Kirk Cousins’ old ties are already coming in handy with the Atlanta Falcons

The Atlanta Falcons have a new starting quarterback in 12-year veteran Kirk Cousins. The Falcons have a new offensive coordinator in Zac Robinson. He spent the previous five seasons as a member of Sean McVay’s staff with the Los Angeles Rams, the last two as the club’s quarterbacks coach and passing game coordinator.

Robinson, who played quarterback at Oklahoma State and was a seventh-round draft pick of the New England Patriots in 2010, will serve for the first time as an NFL offensive coordinator. Presumably he learned a few things working under McVay for five seasons while serving in various roles on the offensive side of the ball.

Cousins ​​knows a thing or two about spending five years with McVay. The former Michigan State Spartan was a fourth-round pick by Washington in 2012. At that time, McVay was Washington’s tight ends coach. In 2014, he was promoted to offensive coordinator.

In 2015, Cousins ​​became the team’s full-time starting quarterback. From 2015 to 2016, he didn’t miss a game and in those 32 games, he completed a total of 68.3% of his passes for an impressive 9,083 yards, and more than twice as many passes touchdowns (54) and interceptions (23). .

What does all this mean when Robinson and Cousins ​​first work together?

“This is the first time I’ve done (this),” Robinson explained. “So having the comfort of a veteran quarterback like Kirk who comes from that type of system, (I) couldn’t ask for anything better.”

The Falcons took care of the offensive side of the ball. A team featuring running back Bijan Robinson, receiver Drake London and tight end Kyle Pitts added wideouts Rondale Moore and Darnell Mooney via trade and free agency, respectively. Of course, Cousins ​​is the most famous newcomer and he can’t wait to see what his new offensive coordinator is capable of.

“I think Zac has a great footballing spirit. I think he’s a hard worker and I think he’s got a great way about him. The guys answer him. We check a lot of boxes from that perspective. It’s about us. As players, we keep saying the same thing: We need to work on building that shared history so that we can play this fall in such a way that it feels like we’ve been together for five years,” Cousins ​​said. .

The Falcons haven’t finished with a winning record since 2017. Their offensive unit produced just 31 touchdowns last season. You have a feeling that both of these facts are about to change in 2024.