Jason La Confora: Cousins should choose Jets over Broncos

[UntouchableCrew]

https://www.cbssports.com/nfl/news/jets-broncos-should-be-favorites-for-kirk-cousins-and-who-he-should-pick-is-clear/

With Jimmy Garoppolo already signed and Drew Brees making it clear he only wants to dance with the Saints, and Alex Smith already traded, Kirk Cousins and Case Keenum are now the most interesting quarterbacks in the world. At least their future will create the most intrigue between now and February 20, when franchise and transition tags can be placed on players.

I am going to assume for the purposes of this column that Washington doesn't truly go rogue and place a tag on Cousins. Therefore, I am assuming -- as is everyone in the football world I've talked to about this over the last week -- that Cousins is an unrestricted free agent. And I am going to assume that the Minnesota Vikings, with no quarterback under contract for 2018 who has ever thrown an NFL pass, will decide between now and March 6 (the deadline to tag a player) to place a tag of some sort on Keenum and, at worst, rent him for $21 million next season, rather than get into the $30 million-per-season stratosphere that it will require to secure Cousins' services long-term.

Should the Vikings end up not getting something secured with Keenum prior to the start of free agency, to say nothing of Teddy Bridgewater, then obviously the Cousins market could change drastically. But under these parameters, I would anticipate Cousins opting between the Jets and Broncos in the end. And if that is the case, assuming the money being offered is relatively similar, then which is the better gig? Where would a quarterback be better off going? Which situation might feel the most like home? What are the pros and the cons?

Ultimately, the money could render this a moot point (it's never about the money ... only its always about the money). But if it doesn't, would you rather be making around $30 million a year the next five-to-six years for the Jets or the Broncos? Personally, I'd lean hard to the Jets. Let me explain why.

We'll start with ownership. From everything I have heard, life has been more pleasant and productive around Florham Park since Chris Johnson took over as acting owner in New York, with Woody Johnson serving as an ambassador abroad. Of course, you never know how long that gig will last given the problems facing the current presidential regime, but Woody's brother has earned high marks for his stewardship and leadership, and his commitment to the team within that building and around the league. As for the Broncos, Joe Ellis has done good work serving as the acting owner, though it remains to be seen which of Pat Bowlen's heirs eventually takes over as the acting owner of the Broncos with that franchise placed in a trust. The timeline for any transition remains murky.

As for the coach, Vance Joseph was clearly under heavy consideration to being fired after just one year on the job. The Broncos fell well below expectations, and the defense started showing signs of slipping. In the end, his job was spared, but the coaching staff was overhauled below him, and he enters 2018 as someone who will be on most hot seat lists. That's where Jets coach Todd Bowles found himself going into 2017, when many were predicting the Jets would flirt with 0-16. Instead they exceeded expectations and Bowles was rewarded with a contract extension a few months ago.

Then one must evaluate the rosters and the course of the franchise over the next few years. The Jets went through their purge in the last 15 months or so, making difficult decisions, paring down the roster, creating a ton of cash as well as cap and roster flexibility for the next two offseasons. They already dealt with the PR fallout and consternation about parting with recent legends like Darrelle Revis, Nick Mangoldand David Harris, and cut the cord with guys like Ryan Fitzpatrick and Brandon Marshall and Sheldon Richardson, who created a stir in their final year with the team. It's only a matter of time before they part with Muhammad Wilkerson, their highest-paid player who was a healthy scratch under duress late last season, and create more room to add talent.

The Broncos are trying to trade their top corner, Aqib Talib, who has worn out his welcome with on- and off-field issues. Chris Harris might not be around there more than another year or so, and their recent drafts have been light on replacements. Offensive line has been a bit of a blindspot for John Elway, and protection is an issue. You could make the case they a descending team more in line for a purge coming off their Super Bowl cycle, while the Jets are more of a blank slate prepared right now to build around a capable quarterback.

On paper, Denver would have a big advantage given the talent of receivers Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders, but are they what they once were? There were rumblings about some tumult in that receiver room last season and guys looking lethargic, being not as motivated as they once were, running sloppy routes and hanging young QBs out to try at times. Both will likely be gone within two years anyway.

One could make the argument that having to toggle between Trevor Siemian, Paxton Lynch and Brock Osweiler would be more than enough to suck the life out of any veteran receiver, but its worth noting that Cousins shares an agent with Siemian, so he'd probably have the scoop on that situation. Oh, and he also shares an agent with Josh McCown, who was having a career year prior to getting injured in New York, so he'd have fairly intimate knowledge of that locker room and the direction of the team as well.

As for a scheme fit, both of these teams have been churning through offensive coordinators. The Broncos are run by Elway, who has Gary Kubiak on his personnel staff, and they know and love the Mike Shanahan version of the West Coast offense that Cousins was drafted into and thrived under in Washington. Bill Musgrave is currently running their offense.

