Minnesota Vikings: 10 easy predictions for 2019 to set expectations
By Tim Arcand
Kirk Cousins will have not throw 30 TD passes
Since becoming a full-time starter for the Washington Redskins in 2015, quarterback Kirk Cousins has played for four different offensive coordinators in five seasons. The first two seasons were under Sean McVay, who has demonstrated he knows something about quarterback play and making offenses click.
After McVay left Washington, Cousins played with Matt Cavanaugh in 2017, John DeFilippo in 2018 and now Kevin Stefanski to open this season. Sure, Cousins and Stefanski finished last season as QB and coordinator, but in Mike Zimmer fashion, the Vikings have added former head coach Gary Kubiak to the staff as the Assistant Head Coach/Offensive Advisor. Add in new offensive line coach/run coordinator Rick Dennison and there may be a lot of voices to listen to in the offensive meeting room.
What’s the saying about “too many cooks in the kitchen?”
Still, a change in coordinators should affect Cousins. After all, he’s handled plenty of change and still performed well last season, throwing a career-high 30 touchdown passes. Don’t expect a repeat this season. As a starter over four seasons, he has thrown 111 touchdowns, that’s an average of 27.8 per season with a TD pass 4.8 percent of the time. His last two seasons that percentage has been a tad higher at 5.0 percent. With a greater emphasis on an effective running game that could translate into fewer throws for Cousins resulting in fewer TDs. Of course, who is going to argue if it results in more wins? Another potential positive effect could be fewer sacks of Cousins.