I don't get the defenders of Cousins. Ultimately, he's paid like a top QB and doesn't deliver in wins. Sure, his stats are always nice for the season, and he looks good when a play goes as designed. He has played better this year under KOC and is tough and appears to be a good guy. But, this season and yesterday's game are the epitome of Cousins - nice year, nice stats, had some really nice moments, but lost when it mattered.
Both can be (and are) true - the Vikings D is terrible, and Kirk is a middle-tier QB. Kirk is a statue in the pocket who turns into a deer in headlights at times. To his credit, yesterday, he stood in a took a lot of hits & made some nice throws. But, did you notice any time where he slid in the pocket as he felt pressure? Nope. He is numb back there, which means he rarely extends a play to make a nice play or lemonade out of lemons (unless you love yourself some checkdowns). Tom Brady is a lesser athlete than Kirk and just as statuesque, but he has a keen FB mind, audibles based on the D he sees, is a leader, etc. Kirk is Kirk. He's not a leader, which is the #1 job of a winning QB - look at him after plays and on the sidelines. No leadership at all. If he were paid half of what he is, and the team could spend & draft a great team around him, he might be able to get to a SB. Heck, Trent Dilfer got to a SB (and won, thx to the D).
When you step back, there's a reason that in his entire NFL career, Kirk has gotten past the 1st round of the playoffs once. Heck, I may be forgetting, but I think he only has one playoff W (over NO, where he made a few big plays at the end, I'll agree, but look what happened the next week that year). The last drive and last play of yesterday's game were prototype Kirk - throw the checkdown when the season's on the line, which had no chance of working; then, seem a bit bothered, and trot to the sidelines and to the offseason. (Note: I am NOT saying he doesn't care; I'm saying IT's not in him.)
