Mike Zimmer Tries A New Tactic
Everson Griffen signed with the Vikings! You might remember him from his many years as a Minnesota Viking. You might also remember he was the guy with mental health issues and the Vikings basically benched him for half a season due to mental health concerns. He decided to leave the Vikings and test his skills in free agency. It didn’t work out. He did however say that Kirk Cousins was “ass”. He also suggested that Kirk and Zim probably aren’t buds.
Long time #Vikings Everson Griffen has some thoughts on Kirk Cousins. pic.twitter.com/VwYKNGBEie
— Dov Kleiman (@NFL_DovKleiman) January 10, 2021
Since Kirk is basically the headliner anti-vaxxer on a team that is one of the least vaccinated in the league (despite Mike Zimmer being very vocal about getting the vax) I can’t imagine the locker room is healthy these days. Kirk is the obvious one, I haven’t looked recently but I also saw Adam Theilen, Dalvin Cook, and Harrison Smith weren’t vaxxed yet as of a few weeks ago. Basically all the stars.
We’re entering a different situation from last year. Last year everyone was on the same playing field. Now, with the restrictions in place, a Covid positive test can severely impact a team for a week the way an injury would, and it is going to matter. Whether you want to think about politics or not, they are very much now very visibly intertwined with the season with the new rules. Cole Beasley and another teammate just got sent home for 5 days due to having interactions with a person who tested positive, even though Beasley tested negative. A vaccinated player will not face that level of quarantine. Cam Newton now can’t play the preseason game against the Giants due to the new rules requiring him to wait 5 days after receiving medical care outside the team-approved bubble.
These players have the freedom to not get the shot, but same as any other personal choice that decision comes with the consequences of that choice, and their refusal to get the shot now puts their own careers and earnings in jeopardy, as well as hurting the team in more ways than one. At this point, most of the league is vaxxed and their vax rate is much higher than the average rate of Americans as a whole. Even Nick Bosa got convinced. Maybe FDA approval will help convince a few more.
Anyway I’m looking forward to watching Sack Daddy in purple again and also Kirk Cousins be ass. Is this a make-or-break season for Kirk? It feels like it is.
Bench Kirk, play Kellen Mond. Issue fixed.
Seeing how Mond looks… nah you may as well throw COVID Kirk out there. Mond ain’t ready.
Kirk Cousins is the epitome of playing juuuuuust good enough when it no longer matters that management can look at the stats and say, “Ehhh, he’s alright. We’ll keep him.” This glaring lack of brain power should put the last nail in the coffin of his thoroughly mediocre career.
It’s the Cutler Dilemma. The team knows he’s a starting caliber QB, but they’re paying him like a star even though they’re not sure he actually is one. They’re afraid to cut him without having a contingency in place, because he is just good enough to make the team look good even if he’s not good enough to do more than get to the second round of the playoffs. So they’re stuck with him until either his contract terminates or they’re able to get a real starter.
While I 100% agree with you, I can’t understand why it’s so pervasive. Sunken cost fallacy, I guess. You spent a high pick on a guy, and admitting it was a mistake is a good way to get fired. If guys are showing progress, then yea, give them time to develop. But Cousins has been on this carousel for years, and he’s clearly not improving as a player. I’d rather have my team accept it’s bad, wallow for a few years with high draft picks, and then get back up. The alternative is… The Jets. *shudders*
Kirk Cousins is the king of betting on himself. He’s not a game changer but he’ll dazzle you enough in a contract year that it makes it real hard on front offices to not cut the dude a big paycheck.
I think he’s the embodiment of the “stats vs intangibles” debate. He’s got all the fancy numbers to make you think that he’s a top 10 passer in football without actually watching him, but when it comes to that winning stuff that oldheads rave about, he just.. doesn’t do it. Statheads love him, oldheads hate his guts, everyone else forgets about him until he loses on Monday night and proceed to make fun of him for his awful primetime record.
TBH, statheads don’t really like him either. At least ones that look beyond simple box score counting stats. He doesn’t do incredible in advanced metrics, as he is always throwing short of the first down to boost his counting numbers lol
I guess it depends on the person. I’ve seen a lot of statheads throw him into top 10 conversations and vehemently defend the guy because he consistently places well in stuff like DYAR and/or EPA/play. It seems like all the stats really love the guy besides QBR, which, even then he’s still well above average.
I really like throwing around numbers and even I can’t make anything of the guy. He’s nowhere near as good as the numbers suggest but I can’t really explain why that is.
Statheads see him as a volume passer who doesn’t really do a whole lot on a per-play basis, and therefore will never be someone who can effectively carry a team for a single game if it comes down to it. Given that the NFL playoffs are a one-and-done tournament, that’s a major red flag.
This is the best description of Kirk Cousins that I’ve ever seen. Thank you for this.
Yeah, exactly this.
Definitely feels like a make or break season for Cousins. He’s on contract through 2022 and he’s very expensive with a lot of dead money due. But cutting him won’t affect their salary cap.
It feels like he’d be up for trade assuming this year doesn’t work out well for the Vikes. He’s undeniably good, but not quite good enough to be pulling this idiocy and it’s only going to increase the pressure on himself if he ever underperforms in the regular season.
Who knows what the QB situations look like across the league next year, but maybe teams like the Broncos or Giants or Texans with shaky starters would take a shot on him.
I can’t be too surprised that players don’t like him. It seems like he has a rather grating personality based on some of the stuff he’s said even before his anti-vax stuff. It feels like he’s always beefing with a teammate every year.
I wouldn’t get an experimental shot that doesn’t stop you from getting the virus anyhow. In 10 yrs from now I can see class action lawsuits over the jab.
There are decades of research behind the vaccine to ensure its safety and efficacy, and it absolutely does prevent infection. Sure it’s not 100% effective at prevention but it’s much higher than 0.
I hate when people say that this is new technology because that’s objectively false. It’s been worked on since the 70s.
If you aren’t getting the vaccine because of personal or religious beliefs, I may not understand that but I will respect it. But as far as safety and efficacy, getting the vaccine is a great choice, not only for you but for those around you.
Believe me, even as a scientist I had my doubts early on. And I HATE needles. But the more I learned about the vaccine, and the more data came out about it, I knew I had to man up and just get it. The vaccine is absolutely important for building your defenses against the virus. It’s like sending your immune system to the weight room for a few months lol.
All research so far has shown that the vaccines are absolutely worth taking. We should be grateful for the many scientists who helped make it possible, as well as the final push by the Trump administration to get it developed.
as i always say to people who pretend that it’s the MRNA that they object to; get the fuckin j&j shot then.
and then they have nothing to say to that because i just pulled their figleaf off and they have no back-up plan.
get fucked, anti-vaxxers, you selfish pricks.
Cousins is actually a nice guy and very smart. Vikings fans are terrible for the most part. Bench him and oh he sucks and blah blah by a bunch of ppl that have never even played a down in college let alone the pros. We’re you same folks calling for Zimmer to be fired after a down yr?
Smartest guy around. Ask anybody. Smartest QB in the league. Very worthy of his salary, all the best plays. Big league.
Kirk Cousins has the intelligence and personality of a white bread and mayo sandwich.
I am…. not proud to be a Vikings fan this year.
Glad Sack Daddy is back though. Saying the team benched him makes it sound kinda harsh though. The team did him a solid and let him take the time to get medicated and get his shit together rather than forcing him out there every week. They put his health before the team and I respected them a lot for that.
Hahaha i just saw the “Ryan Tannehill is going to have a breakout season this time on the titans i swear” comic by pressing random.