Nincompoop of the Week: Week 12 (49ers)

Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers

Kirk Cousins – Why is Kirk a nincompoop? Kirk was off all day on Sunday. He missed JJ on at least 3 throws and every catch that Thielen had seemed to be a circus catch. He looked terrible and was a big contributor to the loss. Reason 1 he is a nincompoop: Last play before half and he throws the ball 10 yards out of bounds to end it instead of trying for a Hail Mary. Reason 2 he is a nincompoop: 4th and goal and he threw the ball nearly into the stands in Santa Clara. Reason 3 he is a nincompoop: Prior to that 4th and goal play he had to line up the WRs, when he came back he lined up under Oli Udoh to take the snap. Mattison had to run up and let him know and he called a TO. Not exactly what you need from your QB under pressure. This was the best the OL has played all year and Kirk could not take advantage at all.

Referees – Why are the refs nincompoops? I normally hate complaining about the refs, but these were terrible. They missed Josh Norman two hand punching Adam Thielen in the back after the Tyler Conklin fumble. They also missed Mac Alexander throwing a punch after a play. Those are two eject-able offenses. The missed DPI near the end of the game where the defender ran through KJ Osborn was completely obvious. There was another play where Kendricks was pulled down for a clear hold and they missed it for a San Francisco TD. I think they missed calls both ways, but my biased view is they skewed towards the home team a bit.

Vikings Coaching Staff – Why are the coaches nincompoops? How many times are they going to run Dalvin into the ground before they realize he can’t handle 30+ touches a game? The dude clearly cannot handle that load and they put it on him until he is out and then rinse and repeat when he comes back. Split the load with Mattison and Nwangwu. You will have a fresher RB for the late season run. Even if Cook is fine and comes back next week they are still nincompoops for doing this every season.

Kirk Cousins Apologists – Why are the apologists nincompoops? I have long been a Kirk detractor and quite frankly he has won me over for the most part this year. Kirk has had a few bad games this year, but overall has been superb. However, if you even recognize that Kirk wasn’t good against the 49ers you are automatically deemed a moron for not praising the 2nd highest rated QB in the league. Well, the 2nd highest rated QB in the league played like crap on Sunday and missed a lot of open throws. He made some bad decisions and lined up under the wrong player on an important down. It’s ok to admit he didn’t play well and still admire how well he has played this season. You don’t need to shout down anyone with any slight criticism. Also, you haters give him some credit.