Kirk Cousins: This experience has exceeded my expectations

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Kirk Cousins has reached his first bye week as a member of the Vikings and the quarterback was asked to reflect on his first nine games with the team on Tuesday.

That included a discussion of his six fumbles and Cousins’ happiness that the offense “didn’t have a slow start with a new coordinator, new quarterback” this season. All in all, Cousins said that things have gone even better than he was hoping when the year got underway.

“I think in a lot of ways, this experience has exceeded my expectations,” Cousins said, via the Pioneer Press. “I’m thrilled about our locker room, the chemistry we have on this team, the quality of teammates, the quality of leadership we have in this organization. Certainly would have loved to be better than 5-3-1, but I’m grateful we’re not 3-5-1.”

The good feelings about the first stage of the relationship between Cousins and the Vikings are shared by the team, but the results of the final seven games will determine whether the larger expectations are fulfilled in Minnesota.

61 responses to “Kirk Cousins: This experience has exceeded my expectations

  1. Playing the Lions certainly helped. Every team feels better when my team comes to town. Think Chicago is not looking forward to Sunday? Yet Jim Caldwell posted a winning record 3 out of 4 seasons with these perennial losers. Bob Quinn should be fired for malfeasance.

  2. .
    The early part of the Vikings schedule was relatively easy. The next four, not so much:

    @Chicago
    Green Bay
    @New England
    @Seattle

    We’ll have a pretty good idea of whether the Vikes are a contender or pretender after those four.
    .

  3. Cousins is doing way better than hoped but the defense is way worse. Thielan is letting his early success go to his head a little. He did that same lame celebration in the right corner of the end zone vs the Lions with either a family relative or friend. Either way don’t do it again. What’s worse is he celebrated like that against the Saints after a TD and they were still down by multiple scores. I was embarrassed for Thielan & the Vikings organization.

    Cousins experience in the NFC EAST hopefully will be the catalyst to finally push the Vikings over the hump. If he gets the Vikings to the playoffs that’s all that matters. If this team can be healthy going into the post season and start peaking then, they have a great shot. The Vikings have had a brutal schedule. It’s nice to see a Vikings QB who can actually throw deep, it’s been so many seasons without it. Fix those tipped passes and fumbles and with Cook in there, the Vikings have as good a chance as anyone.

  4. Management is happy.

    Teammates are happy.

    Fans are happy.

    Kirk is happy.

    Looking forward to the rest of the season – and many more after that.

  5. I will never forgive you for getting blown out by the Bills and being the primary reason they might break 100 points this season. Pathetic.

  6. Offensively the Vikings have been dynamic and with Cook getting healthy I see big things for the offense. The defense needs work. Interesting how we are no longer hearing talks about the team should have kept Keenum though.

  7. Just win, baby. Unless he gets the Vikings to the Super Bowl, he’ll be considered a failure by Vikings fans.

  8. He hasn’t exceeded anything yet.

    To me its bad that the GM and now Cousins is talking about how good/great things are.
    5-3-1 is nothing to get too excited about.

    I hope I’m wrong, but this is starting to set up as another failed try.

    Shut your mouths and plan for Chicago.

  9. “but I’m grateful we’re not 3-5-1.”

    I believe Kirk said this while eating dill cheese curds & drinking a Spotted Cow.

  10. Vikes always flatter to deceive (and so does Kirk somewhat) – only two >500 opponents in first 9 games but they face FIVE in their last 7 games. And they lost badly at home to the Bills! This team is headed to somewhere between 7-9 and 9-7. A wildcard loss at best and prob not even that.

  11. Good for him. Confidence can go a long way, but not all the way. He needs to earn every guaranteed penny and take them to a SuperBowl. Anything less is a total and complete bust. Believe me, as a Packer fan, it’s frustrating to think you have all the pieces and not quite get there. It’s very hard to get there. Cousins is the difference between last year and this year. They have to make it, or it’s a bust. Viking fans can’t or don’t want to say it out loud, but they believe it too. What else would they say, “maybe next year?” Heck, they’ve been saying that since 1961. They can trash and taunt and ridicule the Packers all they want. Doing so is what makes Viking fans happy. They said so, not me. The pursuit of happiness is an inalienable right. You have to find happiness wherever you can. But. This year. It’s SuperBowl, or it is a total and complete, undeniable, bust.

