00:00Or do we think the number one overall pick is going to play
00:03the majority of the season for Las Vegas?
00:06Or are these desires to play Kirk Cousins,
00:12the lion's share all of the year?
00:17Are those real?
00:18So let me, before we get to even maybe some of the numbers, Tom,
00:23what do you make of this idea that Las Vegas plans to start
00:27Kirk Cousins for as long as they possibly can this year?
00:34Personally, I hate it.
00:35I hate the idea that you are going to start off the new year
00:40after bringing in a new head coach, having the number one overall pick,
00:45getting your quarterback, having them paired together
00:48to seemingly grow into the future together,
00:50and then take the air out of the tires and start Kirk Cousins,
00:54who looks like he moves with iron boots on when he's back in the pocket
00:59in his absolute statue, taking the air out of the tires out of their offseason
01:03I think would be a massive mistake.
01:05I think that Kirk Cousins is there to provide stability.
01:08I think Kirk Cousins has a fantastic quarterback mind,
01:11and he can impart a lot of that knowledge to Mendoza,
01:14and that will be a nice middleman between the coaching staff
01:19and learning in the NFL system for Mendoza,
01:21and that's where Kirk Cousins can really help him
01:23and also provide a realistic backup option
01:26just because teams need that type of backup option,
01:29but they need to be starting Mendoza in week one.
01:32I think it's as simple as that.
01:36So let's start then on just the principle of it,
01:40where I have been pretty conflicted
01:43because do I think Mendoza's ready to go?
01:47Yeah, I think so.
01:50So we've seen sitting guys work.
01:52We just have.
01:54We've seen it be effective.
01:56Jordan Love feels like maybe the, you know,
02:00oh, that's as bad as it can go,
02:01who obviously is seen as a franchise quarterback.
02:03Like, I don't think J.J. McCarthy qualifies
02:06because J.J. McCarthy didn't sit a year and learn.
02:09He blew out another one of his knees
02:11and, you know, had to kind of, you know,
02:15it was a little bit derailed, if you will.
02:17But even still, we've just seen it yield
02:19very positive results, Tom, to give guys time.
02:25And I do believe there's a world where Tom Brady thinks,
02:30hey, I had a little bit of extra time
02:32and I want to give Fernando exactly that.
02:37And I don't think they brought Kirk Cousins in here,
02:40told him, hey, you're going to play,
02:43and then they're going to yank that out from under him.
02:47So we are not yet at the point in the offseason, Tom,
02:50where they post week one starter odds.
02:53I believe Cousins will be the favorite.
02:55I have you one at that.
02:58That's what I believe.
02:59That's what I believe.
03:02I hear you banging the drum for Fernando to start.
03:05Do you believe Fernando will start week number one?
03:11I do.
03:12I think there's very little downside to him starting.
03:16He's going to make mistakes.
03:17All rookie quarterbacks do.
03:19All quarterbacks make mistakes.
03:20But part of that is learning how to be an NFL quarterback.
03:24And I think that's where Kirk Cousins will really help him,
03:27how to prepare for an opponent,
03:29how to go through practice,
03:30how to just implement all that he did make mistakes from,
03:33and how to apply that to the new week moving forward.
03:36As many arguments as we can make for quarterbacks sitting
03:40and succeeding after that,
03:43we can make a lot of arguments for quarterbacks starting right away
03:46with Daniels and Washington and being really good
03:49and having real momentum for the franchise,
03:53the fan base, and everything moving forward together.
03:55So the future is Mendoza to Bowers and Gentry, right?
04:00Like that is the future.
04:01You might as well start that immediately,
04:03go through your bumps and bruises,
04:04but learn from that along the way.
04:06Like we also are dealing with a rookie head coach, right?
04:09And he needs to learn how to just manage a game overall.
Comments