Mailbag, Part II: Kirk Cousins Decision, Packers' free-agency move, Jalen Hurts' leadership, why we need rivalries
What will Minnesota do at QB? Who should the Packers target in free agency? And why do the words of Marv Hubbard still resonate today? Part II of our marathon Mailbag series is live.
Part I is here, icymi. Part II is below.
Exceptional submissions by all.
On the docket today?
What will the Minnesota Vikings do at quarterback? They face another massive Kirk Cousins decision.
Which positions — and specific free agent — should Packers GM Brian Gutekunst target? Releasing David Bakhtiari should help. One vet at corner could be this team’s missing piece.
Jalen Hurts and the Eagles fell apart in 2023. Where can the quarterback improve? A few of his words after the season serve as a red flag.
Should the NFL consider conference realignment?
Why Marv Hubbard’s voice echoes today.
Let’s jump in.
This was fun.
We’ve read reports of Patrick Mahomes wearing a medical device during the famous “13 Seconds” playoff game against Buffalo a few years ago. The device noted the Mahomes’ heart-rate spiked most when he was not in the game. When in the game, especially during the latter stages of it, his heartbeat was sedated and regular. When he came to Minnesota, head coach Kevin O’Connell spoke about getting the historically jittery-in-important-moments-of-the-game Kirk Cousins to play with “a quiet mind.”
Sorry for the long preamble. Here’s the question: Do NFL teams have training methods to help quarterbacks stay calm when calmness is needed most?
With every good wish,
Roger
The data from that WHOOP device is so revealing. Because you’re right. Patrick Mahomes’ heart rate spiked most after game-changing plays — not in the midst of pressure-packed moments. When the Kansas City Chiefs took the field those final 13 seconds of regulation against the Buffalo Bills in the divisional round of the 2021 playoffs, down 36-33, Mahomes nestled into his flow state of calm. This is how everyone who knows the quarterback best explained his magic.
He owns this moment. It’s no surprise he’s 7 for 7 in “clutch” playoff drives.
Most quarterbacks are like most humans. When the stakes are raised, they tense up.
Fear is biochemical and fear often leads to failure.
Kirk Cousins is a B+ to A-minus quarterback who’ll get paid again next month — as he should. He turns 36 in August and he’s coming off of a torn Achilles, but Cousins didn’t show visible signs of decline before the injury. To your point, the question’s always been how he performs under pressure.
One of our first pieces at Go Long focused on this aspect of his game. At the time, Cousins was 1-9 on Monday Night Football. Those around the QB insisted that record was no coincidence. Terence Newman, a player-turned-coach for the Vikings said: “Sometimes, the moment’s just too big for people. It’s a lot of pressure. You either bolt or you rise to the occasion. Unfortunately, for Minnesota, their quarterback has not risen to the occasion very often.” One offensive coach who spent a lot of time around Cousins described the QB as “really tight” and “really nervous.” One NFL personnel exec likened the Cousins-Vikings partnership to a marriage. Both sides realized there are very real problems, entered divorce court and decided to renew their vows anyways. “When they go out, they smile and everyone acts like everything is good. You’re paying this dude like he’s one of the top guys in the league. And he’s kind of, you know, OK.”
Zimmer was replaced with Kevin O’Connell. Vows were renewed.
Here we are again.
GM Kwesi Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell must ask themselves the same question everyone has with this QB: Does he have another level? The Detroit Lions have arrived as Super Bowl contenders. Love and the Packers are ascending. (Chances are, his WHOOP reading would be similar to Mahomes.) The Chicago Bears may soon add USC’s Caleb Williams. There’s a lot to like about Cousins. Under O’Connell, he has a 17-8 record, while averaging 275 passing yards per game and 1.88 touchdowns per game. But this coming week at the NFL Combine, Vikings reps will be setting their price on the quarterback with Cousins’ reps and SI’s Albert Breer already reports the team will not offer a fully guaranteed contract.
One reason the Vikings can still picture a scenario in which Cousins leads them to their first Super Bowl appearance since 1977 answers your question: Coaching.
We’re all products of our environments, right? All head coaches set the tone for their building. From Day 1, O’Connell was the Anti-Zimmer. Nobody on staff will be referring to this Vikings boss as “Satan.” A player-driven, less-tight, optimistic-not-pessimistic atmosphere absolutely quieted Cousins’ mind and it showed. The Vikings won 11 one-score games in 2022 and let’s not forget the second-to-last game we saw out of Cousins in 2023. Against the San Francisco 49ers — the eventual NFC champs, on MNF, without Justin Jefferson — Cousins completed 35 of 45 passes for 378 yards with a pair of touchdowns. He might’ve gotten a shot to knock the Niners off again.
