Eric Scott / Armchair Distillery / 6-1-2022
Probably THE most hotly debated positions for the Minnesota Vikings for many years has been QB. Even in the days when QB1 has been settled science, the discussion about the 2nd and 3rd options have been lively topics… So, into the hornet’s nest we go!
Starting at the top, Kirk Cousins has been here for several years. YES, the Purple gave up a kings ransom to land him in free agency after several options did not pan out for assorted reasons. Teddy’s leg fell off, so we traded a lot of value at the last minute for Bradford whose leg fell off and then went with Keenum who performed at least one miracle before KC was pried out of the FA pool to replace him.
In years before that there were many well-known names (in no particular order) like Manning, Moon, George, Favre, Johnson, McMahon, Wilson, Cunningham, Hill, Cassel, Ferrotte, Jackson, Culpepper, Holcomb, Bollinger, Webb, Freeman, Sloter and you can Ponder the rest…
Some of these names were big deals before they got here. Some had better luck after leaving. Others thankfully disappeared into the fabric of time. But they were all here while the search for the reliable star QB1 has gone on for decades. (Culpepper was good in his day. Loved to see him toss to Moss, but I still have issues with the cheesy way he left so onto the heap of history he goes…)
As it stands now
So now we have a guy who seems to settle in at 4,000 yards and about 29 touchdowns. He keeps doing it even though the front office has either had no interest in protecting such an expensive and critical position. (See article BFFFs…) Regardless of how you feel about KC, the lack of a reliable OL cannot be understated. The man is often regarded as an immobile statue. Is quite highly paid to do so and the team’s record is a perfect .500 with him at the helm. There are some reasonable criticisms, but there is also no shortage of voices that spout statistics to support that he is doing a respectable job and earning all that money.
Taxes, Taxes and MORE Taxes
As an aside, did you know that one of the original advantages for KC to come to MN was that this state has income tax reciprocity with his home state of Michigan? He earns it here and pays the lower MI tax rate. At the time If memory serves, the other team was that QB graveyard, the vaunted New York Jets and one can only imagine how many taxes would have been extracted from his paycheck there! The same offer on paper is not the same when you get to keep a lot more after taxes.
Questions for haters
- If you wanted KAM and KOC to get rid of KC, what was your reasonable alternative to replace the production?
- If you were to trade him off, what would it cost to replace him?
- The team was saddled with a monster salary cap disaster. What do you propose to do to get out from under that?
- Regardless of what is said anywhere, the Wilfs are not interested in putting a non-competitive team on the field and watching revenues crash. Especially so after the bath that was taken during the pandemic. How do you satiate the ownership’s expectation and pull off a ground up rebuild?
It really reminds me of the Forsythe book The Devils Alternative. Hanged if you do. Hanged if you don’t.
Another Gear
There are other pointy questions as well, but you start to get the point. The new leadership needed to keep KC because they were trapped by the salary cap and were not going to just trade a known asset for a fist full of magic beans that would get them fired faster than a HC in Chicago.
And that is why he stays. Not a terrible thing if they can tailor to his strengths. Lots of play action and a stout OL to keep a clean pocket as well as a great stable of receivers. I have said this before and at the risk of making you nauseous… I believe that IF the new coaches can provide the environment that Kirk Cousins needs to succeed, he will take a significant step ahead in his career and drag the Vikings deeper into the playoffs than they have been in years.
I will now pause to allow you to load while putting on my blindfold, lighting my last heater and sipping something that spent WAY too long inside a barrel. Thank you for your patience while I do so…
As for the rest of the QB room, QB2 or not QB2… That is the question
Manion is penciled in as the QB2 for a few reasons. He has been described as a great calming presence for KC for the last couple of years. This was most likely necessary because the previous regime was not offensively friendly, and he needed someone to talk to who could understand his predicament. KOC can fill that gap on his own without wasting a roster spot. Perhaps they could negotiate an assistant QB coaching position for him with the knowledge that if it ever got really thin due to injuries, or hangnails, he could sign a quickie contract and run out on the field. Either way he isn’t the answer as a backup.
Mond is enjoying the new coaching staff and said to be doing quite well. Zimmer’s dim view of Spielman’s rogue 3rd round pick and banished him to the sandbox at the end of the bench last year, but Kevin and Wes seem to like what he is doing. Previously referred to as stiff and robotic by some and at the same time described as being mobile… Which is it? I do not think you can be Hermann Munster and Barry Sanders in the same body. Time will tell. He should be better than Manion as a QB2 and the salary savings / value factor should not be underestimated.
Nate Stanley may hang around as the QB3. It really is not possible to evaluate him here because there is no real body of work to look at and no real comment from the new leadership as to how he is doing in the new environment.
Distilled thoughts
“BUT I DON’T WANT NO STINKING KIRK COUSINS!” is what you say? “LIKE HIM OR NOT, WANT HIM OR NOT, NEED HIM OR NOT, YOU GOT HIM!” Mayor Ragsdale – Hot Lead and Cold Feet
Manion is carrying a high price tag with not a lot of potential for return. No ROI is not a place you want to be in the new Vikings world. Expect a cut or maybe the conversion to coach. Mond will either get it together and shine or become trade bait. Stanley is in a better position if the Manion / Mond issue is resolved.
After that there is the possibility of getting a different FA QB2. If this is truly looked at as being a competitive playoff team, the option of a Chase Daniel, Ryan Fitzpatrick, Josh Rosen (RFA), Mike Glennon, Bryan Hoyer or even Cam Newton as an insurance policy over Manion and Mond would be interesting. (No! I do not want the Newton show here either, but he is just one of the guys out there…) There is no stone that this front office will not think about if it helps the team.
