In 2018, both Patrick Mahomes and Kirk Cousins were elevated to the role of starting quarterback for the teams to which they were signed. On the playing field, they will meet one another for the very first time.
Yes, Patrick Mahomes and Kirk Cousins will finally meet for the first time in Sunday’s game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Minnesota Vikings. Mahomes and Cousins are two of the three stars of the first season of Netflix’s Quarterback series, which may be the only season.
The most recent meeting between the two clubs took place in 2019 at Arrowhead Stadium. Mahomes was sidelined because of a knee ailment and did not play. Matt Moore, not Kirk Cousins, led the Chiefs to victory over the Vikings, despite the fact that Cousins was the starting quarterback for Minnesota.
It will be the first time that Patrick Mahomes and Kirk Cousins compete against one other.
And now I’m going to share what is sure to be a controversial viewpoint with many of you. (Has that ever been enough to deter me?) The game that will serve as Cousins’ final measuring stick is scheduled to take place in only five days, so he decided to spend Tuesday afternoon watching a baseball game.
The players of the NFL do indeed have the day off on Tuesdays. Indeed, during the course of the Quarterback series, Kirk Cousins made it quite obvious that he categorically refuses to work on Tuesdays, even though the Vikings follow a timetable that runs from Sunday to Sunday.
That’s not a problem. That is entirely up to him to decide. But let’s not look surprised by the fact that Mahomes is the best quarterback in football right now, and that Cousins is not. Let’s face it: this was bound to happen. When the play that was called goes the wrong way, Mahomes has the ability to improvise and come up with other plays on the fly. For example, he will frequently make chicken salad out of chicken caca.
Mahomes makes great use of the time he has between games to prepare mentally for the next challenger, which is an important intangible aspect of his game. Those that are truly outstanding do.
This is the question that, in the end, everyone and anyone involved in a professional activity including any level of competition (which is to say, ALL of them) ought to ask oneself.
Do you want to reach your full potential?
Is that so? If that’s the case, what sacrifices are you willing to make in order to succeed? What aspects of your life are you willing to give up in order to succeed? Are you prepared to put forth effort each and every day in order to excel? Because those who have similar goals to you are already acting in this manner.
To be more explicit, are you willing to forego going to a baseball game five days before your team plays Patrick Mahomes in a game that will result in either your club’s record being 1-4 or 2-3?
It is very OK for Cousins to take the day off. Do you believe that Mahomes was successful? Do any of the best ones in the world do it, in your opinion?
Having said that, there is a cost associated with grinding in an obsessive and consistent manner. This is a necessary component of the sacrifice. Tom Brady’s obsessive work ethic may have been a factor in some of the troubles that have arisen in his personal life over the past year or two, which have made things more difficult for him. But he has seven Super Bowl rings, thanks to the talent that God has given him, as well as thanks to Tom Brady’s full and complete commitment to squeezing every last ounce out of it and then some. These rings were earned throughout the course of his career.
To reiterate, Cousins is free to skip any and all of the Tuesday practices if he deems necessary. But as we look for reasons why there is a limit to how much he may do professionally, let’s not dismiss a very significant aspect that is staring us in the face right now. Let’s not ignore the fact that he is married.
Tags: NFL