The Jets are building in the same mold. Their offensive coordinator, Jeremy Bates, was also promoted from within like Musgrave. Bates is a Shanahan disciple as well who knows how the passing game functions, while the Jets I'm told are bringing in Rick Dennison to operate the run game. Guess what? He's a Shanahan disciple as well and part of his and Kubiak's old staffs. So the Jets, too, have the pieces in place to run the offense Cousins has already mastered, and with $80 million in cap space they can add offensive talent through trades and free agency (keeping blossoming tight end Austin Seferian-Jenkins would be a boost, too, and I wouldn't bet against it)

Then there is the prospect of expectations. The last time the Broncos added a big-money, veteran free-agent quarterback he was named Peyton Manning, he quickly took them to two Super Bowls and won one Lombardi Trophy there. This is a team that has a very recent pedigree of playoff success -- though one that's now seemingly in decline -- with a fanbase that believes it should be deep in the postseason more years than not. In Denver, can you ever really escape the ghosts of Manning and Elway?

The Jets, um, notsomuch. They haven't had a competent quarterback for multiple seasons in forever. Chad Pennington was the best they've had in decades, and there were always concerns about his arms. He's been gone for a decade. Before that, they got some good late years from Vinny Testaverde and, like, Richard Todd before that in the 1980s. That's where the bar is set. Cousins coming in and duplicating what he did in Washington would go down by far as the most prolific passing seasons in franchise history. Period. Just keep being himself, and he's set up to be a legend. Add in the fact that Bill Belichick and Tom Brady can't stick around forever (right?), and the AFC East might actually -- finally -- open up in a year or two (Andy Reid and Jon Gruden being in the AFC West isn't great new for the Broncos).

Size it all up, and I'm going to the Jets, who played over their heads last season and seem like a young, energetic team. Yeah, they went 5-11, but were competitive all season until McCown got hurt, while the Broncos were prone to blowout losses and sideline tempests. New York managed to beat Kansas City, Jacksonville and Buffalo -- all AFC playoff teams -- and have multiple high picks and tons of money to spend.

I anticipate they come at Cousins hyper-aggressively with a holistic approach to how they plan to build around him. He'll be the center of it all in a way Washington never displayed. Strip away whatever the nicknames of the teams connotes -- forget their past glories, or ignominies, which really don't have anything to do with this exercise -- and you could make a very strong argument for Cousins launching he next phase of his career in The Big Apple.

[Patriot Killa]

Has La Confora actually been Senor Gato this entire time? 

[ScarletKnight89]

I like the line about how Kirk Cousins needs to just basically replicate what he did in Washington from a stats standpoint here and he'll go down as a legend. Makes sense.

[UntouchableCrew]

1 minute ago, ScarletKnight89 said:

I like the line about how Kirk Cousins needs to just basically replicate what he did in Washington from a stats standpoint here and he'll go down as a legend. Makes sense.

He's not wrong.

[Patriot Killa]

3 minutes ago, UntouchableCrew said:

He's not wrong.

He’s not. Even though I’m back to leaning towards a young guy .. this wasn’t a bad article at all and it had some pretty solid points in it. 

[JoJoTownsell1]

I've been saying this for a while. The Broncos are a team on the decline with an awful head coach and aging Wide Receivers. Passing on the Jets is never a bad idea, but opting for the Broncos seems foolish and something the idiots in the media want because Elway/Von. But outside of those two, there really isn't much to love about the Broncos especially since they don't have near the cap room the Jets have. 

 

[Augustiniak]

the premise of the article assumes these two teams will be the main suitors.  i predict you'll see at least one wild card entry that makes a real push and may steal him.  maybe it's buffalo or miami.  maybe it's cincy or arizona.    

[ScarletKnight89]

11 minutes ago, UntouchableCrew said:

He's not wrong.

He's definitely not wrong. It makes a lot of sense.

[New York Mick]

I would

[Tony MaC]

5 minutes ago, Augustiniak said:

the premise of the article assumes these two teams will be the main suitors.  i predict you'll see at least one wild card entry that makes a real push and may steal him.  maybe it's buffalo or miami.  maybe it's cincy or arizona.    

Maybe it's Maybelline Jacksonville.

In fact I think there's a very good chance that they dump Bortles and swoop in.

[Patriot Killa]

7 minutes ago, Augustiniak said:

the premise of the article assumes these two teams will be the main suitors.  i predict you'll see at least one wild card entry that makes a real push and may steal him.  maybe it's buffalo or miami.  maybe it's cincy or arizona.    

I don’t think it’s any of these. Vikings if anyone.