Bill Belichick, the greatest ever, should be one of the 32 head coaches in the sport. But organizations were in zero rush to tear down their building for the guy because the NFL, as a whole, is clearly adapting to the modern athlete. Zimmer had defensive backs afraid of their own shadow. This isn’t 1992. The majority of 22- and 23-year-olds out of college don’t respond to getting MF’ed in film sessions. Look at Tua Tagovailoa’s turnaround. That’s how Brian Flores coached, and Tua’s career nearly spiraled into oblivion. Mike McDaniel presented Tua with a 700-play highlight reel and, by 2023, he led the NFL in passing. (Ironically enough, Flores has been a good fit back at DC in Minnesota.)
Beyond this shift in coaching, teams do everything in their power to calm the mind of their starting quarterback. Psychologists are often deployed. Last week, I chatted with one former NFL exec who drafted a quarterback very high. His handpicked QB got off to a promising start, started to lose his confidence and the exec said they tried everything in their power to help him rediscover it. Multiple psychologists and mental coaches were brought in. This particular player, however, had reached a point of no return.
All of this is why NFL teams ramp up their investigations ahead of the draft. Scouts must grill teammates, coaches, professors, equipment managers, everyone imaginable to learn if a quarterback’s heart rate will drop when a season is on the line. You can try to help a QB all you want. Maybe external factors do help. Honestly, the magic stuff inside Mahomes, Tom Brady, the clutchiest of the clutch is innate.
What do you think the optimal Vikings play at QB is next season? If they get a good RB, can the rest of that offense carry a rookie QB?
Dougie W
The Vikings are playing this Cousins situation right. If they can get him back on their terms, run it back. Matthew Coller over at Purple Insider staged a mock negotiation that seems reasonable. A two-year, $74 million deal that includes $60M guaranteed if Minnesota picks up the second-year option in 2025 is a fine compromise. If the Vikes choose not to pick that option up next February, Cousins can hit the market then. Such an offer puts the ball in Cousins’ court. If he can get more money from the Atlanta Falcons or Las Vegas Raiders — and chooses to uproot his family to move — power to him. Get all the money your heart desires in this sport. Adofo-Mensah and O’Connell are correct in wanting to save some money to add a playmaker on defense and keep their draft options open at quarterback.
If Cousins does bail, they could sign a vet like Gardner Minshew or Jacoby Brissett before drafting someone in April.
This franchise is no doubt learning everything it can about this year’s crop.
If they fall in love with North Carolina’s Drake Maye or LSU’s Jayden Daniels, the Vikings should make an aggressive move to No. 2 or No. 3 overall. By Year 3, most all regimes place their defining bet at the position. It’s time in Minnesota.
Hi Tyler,
Thank you again for your insightful thoughts about the Packers and especially Jordan Love. My question is what 3 things do the Packers have to improve team-wise for them to be a potential playoff participant?
Thank you so very much, appreciate you,
Kate
Here’s a sentence fueled by nothing but 2 ½ cups of coffee this morning: The Green Bay Packers can realistically contend for a Super Bowl next season. No ayahuasca required. One play away from the conference title in ‘23 — where they would’ve faced a team they punished on Thanksgiving Day — the Packers should conduct business this spring with the ultimate goal in mind. All due respect to David Bakhtiari and his “rebuilding” thesis, but the Packers were always primed to compete with Jordan Love in and Aaron Rodgers out.
Therein lies one problem. Rodgers isn’t completely out. While the Packers were able to pawn him off to the New York Jets, they’re still coping with the ramifications of the ill-advised 2022 contract extension at about $3 million over the cap. Without getting too far into the weeds, GM Brian Gutekunst has a lot of restructuring to do if he intends to sign a premier free agent. Releasing Bakhtiari would create $21 million in cap space. Maybe the Packers can even squeeze a late-round pick out of the Jets via trade. This franchise was gullible enough to give Randall Cobb a roster spot to appease its Assistant to the Regional Manager.
The salary cap is real… to a point.
Teams can always resort to cap gymnastics.
Every team every offseason must decide if it’s worth pushing cap charges down the line to win now. Those bills must be paid eventually and your organization may turn into a hamster on a wheel. (See: New Orleans Saints.) But in today’s NFL, an increasing number of teams are embracing this fiscally irresponsible business practice. General managers and head coaches started to realize they might get canned anyways and it’s worth going down swinging. If Cap Hell awaits, that can serve as another man’s problem.
In the Packers’ case, championship hopes will be real in 2024.
