As the Philadelphia Eagles prepare to face off against the Atlanta Falcons in Week 2, one of the biggest questions surrounding the match has to be how Vic Fangio’s defense will fare against Kirk Cousins and Zac Robinson’s offense.
Would the Eagles’ pass rush be able to dominate the Falcons, who have a pretty good offensive line but an old, slow quarterback coming off of injury? Or would the defensive secondary have to work a little harder than usual in order to get Atlanta off of the field effectively and efficiently?
Well, in Nick Sirianni’s opinion, the real problem may be shutting down Cousins as a passer, as he’s still the kind of technical passer who can pick apart defenses with ease, even if he isn’t the same athlete he once was.
“Yeah, you know, he’s a really accurate player, and he makes really good decisions with the football. I think that consistency that he has there is really — it’s been noticed because he’s done it for such a long time. He had his team in the playoffs two years ago. He’s had some good teams,” Sirianni explained to reporters.
“So again, I just really think his accuracy, his decision making. He’s able to get the ball where it needs to go consistently. Again, just got a lot of respect for him, and I think his track record speaks for itself.”
Technically speaking, Cousins does have an impressive resume, as he’s taken plenty of teams to the playoffs largely on his back, but can he still do that in 2024 when, again, he’s 36 and coming off of an Achilles injury? Sirianni was asked that question and let it be known that he isn’t taking his Week 2 opponent for granted.
Nick Sirianni still believes Kirk Cousins is a “great” football player
After touching on a number of other issues, from Devin White’s demotion to Kellen Moore’s offense, Bijan Robinson, and the rest of the Falcons, Sirianni was asked once more about Cousins, namely if he is still a “great” football player at this stage of the game.
For Sirianni, who has been watching Cousins play for almost as long as his own NFL coaching career, the answer remains largely the same, as he’s seen “good teams look bad” enough times to earn a healthy skepticism when facing the Michigan State product.
“That Kirk has been an unbelievable football player in this league for a long time. A lot of respect for him. He’s a great football player. So, we’re going to have to be ready,” Sirianni noted.
“Again, not something you can control, if he was feeling good one day, not feeling good the other day. We have to be ready for the player that we know he is, because he’s a heck of a player, and we’ve got to be ready for him because he can make teams look bad because of his talent.”
In Week 1, Cousins looked rough against the Pittsburgh Steelers – who aren’t expected to be particularly good this year – in his Falcons debut, completing just 16 of his 26 passing attempts for 155 yards, a touchdown, and two interceptions. He was sacked twice, looked tentative in the pocket, and ultimately only completed a pass of 20 yards in his debut effort for the red and black while largely deployed out of the Pistol. If the Eagles can turn in a similar effort, albeit with Fangio’s added ammunition of versatile rushing linebackers like Nakobe Dean and Zach Baun, Week 2 could be just what the doctor ordered to get the Eagle’s pass rush back on track heading into the future.
