MINNEAPOLIS _ Count Vikings offensive coordinator Gary Kubiak among those accepting a chunk of the blame for Kirk Cousins' awful play during the Vikings' 0-2 start this season.
"I've got to find some room for him is the best way to put it," Kubiak said. "We had some plays last week where he had no place to go with the ball. Me sitting there looking at what we're doing and saying, 'OK, we've got to get some people open in these situations vs. coverages.' "
Last season Cousins ranked fourth in passer rating at 107.4. He currently weighs in at 34th _ in a 32-team league _ at 61.9.
Cousins has completed 66.8% of his career passes, second best in NFL history behind Drew Brees (67.6%). This year, Cousins is completing 58.8%.
"We've had some plays that were very difficult on him," Kubiak said. "Kirk is battling; he's doing his part. He's battling, studying, working hard, practicing hard. I take it personal that I've got to help him more, and I know his teammates need to as well. Finding space for him to make some plays with the ball."
Kubiak questioned some of his schemes vs. the defenses he's seen the first two weeks.
"When you look at things and say, 'Well, we ran this route, did he have a place to go with the ball?' " he said. "It's third-and-6, we ran this route, did he miss somebody or did we not have a place to go with the ball? As a coordinator, when you're looking at those things and you feel like, hey, the kid had no place to go here or something, hell, that's personal."