  12. Kirk Cousins is a class act. A level-headed guy. Vikings are playing better now than they were several weeks ago, and if they continue to trend in that direction, they will be a force in the playoffs. This coming from a Lions fan. And a Michigan fan. Not a State fan. But much respect to Cousins and the Vikings. They’ve built that team the right way. Packers fans are gonna hate, but an honest look at the North leaves the inescapable conclusion the Vikings are the team to beat, and they haven’t come close to their potential yet.

  13. I really like what I’ve seen from Kirk so far. He seems to be a great fit. No one is perfect, but I do hope he gets even better when games mean more.

    However since games are won and lost in the trenches, I think it will come down to how much time he gets to survey his progressions. Really hoping the OL can perform better after the bye.

  14. vikesfansteve says: “What’s worse is he celebrated like that against the Saints after a TD and they were still down by multiple scores.”
    ================================

    As Patriots proved in the SB, doesn’t matter if you’re down “multiple scores” – you’re never finished until the game is over. Who knows, that play might have sparked the Vikes to a comeback too.

  15. 6ball says:
    November 7, 2018 at 6:50 am
    .
    The early part of the Vikings schedule was relatively easy. The next four, not so much:

    @Chicago
    Green Bay
    @New England
    @Seattle

    ———————————————————
    While it’s tough to play 3 out of 4 on the road, that stretch is in no way harder than any of these games they have already played

    @ GB
    @ Rams on a short week
    @ PHi
    Saints

    In all there schedule is fairly tough with a few cupcakes mixed in (one they already lost to at home). Bottom line the D is playing better and has been missing key components all year. The offense seems better on the road than at home right now which is a bit of a surprise. That is good news as if they play well enough down the stretch to make the playoffs they will need to win on the road. The NFC is tough and the playoffs are going to be fun to watch. Last thing I’ll add if Compton and Remmers are healthy coming out of the break this O line has a chance to be better down the stretch, if that is the case it will be a fun team to watch. Glad Cousins is our QB, I like a lot of what I see.

  16. 6ball says:
    November 7, 2018 at 6:50 am
    .
    The early part of the Vikings schedule was relatively easy. The next four, not so much:
    ———————————————–
    Then why did your Vikings lose one of those “relatively easy” games to a pitiful team like my Bills?

  17. stellarperformance says: “He needs to earn every guaranteed penny and take them to a SuperBowl. Anything less is a total and complete bust.”
    ==================================

    Ridiculous. First, football is a TEAM sport. Second, there are equally great teams in the NFC that is fully capable of going to the SB like the Saints, Rams & Panthers.

  18. “The Vikings have not won the NFC since the 1976 Season.”
    ————————————————————
    True. Then again, the Vikings are the 6th winningest team since 1970.
    3rd best in the NFC ahead of every team in the division.
    Super Bowl is the goal, but not a bad franchise to follow overall.
    Been relevant a long time. 30 winning seasons in last 48.

  19. stellarperformance says: “He needs to earn every guaranteed penny and take them to a SuperBowl. Anything less is a total and complete bust.
    ————–
    Does this rule apply to the packers?

    Why yes it does.
    So the packers are a total bust because they don’t live up to the preseason Superbowl requirement thrust upon them every year.
    When do packer fans start celebrating the 2019-20 preseason Superbowl win?
    Last year it was mid November.

  20. stellarperformance says:
    November 7, 2018 at 8:00 am
    Good for him. Confidence can go a long way, but not all the way. He needs to earn every guaranteed penny and take them to a SuperBowl. Anything less is a total and complete bust. Believe me, as a Packer fan, it’s frustrating to think you have all the pieces and not quite get there. It’s very hard to get there. Cousins is the difference between last year and this year. They have to make it, or it’s a bust. Viking fans can’t or don’t want to say it out loud, but they believe it too. What else would they say, “maybe next year?” Heck, they’ve been saying that since 1961. They can trash and taunt and ridicule the Packers all they want. Doing so is what makes Viking fans happy. They said so, not me. The pursuit of happiness is an inalienable right. You have to find happiness wherever you can. But. This year. It’s SuperBowl, or it is a total and complete, undeniable, bust.

    *****

    This has been your mindset for the last 7 years too cheering for the Packers. With Rodgers returning from his injury + huge contract + the addition of Jimmy G and a new D coordinator. This too is superbowl or bust for GB.

