B1G Quarterbacks 2011, Part Four: Is Kirk Cousins the B1G's Most Important Player?
by Graham Filler on Aug 15, 2011 10:18 PM CDT
in Michigan State
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PrintAnd I would only ask this question because Terrelle Pryor is gone. A turnover-free TP makes OSU a Top 3 team nationally. But he's dearly departed, which guides me to the strong-armed Golden Boy who leads with a steely gaze...and throws off his back foot just a few too many times a game. If Cousins plays spectacularly, MSU wins the Legends division. And that's a large amount of influence that Counsins' play holds.
Sometimes when I get an idea stuck in my brain, it's hard to convince me otherwise. So when I asked MSULaxer if Cousins was the B1G's most important player, I expected him to answer in the affirmative. He didn't, claiming Cousins presence didn't even make him the most important Spartan (he named the offensive line). So, I think, we see different things in Captain Kirk. I see a laser throwing future NFLer who won MSU a couple games on the sheer strength of his arm (see: Northwestern). MSULaxer sees a well-respected leader whose stable attitude, both on and off the field, makes him a dependable signalcaller.
Either way, the playcalling that has given Sparty consistent offensive success won't change much with the departure of Don Treadwell to Miami (OHhhh yeah). Cousins has playmakers and an offensive system that has turned out two consecutive years of good offensive line play. But Spartan title hopes lie with his gunnin'...and I truly believe that. So what do you see in Cousins' 2011 campaign?*
*the speech is real nice, and even if I was a negative nelly about the cliches, how could anyone be mad about a football player who has this kind of attitude?
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Single most important
I’m thinking Taylor Martinez. Like you say, if he’s effective, Nebraska is a frighteningly good team. If he’s inconsistent, well, no matter how good a defense is, you need to score to win, and I’m not sure they can do that well enough to be an elite team this year.
And co-1st is Persa. All signs point to him being healthy and ready to go, but if he has any set-backs or further injuries, Northwestern goes from being a darkhorse to middle of the pack
It never gets to be easy.
Why the fuck doesn't it ever get to be easy?
by chitownhawkeye on Aug 15, 2011 10:38 PM CDT reply actions
This is, after all, the year of the QB
Who is the best defensive player in the conference? Jared Crick. Who is 2nd? Shaun Prater?
Who is the best RB in the league? Edwin Baker maybe.
WR? McNutt?
We pay too much attention to quarterbacks because it’s undeniably the most important position on the field…but that attention is warranted when it comes to B1G 2011. All of the well-known stars are QB’s. Most of the “make-or-break a season” players are QB’s.
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by Graham Filler on Aug 15, 2011 10:44 PM CDT up reply actions
good point
I voted for cap’n kirk in the poll because I am an MSU homer, but in retrospect, I agree with you. The strength of MSU both last year and this year is that they don’t really have any weak points or any really strong points. They’ve got depth at almost every position, and that includes QB. Maxwell has been performing VERY well in the off season scrimmages (numbers wise at least beating even cousins, but who knows if he was playing against 1st, 2nd, or 3rd string defense). If Kirk gets injured, it will be a loss for sure, but he can still be the emotional leader of the team. Heck, the whole “win one for Kirk” thing might even make him better in that respect from the sidelines.
So I agree, Martinez is much more important because he is so much more of a wildcard. I would put Dennard Robinson up there too. He carried the umich offense on his shoulders last year, and he needs to do the same thing again in an entirely new system this year. I would give the nod to Martinez simply because, you know, Nebraska is actually contending for the title. But whoever the most important player is, it definitely isn’t Kirk.
I've been impressed with Cousins since the 2009 season.
Not sure if he is the most important player in the B10 (something hard to pin down), but I definitely think he represents what is good about the B10. Nice to hear a player who can impress in front of a podium as well as on the field. Its bold of me to presume, but I think Nile Kinnick would approve.
College football is quickly approaching!
Homer comment.
(Ir)regardless, it’s Persa.
Love, Northwestern’s offense vs. Illinois, Wisconsin, and Texas Tech.
Also a homer. #persastrong all the way
Now if only we can get our run game up to par
by LincolnParkWildcat on Aug 16, 2011 12:17 AM CDT up reply actions
I hate Northwestern with the passion of ten thousand suns, but I agree . . .
