Kirk Cousins Discourse Ravages Social Media Again

Mitchel Massman |

May 19, 2022

While we were busy dissecting every decision Kwesi Adofo-Mensah made during the draft, the schedule, and the start of OTAs, some interesting things happened.

One of those is a tweet from a parody account called NFC North News.

The tweet included a fake quote from Aaron Rodgers about Kirk Cousins. In the quote, it claims that Rodgers and Cousins spend time with each other in the offseason. Furthermore, it says that Aaron Rodgers and Kirk Cousins would both be the best quarterbacks in franchise history if they played for the Bears or Lions.

Here is the tweet for reference:

WHAT🤯 #Packers QB Aaron Rodgers and #Vikings QB Kirk Cousins are friends?!?!

Would Rodgers and Kirk be the best QB on the #Lions or #Bears 👀

Should rival QB’s have a relationship like this?🤔 pic.twitter.com/4exBfWmkGJ
— NFC North News (@NFCNorthNewss) May 16, 2022

Of course, none of what this tweet says is based on reality. However, even if it were real, it wouldn’t be completely untrue. Rodgers would undoubtedly be the best quarterback in the history of either franchise. Cousins would probably be the best quarterback in the Bears’ history and a close second to Matthew Stafford for the Lions.

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Regardless of this tweet being fake, it caused a debate to ravage Twitter. This inevitably led to some astonishing terrible takes about Cousins. Including this one:

The Vikings also throw the ball about 6 times a game and have always had a stud RB as well as a solid Offensive line. Stafford did far more with far less than Cousins including playing injured even when the games were meaningless. Cousins can't throw the deep ball either
— Luke Miller (@LukeMiller84) May 16, 2022

Let’s break down this atrocious Tweet.

Cousins Is an Excellent Deep Ball Passer

First and foremost, regardless of your opinion of Cousins, you must admit that he throws a great deep ball. Every single metric proves this time and time again. Heck, even Mike Zimmer, who had misgivings about Cousins, admitted this repeatedly.

Thankfully, fellow Vikings Territory writer Janik Eckardt was there to set him straight with the facts.

1. Kirk Cousins has attempted more passes than Matthew Stafford since he joined the Vikings
2. Blaming Cousins for not getting injured?
3. The offensive line is horrible every season
4. he can't throw deep 😬

Incredible amount of dumb statements in less than 280 characters https://t.co/n9UKqBcAGJ pic.twitter.com/vjvkEhUATz
— Janik Eckardt (@JanikEckardt) May 17, 2022

As can be seen in Eckhardt’s tweet, Cousins is essentially perfect when throwing 10-20 yards downfield towards the sideline. Anything over 20 yards downfield, his passer rating is well above league average. So much so that you could categorize it as “elite.”

Cousins is one of the best deep-ball throwers in the league. This should not be a surprise to anyone. If you deny this fact, you have a bias towards disliking him.

It is important to recognize the good things that a player does just as much as you do the bad stuff. This is how you identify how to design an offense. Make the player do more frequently what they already do at an elite level.

Vikings’ Offensive Line Has Been Atrocious

The other big mistake in the tweet is that Cousins has had a good offensive line. Nothing could be further from the truth. The Vikings have had a below-average offensive line since Cousins took over as the quarterback.

2018 – 29th in PFF ranking
2019 – 19th in PFF ranking
2020 – 23rd in PFF ranking
2021 – 23rd in PFF ranking

And specifically the pass-protection grades:

2018 – 27th in PFF ranking
2019 – 27th in PFF ranking
2020 – 29th in PFF ranking
2021 – 27th in PFF ranking

Some will blame this on Cousins’ contract being so large that the Vikings couldn’t invest in the offensive line. Sure, you could make that argument. I might even be inclined to agree with you.

However, you can blame Spielman for investing too much money into the defense as well. Cousins is an excellent quarterback when he is protected. Why would one not invest significant capital into improving the offensive line? Or why would one focus so much on good run-blocking guys when improved pass protection is needed?

I cannot answer the question as to why Spielman did what he did. All we know is that the Vikings have certainly not had a good offensive line since Cousins has been here.

Hopefully, the new regime can fix this. If they can, watch out. Cousins and this skills position group can and will light up the scoreboard.

Mitch Massman is a life-long Vikings fan. His first heartbreak was the 1998 NFC championship game. His full-time job is as an economic development professional in rural Minnesota. He fantasizes about the Vikings winning a Super Bowl one day, but until then he will write about the Vikings. Follow him on Twitter @skol_vikings3