Falcons Fans!! || CALM DOWN

Edition #153

Intro:

(Before reading this, I want y’all to know I’m a huge Kirk Cousins fan. There will still be no bias in the article as the facts matter. That’s the type of approach I’m trying to take here at Sports Square.)

I still stand by my decision to crown the Falcons as the Super Bowl champions. But, you Falcons fans just can’t calm down about Kirk Cousins and the QB situation. Here’s why I think y’all shouldn’t worry about both.

Falcons Fans! CALM DOWN.

I looked over X after the game and saw most Falcons fans panicking. I get that, I mean Kirk Cousins threw 2 picks. But, that doesn’t mean y’all should start saying that Michael Penix Jr. should replace him.

Why would you have signed this guy to a $180 million contract to just bench him after week 1? Everyone throws picks. Plus, he faced one of the league’s best defenses in the Steelers, with T.J. Watt. I mean, he’s T.J. Watt!

More than that, we just got the news that Kirk Cousins wasn’t ready to play in Week 1, and the Falcons kinda just forced him. Cousins is coming off an Achilles tendon injury. The fact that he wasn’t ready isn’t surprising because he wasn’t Kirk Cousins on Sunday. He was Changed Cousins. Kirk loves the play-action stuff, which has been his game for a long time¹. In his 25 pass attempts, he was in the pocket for 24 of them. He didn't budge. That’s not Kirk Cousins.

When Cousins threw his first pick, he was being pressured up the middle a ton. Now normally, he would roll out and do something. But, instead, he stayed in the pocket and threw a pick.

Why? Why is he staying in the pocket in the first place? Why isn’t he rolling out and using his brain?

Well, remember. Even if he’s getting paid, he’s still fighting for a starting job. Michael Penix Jr. may not be as hyped up as Caleb Williams, but we know he can play. We saw it in college. So, if he wants to play, he’s gotta listen to OC Zac Robinson who has a full play sheet of plays where Cousins doesn’t exit the pocket. I mean, Penix isn’t the answer either, but at least he’s shown the Falcons he can move.

“I was really trying to avoid the sack on the first one and throw it away. I knew Drake was breaking in there. I did see color, but I was trying to basically put it out there, way out in front of him, but the safety was there and made a good play. In hindsight, I’ll have to go back and watch it to really give you a good answer, but either just throw it away lower or you take the sack, whatever it’s got to be to avoid the outcome there.”

-Kirk Cousins

Moving on to the 2nd pick, once again, it was the same thing. The pocket collapsed on Cousins and the Steelers took off.

“Then the second one, just couldn’t get anything on the ball,” Cousins said. “That’s where, again, I’ll go back and watch it and be critical and say, hey, you know, maybe you eat it, or you progress or you dirt it, whatever you have to do to avoid the critical error of the interception.”

But don’t say anything to Kirk Cousins. Like I said at the top, Cousins was battling an injury, and against a hungry Pittsburgh Steelers defense, you will pay if you make even a teeny tiny mistake.

Now, if Kirk doesn’t do well next week, that’s when you can start to panic a little. They’re going to be facing a Philadelphia Eagles defense that only had 2 QB pressures, let Jordan Love pass for 260 yards, gave up about 7 yards per pass, and 7 yards per play. But, with a defensive coordinator in Vic Fangio (article coming soon), this is still going to be a very hard game.

I believe in Kirk even though I’m a huge Eagles fan. I think the Falcons will have a reboot game and win by a field goal. Who do you think is going to win? I’ll release poll results in the next article.

1. When throwing outside the pocket last season, Cousins completed 16 of 25 passes for 122 yards, 61 air yards, one touchdown, no interceptions, and a passer rating of 89.1.