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Find someone who believes in you no matter what, like Raheem Morris does with Kirk Cousins. Even when Cousins isn’t playing his best, Morris keeps giving him chances to prove himself. Fans want rookie Michael Penix Jr. to play instead, but Morris isn’t listening to them. He’s ignoring all the noise and sticking with Cousins, no matter what others think.
Morris is staying true to his decision.
According to ESPN’s Marc Raimondi, Morris has made it clear that Cousins’ rough patch won’t change the Falcons’ plan for Penix. They don’t want to rush their rookie quarterback into action too soon. However, many fans think it’s time for a change and would prefer to see Penix take the field already.
“… the ultimate encouragement and backing for my building and my state of the union [is] to go out there and support [Cousins],” Morris stated. “I feel like [he’s] going to come out of this thing and he’s going to go on a run here …”
Despite Cousins’ struggles becoming more evident as the Falcons slip in the NFC South standings, Morris remains hopeful. Earlier in the season, when Atlanta was doing well, Cousins wasn’t exactly excelling, except in two big games against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
In those games against the Bucs, Cousins threw eight of his 17 touchdowns and completed over 70% of his passes. This is something he rarely achieved in other matches. Interestingly, only one of his league-leading 15 interceptions happened during these games.
If only they could play the Bucs every week! But that’s not possible, and Atlanta has invested heavily in Penix, making Morris’s loyalty to Cousins even more baffling.
Sorry to burst your bubble, Falcons fans. But Morris believes Cousins has “earned” the right to help turn things around (despite being at the forefront of Atlanta’s collapse).