So, go for it. This is a different NFL than the one Ted Thompson navigated at his peak.
Gutekunst sounds open to moving mountains for a player the team covets.
“I think it just depends on the player,” Gutekunst said after the season. “It depends on who that is and how he can impact our football team. I don’t think we’ll shy away from adding impact players if we have to push things down the road. We’d prefer not to do that, but at the same time, this is about winning and trying to win a championship, so if that’s something that makes sense, we’ll do it.”
A few obvious needs: safety, cornerback, running back, offensive tackle. Pro Football Focus has a strong top 200 posted if anyone wants to play GM. While it’s still true that veterans aren’t in a rush to live in Northeast Wisconsin despite the Cajun-seasoned crawdads at Fox Harbor Pub, it’s also true many are interested in winning championships. Love’s performance in Year 1 as the starter will force more talent to consider the Packers an option.
If Gutekunst sweetens the pot, maybe that’s enough to entice one of the best players on the market.
Finding new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley a versatile defensive back is a good place to start. The top prizes this spring at corner are Jaylon Johnson and L’Jarius Sneed. Both will command top dollar, but Super Bowl LVIII also highlighted the need for a tough slot corner to attack offenses. Maybe Indy’s Kenny Moore is the best fit. He’s fresh off one of his best seasons, earning a 79.3 coverage grade and 71.5 run-defense grade from PFF. Moore throws himself into traffic, a presence Green Bay has sorely missed.
We profiled Moore three years ago. Pound for pound, the 5-foot-9, 190-pounder is as physically and mentally tough as it gets. Moore also has 17 career interceptions, including two pick-sixes in the same game last season.
The Packers obviously must always make protecting Love a top priority. Zach Tom is entrenched at right tackle — no use getting cute trying to move him around. How confident the team is in Rasheed Walker will dictate the decision-making process. After not playing a single snap as a rookie in 2022, the seventh-rounder out of Penn State started 77 percent of the snaps at left tackle. Gutekunst sung his praises.
“You’ve got to give that kid a lot of credit,” the Packers GM said. “First of all, his work ethic over the offseason and how tremendously he improved. He fought through some things this year, injury-wise. He was a warrior out there. He’s done a great job. I’m really glad we have him.”
In the Packers’ dream scenario, Walker continues to blossom into a long-term starter. Unfortunately, there are never guarantees at this position. Green Bay cannot afford to wish and hope. With the 25th, 41st, 58th, 88th and 91st overall picks, the Packers should do what they can to secure the offensive tackle they desire most.
Thirdly, let’s go with running back. Even though Aaron Jones’ odometer (1,177 carries) is kind for a 29-year-old, and even though he looked better than ever in the playoffs (226 yards on 39 attempts), the Packers would be wise to prioritize a rookie back in the first few rounds. A.J. Dillon is a free agent and averaged only 3.4 yards per carry last season. Love was clearly at his best when this rushing game turned on. We finally saw what a Matt LaFleur Offense looks like in December. Wouldn’t surprise me one bit if he has a collegiate running back targeted.
1) What do the Eagles need to do next season, to get back to the Super Bowl?
2) Does Jalen Hurts even care about winning?
Smayan
Long overdue to examine the Birds. What in the name of Bobby Hoying happened with your crew, Smayan? Jalen Hurts gave us one of the finest quarterback performances in Super Bowl history against the Chiefs and this was a team motoring in the right direction as late as Nov. 26, 2023 with a 37-34 overtime win over the Buffalo Bills. It wasn’t perfect but they constantly found funky ways to win. They were 10-1.
Then, suddenly, the 2023 Eagles devolved faster than Rickety Cricket.
Losing both coordinators was always going to sting more than people believed, particularly on offense. It’s clear now that Steve Steichen was the driving force behind Hurts’ rise.
So, let’s start there. The Eagles wasted no time installing Kellen Moore as OC. He’ll bring needed creativity. No team used motion less than the Eagles last season. As detailed by Zach Berman over at PHLY, Moore’s 2022 Chargers ranked No. 8 in motion, Moore’s 2021 Cowboys ranked No. 1 vs. the blitz and his offense is determined to use the entire field. Backs. Wide receivers. Tight ends. Everyone’s involved in the passing game, which is needed in Philly. Even when the Eagles were winning, the passing game consisted of 1-on-1 shots to A.J. Brown and not much else.
Another positive: Moore has been around egos both as a player and a coach. He should be able to handle the personalities in this locker room. Brown hasn’t been the happiest of campers.
The Eagles could’ve taken a shot on an up and comer, but this is obviously a roster in win-now mode. I like the hire.
