[calia]

Cousins needs a chance -- and not just a handful of games -- to show whether he can be a franchise QB, and only time will tell. Here's a look at stats for some other noteworthy QBs their first season starting, and then compared to what Cousins did last season:

Payton Manning (1998): 26 TD, 28 INT, 3739 YRD
Drew Brees (2002): 17 TD, 16 INT, 3284 YRD
Andrew Luck (2012): 23 TD, 18 INT, 4374 YRD
Tom Brady (2001): 18 TD, 12 INT, 2843 YRD

Kirk Cousins (2014, 6 starts*): 10 TD, 9 INT, 1710 YRD
* given how early he entered the JAX game, I have assumed that a start
Kirk Cousins (if adjusted same #s for 16 games): 26.7 TD, 24 INT, 4560 YRD

More TDs than any of the above QBs, although also more INTs than everyone except Payton Manning. And more yards than everyone too.

To be clear, I am not saying Kirk will be on par with any of these folks -- who the heck knows if that is possible? Again, only time will tell. But one cannot look at the numbers and conclude he's just a stop gap to a real franchise QB either. Let's not forget, Brady and Luck (at least) had better starting casts around them than Cousins had here last year too.

Let's give the guy a chance -- even with the inevitable growing pains. What do we have to lose at this point?