This Border Battle has Rings of Familiarity for Cousins

[Viktor]

In addition to Smith, the Packers also signed fellow edge rusher Za’Darius Smith, a fourth-round pick by Baltimore in 2015 who had 8.5 of his 19.5 career sacks last season.


Adrian Amos, a fifth-round pick by Chicago in 2015, also signed with Green Bay during free agency. Amos had an interception against the Vikings at Soldier Field last November.


Throw in several high-round draft picks on the back end of the defense learning through their previous experiences, and Green Bay claimed a 10-3 win at Chicago, making LaFleur the only one of seven new coaches this year to win his debut with a team.


Cousins was asked if LaFleur displayed traits of a head-coach-to-be back in 2012-13.


“Oh yeah, he sees the game well. He’s a former quarterback, so he gets it,” Cousins said. “He understands what it’s like to play this position and has been around some great coaches, starting with Mike Shanahan, in terms of what it looks like to prepare and game-plan how you can keep defenses off balance with a run game and pass game.


“He studies it. He spent a lot of hours in the building, working and grinding,” Cousins continued. “He’s coached in the Super Bowl [LI as the Falcons quarterbacks coach]; he’s coached great quarterbacks. He’s got all of that pedigree, that experience.”


LaFleur explained that Washington considered Cousins a potential starter when they drafted him a day after tabbing QB Robert Griffin III with the second overall pick.


“We had a really high grade on him in the draft … and when he was staring at us in the fourth round, we couldn’t pass it up,” LaFleur said. “Credit to him — we got a chance to get to know him a little bit throughout the Senior Bowl process, and he is so conscientious and just a hard worker.


“His arm talent is as good as anybody in terms of, he is a natural thrower,” LaFleur said. “I think he’s fearless in the pocket. We just combined his physical skills with the type of guy he is, and we thought he was a for-sure guy that was going to be a star in this league. He’s proved it.”