Quote:
Originally Posted by JoeRedskin
With all due respect, no. Just. No.
Steve Young was signed out of college in '84 to the LA Express in the USFL - at the time he was given an astronomical contract to do so (10 year/ $40 Million - in '86 the average NFL salary was ~200K). Young played 1 1/2 seasons with them the Express before they went bankrupt then signed with TBay which used the first pick of the 1984 Supplemental Draft to draft and sign him (meaning TBay gave up their first rounder in the regular draft - the 2nd pick overall). His first year with TBay (for which he was only available for about half the season) he started 5 games. His second season with TB he started 14 games. Both years, TBay went 2-14. After two years in TBay where he threw 11 TD's /21 INT's, he was traded to SF for a 2nd and fourth round pick. Walsh specifically acquired Young with the intent to sit behind HOF QB Joe Montana - which Young did for three years. (BTW - in his third year/first in SF, Young threw 10 TD's and no INT's in his three games).
The problem with any comparison to Young is that Young was seen as a top tier talent coming out of college and throughout his early career. Not so Mr. Cousins. Further, sure Young had limited opportunities to start in SF waiting behind Montana ... however, and here is the big difference, Young was never sent to the bench for the likes of COLT MCCOY! KC was given the job last year and LOST IT TO COLT! I repeat - KIRK COUSINS LOST THE STARTING JOB TO COLT MCCOY. Nothing in Steve Young's career is comparable to that simple fact. When given starting opportunities due to injury, Steve Young performed well but was sent to the bench for JOE MONTANA! Sorry, Young is NOT a comparable to KC. Not even a little.
[As an aside, can we stop looking for comparables for KC among HOF QB's - first it was "Manning and Farve threw a lot of INT's their first couple years." Now it's "Well, he is just getting a late shot at starting. Just like Steve Young." Barring a miraculous turnaround by KC that would be contrary to the entirety of his past QB history, no HOF QB should be used as a reasonable comparable to Kirk. Ever.]
Kirk has been given shots - certainly last year - to stake his claim. After three years in the league, He did not. It's just that simple.
He had a really good game against TBay, a really good clutch drive in Philly. He sucked against the Giants - badly. I don't know which KC is going to show up in NE but my guess is Bad Kirk. Bad Kirk shows up a lot and at random times.
He has had FOUR YEARS to learn "not to force throws" - yet he forced a Tony-Romo-I-must-be-choking throw in Atlanta that turned into a pick 6. Why "especially after last week" do you think the light has suddenly come on?? More importantly, why do you think it will stay on given his proven inconsistency?? The man is a 27 year old, fourth year QB with plenty of in-game experience & starting experience who has yet to unequivocally demonstrate that he can be a consistent starter in this league.
KC is a great guy who has shown some improvement in his play on a game by game basis. He has not, however, shown that he can string three good games in a row without being incredibly inaccurate and/or avoid multiple picks.
You want to believe in magic transformations, I am not going to stop you. I hope for one too. However, please don't try to sell me magical transformations through ill-conceived attempts at rational logic.
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Was waiting for someone to accuse me of comparing KC to Young in terms of talent. Never did I even hint at such a thing. I was simply comparing the facts that they started their careers as bench warmers in the wings. Only because you make it sound like KC is a journeyman qb - he is in a weird situation like Young to begin a career. Usfl teams and the Bucs are comparable to the crap team Cousins has had to "learn " from. Remember Young went to BYU so he was 23 when his pro career began and his time in TB was less than horrible. Threw twice as many picks as td's in those couple years but Walsh thought he had potential so he rode the pine in San Fran. If TB had A Colt Mcoy there is a good chance he would have been benched for him.
Edit: i dont want to believe in magic, or do i think - once again - that Cousins will pan out for sure. I simply want to give him a fair shake. Imo its been 8 weeks. In yours its been 4 years.
Edit : you dont learn not to force throws sitting on the bench or in practice. You just dont. You learn in gametime. You want to call coming off the bench cold against the Seahawks in the playoffs gametime go ahead. I call it being thrown to the wolves. KC is now after 4 years finally the annointed starter for an entire off season/regular season - let it play out. If we half someone half as capable as Steve Young ill be happy. Also lets be fair - Young had the greatest wr of all time and a hof team all around him. When he played for Tampa Bay he couldnt get out of his own way. Go figure.