Minny's Return To Mediocrity Imminent As Packers Set Stage For 2010 Repeat

[Patriotplayer90]

1. While I certainly respect Zimmer, he is no Bill Bellichek

2. Tom Brady has kept biting the bullet and settling for cheap contracts which might have something to do with that, and on top of that it just goes to show that the QB position trumps all others as it has for decades.

While QB does Trump other positions in terms of importance, we have had the best QB in the league over the past decade and one championship to show for it. Defense wins championships. Which is why we have so few.

Brady has a $22M cap hit this year, more than Rodgers. Yet we don't have a top 5 defense , nor the variety of weapons that they do. More cap space doesn't equal a better roster.

 

[ExpatPacker]

I'm happy they're over-paying (in my opinion) only a 'good' quarterback who takes too many sacks and always appears to have some underlying game/time management issues. That being said, I don't think these guys will lay down dead. My guess is Cousins implodes late in the season, throwing to a receiving core (although talented) that's lacking in depth. I'm calling a vikes 10-6 to a GB 12-4. In a perfect world the vikings go 6-10 and implode throughout the season, but that's just probably not reality.

Their defense looks to be just as good as last year and they now have not an elite QB but the next tier below elite in Cousins. Since when has Cousins imploded? Face it, the Vikings are going to be good. Remember that they lost Dalvin Cook for the season early on, and he was impressive.

The only thing that makes me pause is that Case Keenum played way beyond anybody's expectations last year, but Cousins is still better.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Minnesota has a much, much better roster than we do. And they added a franchise QB to an offense which made a career journeyman look like a good QB. Forgive me if I'm not buying that.

Cousins has yet to prove that he's a franchise quarterback.

You got terrible math skills then cuz you can't pay a guy more money than Matt Stafford and not end up losing huge pieces of the team that had success the previous year. The roster is going to start crumbling because of this, and despite what some idiots around here think, Rodgers' contract is going to stay lower than Cousins' or Brees'.

I highly doubt that Rodgers will settle for anything less than becoming the highest paid player in the league. While I believe the Vikings overpaid for Cousins as well you have to realize that they had more cap space allocated into the QB position last season than the Packers.

My guess is Cousins implodes late in the season, throwing to a receiving core (although talented) that's lacking in depth.

The Vikings receiving corps is currently more talented than the Packers.

 

[Patriotplayer90]

Cousins has yet to prove that he's a franchise quarterback.

.

Cousins has a QB rating in the high 90s and a completion percentage in the high 60s over the past 3 years and a season with just under 5k yards to his name. I'm not sure what you consider a franchise QB, but his numbers put up a pretty good argument.

 

[PackerfaninCarolina]

Cousins has a QB rating in the high 90s and a completion percentage in the high 60s over the past 3 years and a season with just under 5k yards to his name. I'm not sure what you consider a franchise QB, but his numbers put up a pretty good argument.

He makes in-game decisions that are as bad as Cutlers and has a weak arm.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Cousins has a QB rating in the high 90s and a completion percentage in the high 60s over the past 3 years and a season with just under 5k yards to his name. I'm not sure what you consider a franchise QB, but his numbers put up a pretty good argument.

Cousins has a career record of below .500 and has yet to win a playoff game. That has to change before I consider him a franchise quarterback.

 

[Half Empty]

Pure curiosity, but I'm wondering why/how someone who didn't previously have a dog in the fight could/would disagree with the above. elcid, please explain so I can sleep tonight.

 

[Patriotplayer90]

Cousins has a career record of below .500 and has yet to win a playoff game. That has to change before I consider him a franchise quarterback.

What was the track record of the Redskins before he joined, again? For like, the past several decades? His winning percentage is more of a reflection of the ineptitude of that organization.

 

[Patriotplayer90]

Pure curiosity, but I'm wondering why/how someone who didn't previously have a dog in the fight could/would disagree with the above. elcid, please explain so I can sleep tonight.

Because people are criticizing a guy who has excellent individual stats because his team and coach suck. They are doing basically what all of the Rodgers critics do, which is make the assumption he's not a good QB in the clutch because the team hasn't won more, when we all know that is anything but true.