With all of this said, the debate will continue to rage. I have stated the obvious and now have a few minutes head start on you who disagree.
Enjoy the debate!
Skol!
Summary of his career. You can’t win with this loser, period.
My hit on Kirk is that he has a poor ability to improvise when it’s absolutely necessary.
He can run the play and deliver the ball under normal kirkumstances, but no way can he pick apart the defense like a Manning or get the ball out or adapt to different receivers like Brady or have patience and pocket presence to step around and to target receivers like Rodgers.
And that is fine / expected… but the real question is this… Given the availability of quality starting QBs from January to today of this year, who would you propose to replace him with and what is the cost to do so?
I have no problem with a different QB. Just tell me who it would be.
I believe that IF the new coaches can provide the environment that Kirk Cousins needs to succeed, he will take a significant step ahead in his career and drag the Vikings deeper into the playoffs than they have been in years.
This, in a nutshell. IF the new (and hopefully improved) leadership of this team knows what they are doing, Cousins could elevate his not too shabby game and lead this team deep into the playoffs. Injury luck or the lack thereof notwithstanding, of course.
Not getting my hopes up, it´s still the Vikings after all, but slightly excited for the upcoming season and what it may bring. The fact alone that Zimbo and Wreck are a thing of the past makes me look forward to the season a tad more optimistic than the last few years.
If Queasy and KOC should turn out to be imbeciles, I trust that they´ll be able to find new and interesting ways for our team to suck, which should be entertaining at least.
“I trust that they´ll be able to find new and interesting ways for our team to suck, which should be entertaining at least.”
Haven’t thought of it that way. A positive and entertaining spin.
Sad to say, but Cousins is probably the best quarterback we’ve had outside of Culpepper and Tarkenton. But whether it was Green, Tice(?), Frazier, or Childress, they frequently fielded a competitive team with a subpar quarterback. Maybe we’ve had superior O-lines during those times. It seems like it, but I don’t remember. I sure would like to see a better O-line this year. If that happens, it will be due to coaching because there is way too much uncertainty in talent in the interior.
I wouldn’t say its “sad” to say. Kirk is by far the most consistent QB we’ve had. Successful…now that’s a different story. He hasn’t been the guy who has got all the W’s but he can sure put up stats…no other QB’s we have had come close to his production.
Hopefully this is his career year. He and JJ go off and he finds AT over and over and over again in the RZ for TD’s.
Time will tell….
I agree. He is statistically one the best we’ve had, but his wins/losses say differently. But it really won’t matter how many touchdowns he throws and how low his sack/fumble totals are…if the coaching and o-line can’t elevate this team to match his stats and produce more and consistent wins, it will all be for nothing. And I’m tired of nothing. I miss the Denny Green days when we were consistently competitive.
We need the D to elevate to match his stats. Hoping to hear some good reports like we are about KO and the offense.
It’s Hopium season… full bloom.
Agreed, you can’t argue with his production/stats. He’s given the team stability. The cost is where it’s hurt, but the timing has just worked in his favor, along with having an inept GM previously. I’m hoping now that he’s occupying a lower % of the cap, we’ll have a chance to build a team around him.
I believe when Favre was in town… he was approximately 10-12% of the cap. But it wasn’t as gaudy of a number.
We look at 12-16m of a 120m cap differently than 28-31m of a 200m cap.
Absolutely, you have to look at it as a % of the total cap. Looking back at Super Bowl winners in recent history, you generally don’t see teams win it all if they’re paying the QB over 15% of the cap, it just doesn’t happen very often.
Nope… but it’s bound to with how much the best top QBs are pulling in.
I don’t think Culpepper was great. He was productive, but a fair bit of that was Matt Birk, IMO.
Moss didn’t hurt, either.
I’d but Favre and Bradford above Culpepper for the term “best QB” even if they weren’t long-lived or productive for multiple seasons or whatever.
Yeah, I agree. I didn’t include Favre and Bradford simply because they were one-hit wonders for our team. Mostly, just thinking about quarterbacks that played and was productive for 4/5 plus years and had good stats and winning seasons.
I would LOVE Cousins to have his best year (so far) this year. But it’s very easy for me to not get my hopes up. He can show me. Until then – meh.
I like the guy. He’s had some excellent plays. He’s tough. But he’s not a guy I trust to go consistently win games when it comes down to QB play.
He led us down the field multiple times last year… more than I can ever remember him doing so and the D let us down. OR Cook fumbles…or a kick was missed. Yes, there were times too that Kirk sucked it up.. it happens. I agree though, I would love for him to have a career year and shut everyone of his haters up.
We do need a viable QB2. Watch us be “competitive” enough to get a playoff spot, win a wildcard and KC gets injured tossing the winning TD on the last play of the divisional round. Because Vikings.
And we have to play the NFCCG with Mannion or Mond?
There’s plenty of valid criticism for Cousins, but he’s not a man that gets injured.
Remember the playoff game in Lambeau with whats-his-name (never got a chance) ?
YIKES
The first drive of that game gave me hope, then Muskrat decided that Webb could be an excellent pocket passer, for some reason. The results are as expected.
I hope that Mond gets a more serious shot this year. Lots of dysfunction last year, unfortunately.
Kirky the GOAT and watch him ball out this year
Can’t be a touchdown….he doesn’t have the ball.
Running for his life after the C and RG give way to a 350 pound QB killer…
LOL….
Nice article
Thanks!