Tom Sykes
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ORIGINAL: Pager
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ORIGINAL: Tom Sykes
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ORIGINAL: marty
So Brady capitalized on the turnovers, and didn't make mistakes in the 1st half to put his team in the hole, and did this on the road against quality opposition, and he did the same thing in the SB, against a team that just won the SB the previous year.
There is NO guarantee Cousins would do that.
Only a fool would say any QB could do that. As none of Brady's throws looked terribly difficult, there are probably some that speculate Trubisky, Carr or Cousins could all havemade those throws, but just watching someone play in the clutch, doesn't make another player suddenly clutch.
Make up your mind on which argument you are trying to push. Or better yet, do some research AND then make a claim. Like Brady made the oline better. Prove it. I can post some stats that back up my argument for the SB. Brady was pressured only 3 times (10%) on plays 2.5 or less while Mahomes was pressure 43% in the same situations. Bucs oline had 33 carries, 145 yards, 4.4 average, 1 TD.
Who guaranteed Cousins could do that? 
Who said any QB could do that? You need to work on your reading comprehension.
My original points: 1) I'm all for improving the Vikings QB situation. 2) Cousins, inaccurately imo, is getting all the blame for slow starts when it's multiple things.
3) Bucs had a vastly superior team to the Vikings last year in all phases except 1, the run game which was mitigated or caused by scheme (and as you can see the in the SB, ran it pretty effectively). And that the Bucs lifted Brady not the other way around.
1) Ofcourse, nobody should dispute that.
2) Pretty much true.
3) Certainly, the Bucs were a superior team to the Vikings ... vastly on defense, OL and TE. And coaching.
To say that the Bucs would have won big game after big game, from getting the #5 seed in-season as an 11-5 above-average-but-not-really-good-team through winning the SB ... without a Big Game QB, is a feeble argument. That's not what happened in 2020.
Sure, the rest of the team absolutely rose to the occasion, and the Chiefs were not the same team that beat the Bucs during the season.
But 2020 ended with a proven big game player making reads, decisions, throws one necessary play after another, one big game after another.
Cousins is a good QB with a great arm. He has yet to prove he is a big game player in any sense of the term.
Calling the Bucs an above average but not really good team, is a feeble argument. And no Brady did not make one necessary play after another. NFCCG is absolutely proof of that. Brady choked. 3 second half pics - in a row. One of them Brady chucked it up - floater not even close to his target in a critical spot. Bucs defense and GB bailed Brady out.
As Brad pointed out, they held Mahomes and the Chiefs to 3 field goals.
I apologize for the long-ass answer.
Going into the playoffs, anybody not involved in this debate would say the Chiefs, Packers, Saints and Bills were better teams ... easily. The next rung being the Bucs and 5 or 6 other 11-5 teams (Titans, Ravens, Browns, Colts, Seahawks ...) with the struggling Steelers, Rams?, WASH and Bears on the lowest playoff rung.
We can quibble over above average / good / very good ... IMO the Bucs were somewhere in the middle of the pack ...
Yes – you are right ... Brady did not play well in the NFCCG (although he threw 2 TDs which helped). The Bucs defense completely bailed out Brady and won that game ... the Bucs run game was actually the second biggest contributor with some huge gaffes by the packers as probably the third.
When I say 'play after play', it's a mis-statement because it implies 'every necessary play' which is impossible. Maybe 'do enough to win', I dunno, obviously I'm not talking about every game or making the necessary play in every situation – no player has ever done that.
I am not really a Brady fan, never have been. I do grudgingly admit that he somehow consistently finds ways to win in spite of his physical limitations. I used to hate that with the Pats ... for some reason, it entertained me this past season.
As far as the SB – you cannot have it both ways and argue that our stupid OL is holding Cousins back from 'winner' status but that the Bucs Def were great by stuffing Mahomes regardless of his lousy OL (Not to mention playing through injury). The Bucs defense is good but not near the SB's Ravens or Bears level – Brady was a critical factor and, yes, came through in some clutch moments. (not play after play which was a silly exaggeration).
To get back to the original point, Cousins has not done enough in his career with what he has – to be considered a QB that rises to the occasion / plays well in big moments / comes through under pressure (however you want to word it). That's not comparing him to Brady or anyone else ... that is just his trajectory as a QB so far. I honestly hope he gets past that and proves otherwise.
< Message edited by Tom Sykes -- 3/3/2021 11:07:42 AM >
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