That being said, it’s not the best look that Dallas replaced Moore with Brian Schottenheimer and improved. Or that Justin Herbert failed to take a leap under his watch. We know Moore is going to put the ball in the air — a lot — and that’s a good thing. Offensive line coach Jeff Stoutland is the best in the business and can handle the run game. The key is utilizing Hurts’ legs because, much like the Bills with Josh Allen, there’s no need to overthink longevity. You’ve got a team that was one play away from the Super Bowl in 2022. Go for it. Don’t try to turn Hurts into something he’s not in the thick of his prime.
OK.
On to your second note.
Everything I’ve ever heard is that Hurts is obsessed with winning. We check in with Kurt Warner often here at Go Long, and he was blown away by Hurts’ progression in 2022. He’s a worker, a winner and let’s never forget his reaction to getting benched in the national championship at Alabama. He didn’t sulk. Hurts appeared genuinely thrilled for Tagovailoa. When the Eagles’ season crumbled, Hurts did speak up once: “We have to make an internal change in how we attack things, how we come to work every day,” he said. “Starts with the little things, how committed we are to what we're doing, and that all starts with me the quarterback. So it’s a challenge that I’m embracing.”
That being said, there wasn’t much else. Hurts’ stoic demeanor was celebrated as a character strength through a Super Bowl run. Not so much when the entire team was frantically sprinting away from molten-hot lava L to L to L. I can see why Eagles fans are annoyed. Hurts should’ve been more active on the sidelines with teammates as this team lost six of their last seven. Raw emotion is expected. Harsh conversations are required. Hurts wasn’t nearly as engaged as Mahomes through the Chiefs’ offensive malaise and this Philly collapse was abrupt as it gets in pro sports.
A player in his position — fresh off inking a five-year, $255 million contract — needs to be the loudest voice on the front lines.
If anyone has the clout to punch a hole through the hole and demand accountability, it’s Hurts.
We don’t know what’s happening behind closed doors but, publicly, Hurts was too status-quo dry. Game to game. Presser to presser. The Eagles will need more from Hurts as a leader in the tough times to get back to the Super Bowl.
More unsettling than the QB’s temperament through December is what Hurts actually did say after the Eagles were whacked by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, 32-9, in the wild card. That week, Nick Sirianni was clearly dangling in the wind. Players were (predictably) asked if they wanted their head coach back and players (predictably) served up the same cliches. Everyone except Hurts, that is. When the captain was asked if he wanted Sirianni back as his coach, his answer was more cryptic.
“I didn’t know he was going anywhere,” he said.
Hurts was then asked if he’s confident Sirianni is the right person to fix the team. He refused again to give a ringing endorsement.
“I have a ton of confidence in everyone in this building. It’s just a matter of us going out there and playing clean football. That’s been something that we have not done.”
Red Flag Alert.
If readers take anything from Part III of our Bills series, it should be that the relationship between head coach and quarterback is what separates the good from the great. Maybe Moore and new DC Vic Fangio steady this ship and get the Eagles back to the playoffs. This roster is talented. But if the Eagles deteriorate again, Howie Roseman will follow the money and find a head coach who is fully aligned with his quarterback.
Since Green Bay beat Kansas City, I’m claiming the latest Lombardi for the good guys.
You were right, they should have traded Rodgers in 2022.
Randy
I know Pat McAfee is the cool kid at the lunch table. ESPN’s official $85 Million Dollar Man — tank-toppin’ and bee-boppin’ — is regaled as a sports-media god. Aaron Rodgers tabbed him as an ally and, sadly, McAfee’s been incorrect every step of the way when it comes to the content at this site. All the Packers needed to do was hit mute on Mac and sign up to Go Long to save themselves $150 million and gain three or four first-round picks. A shame! But, hey, better late than never. That QB is the Jets’ problem now and I look forward to not writing about him this offseason.
Tyler,
Is there not a case to be made NFL conference realignment is overdue?
Over 20 years with the same 8x4 system is stale. Played out. Boring. The systems put in place to prevent dynasties (salary cap, revenue sharing, draft, etc.) has accomplished the opposite. Don’t have an all-time great QB? You’re f---ed. No hope. I’d argue the league should go full PLS and install a promotion and relegation system, but the rich, white, and old male owners like money too much to do this. If the conferences are so imbalanced that the AFC, and the league ultimately, runs through Mahomes, how can any other AFC teams compete?
How about eliminating all divisions altogether?
15 games in conference, everyone plays each other once. Two games out of conference.
I know, I know. None of this will ever happen.
