How Kevin O’Connell Can Get the Best Out of Kirk Cousins
It’s settled.
Kirk Cousins will be quarterbacking the Minnesota Vikings in 2022. Now the question is how Kevin O’Connell can get the best out of Kirk Cousins to ensure a competitive team this season.
The decision to keep Cousins makes that imperative to maintain an inpatient fanbase’s happiness. Kirk Cousins is a very good quarterback. Any notion otherwise is simply false, though he does have his flaws. Getting the best out of Cousins will include improving the supporting cast around him — namely the offensive line and defense.
There are certainly areas Cousins can improve on. I’m positive with an upbeat coaching staff that believes in him and will center this team around him this season, he will put maximum effort into making those improvements. First, let’s take a look at those outside influences.
Offensive Line
The offensive line needs to improve — whether through free-agent acquisitions, a player like Wyatt Davis stepping up, trying again in the draft, or the new coaching staff getting more out of what is already here. Improvements need to be made to give Kirk Cousins the best chance to lead his offense successfully.
The Vikings have an abundance of playmakers and a quarterback who can make all of the throws the team needs him to make. However, he is not Patrick Mahomes. He won’t run around all over the place and make a play. He needs a pocket to pass from, and the Vikings haven’t done a good enough job of that in the big games against the better opposition.
As good as the Vikings offense has been for the last two seasons, there have been times when the offense looked toothless. These came when opposing defenses stopped the Vikings running game in its tracks, and the offensive line was dominated.
Stopping the run almost ensured the opposition stopped the Vikings offense. Under Kevin O’Connell, there is going to be more emphasis on the passing game leading the way. The offensive line and Kirk Cousins will need to step up to that responsibility. As a coach, it’s O’Connell’s job to come up with a scheme that allows his linemen the best chance to win their matchups and give Cousins time to execute.
Defense
Football is a team game. The defense has to help the offense out. Make some stops keep the score down and don’t ask your offense to perform miracles.
The offense has to help the defense out. Stay on the field and specifically give your big guys up front plenty of rest between series. Too many three and outs have plagued the Vikings offense in recent seasons. As much as the defense hasn’t been good in recent seasons, Cousins and his offense can certainly do more to help them out. There’s a lot of work for Adofo-Mensah, O’Connell, and Donatell to do for the Vikings defense to be anywhere near where it needs to be. However, the two units need to complement each other and help each other out. That’s how a team has success.
Coaching
Fans of Kirk Cousins have long wanted him to play under an offensive-minded head coach, who believes in him in order to get the very best out of him more consistently — a guy who maybe prioritizes the offense, or at the very least doesn’t see it as an afterthought (which it often felt like under Mike Zimmer’s tenure).
The Vikings now have that guy, a former quarterback coach of Cousins himself who should build the team around him and give him every chance of success. Last season particularly, Klint Kubiak struggled as a first-time play-caller. There were certainly times when it seemed to hold the offense back. Kubiak seemed to struggle with halftime adjustments, seeing his offense gets bogged down far too often in the second half of games.
This is O’Connell’s first time as a permanent play-caller. We hope for better, but the truth is we won’t actually know until the games start what his play calling is like. From a coaching standpoint, I believe giving Cousins more confidence to be aggressive in his play is the biggest impact he can have.
I’m sure it won’t take three years before the head coach and quarterback sit down in a room to talk — to plan how they are going to best take this team forward. That alone will be a good start and probably be a breath of fresh air to Cousins.
Kirk Cousins
Those three areas all have a responsibility to help the Vikings quarterback to be successful. Equally important is Cousins helping himself. Kirk Cousins does a lot of things well but he is far from perfect.
Some things can’t be fixed. His mobility is what it is. He is sufficiently mobile to move around the pocket and make a run if a gap opens up. Cousins is never going to dance around defenders like Kyler Murray, and that is okay. He has the arm strength, accuracy, and vision to do everything you need him to do with the mobility he does possess.
His major flaw, in my opinion, has always been keeping his composure when faced with adversity. I do think he improved in that regard last season. However, there were still times when he struggled and they were still too many fumbles.
When his linemen let the likes of Akiem Hicks steamroll through at will, it’s hardly surprising that affects him. Doing a better job of protecting him through the middle would certainly give him more confidence. However, sometimes elite defenders will give your linemen a rough day, and Cousins must keep his composure. If he can do that and stay aggressive we know what he is capable of, the numbers don’t lie. Kirk Cousins has the capability of playing excellent football.
How Kevin O’Connell can get the best out of Kirk Cousins comes in many forms. Put a capable supporting cast around him. Employ a scheme that gives him the best chance of success and gives him the confidence to perform as best he can.
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