputation over the course of their careers?

Recently, Stafford comes to mind but then he got hurt immediately after and now the Rams are a mess.

Russell Wilson and Carson Wentz kind of did, but in a bad way.

The best example I can think of is Eli Manning, and he did it by winning a couple rings. 

For Kirk he’ll always be polarizing for some but I really think the only way the narrative for the majority of folks will change is if he wins a Super Bowl, whether in MIN or elsewhere.

But maybe I’m forgetting some other examples?



Lol.  Cousins is no Elway.  Elway was a beast, taking teams that had no business deep into the playoffs.  

Liked:
#58 · May 8, 11:56 AM
DE
Joined Apr 2026
206,512 posts
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@"Skodin" said:
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"pattersaur" said: Without circling the drain on Kirk even further since we all have our opinions, I got to thinking— how many tenured QBs have actually changed their reputation over the course of their careers?

Recently, Stafford comes to mind but then he got hurt immediately after and now the Rams are a mess.

Russell Wilson and Carson Wentz kind of did, but in a bad way.

The best example I can think of is Eli Manning, and he did it by winning a couple rings. 

For Kirk he’ll always be polarizing for some but I really think the only way the narrative for the majority of folks will change is if he wins a Super Bowl, whether in MIN or elsewhere.

But maybe I’m forgetting some other examples?



Lol.  Cousins is no Elway.  Elway was a beast, taking teams that had no business deep into the playoffs.  



@"Skodin" said:

@"purplefaithful" said:

@"pattersaur" said:
Without circling the drain on Kirk even further since we all have our opinions, I got to thinking— how many tenured QBs have actually changed their reputation over the course of their careers?

Recently, Stafford comes to mind but then he got hurt immediately after and now the Rams are a mess.

Russell Wilson and Carson Wentz kind of did, but in a bad way.

The best example I can think of is Eli Manning, and he did it by winning a couple rings. 

For Kirk he’ll always be polarizing for some but I really think the only way the narrative for the majority of folks will change is if he wins a Super Bowl, whether in MIN or elsewhere.

But maybe I’m forgetting some other examples?



Lol.  Cousins is no Elway.  Elway was a beast, taking teams that had no business deep into the playoffs.  


Who said Kirko was an Elway?

The poster asked what other QB's changed their narrative over the course of a career

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#59 · May 8, 12:31 PM
DE
Joined Apr 2026
206,512 posts
Rep: 0
@"Skodin" said:
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"pattersaur" said: Without circling the drain on Kirk even further since we all have our opinions, I got to thinking— how many tenured QBs have actually changed their reputation over the course of their careers?

Recently, Stafford comes to mind but then he got hurt immediately after and now the Rams are a mess.

Russell Wilson and Carson Wentz kind of did, but in a bad way.

The best example I can think of is Eli Manning, and he did it by winning a couple rings. 

For Kirk he’ll always be polarizing for some but I really think the only way the narrative for the majority of folks will change is if he wins a Super Bowl, whether in MIN or elsewhere.

But maybe I’m forgetting some other examples?



Lol.  Cousins is no Elway.  Elway was a beast, taking teams that had no business deep into the playoffs.  


Elway was a dual threat QB and eventually a pretty good passer too. But his first 10 years in the league he wasn't good at all. He threw 158 TDs and 157 INTs until his 11th season (age 33), at which point he put together 6 very good seasons between age 33 and 38. Up until that point, he'd never once completed more than 59% of his passes. Cousins never once had a completion percentage lower than that. 

During Elway's prime, between the ages of 28 and 32, he threw 73 TDs and 80 INTs. Elway's career passer rating is 79.9. Cousins is 97.8. Over his career, Elway averaged 2.5 game-winning drives per season (the thing he's known for). Cousins has averaged 3.4 (the thing he gets knocked for). 

Yes, Elway went to 5 Super Bowls. Cousins hasn't been to any. Elway's stats in those Super Bowls: 3 TDs and 8 INTs. His passer rating is an historically bad 59.3. His stats in his first Super Bowl VICTORY over the Packers was 12 for 22, 124 yards, 0 TDs and 1 INT for a passer rating of 51.9. Historically bad, but better than his previous Super Bowl passer rating (19.4), and the one before that (36.8).

Why didn't Elway get hammered the way Cousins does? He did actually. I lived here. The narrative for many years here in Denver was that Elway would never win a Super Bowl. And then he did. Because Terrell Davis. Also, Elway's defensive rankings in his five Super Bowl seasons: 11, 5, 3, 9, 9. Cousins defensive rankings over his 5 seasons in Minnesota: 4, 14, 27, 30 and 31. 

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#60 · May 8, 12:45 PM
DE
Joined Apr 2026
206,512 posts
Rep: 0
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"Skodin" said:
@"purplefaithful" said:
@"pattersaur" said: Without circling the drain on Kirk even further since we all have our opinions, I got to thinking— how many tenured QBs have actually changed their reputation over the course of their careers?

Recently, Stafford comes to mind but then he got hurt immediately after and now the Rams are a mess.

Russell Wilson and Carson Wentz kind of did, but in a bad way.

The best example I can think of is Eli Manning, and he did it by winning a couple rings. 

For Kirk he’ll always be polarizing for some but I really think the only way the narrative for the majority of folks will change is if he wins a Super Bowl, whether in MIN or elsewhere.

But maybe I’m forgetting some other examples?



Lol.  Cousins is no Elway.  Elway was a beast, taking teams that had no business deep into the playoffs.  



@"Skodin" said:

@"purplefaithful" said:

@"pattersaur" said:
Without circling the drain on Kirk even further since we all have our opinions, I got to thinking— how many tenured QBs have actually changed their reputation over the course of their careers?

Recently, Stafford comes to mind but then he got hurt immediately after and now the Rams are a mess.

Russell Wilson and Carson Wentz kind of did, but in a bad way.

The best example I can think of is Eli Manning, and he did it by winning a couple rings. 

For Kirk he’ll always be polarizing for some but I really think the only way the narrative for the majority of folks will change is if he wins a Super Bowl, whether in MIN or elsewhere.

But maybe I’m forgetting some other examples?



Lol.  Cousins is no Elway.  Elway was a beast, taking teams that had no business deep into the playoffs.  


Who said Kirko was an Elway?

The poster asked what other QB's changed their narrative over the course of a career



Elway is a good example— totally agree. But he did it by winning a ring which is kind of my point.

Jalen Hurts or Josh Allen could maybe be cited but they were young enough to still be in that, “jury is still out” category.

I just think, it’s very very hard to get people to change their minds about anything.

I also agree that if Kirk DOES win a ring, it will 1000% shed a better light on the rest of his career and he maybe even becomes a Hall of Famer. Maybe. Wild to think about. Can’t say I expect it to happen but it would be poetic if he was the guy to bring the Vikings that title. 

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#61 · May 8, 12:46 PM
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