Kapp it sure made my evening after we talked and he shared this with me.J. Kapp 11 wrote: ↑Thu Jun 20, 2019 10:54 pmI love hearing this. Thanks for posting.Bowhunting Viking wrote: ↑Thu Jun 20, 2019 3:01 pm Ok , this post is not gospel.. it's not a prophecy and not a 100 % guarantee. What it is is an opinion from a very intelligent, informed, knowledgeable person who truly is in a position to give this opinion because of prior experience involved in this situation. And for me it is a reason to be excited , optimistic and look forward to the upcoming season.
It didn't come from a reporter , a blog writer, an analyst or any type of media member.
This came directly from a retired NFL center who can give this opinion probably better than anyone. He was drafted by the Broncos BY Mike Shanahan and started there as Cutlers QB, played in the Shanahan system, which is basically Kubiaks. When Josh McDaniels took over as head coach, he was then signed by Shanahan again when he became the coach of the Skins , and played there until he retired before last season, still playing under Kyle Shanahan. He was RG3s QB.. wont tell u the majority of the teams opinion about him and the way Snyder doted over him. Then he became Cousins center for all but Kirk's final season.
Anyway, according to him, he feels with the new system, it will in fact be a much better fit for the O lineman we have and the weapons in the skilled positions. He also believes that Cousins , from recent conversations as he still is in touch, is A. Much more comfortable and confident in the system and the Stef as O.C. and Kubiak being there. And B. Is so competitive that he wants to erase all doubt he created last year. Sounds like from what he has heard this offense is already starting to "feel it" and think they have something special brewing.
I hope this is all correct. I know it's just a retired players opinion, but at only a 2nd year removed, and having the experience in the offensive system we will be running, and being Cousins Line general for those 2 seasons, I'm feeling alot better about things than if he would have said Man you guys are in trouble.
As I said.. nothing is certain. But when i hear from him, i tend to listen and believe alot more than some media "expert".
Gives me a ray of hope.
It's been my belief since the hiring of Kubiak that our offense was going to go a drastically different direction. When you talk about the system being a better fit for the offensive linemen we have, this is something I've been speculating for some time now. When we go and get Josh Kline (experience in zone blocking), Garrett Bradbury, Drew Samia, etc., it's obvious to me that Kubiak and Stefanski are looking for a certain type of lineman with certain athletic qualities. And Kubiak, as I have mentioned endlessly, has a reputation and a proven track record for doing great things with average talent at quarterback. My belief is that Kirk Cousins is above average, so that's a reason for optimism.
To hear an ex-NFL lineman who played for Kubiak say this kind of thing makes me feel a lot better about the upcoming season.
He himself was a on the smaller side , well compared to his teammate and one of his best friends Trent Williams, in Washinton. But you could see the sparkle in his eyes when he talked about playing in the zone scheme. He also ran it in college at Bowling Green so he knew it well.
We talked about the current Vikes line and as I said, he feels this will really be a boost to their effectiveness as a line as a whole. He said it's all about speed and timing, and he feels we really so have the right personnel to be successful.
It was also great to hear him talking about Cousins state of mind right now . He said in Wash Kirk was always upright because Daniel Snyder was so on love with RG3 he looked at Kirk as the red headed stepchild, and Gruden never really totally backed him since he wasnt his pick. He gave me some specific instances to prove it, but I will keep those between he and I. But Cousins never really felt comfortable there as far as being truly wanted, and being handed the leadership of the team.
Now he feels more confident that the owners, coach and GM trust him and want him there.
He said I know alot of fans are hating on him for last season, but I think that with his comfort level now, his happiness and fit in this system, and the competitive fire he has, I think the fans and the league are gonna get a real big suprise this season.
He said that Kirk is first and foremost an amazing guy. He did laugh and say he gets a little corny when he gets wound up sometimes lol, but he is a VERY talented QB and has the potential , with tools and the organization he is now in, to really take this team deep.
I told him he really made me excited about this upcoming season and hope he is correct.
It's pretty easy to get pumped when the guy telling u this was the guy snapping our QB the ball every play, and making all the line calls and adjustments. And played in the exact system we will be running.
I talked to his brother at work yesterday and he said Kory told me to see if I still had the big #### eating grin on my face like I did after we talked. Lol.
He knows how bad I want us to succeed. It was a fun conversation. Cool to hear alot of the tidbits about certain players and teams of the league. It's a whole different world than us regular guys live. Its mind boggling. Alot of it good, but alot of bad and strange stuff too. Gives u a different perspective on some of the guys.
Oh yeah, on a cool note. He told me Linvel is one of the hardest guys to try and block in the NFL. He said the zone system is perfect against guys like him. Trying to move him one on one is almost impossible. His exact words were " it's like coming off the snap and then trying to push the team bus where you want it to go". Said hes a beast, but a real cool guy to play against.