Without Persa, Northwestern is a mediocre-to-bad football team. With a healthy Persa, Northwestern is a GOOD football team.
Just realized what a terrible mixed metaphor with that, should be burning hatred of . . .
Not passion of.
So sue me. I’m no rocket surgeon.
Other
It has to be the OSU starting QB, whoever that is. If the QB is solid and not a turnover machine, OSU is a title contender. If he’s Bellisari-like, OSU is middle of the pack.
Persa is the MVP, but even with him I don’t think they’ll be a threat for the Legends.
Kirk Cousins -- Great athlete, person, leader, and QB, but...
….not the most important player, not by a long shot. Seriously, Cousins is great, plays the game the right way, is tough, has an excellent arm, and will have a career on the next level. Hell, he could be Tom Brady on the next level and I wouldn’t be even remotely shocked.
But most important player in the B1G this year to his team? Not even close – Cousins may not be top 5 (simply because his team is talented enough to still do well without him):
1. Dan Persa: 7-3 with him, 0-3 without him. It pretty much begins and ends there, but considering that there still is no established running game (yet) at Northwestern, that the entire spread offense’s success is based on accurate passing and occasional scrambling/designed runs for the QB, that he’s coming off an Achilles injury, that the schedule starts tough (at BC and at Army — 2 2010 bowl teams — sandwiched around a hopefully easy home game against Eastern Illinois), and that the Northwestern defense isn’t likely to win any games on their own, meaning that the offense HAS to succeed to win….this frankly is Persa, than a gap as large as Bret Bielema, then everyone else. #PersaStrong
2. MarQueis Gray — don’t laugh. Do you see any scenario where Minnesota wins ANY games if they were to lose Gray at QB?
3. Scheelhaase — see comments on #2 above.
4. Denard Robinson — like Persa, the offense is so important to Michigan’s success that if he goes down, they take a huge hit because the defense can’t win any games for the Wolverines (they’ll be improved, but not enough to be a game-winning by-themselves bunch). Unlike Persa, Michigan had some success last year even WHEN Denard got hurt in games (see: vs. Illinois).
5. T-Magic and Cousins (tie): This feels right for Cousins. As for T-Magic, his DEFENSE is so good that Nebraska could win some ugly games without him even throwing the ball, plus it helps to have Rex Burkhead in the backfield.
As for the QBs at OSU/PSU — the fact there is a battle to be the QB shows that if one guy went down, there’s not (necessarily, at least in the minds of coaches so far) a huge dropoff. And Wisconsin will win plenty of games even if Wilson or one of the RBs goes down (having both of those RBs is a HUGE luxury).
re: 4
Tate stepped in and played well when Denard was hurt, but now he’s gone and there are literally three scholarship quarterbacks on the roster (Denard, the talented-but-unproven Devin Gardner, and a true freshman that Hoke yanked from Purdue.) If Denard gets hurt for a significant amount of time, we’re in huge trouble.
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I blog here: The Wolverine Blog
I contribute here: BT Powerhouse
Less or more
trouble as if we had the same situation last year? (No Tate…)
by GoWings2008 on Aug 16, 2011 11:33 AM CDT up reply actions
Considering
the new offensive scheme that is.
by GoWings2008 on Aug 16, 2011 11:34 AM CDT up reply actions
Persa-meh
NW went 3-3 in conference with Persa, 0-2 without and I don’t see him causing a 21 point swing against Illinois or a 47 point swing against Wisconsin. Granted, NW won 3 conference games (by a total of 8 points) they would have lost without Persa, and that made them bowl eligible. If that makes him the Big Ten’s most important player, we are setting our standards really, really low.
What's the old saying?
If you have two starters quarterbacks, you don’t have a starting quarterback.
See MSU 2009
Basically, the argument
Cousins is a great QB with a very strong supporting cast, while the other teams simply need their respective signal-callers more.
I could get behind that. But I still voted Cousins (I’m a raging homer). Too late now!
Persa
He’s the most important individual player for all the reasons Chadnudj said above.
If we’re talking most important position group then I’d agree with MSULaxer on MSU’s o-line. I don’t think I’m being a homer when I say MSU has the best offensive skill position talent in the Big Ten, but that can all be mitigated by a sub par o-line. If the o-line is able to play well then we probably have the best offense in the league.