But why is there such a hesitancy to change the structural make-up of the league? Committees debate fumbles out of the end zone, what is a catch, all this subjective minutia.
Yet the one OBJECTIVE change that could substantially affect the playoff seeding is to change the mechanics of who plays who.
Tell me, Tyler, why is this a bad idea?
Steve
Love the passion.
Love the energy.
Steve is bringing the HEAT. My mailbox is currently a pile of ash.
Even love the innovation, especially when it comes to punishing putrid franchises. Oh, hello there. You finished in last place again? Here’s your bib for the kids table. Hurry up now, Mikey Bidwill. I’m going to count to three!
Maybe shaking the 32 teams up into a new alignment would feed more interest and give teams trapped in a conference with Mahomes, Allen and Joe Burrow renewed hope. But I cannot quite match your enthusiasm for such a tectonic change. For starters, the NFL — king amongst all sports leagues — doesn’t need to do anything drastic. Sticking with our Always Sunny analogies, all other leagues are the ones piecing together dating profiles for the public like Charlie Kelly. Less than half the country even knows how the NHL’s playoff format works, while the NBA is the ultimate exercise in Haves and Have-Nots. You’re either one of the four teams capable of winning a championship or tanking. Eating milk steaks and engaging with magnets is 100x more fun than engaging with this league’s atrocity of an “all-star game,” too.
The NFL has its faults. Still hate that the owners snuck another wild-card team into each conference, creating the 44 Percent Club. But teams can go from worst to first and vice versa in their own divisions all the time, and that’s healthy for the sport. It’s February and fan bases of those eight clubs that finished last can already manufacture hope.
From the 2-15 Panthers. Dave Canales zapped life into the careers of Geno Smith and Baker Mayfield. Why not No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young?
To the 7-10 Bears. One Caleb Williams spin, juke and 70-yard bomb in the season opener will have perennially tortured fans doing Super Bowl shuffles.
To the 4-13 Commanders. No Dan Snyder? With a new franchise quarterback at No. 2 overall? Competent football people are finally making decisions.
To the 4-13 Cardinals. They played hard under Kendall Roy, I mean, Jonathan Gannon.
To the 6-11 Titans. Will Levis has a real chance at success with new coach Brian Callahan.
To the 4-13 Patriots. Eliot Wolf, the son of the Hall of Famer who revitalized the Packers, is now in charge of personnel.
To the 5-12 Chargers. This new Jim Harbaugh-Justin Herbert union gives them a real chance in the AFC.
To the 9-8 Bengals. Hello, Burrow.
But the main reason I can’t quite join you, Steve, is that I’m admittedly a sucker for division rivalries. There’s still something cool about teams hating each other in this brutal sport. When we chatted for “Blood and Guts,” Mike Ditka’s memory was sharpest thinking back to his bloody battles with Ray Nitschke in the 60s. Packers-Bears will always conjure visions of violent collisions for all generations. We all remember Bryan Cox vs. Bills Fans through the 90s. And Kelly-Marino. And Brett Favre strapping on a Minnesota Vikings uniform. And Ravens-Steelers games earlier this century should’ve required law enforcement officers in stripes. And when Las Vegas Raiders coach Antonio Pierce says he has “Mahomes Rules” for playing the Chiefs, it’s not the “Jordan Rules” that come to mind. Chiefs-Raiders always has more bite — back to the 70s and Marv Hubbard’s legendary hatred for the Chiefs.
“I’m at my best against these guys,” Hubbard once told SI. “I love to beat them more than anything else.
"All afternoon I was looking for Willie Lanier. He’s supposed to be the best and I want the best. Finally I got him on a block and I knocked him right on his butt.”
The Red House, N.Y., native never hid his disdain for the Chiefs. Hubbard was certainly smiling from above listening to Pierce’s appearance on Maxx Crosby’s podcast. The team’s new coach said the Raiders need to “Cut the head off the snake. Fifteen.” Pierce wants the Raiders to “hate the color red.”
Mahomes’ trainer, Bobby Stroupe, then filed the receipt for future use.
Scheduling divisional matchups in Weeks 17 and 18 means we’ll keep getting these games with a lot on the line. If Gen Z athletes exchange uniforms after games for the cameras, so be it. If this all makes me sound like a caveman, fine.
The game’s raw emotion should be preserved. Rivalries bring it to life.
Click here for Part III
ICYMI this week:
Mailbag, Part I: Beane's drafts, Tom Clements Effect, the 1950 Browns, Mahomes, 'Spags' & Caleb Williams
Chase Griffin and the growing power of the college athlete
Really fun mailbag articles Tyler!!!