If there was any player in the NFL this week that needs a pat on the back right now, it has to be Kirk Cousins.
The new Atlanta Falcons quarterback had sky-high expectations going for him as he took the field after his October 2023 Achilles injury, and he … well, looked like a 36-year-old quarterback coming off an Achilles injury on Sunday against a ferocious Pittsburgh Steelers defense.
The rust was noticeable, the decision-making was skittish and the all-around vibes just weren’t great. While it’d be very easy (and very Falcons-y) to sound the alarm and declare Cousins freshly cooked right out the gate, that’s really not fair or reasonable to Captain Kirk.
Just like Andy Dufresne had to crawl to freedom through 500 yards of poop-smelling foulness you can’t even imagine in The Shawshank Redemption, Cousins is going to have to play some bad football, get smacked around by the likes of T.J. Watt and make some bone-headed mistakes that make Falcons fans wretch to get back to his old self on the gridiron.
He’s going to need a moment to get back on the horse after going through such a difficult injury and recovery process. It’s not what you want to hear as a Falcons player, coach or fan, but the new quarterback is a definite work-in-progress. Just looking at the way he’s dropping back after taking the snap shows a quarterback who is definitely not feeling his groove.
every Kirk Cousins dropback end zone view
what do you notice pic.twitter.com/RllUesBU7F
— Warren Sharp (@SharpFootball) September 9, 2024
Playing quarterback in the NFL is tough as it is, and Cousins is an aging veteran coming off one of the most significant injuries a football player can endure. Tearing your Achilles isn’t the death knell it once was for athletes, but the older you get, the tougher it is to get back to basics.
Cousins isn’t the oldest quarterback in the league, but he’s no spring chicken. It makes sense for him to need at least a month to get his some of his juice back on the field and get settled into his new offense in Atlanta.
The issue for the Falcons isn’t that Cousins isn’t healthy enough to play quarterback. It’s that he is just healthy enough to play quarterback. He’s ready to shake off the rust and go through the brutal paces to find his form again, and that’s what we probably should’ve expected from him to start the season in Atlanta.
Cousins isn’t going to be able to go out there and be the player we know he can be right away. He needs physical and mental reps to get his mojo back. That’s going to require patience. That’s going to look butt-ugly at times like it did on Sunday. That may well put the Falcons in a tough spot to start the season while its new quarterback gets his confidence back.
Protected stance for Kirk Cousins so far. Even footing versus last year’s stagger stance. He’s preventing hard planting on his right in his backpedal.
And he’s not driving through his right foot at all.
Not trust in his leg.Key question: is it mental or physical?
Big https://t.co/84th2XRaFg pic.twitter.com/MGFE4i1qwj
— Jeff Mueller, PT, DPT (@jmthrivept) September 10, 2024
But that’s the risk the Falcons took when they signed Cousins to his monster contract back in March. They signed a 36-year-old coming off an Achilles tear. They didn’t sign Patrick Mahomes coming off a Super Bowl win. The new quarterback is not going to be able to get better unless he, y’know, gets better.
That means Cousins may need to look bad before he learns to look good again. Like, c’mon, look at the poor guy. He doesn’t seem comfortable on the field just yet, and the only thing that’s going to get him there is to continue to get reps and feel all of this out.
Yes, the Falcons drafted Michael Penix Jr. to be heir apparent, and Penix is probably more ready to roll than Cousins is right now. However, Cousins isn’t going to get back into form without dusting off the cobwebs and finding his (quite literal) footing again.
Plus, the Falcons really can’t afford for Penix to go out there and play well because of the whole “they just paid Cousins a lot of money” thing. The team clearly has a timeline for succession, and a rusty Cousins that loses games won’t derail that unless it’s the last option on the table to salvage the season. In that scenario, Cousins is playing like this well into November, and that just doesn’t seem plausible unless his body really starts to just generally give out.
Atlanta isn’t going to sacrifice either Cousins’ recovery track or Penix’s development plan just because of one bad afternoon at the office. The team may be willing to sacrifice a little bad play now to get what it paid for later, which is probably smart in the long run but certainly frustrating in the interim for Falcons fans who are hungry to see good offense again.
Also, new Falcons offensive coordinator Zac Robinson is having to design an offense for a veteran quarterback coming off a significant injury without any history of calling plays for any quarterback in the NFL.
The lack of play-action formations stood out tremendously, as Cousins has typically thrived when he’s able to pass out of that popular play design.
If anything, it feels very evident that Robinson had to create an offense to start the season that works within the limitations of its quarterback. That makes his scheme look basic, rigid and predictable, but he may not have a choice until Cousins shows on film that he can handle more mobility in the pocket.
Robinson was already going to need a period of adjustment to hone in his play calling, and now he’s operating with a hand tied behind his back.
The Falcons also didn't run a single snap of play action in the entire game. They really didn't want to put Cousins on the move. https://t.co/MuIeWX0jWF
— Nate Tice (@Nate_Tice) September 9, 2024
I just watched every Falcons dropback…
That was the least I've seen a QB move in a game ever. Not an exageration. He broke the tackle box just once I think. No play action. No under center. Just 3/5 step drops and pray there is no pressure.
Wow.
— Hayden Winks (@HaydenWinks) September 9, 2024
The Falcons were the only team that was not credited with running a single play action pass yesterday.
96.0% of their snaps were out of shotgun, 2nd in the league behind only the Colts, who used play action a league-high 57.9% of the time.
— Rich Hribar (@LordReebs) September 9, 2024
This is just the reality of the situation for the Falcons. Until Cousins gets more comfortable to plant that foot and let it rip, he’s going to have to play within an offense that caters to his limited range.
Until Robinson gets more experience as an NFL play caller, that catering might look a bit more disjointed and vanilla than it already would with a rookie coach. Until this whole situation improves, the Falcons will have to lean on its vaunted run game with Bijan Robinson and Tyler Allgeier and pray Cousins can manage the game as it is schemed.
Falcons coach Raheem Morris said on Monday that Cousins is healthy and that there is no correlation between the play calling and his health. Between the coach protecting his quarterback and his assistant, you can kind of see the truth of the ordeal. Yes, Cousins is healthy enough to go out there and play, and no, they are not going to admit to planning around his limitations as to give away any competitive advantage to opposing defensive coordinators.
Morris is too much of a mensch to throw Cousins or Robinson under the bus, but it’s pretty clear that there is a correlation between how the Falcons are designing their offense and where Cousins is in his recovery.
Atlanta isn’t going to keep Cousins stagnating on the sideline when he needs to go out there and figure himself out, and goodness knows that Penix never leaves that field if he goes out there and balls out in front of the fans.
Right now, it’s a waiting game to see just how long Cousins takes to get back in the habit for Atlanta. Until then, all bets are off for this football team, which should make the NFC South competition all the tighter by season’s end.
We’re not really sure when the quarterback’s recovery will be complete, but the Falcons should be a much tougher out if and when Cousins gets back to normal and gives the team the reliable veteran quarterback play it paid for.