Washington was 28th in points allowed in 2017, and 28th in yards allowed in 2016 and 2015, the three years that he was entrenched as a starter. Maybe this has something to do with why they haven't won more?

 

[PackerfaninCarolina]

When I think of Cousins, the first image that comes to mind is when he took a knee in Philly on a play right after a timeout was called and wasted a scoring opportunity. Redskins won that one anyway, but it just looked awful on his part.

Bottom line is I'd only give him a marginally better rating than Bradford, and mostly because he's been far less injury prone and has been somewhat competent compared to others. But he never wins the big games and when put in a situation where asked to come up with a bag of tricks, he never delivers. $30 million is at least $10 million higher than what his true value is, probably more.

 

[Patriotplayer90]

When I think of Cousins, the first image that comes to mind is when he took a knee in Philly on a play right after a timeout was called and wasted a scoring opportunity. Redskins won that one anyway, but it just looked awful on his part.

Bottom line is I'd only give him a marginally better rating than Bradford, and mostly because he's been far less injury prone and has been somewhat competent compared to others. But he never wins the big games and when put in a situation where asked to come up with a bag of tricks, he never delivers. $30 million is at least $10 million higher than what his true value is, probably more.

You are crazy if you think that a guy with the production of Cousins is worth a Ryan Tannehill contract.

Minnesota just won 13 games with a game manager at QB. Cousins is not a game manager. He has 3 years of good efficiency numbers and a 5k season, more yardage than Rodgers has ever thrown in a season. And he is joining arguably the #1 defense, an excellent pair of receivers, and the return Dalvin Cook. And they also hired an OC who had a huge hand in the development of Wentz and Foles. I'm not seeing how people are shrugging this off, or suggesting that his lack of success on a bad team will somehow translate to a good one. This is a problem.

 

[PackerfaninCarolina]

You are crazy if you think that a guy with the production of Cousins is worth a Ryan Tannehill contract.

Minnesota just won 13 games with a game manager at QB. Cousins is not a game manager. He has 3 years of good efficiency numbers and a 5k season, more yardage than Rodgers has ever thrown in a season. And he is joining arguably the #1 defense, an excellent pair of receivers, and the return Dalvin Cook. And they also hired an OC who had a huge hand in the development of Wentz and Foles. I'm not seeing how people are shrugging this off, or suggesting that his lack of success on a bad team will somehow translate to a good one. This is a problem.

1. Absolutely not and

2. Yes he is. He has never made any hard throw completions in his career and has nowhere near the arm strength of Tannehill, Ryan, Brees, Stafford or AR.

Point is the Vikes coulda kept Keenum for $23 million and decided that was highway robbery, yet turn around and nab a guy whose stock is heavily inflated and couldn't get the job done with better receivers and TEs than what Minny has.

Now ... we'll see what this new QB coach-turned OC does with him. But he's a highly unknown factor in all of this.

 

[C-Lee]

Cousins is a good QB, but nowhere near elite.

 

[Patriotplayer90]

1. Absolutely not and

2. Yes he is. He has never made any hard throw completions in his career and has nowhere near the arm strength of Tannehill, Ryan, Brees, Stafford or AR.

Point is the Vikes coulda kept Keenum for $23 million and decided that was highway robbery, yet turn around and nab a guy whose stock is heavily inflated and couldn't get the job done with better receivers and TEs than what Minny has.

Now ... we'll see what this new QB coach-turned OC does with him. But he's a highly unknown factor in all of this.

You and I clearly have very different opinions of Cousins and these other QBs. He's not Rodgers or Brees, but he is much better than Tannehill, and his numbers have compared favorably to Stafford since 2015. The guy who just got paid nearly the same amount of money.

It's true that we could look at the contract of QBs like Rodgers and Brees and deem Cousins unworthy of such pay. But if Minnesota didn't give him that money, somebody else would have.

Your criticism about his arm strength is nitpicking. There had been countless QBs without great arm strength who have succeeded. He has very good numbers. It obviously isn't holding him back too much.

And better receivers than Minnesota? Not even close. Jordan Reed's breakout year was in 2015, and he has been available for barely half of the games since.

 

[PackerfaninCarolina]

You and I clearly have very different opinions of Cousins and these other QBs. He's not Rodgers or Brees, but he is much better than Tannehill, and his numbers have compared favorably to Stafford since 2015. The guy who just got paid nearly the same amount of money.