[JustInFudge]

41 minutes ago, UntouchableCrew said:

Yeah, they went 5-11, but were competitive all season until McCown got hurt, while the Broncos were prone to blowout losses 

This was a funny line considering the match up between the Jets and Broncos. 

[Patriot Killa]

3 minutes ago, JiF said:

This was a funny line considering the match up between the Jets and Broncos. 

Bryce Petty was the QB though.

[MDL_JET]

4 minutes ago, Tony MaC said:

Maybe it's Maybelline Jacksonville.

In fact I think there's a very good chance that they dump Bortles and swoop in.

If he goes to anyone but the Broncos, it would be terrible for us. We need Browns or Broncos out of the QB running if we're gonna draft one. 

[UntouchableCrew]

4 minutes ago, JiF said:

This was a funny line considering the match up between the Jets and Broncos. 

True the Broncos murdered us but I think the general point still stands. We're a young scrappy team that fought til the end of most games while the Broncos were a team of disinterested vets who gave up on the season pretty early on.

[Pac]

Well how about that... 

[JustInFudge]

Just now, Patriot Killa said:

Bryce Petty was the QB though.

As was the great, Trevor Siemian.

FTR, Josh McCown attempted more passes than Bryce Petty that game, threw a pick and got sacked like 6 times and lost a fumble. lol

 

 

[Patriot Killa]

2 minutes ago, MDL_JET said:

If he goes to anyone but the Broncos, it would be terrible for us. We need Browns or Broncos out of the QB running if we're gonna draft one. 

Wanna know something? I think the Browns swoop in and take him. I really do. They aggressively went after Alex Smith. They obviously want a proven guy. They have the money. They have the weapons despite what people say. They have pieces on defense. They really could sign him with much less repercussions than any other team..including us.

[Patriot Killa]

1 minute ago, JiF said:

As was the great, Trevor Siemian.

FTR, Josh McCown attempted more passes than Bryce Petty that game, threw a pick and got sacked like 6 times and lost a fumble. lol

 

 

That’s the game we quit. If we wouldn’t of quit we might of won....?

[UntouchableCrew]

13 minutes ago, ScarletKnight89 said:

He's definitely not wrong. It makes a lot of sense.

Hell, we have people on this board that still vehemently defend Chad Pennington, and others that vehemently defend Mark Sanchez.

[Gen X Jet]

Vance Joseph vs. Todd Bowles is like Ray Handley vs. Rich Kotite.  Eww.

[JustInFudge]

1 minute ago, UntouchableCrew said:

True the Broncos murdered us but I think the general point still stands. We're a young scrappy team that fought til the end of most games while the Broncos were a team of disinterested vets who gave up on the season pretty early on.

The Broncos literally made the Jets quit.  This was admitted by the coaching staff.  This was week 14 of the season, the Broncos proceed to win in week 15 as well and fought tooth and nail in week 17 vs. the Chiefs. 

It's fun to think the Broncos quit and suck while the Jets were just a scrappy young team on the rise but the reality is, the Jets are terrible in every single aspect of the sport while the Broncos at least herald a top 3 defense. 

[IndianaJet]

Maybe Kirk will see himself as the centerpiece and agree to something less then a max value contract so that the Jets can fill other holes...........?????

[Pac]

5 minutes ago, JiF said:

The Broncos literally made the Jets quit.  This was admitted by the coaching staff.  This was week 14 of the season, the Broncos proceed to win in week 15 as well and fought tooth and nail in week 17 vs. the Chiefs. 

It's fun to think the Broncos quit and suck while the Jets were just a scrappy young team on the rise but the reality is, the Jets are terrible in every single aspect of the sport while the Broncos at least herald a top 3 defense. 

There there lil guy..

This isn't the first time you've been wrong.

[JoJoTownsell1]

Just now, IndianaJet said:

Maybe Kirk will see himself as the centerpiece and agree to something less then a max value contract so that the Jets can fill other holes...........?????

Now you're getting greedy. Cousins, while being well paid, has waited a long time to finally get his first big contract. He isn't going to cut a new team a break. This isn't a guy like Brady who is already wealthy, already a SB winner and married to a super rich wife (and likely having a backroom deal with Kraft) taking less. 

[Jack Straw]

Yes, Kirk, come to NY! Just imagine: It's week 17. A win today gets the NY Jets into the playoffs! You're down 8 with two minutes and 15 seconds left on the clock. It's 4th and 3 from your own 46 yard line. This is where legends are made, Kirk. Think about this scenario and how this could be you leading the Jets to the promised land! 

And then think about how Todd Bowles will punt the ball away to "pin 'em back." Save yourself, Kirk. You're better than NY and you're better than Todd Bowles. Don't ruin yourself. 

