That might seem like a basic thing, but Orlovsky said it was something Darnold struggled with as a younger QB.
It’s worth watching to see if Darnold can continue his growth in that area.
Cousins, meanwhile, earned the opposite reaction from Ben Solak’s ESPN breakdown. After tearing his Achilles midway through his final season with the Vikings, Cousins of course signed a lucrative multi-year deal with the Falcons in the offseason.
He wasn’t under center for a single snap Sunday. When he was in the shotgun, the Falcons didn’t use any designed running plays. In the pistol, they ran it more than 80% of the time.
That sort of predictability, Solak surmises, is because “Cousins’ mobility is still drastically limited.” He also noted, “Cousins doesn’t look comfortable driving the football just yet,” with this clip standing out:
Former NFL QB Kurt Benkert also asserted on X that it “doesn’t look like Kirk Cousins is physically ready to play football and I don’t think he gives the Falcons the best chance to win under his current circumstances. He does not look fully healthy or explosive with his Achilles by any means.”