  21. The early part of the Vikings schedule was relatively easy. The next four, not so much:

    @Chicago
    Green Bay
    @New England
    @Seattle

    We’ll have a pretty good idea of whether the Vikes are a contender or pretender after those four.
    —————————————————————–
    I don’t disagree with your last statement, but I wouldn’t call games against the Saints, Eagles, Rams and Packers an easy early schedule.

  22. Management is happy.

    Teammates are happy.

    Fans are happy.

    Kirk is happy.

    Looking forward to the rest of the season – and many more after that.

    ————

    Probably only 2 more. After that Cousins will have another opportunity to hit true free agency when his deal runs out.

  23. Considering it was the final minutes of the 4th Quarter and the Vikings were getting stomped by the Saints. Thielan’s TD celebration was stupid, self serving & embarrassing. How did your pee brain come up with the Patriots & SB’s and leads? READING COMPREHENSION.

    akira1971 says:
    November 7, 2018 at 8:38 am
    vikesfansteve says: “What’s worse is he celebrated like that against the Saints after a TD and they were still down by multiple scores.”
    ================================

    As Patriots proved in the SB, doesn’t matter if you’re down “multiple scores” – you’re never finished until the game is over. Who knows, that play might have sparked the Vikes to a comeback too.

  24. Can’t the hyper critical simmer down just a tad and think logically about this and use a little reason in assessing this team? People can be so quick to throw out an strong opinion making them feel so much better or smarter than the next guy.

    Facts:
    1) Went to Green Bay and did not get an L…not a W, but to escape a loss to Aaron R in Green Bay?! That’s no bad thing.

    2) BAD loss to the Bills! That game went sideways fast and the Bills defense is no push-over. They got the jump and their defense shut down the Vikes’ offense on a very strange day. We have not seen that version of the Vikings before or since that game.

    3) Going to Philly and winning with all things considered, that was a quality win on a team that will likely climb back into the NFC East championship.

    4) They have losses to the Rams (8-1) and Saints (7-1). These are two of the absolute best teams in football right now. Nobody should think a game with either of these two teams (wherever it’s played) is win waiting to happen. We can say this though…the Vikings went punch for punch with the Rams in LA on short week that highlighted the Vikings’ early season defensive struggles. I’d be VERY interested to see how a rematch to that game could go later this year. The Saints won in MN on a day when the Vikings really beat themselves on two or three HUGE plays. Eliminate those two plays and the Vikings really pushed them around and controlled that game.

    5) Wins against bad teams (Cards and Jets) is less convincing for sure, but a very dominant win over a divisional opponent (Lions) is not something to scoff at no matter what the records.

    Look, I’m not saying everyone should be saying “they’re going to the Super Bowl! Book it!” but I’m not even close to saying this team is a failure. I think it’s safe to say there is a lot of potential in this team as it gains momentum and experience together through the season. Can’t we all agree they COULD fulfill their potential and be VERY good and a legit NFC Championship contender? …and also agree that the COULD keep stumbling over themselves and not live up to their potential and miss the playoffs this year? Nobody knows!!! Stop making stupid ‘bold takes’ and have a reasonable conversation people!

  25. tinye67 says:
    November 7, 2018 at 9:10 am
    “The Vikings have not won the NFC since the 1976 Season.”
    ————————————————————
    True. Then again, the Vikings are the 6th winningest team since 1970.
    3rd best in the NFC ahead of every team in the division.
    Super Bowl is the goal, but not a bad franchise to follow overall.
    Been relevant a long time. 30 winning seasons in last 48.
    ———————
    It don’t mean a thing without the ring!!!
    Every season without the ring ends in heartbreak.

  26. I love seeing Kirk succeed. It’s going to be really hard to see him playing against my team. I might…I might go full Lebron James kinda fan and just follow Kirk from team to team. There’s just something about rooting for a guy whose own (prior) team couldn’t even bother to call him anything other than Kurt. Him sticking it to evil bosses and rolling in dough is very satisfying vicariously. He fits right in with those gee-whizz gosh golly Midwestern Viking fans. Only 1 team wins the Super Bowl and even if Kirk doesn’t win people there will be proud to root for him and won’t commit character assassination against him if he ends up as a QB for one of the 31 teams that don’t win the Super Bowl.