[UntouchableCrew]

9 minutes ago, JiF said:

The Broncos literally made the Jets quit.  This was admitted by the coaching staff.  This was week 14 of the season, the Broncos proceed to win in week 15 as well and fought tooth and nail in week 17 vs. the Chiefs. 

It's fun to think the Broncos quit and suck while the Jets were just a scrappy young team on the rise but the reality is, the Jets are terrible in every single aspect of the sport while the Broncos at least herald a top 3 defense. 

I mean, the Jets and the Broncos both sucked in 2017. I don't think anyone is arguing either team was "good" or even average.

But let's not just make stuff up for the sake of negativity. Before McCown was injured the Jets were 5-7 and only had one double digit loss. After their bye week the Broncos lost 8 consecuitve games in which they were outscored by an average of 30 to 13. 6 of those 8 losses were by double digits. Two of them were by over 25 points.

Saying the Jets were "more competitive" than the Broncos isn't an opinion it's a statement of fact. Doesn't mean it makes the Jets a better landing spot (and they certainly have less talent as currently situated) but claiming the Jets weren't "in" more games is just dumb. They were.

[JustInFudge]

6 minutes ago, Pac said:

There there lil guy..

This isn't the first time you've been wrong.

Facts = wrong

Hope = right

Paclogic. 

[JoJoTownsell1]

8 minutes ago, JiF said:

The Broncos literally made the Jets quit.  This was admitted by the coaching staff.  This was week 14 of the season, the Broncos proceed to win in week 15 as well and fought tooth and nail in week 17 vs. the Chiefs. 

It's fun to think the Broncos quit and suck while the Jets were just a scrappy young team on the rise but the reality is, the Jets are terrible in every single aspect of the sport while the Broncos at least herald a top 3 defense. 

Broncos have a nice defense, that is aging and they are looking to unload Talib. It's a defense that was GREAT with Manning and is not on the way up. Meanwhile, their assets on Offense are two WRs that are 30yrs old and a crappy RB in CJ Anderson. 

I am not ruling out the Broncos, but without cap space they really aren't a more attractive landing spot than the Jets. To me the Vikings make the most sense for Cousins, but if not them I think it's truly a coin flip. Does Cousins fall in love with Elway and think he can win now with the Broncos or does he want to be a part of a team that is, in theory, on the way up. 

[dbatesman]

This is huge, players listen to the media...remember when Baldinger made Mo good?

[sourceworx]

46 minutes ago, ScarletKnight89 said:

I like the line about how Kirk Cousins needs to just basically replicate what he did in Washington from a stats standpoint here and he'll go down as a legend. Makes sense.

He's right. We're so QB-starved that our expectations are much lower. 

[Beerfish]

People giving todd bowles credit for being a good coach and a good one for a QB to go to have simply not watched the jets enough.  They see, oh no they should be really bad but oh they won a whopping 5 games!  As reason to think this guy is any good.  Watch him actually coach for a year or two game in and game out and any player with a brain avoids this team like the plague.

[UntouchableCrew]

2 minutes ago, Beerfish said:

People giving todd bowles credit for being a good coach and a good one for a QB to go to have simply not watched the jets enough.  They see, oh no they should be really bad but oh they won a whopping 5 games!  As reason to think this guy is any good.  Watch him actually coach for a year or two game in and game out and any player with a brain avoids this team like the plague.

I think he's also relatively well respected in league circles so a lot of it is just second hand reputation among these writers.

[JustInFudge]

12 minutes ago, UntouchableCrew said:

I mean, the Jets and the Broncos both sucked in 2017. I don't think anyone is arguing either team was "good" or even average.

But let's not just make stuff up for the sake of negativity. Before McCown was injured the Jets were 5-7 and only had one double digit loss. After their bye week the Broncos lost 8 consecuitve games in which they were outscored by an average of 30 to 13. 6 of those 8 losses were by double digits. Two of them were by over 25 points.

Saying the Jets were "more competitive" than the Broncos isn't an opinion it's a statement of fact. Doesn't mean it makes the Jets a better landing spot (and they certainly have less talent as currently situated) but claiming the Jets weren't "in" more games is just dumb. They were.

Before Siemian got injured the Broncos were 3-4. 

After the Jets bye in week 11, they finished 1-5.  During that same time, the Broncos went 2-4 with one loss by 3 points on the very last game of the year whereas the Jets got blown out on the last game of the season.  Both teams ended 5-11. 

So, the idea the Broncos vets quit on the season while the Jets youngsters were giving it their all and being more "competitive" is complete and utter nonsense.  

[Beerfish]

1 minute ago, UntouchableCrew said:

I think he's also relatively well respected in league circles so a lot of it is just second hand reputation among these writers.

Yeah i keep hearing this.  i have no clue where that comes from.  He acts like is a certain type of coach but his actual performance as a coach is highly suspect in many areas.