It's true that we could look at the contract of QBs like Rodgers and Brees and deem Cousins unworthy of such pay. But if Minnesota didn't give him that money, somebody else would have.

Your criticism about his arm strength is nitpicking. There had been countless QBs without great arm strength who have succeeded. He has very good numbers. It obviously isn't holding him back too much.

And better receivers than Minnesota? Not even close. Jordan Reed's breakout year was in 2015, and he has been available for barely half of the games since.

The correct term is inflated numbers with an awful TD:INT ratio.

 

[PackerfaninCarolina]

Cousins is a good QB, but nowhere near elite.

The spectrum of good is pretty broad too. I'd give him about a high C-level rating on that one because he's not very mobile and can't elude sacks the way other QBs his size can.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

What was the track record of the Redskins before he joined, again? For like, the past several decades? His winning percentage is more of a reflection of the ineptitude of that organization.

If Cousins would be an elite quarterback Washington would have won more games. Rodgers has been able to do it with terrible defenses as well.

 

[gopkrs]

Anyone that does not think Minihaha is a problem needing to be dealt with simply does not understand the situation.

 

[Patriotplayer90]

If Cousins would be an elite quarterback Washington would have won more games. Rodgers has been able to do it with terrible defenses as well.

Nobody has thrown the word elite around. Rodgers is literally the only NFC QB who has consistently taken a team with average to mediocre defenses to the playoffs. Cousins' record is indicative of a good, not great QB on an average team. Which is a lot better than what Minnesota had last year when they won 13 games.

 

[Deleted member 6794]

Nobody has thrown the word elite around. Rodgers is literally the only NFC QB who has consistently taken a team with average to mediocre defenses to the playoffs. Cousins' record is indicative of a good, not great QB on an average team. Which is a lot better than what Minnesota had last year when they won 13 games.

Well, you used the term franchise quarterback for Cousins which in my opinion should be reserved for elite ones.

Keenum (98.3 passer rating) performed at a pretty high level with Minnesota last season. I don't expect Cousins to put up significantly better numbers.

I agree that the Vikings will be a tough opponent for the division crown though.

 

[Mondio]

Cousins is better than Keenum, but I don't think Cousins will have a statistically better season than the Keenum just had. I also don't think Keenum was going to fool anyone any longer either. The Vikings aren't going anywhere unless they get ravaged by injuries. There are a lot of good players on that roster and a good coach.

 

[PackerfaninCarolina]

Anyone that does not think Minihaha is a problem needing to be dealt with simply does not understand the situation.

Those of us who have actual football knowledge understand it better than anyone.

 

[Raptorman]

It's been covered already that they've had more than their fair share of luck in the injury department on defense, and while I won't say their D will be completely decimated by them, I certainly believe they will have a substantially greater amount than what they had last year and it will affect their overall performance.



The difference between $18 million and $30 million is gargantuan.

Look at it this way. In 2017 the Vikings QB's took up 14.67% of their cap space. In 2018 that number will be 15.47% of cap space. For an increase of .8% of cap space by signing Cousins.

 

[Patriotplayer90]

Well, you used the term franchise quarterback for Cousins which in my opinion should be reserved for elite ones.

Keenum (98.3 passer rating) performed at a pretty high level with Minnesota last season. I don't expect Cousins to put up significantly better numbers.

I agree that the Vikings will be a tough opponent for the division crown though.

Look at the yardage that Cousins put up in Washington compared to Keenum. It's not even close. Keenum was a game manager, the offense never went through him. Cousins was Washington's offense,and now he joins a better WR group, coaching staff, and one of the most talented young RBs in the league returning from injury. I agree with the points that Cousins isn't elite, but I think people are in denial about the issues this causes for us.

 

[gopkrs]

I think Cousins has a good arm and is able to hit his receivers. I believe he was mainly playing from behind and that will inflate his stats. The defenses will be more conservative and he will be throwing more. So maybe it is too early to tell exactly how good he can be. But the little I watched him play; he looked good to me. I don't put much stock in the fact that the Redskins did not resign him as their owner seems to be control freak. Personally, I would rather have Cousins than Smith.