  27. The Vikings took the best player available in free agency at the QB position so i guess i will let this play out. The story on Keenum from the Vikings coaches is that he wasn’t getting the ball deep down the field to open receivers. The fact that the Vikings didn’t go after any of the 3 QB’S that were on the roster last year tells me everything i needed to know. When they didn’t try to retain Bridgewater says that they know a lot more than what is reported like maybe his knee will never be right because Zimmer loves Teddy.

  28. @najocoo22

    “Probably only 2 more. After that Cousins will have another opportunity to hit true free agency when his deal runs out.”

    You could be right.

    I happen to believe that during the offseason that Cousins and the Vikings will strike a long term deal that will benefit both sides.

    I could be wrong, but I don’t think I am.

  29. Look, the early fumbles were absolutely frustrating, and directly lead to the Bills loss. But, all in all, I’ll take the 5-3-1 record right now. Why? New O-coordinator, New QB, Cook hurt early, defense played horrible early in season. And played three games against playoff quality teams, plus a division opponent on the road (The SB champ, Rams & Saints who are SB favorites, and at GB).

    After all this, the main thing is, the Vikings are playing very well right now, and are improving each week. Now they get a bye week to possibly get healthy. Injuries aren’t an excuse, but injuries absolutely derail teams every year. Griffen, Cook, O-line, Barr, Sendejo, and several other starters that have missed at least one game. It does matter.

    The Vikings can beat anybody in the playoffs. Yes, they can also lose again to the Rams or Saints, but once you get into the playoffs, it’s all about who is playing their best ball. And the Vikings are starting to play their best ball. Some teams in the NFL are claiming to play good ball, while still losing. A close loss to a good team is still a loss. Just win baby.

  30. The Vikings are a top ten team.

    In the NFL championship structure, top ten is sufficient to win the Superbowl.

    Yes, Cousins isn’t Brady or Rodgers … but he also isn’t Eli Manning or Nick Foles.

  31. Early in the season, the defense was a mess. Cousins kept them in games that would have been blowouts without him. Now that the defense is getting better, it seems like the offense is getting worse. I’m hoping both sides of the ball are able to start playing up to their capabilities at the same time over the rest of the season. If they do, they’ll be the most dangerous team in the playoffs. Big if, but you never know which team is going to get hot at the right time. That’s how the Packers have made big postseason runs, so they should be worried about that.

  32. stellarperformance says:
    November 7, 2018 at 8:00 am

    Good for him. Confidence can go a long way, but not all the way. He needs to earn every guaranteed penny and take them to a SuperBowl. Anything less is a total and complete bust. Believe me, as a Packer fan, it’s frustrating to think you have all the pieces and not quite get there. It’s very hard to get there. Cousins is the difference between last year and this year. They have to make it, or it’s a bust. Viking fans can’t or don’t want to say it out loud, but they believe it too. What else would they say, “maybe next year?” Heck, they’ve been saying that since 1961. They can trash and taunt and ridicule the Packers all they want. Doing so is what makes Viking fans happy. They said so, not me. The pursuit of happiness is an inalienable right. You have to find happiness wherever you can. But. This year. It’s SuperBowl, or it is a total and complete, undeniable, bust.
    ________

    If the Vikings don’t win the Super Bowl this year, I will say “maybe next year.” You know why? Because Cousins will still be here. And so will every other important player on the team, because they’ve all been signed to long-term contracts. You seem to be under the delusion that Cousins signed a one-year contract. No, he signed a three-year contract, which will be extended after next year. The Vikings will be contenders for a long time to come, so there will be plenty of opportunities to win a Super Bowl. If they don’t? That will be disappointing, but it would be pretty stupid to argue that they would have won a Super Bowl if only they had held onto Case Keenum. But that’s what you seem to be saying. That’s odd. Maybe your Packers can sign Keenum to replace Rodgers next year. I have a feeling he’ll be available.

  33. It will be interesting to see what the Vikings will do with Thielen. Right now, he’s the 46th highest paid receiver (based upon yearly average), leading the league in receptions, yards, and 2nd in TD’s. He was Top Ten in rec. yards and receptions last year. The total value of his contract is 19M that he signed in 2017. He’s probably at his peak value right now and will be 30 when his present contract ends.

    Contrast that with Diggs, whose new contract is for 72 mil and averages over 14 mil per year- Thielen averages 4.8 mil per year, less than Mike Williams of the Chargers on his rookie contract, and in the same area as guys like Cam Meredith and Jermaine Kearse. Between 2016 and 2018, he’s outperformed Diggs in receptions, yards, and TD’s (excepting 2017 in regards to TD’s).

