I hate to tell the Wilfs but sometimes, against your desires, this is the year to tank. The fan base will accept this. We will. This franchise has got a lot going for it. Now need the QBOTF.
Really great work Matthew. With the O-line hitting it's stride, it really felt like Cousins and this team was going to have a very special year. Gut wrenching loss. It will be very interesting to see what the team does from here and next year (brutal to locker room and the talent on this team to tank, but also really don't see how they can justify keeping pieces like Hunter with low chances of making it far in the post-season without Cousins).
I get all the criticism of Cousins and valid reasons to move on - but I've always been a huge fan of him as a person and a player. I think he has always been underrated and we've seen him start to show that to the rest of the league this year.
Here's a huge amount of ifs: If Cousins could come back next year, and IF we could add some good pieces on defense in the draft, and IF we can somehow pay Cousins, Jefferson, Darrisaw and maybe Risner... This could be a really good team. Doubt there is a way to do that though.
I think part of the problem was that Zimmer never really wanted Kirk and so the team did not show appreciation. And no knock on Cousins in particular, one can have a discussion if it makes sense to have non elite QBs on veteran contracts (Cousins being in the good to very good tier but not elite). The question was never was Cousins overpaid (he was not,) but can you compete with a fairly paid good QB (I think the answer is yes, provided a couple of good drafts so you have competent but cheap talent in many areas). Ironically, the 2022 class is starting to look decent with the 2023 class looking pretty solid.
This is the most Cousinsy and Vikingsy thing ever--Kirk goes out for the year after he played better in two big wins that will allow the Vikings to delude themselves into believing that this season could have been more than what it as almost certain to be--a narrow playoff miss or make the playoffs and get bounced quickly with no real shot at being a contender. So instead of moving on at the end of the year, they'll resign Kirk to a fat contract that, again, pays him more than he's worth. As usual, Kirk is the gift that keeps on guaranteeing mediocrity....he notched enough wins to prevent the Vikes from the top pick they'll need to replace him.
I hate to tell the Wilfs but sometimes, against your desires, this is the year to tank. The fan base will accept this. We will. This franchise has got a lot going for it. Now need the QBOTF.
I’m sorry Kirk suffered such a devastating injury. Best wishes to him on a complete recovery.
Really great work Matthew. With the O-line hitting it's stride, it really felt like Cousins and this team was going to have a very special year. Gut wrenching loss. It will be very interesting to see what the team does from here and next year (brutal to locker room and the talent on this team to tank, but also really don't see how they can justify keeping pieces like Hunter with low chances of making it far in the post-season without Cousins).
I get all the criticism of Cousins and valid reasons to move on - but I've always been a huge fan of him as a person and a player. I think he has always been underrated and we've seen him start to show that to the rest of the league this year.
Here's a huge amount of ifs: If Cousins could come back next year, and IF we could add some good pieces on defense in the draft, and IF we can somehow pay Cousins, Jefferson, Darrisaw and maybe Risner... This could be a really good team. Doubt there is a way to do that though.
I think part of the problem was that Zimmer never really wanted Kirk and so the team did not show appreciation. And no knock on Cousins in particular, one can have a discussion if it makes sense to have non elite QBs on veteran contracts (Cousins being in the good to very good tier but not elite). The question was never was Cousins overpaid (he was not,) but can you compete with a fairly paid good QB (I think the answer is yes, provided a couple of good drafts so you have competent but cheap talent in many areas). Ironically, the 2022 class is starting to look decent with the 2023 class looking pretty solid.
Two outstanding pieces of journalism today 👏 and post game.
This is the most Cousinsy and Vikingsy thing ever--Kirk goes out for the year after he played better in two big wins that will allow the Vikings to delude themselves into believing that this season could have been more than what it as almost certain to be--a narrow playoff miss or make the playoffs and get bounced quickly with no real shot at being a contender. So instead of moving on at the end of the year, they'll resign Kirk to a fat contract that, again, pays him more than he's worth. As usual, Kirk is the gift that keeps on guaranteeing mediocrity....he notched enough wins to prevent the Vikes from the top pick they'll need to replace him.
A fun game to watch until the Cousins injury. The pieces were all working. Now we’ll all see how important Cousins is to this team.