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Kirk Cousins‘ offseason preparation has been like none other in 2021.
Instead of rewatching his body of work over the past season, the Minnesota Vikings quarterback went back and watched the entirety of his nine-year career.
He likened the experience to Tom Brady’s explanation of the same study of his career in “The Brady 6” documentary, realizing the growth and mistakes he’s underwent throughout his career.
“[Brady] was quoted as saying, ‘I watch myself on film, and to this day, I still don’t feel like I’m that good,’ ” Cousins said. “And I really felt that sentiment. When he said it, I was in college, but I understood what he meant. And now going back and watching my career, I would echo that sentiment. I’ve watched myself in ’12 and ’13-14 and think, ‘Man, I’m such a better quarterback now. I can’t believe that the coaches didn’t just cut me when I did that and made that mistake. I can’t believe they were patient with me.’ Because nowadays looking back, it would just be unacceptable to myself, allowing myself to play that way or make that read or make that throw or that decision.”
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Cousins Coming Off Turbulent Season
Cousins’ 2020 season was a microcosm of his development in the league.
Six weeks into the season and the 32-year-old quarterback led the NFL with 11 interceptions while the Vikings were wavering with a 1-5 record. While Minnesota’s success wasn’t directly tied to Cousins’ turnover troubles to begin the season, the team could not overcome its defensive struggles and inability to take care of the ball. He turned his season around after the bye week, throwing 24 touchdowns and three interceptions in the final 10 games of the season.
Amid his early-season struggles, Cousins held himself accountable, saying he wouldn’t keep his starting job if he continued to throw the ball away — a realization that likely prompted his thorough film study this offseason.
“I wanted to go back and really just study, create cutups and really build up some volume that I can pull from as we go forward,” he said. “I regret I hadn’t done it earlier in my career but I did get the film set up in my house to basically have access to all of that so that all offseason, even if I’m not in the facility, I’d have access to tape. I do think it’s been a very valuable resource to have and I’m kicking myself I didn’t do it sooner in my career. It was just a piece that hopefully can help me improve this coming year.”
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Cousins’ Biggest Learning Lessons
Cousins’ biggest takeaway was understanding the nuances of his playmakers’ route-running abilities and how to adapt to make plays off-schedule.
“What just jumps out are the players you play with,” Cousins said. “You realize that the way Pierre Garcon ran a route or DeSean Jackson ran a route, that affects you in the way you play and the way you think, and then you come to a new team and you’re trying to tell Adam Thielen to run a route that way, and he’s saying, ‘No, I don’t do it that way.’ So just the process of then learning those players and saying, ‘OK’ and understanding that you always have to be aware of what your teammates do well and try to put them in those positions to be successful.”
Several of Cousins’ interceptions in 2020 were a matter of forcing the ball in sticking to the play call. Cousins’ recognition and understanding of the need to read his teammates could offer him more confidence in going off-script — either to make a play or throw to avoid a loss of yardage.
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