I think
we should start with what the working definition of “important” should be. Is it the most valuable? If so, most valuable to whom? His team or the Conf? By the title of the article, I would guess the Conf was the original intent. If not the most valuable, would important mean the one who creates the most positive press and excitement to the B1G? That sounds pretty important, too…
Not trying to be a smart ass about it, but all the names listed thus far all have contributions to make, both for themselves, their respective teams and the conference as a whole.
nah I do agree
Please, define away. I defined on a conference level; If Cousins goes all Captain Kirk on everyone, MSU wins 10-11 games. His ceiling is MSU’s ceiling. Even if Persa plays out of his mind, NW’s history suggests that 7-9 wins is about right.
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The quintessential Big Ten smoking room.
by Graham Filler on Aug 16, 2011 8:30 AM CDT up reply actions
Fair enough...
…although I disagree that Northwestern’s ceiling with Persa is 7-9 wins (honestly, every game on the schedule is winnable with Persa at his best), you are accurate that history suggests such a thing.
And I can see your definition of valuable. I just don’t agree with it.
To me, conference-wise or team-wise, the standard is the same — how far does that team fall if you take the guy entirely away from the team. To me, MSU goes from being a 9-10-11 win team with Cousins healthy/productive, to probably a 7-8 win team without him — Baker still runs a lot, the defense still looks good, and the position players are there to help out an otherwise inexperienced QB.
Northwestern with Persa? I could see them beating Eastern Illinois…..and that’s it, as far as clear “wins.” Sure, they could probably manage a few other wins, but a 7-9 win team dropping to 3-4 wins is VERY dramatic. Keep in mind, NU won ZERO games that Persa missed last year.
Should read...
…“without” Persa. Stupid typos.
While I think T-Mart is important
I’d have to agree after the arguments presented that there are definitely more important QBs to their team’s success. I think Persa is great, but admittedly have only seen him play twice, and one of those times was a great game, but he got hurt. Still, your assertion that with Persa, you have a dynamic team and without, all hell could break loose. That’s a big deal.
Still, you said it above, the same could be said for Gray, Scheelhaase, D.Rob, etc. These are guys whose teams are relying solely on their talent to get them anywhere. I think NW has some good coaching and a decent enough defense to at least play okay ball. In the case of Nebraska, Martinez might suck again, but our defense should make us competitive in every single game we play (and before the haters remind me that we gave up 156 yards per game last year, remember this: we played in a conference where you sold out to the spread and let your LBs tackle whoever actually ran. When zoned in on running, nobody went anywhere. Ask Daniel Thomas how that worked out.).
Always check the words with the red squiggly line. They mean you probably screwed up.
by KennardHusker on Aug 16, 2011 9:21 AM CDT up reply actions
I suppose
it would be a combination of both “who generates excitement” or notoriety for the B1G as well as their play. The other thing I was thinking about is…the importance based upon what? This year’s EXPECTED play? Or how they currently stand based upon last year’s play? If TP had stayed at tOSU, then I’d say he is in that category…as well as DRob, who broke a few records. Cousins I would say has the best chance to achieve individual success that also defines his team’s success. DRob again I think is in that discussion, as well as Martinez. The advantage Cousins has is the stronger defense that can win MSU more games than UM’s can, or at least that we expect them to.
I’m gonna have to stew on this one a bit longer…besides, I have a meeting to go to! haha
I heard a brief radio interview with Cousins
here on a local station in Omaha, and that kid impressed the hell out of me. Very articulate, intelligent young man.
I can’t say I watched many MSU games intently last year, though. I’m eager to watch him with greater focus throughout this season. (Although I hope he stumbles around the end of October, naturally.)
I’m actually really excited just to focus on 11 new teams. It’s not like I never watched B1G games, but you guys know how you always scan a TV lineup to see what conference games are going on. Feels fresh and exciting. 16 days till Wisky plays on Thursday night, baby!
Cousins is good and they'll build their team around him.
I note that DiNardo said last night that Vandenberg might be the best pure passer in the league, which is not really relevant to determining who is MVP or MIP or whatever. But that was an interesting comment from DiNardo.
We play tackle football.
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