If you’re blaming Cousins for Sunday, you’re just exposing your bias
Joe Johnson
|
If you’re blaming Cousins for Sunday, you’re just exposing your bias
I’ve spilled more digital ink than anyone delving into the strange phenomenon that exists in the Minnesota Vikings zeitgeist. You know what I’m talking about, the one where people who have been starved of a franchise quarterback for the VAST majority of their life as Vikings fans finally having one but rejecting it an alcoholic rejecting the liver he’s been waiting years for because he refuses to take his anti-rejection medication.
Consider that alcoholic Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press, and consider me that unopened bottle of Hydroxychloroquine.
After an amazing performance Sunday, one in which Cousins yet again (nearly) added a second game to the record books in which his offense scored a touchdown on every second-half drive (something he did last season against the Denver Broncos, the only time in NFL HISTORY that has happened), MOST in Vikings media blamed the awful loss to the the Dallas Cowboys on the Vikings defense.
Others, like Mizutani, blamed Cousins for not driving the Vikings into field goal range on the final drive, despite the fact that that drive ended because of two drops by Vikings receivers Justin Jefferson and Adam Thielen.
Sure, Thielen was nearly completely covered, but when has that stopped him from making a catch before?
I am aware that my constant bitching about the lack of respect that Vikings fans have for Cousins hurts my credibility, as I’m clearly a fan who thinks that he isn’t getting the respect he deserves. But, objectively, if you think that the loss that the Vikings endured Sunday was on Cousins, then you’re just exposing your bias to the contrary.
Cousins isn’t perfect, and the Vikings paid a premium for his services because they’ve been unable to draft/develop a QB of their own. Had Cousins lead the Vikings on a game-tying or winning drive, he could’ve silenced his naysayers… temporarily.
If his performance last season (in general) but especially against the New Orleans Saints didn’t, nothing will.
He delivered dime after dime Sunday, including on that final drive. He had a string of over 12 completions in a row. He had a perfect passer rating and ended the game with over 73% completions, three touchdowns, no picks and a > 140 rating.
Since the bye? He’s topped a QB-rating of 100 in all four games, and in THREE of those games he’s topped a rating of 138, and topped 140 in two.
He can’t do it all, though. He can’t catch his own passes, he can’t go back in time to have the Vikings not draft Cameron Dantzler, he can’t teach Chris Jones how to tackle, and apparently he can’t convince this stubborn fan-base that he’s the best QB this team has had this century not named Favre.