    Regardless of what a great guy he is, that he’s home-grown Minnesotan and all of that, he’s going to want to be paid commensurate to his value sometime very soon, and realistically before he starts his next contract season at age 31. Not trolling here-curious as to what Vikings’ fans think will be the resolution to this.

  34. wiltmellow says:
    “yes, Cousins isn’t Brady or Rodgers … but he also isn’t Eli Manning or Nick Foles”

    You mean SB MVP QB Nick Foles DOOF!?!? You’re right, Cousins is NOT saint Nick, he’ll never get to the SB much less be the SB MVP!

  35. This year’s first place NFCN schedule has been tough, and won’t get any easier given the Bears’ significant improvement. Unlike last year, the NFC is tough this year, and if the Vikes make it to the playoffs and make a run, they will have certainly deserved it — in large part to improved QB play. Cousins clearly has been worth the signing to date. Lets hope it looks the same way at seasons’ end.

  36. Right now, get everyone healthy and just focus on beating the Bears. Likely to be a cold, nasty, Bears weather night in a stadium full of rowdy fans who will be plenty lubed up. The Bears this year are not the Bears of the past few years.

  37. For Cousins, it’s always going to be “Super Bowl or Bust” in terms of what Vikings fans expect. If he delivers, he’ll always be a hero in Minny. If he doesn’t, he’ll be remembered just like all the other Vikings QB’s who couldn’t deliver.

  38. Cousins has his team 2 games above .500 while Rodgers has his team 1 game under .500. Is Rodgers exceeding his own expectations too?

  39. diveleft says:
    November 7, 2018 at 1:19 pm
    Cousins has his team 2 games above .500 while Rodgers has his team 1 game under .500. Is Rodgers exceeding his own expectations too?
    ============================================================================================
    Wow. The silliness hits the bottom of the barrel.

  40. NHPats says:
    November 7, 2018 at 12:50 pm
    Has this guy beat a team this year that had a winning record when he played them?
    ////////////////
    Do you get an extra win for doing so? Extra credit towards the playoffs? The Vikings are in a tie for most wins in the division. They don’t have to apologize to a Packer fan (that pretends to be a Patriots fan).

  41. glac1 says:
    November 7, 2018 at 12:10 pm
    All hugs and kisses until January. Then we can expect their annual collapse.
    ////////////////
    I’d say that’s more hopeful than an October and November collapse that some teams in the division are doing.

  42. If GB is “Collapsing” why are they only 1.5 games out of the divison lead?

    ALso the Vikings aren’t too far removed from being off to a 5-0 season start, and end up playing a meaningless games around Christmas and New Year.

  43. Vikings with 5 wins are in a good spot to be at their break. A chance to take over first place after one game into their second half.
    As far as “collapsing packers” I am not sure they are collapsing but they haven’t been good. In the packers last 10 games with Aaron Rodgers their record is 3-6-1.
    Hundley’s record in 10 games last year was 3-7.

  44. I can’t stand the football fans out there who have a serious problem with cousins attitude when asked a question like this. It’s so archaic to demand the old outdated mental attitude of being completely miserable unless you win every single game, including a super bowl, and do in a completely mistake free way. I can totally understand cousins being excited with the team to this point. First off, their record has them in position to possibly win the division and put them in the playoffs if they just keep playing the way they are. Second, I think hes smart enough to recognize that a team going through the amount of change this team has had from last year will take time to work through. New qb, new OC, death of a fantastic OL coach. 5-3-1 is not a horrible record considering all that change, and it was always going take a good portion of the season for them to really figure out who they are. Third, he, unlike some of you insanely delusional fans, understands that to think this FIRST SEASON of this team being together is NOT super bowl or bust. To say something like that in year one is just ignorant. I think it should and is a realistic goal for the team this season, but it takes time for this team to put it all together and be as good as they can be. Personally, I think having a super bowl or busy attitude for any team is a pretty ignorant state of mind. Absolutely it should always be the goal, but to think that everything that went into putting this great team together is a failure if they dont win a SB in year 1 is just flat out delusional. This is the most elite football league in the entire world. These are the greatest athletes in the world. No matter how great this teams potential can be and is, there are other great teams too. Also there’s a reason we signed a guy like cousins to 3 years and hopefully more beyond that…SB or bust people are an insult to the quality of this insanely competitive league.

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