Maybe it wasn’t really a true binge. After all, trying to watch seven episodes consecutively is a tough ask.
There were a few breaks after the first four episodes, like going outside to water the cucumber plants before making it through episodes five through seven.
The second season of the “Quarterback” documentary on Netflix will be a hit, much like the first season was. The scene with Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow getting the call that his home was burglarized after a win over Dallas was television gold.
But our focus is on Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins, who was a central figure for the second consecutive season. He was joined this season by Burrow and Lions quarterback Jared Goff.
Here are our 10 takeaways from season two of the series:
1. Last season would have been much different if Cousins had not been allowed to play hurt after the Saints game Nov. 10. He clearly was not healthy and immediately knew it. If the Falcons had sat him for the next game against Denver heading into the bye week, then he would have had nearly three weeks to rest before facing the Chargers.
Going into the Saints game, he felt fine.
“The Achilles healed well, but the ankle itself was still kind of getting strength back,” Cousins said in episode 4. “The rest of my body, I felt it was good.”
The hit by Saints defensive end Payton Turner played, with sad music underneath.
“Got hit in the second quarter, took a helmet right into my shoulder, rib-cage area and immediately my elbow lit up and I knew I’d irritated something,” Cousins said. “Had a shooting pain kind of right through the inside of my elbow.”
Then Cousins was shown on the sideline talking to staffers.
“My elbow got absolutely rocked by a helmet, I mean I’m all right,” Cousins said. “I bruised my elbow pretty good, so it’s going to help me keep it loose throwing. … We’ll just play catch every now and then.”
And the laboring over the injury continued:
“Oh man, my elbow hurts,” Cousins said. “Oh goodness. … My shoulder started to really throb. So, I knew right away this is a little more serious. Once I lost my shoulder and my elbow, I didn’t have many more places to lean on to get the power I needed.”
2. Cousins expressed why he wanted to keep playing hurt — it was a fear of losing his starting job. The Falcons’ medical staff and the coaching staff can’t let one player hold the team hostage. In retrospect, a healthy Michael Penix Jr., with limited first-team reps, would have given them a better chance to win against the Broncos and Chargers than an injured Cousins.
“It’s hard looking back to not view it as, OK (things) certainly turned in that moment,” Cousins said. “Because, in a way, they did.”
No kidding.
3. There really wasn’t anything new. We knew that Cousins and his agent, Mike McCartney, felt misled by the Falcons and that they were not informed about selecting Penix until the team was on the clock. That was kind of old news, but it was the first time Cousins said it publicly.
“Yes, it was a big surprise. We had no idea this was coming. The truth is the whole league had no idea this was coming. We got no heads up. Kirk got a call from the Falcons (offensive coordinator Zac Robinson) when they were on the clock. That was the first we heard. It never came up in any conversation,” McCartney said in a statement tweeted by NFL Network’s Mike Garafalo.
4. Cousins’ wife was aware of the injury.
“He doesn’t often complain about injuries,” Julie Cousins said. “He did mention getting hit in the Saints game to me, which for him to bring it up to me, means it was something.
5. Falcons receiver Ray-Ray McCloud is a good teammate. He was the first to help Cousins up after the big hit.
6. The season was so much fun at the beginning. Cousins got into the energy the Falcons’ “Dirty Bird Nest” section created which led the way to the swag-surfin’ cheers.
7. There were the “Take Over the Trap” road games, a tribute to Atlanta rapper Bankroll Fresh. The two wins over Tampa Bay and Dallas were high points of the season.
8. Cousins already has a deal with the Great Clips barbershop chain, and he’ll have another with a fast-food restaurant that he goes to after games.
9. Cousins, his brother and two high school teammates like the nonalcoholic drink Roy Rogers. They attend one game a year and come up with some zany themed outfits.
10. Julie Cousins was emotional after Cousins was benched. She was proud of how her husband handled the demotion. She noted that Cousins spent an hour in the garage talking to Penix Jr. after getting benched.
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