MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins is not slated to play in any of the exhibition games as he recovers from ruptured Achilles surgery.
If the Falcons stick to their plan, Cousins will enter the regular season without any game action this year. Cousins did participate in the joint practices Tuesday and Wednesday against the Dolphins and will have to count on the Falcons’ defense to help him get ready for the regular season.
“He looked good,” Falcons quarterback coach T.J. Yates said. “He was operating the offense very well. Kind of picking up where he left off from our previous training-camp practices, where he’s been super, super efficient.”
Cousins knows the offense. During one play, he had to move around four players before he could call the play.
“He was making sure that everybody was in the right spot,” Yates said. “Getting it out on time. He’s just a tremendous pro in everything that he does, whether it’s on the field or off the field. He really gets our entire offense in the right spot at all times.”
Cousins focused on communicating the calls and making sure that everyone was comprehending the concepts.
“The play clock probably would have gone to zero on some of those,” Cousins said of the play where he moved around four players. “So that’s where you’re saying, ‘It’s practice.’ But yes, they were giving us some tougher looks, and we needed to get into the right protection and have the right plan.”
That play was an exception.
“But for the most part, I think we were sharp,” Cousins said. “I thought we got rid of the ball effectively and got completions and guys made plays. I felt good about the operation, but you also feel like there’s still too many incompletions or negative runs or missed (identifications).”
Cousins’ is working on his mobility and took off running a couple of times.
“People are going to be covered,” Cousins said. “An offensive lineman might get edged, and so what I don’t want to do is train my instincts to sit back there all day and go through my reads and be a pocket passer knowing that too many times it’s not perfect. You’ve got to go take off and make a play.”
Coach Raheem Morris has not been pleased when Cousins takes off.
“I tell Coach, ‘Hey, I understand your desire to protect me,’” Cousins said. “I’m protecting myself, but I do have to train my instincts that when the best decision is to run, I’ve got to go.’ I don’t want Week One against Pittsburgh to be the first time I do that. It’s a balance, and we’ll keep finding that balance.”
The study sessions after the joint practices were informative.
“Yeah, a lot came up,” Cousins said. “Like what do we do versus this look? Oh, you want that? OK. Without having these practices we might not been aware of some of the things we want to go to offensively.”
The intensity of the practices also were instructive.
“I think the intensity picked up a little bit, which honestly bothered me a little bit,” Cousins said. “I said, ‘If the pace of practice picked up, then what does that say about the previous practices?’ We’ve got to be at that level all the time.”
When practices resume in Flowery Branch, Cousins wants to see that same intensity he witnessed against the Dolphins.
“So, that will be an important point of emphasis,” Cousins said.
Morris is fine with not playing Cousins in the exhibitions and with where he’s at in his recovery.
“Basically, he has no limitations, and he’s able to go,” Morris said. “He illegally scrambled out of the pocket a bunch on his own. … He’s completely avoided my whistle. We’ve got ‘Nick the Quick’ on the whistle, stopping him from scrambling or any of those type of things, but he’s completely gone rogue on me a little bit.”
Morris understood the message Cousins was sending him.
“I think that’s just showing me that he’s really where he needs to be, which I already know from my strength staff,” Morris said. “We’re just trying to avoid any unnecessary trips or stumbles against anybody else running towards him. But, he’s full-go.”
Morris believes Cousins will be ready for the opener, which is set for Sept. 8 against Pittsburgh at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
“You’ve seen the pocket close around him now,” Morris said. “We’ve actually seen him get hit in the stadium, when I almost lost my mind. Other than that, the guy’s full-go. I don’t worry about Kirk. He’s played in the league long enough that he’s felt what it feels like to get hit in the game.”
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