Pressure has always been a boogeyman for Kirk Cousins. Whether it’s the pressure of the Monday Night lights or tangible pressure from the opposing defense, Cousins crumples when the heat turns up. But the last two weeks have featured a new Kirk Cousins; one who has turned this weakness into a strength. With the question of Kirk’s long-term future with the Vikings looming, this criticism is often featured. It’s only fair to re-evaluate our long-term prospects for a Kirk Cousins who can work the pocket.
To contrast last Sunday’s play with the play of earlier in the year, let’s look at an example from week four at Houston. In this example, Cousins declines a passable deep opportunity and crumples into the sack. This is a play where the rest of the team did what they had to, but Cousins prevented good play from becoming production. Early in the season, these plays were squarely on Cousins.
[videopress U7vXHRth]The next example comes from later in the season against the Chicago Bears. This is a much worse rep from the supporting cast, with Dalvin Cook and Brian O’Neill both failing on their blocks. Cousins could have extended this play to find Adam Thielen, but instead bails on the whole operation. This play isn’t necessarily Cousins’ fault, but there are other quarterbacks who could overcome it.
[videopress 6eirypWh]In late November, Cousins has optimized his pocket movement. On this play, the pocket is incredibly messy. Cousins could slow his processing like in the first example, or scramble into chaos like the second example. Instead, he uses tight, controlled movement to buy just as much time as he needs to deliver the ball.
[videopress AGJMsFO7]Finally, last week against Carolina, Cousins was electric in the pocket. This is a rep from the end of the game, in a clutch situation, and under pressure. By his reputation, Cousins shouldn’t be at anything near his best on this play. But he deftly avoids the mess of the pocket, buys himself enough space to deliver the ball, and punishes a coverage breakdown from the Panthers.
[videopress RyY16Uo6]Kirk Cousins has always been a streaky quarterback. There’s no guarantee that he’ll keep this level of play up in perpetuity. In September, when he was playing horribly, most wanted to move on. But the Vikings built their relationship with Cousins such that they had no choice but to ride out the lows. Just like those didn’t last, we shouldn’t expect the highs to last. But if he could add this to his permanent skillset, Cousins would upgrade significantly. However unlikely, the permanent improvement in Cousins’s pocket presence would turn him from a mediocre bridge quarterback to the happily accepted future of the Vikings.
