There are three things in this world that are certain; life, death, and people disagreeing about whether or not Kirk Cousins is good at football. Cousins has become almost as divisive as the political landscape in this country. One Twitter search and you can find every opinion from “he should be an MVP candidate” to “he’s the worst possible type of quarterback you could ever have for your franchise.” The truth likely lies somewhere in the middle.
Despite the divisiveness it’s still interesting to hear from those who either played the game or are/were intricately involved in the evaluation of it. No offense to Stephen A Smith, Skip Bayless or whoever else is shouting on morning television, but most of us are more interested in the opinion of those who truly understand the position.
Yet, even amongst this group there is no common thought. They seem to be just as split as the public. The Cousins bandwagon was gaining riders through the first part of the season as he played at an incredibly high level. The last few weeks have brought the doubters back out. Now, a current NFL executive has gone on the record anonymously with his thoughts.
“Kirk Cousins is overrated.” The NFL executive told Washington Post reporter Adam Kilgore. “He can’t finish. He’s a great guy. Takes it very seriously. He’s got the body, mind and spirit — he’s got all those things you want in that position. But he doesn’t have enough arm talent. There’s a reason why he was taken in the fourth round. He’s just a guy. When things breaks down and adversity strikes and you got to extend the play, he can’t do it.”
It’s a harsh assessment especially for a quarterback who has done more than his fair share of finishing games this season, but it speaks to the most common complaint of the doubters. Kirk is good when things are good and when the people around him are good, and he isn’t when they aren’t.
Although his play this year has gone a long way to boost his reputation, the last few games have absolutely added to the narrative that this executive and many others believe. Unfortunately for Cousins, whether it’s fair or not, until he is able to perform and succeed in the face of (maybe even unfair) obstacles he will likely never receive the credit that many believe he is due. Such is life for the NFL’s most polarizing player.
