There's a strange level of familiarity with the Las Vegas Raiders for a team that the New Orleans Saints don't see on a regular basis. Raiders head coach Klint Kubiak isn't far removed from a stint as New Orleans offensive coordinator, and Kirk Cousins has been in the league so long that even new additions are familiar with him. Cam Jordan entered the league a year before Cousins and gave a quote Saints fans need to hear before Sunday.
Kirk Cousins kind of falls in that Jared Goff area where fans tend to not give them much respect. Brandon Staley set the record straight in Week 1, and now it's Jordan's turn to give the Las Vegas Raiders quarterback his flowers. Ironically, Goff is the player Jordan used as a comparison for Cousins game.
"Kirk Cousins has been a winner any time he's been at the helm. For the franchises that try to get rid of Kirk Cousins, I never understood when you don't have something that's better than Kirk Cousins. And to where he's at now, they're clearly 2-0, and it's because he's a guy who's Jared Goff-esque. He's going to dissect the defense. He can read a defense. He can make the plays.
Saints familiarity with Kirk Cousins and Klint Kubiak makes for a fascinating matchup vs the Raiders
Jordan is right about how Cousins can transform a team through quick processing and good decisions. Most players didn't need to hear that, as they already know better than sleep to on Cousins. They've had experience with Cousins just like Jordan has, though he's had significantly more battles.
Cousins was the Falcons quarterback for the last two years, and despite splitting time with Michael Penix Jr as the starter, Cousins was the only one who played against the Saints in that two year span.
That time with Atlanta should give the majority of the Saints experience against Cousins. Julian Blackmon and Vernon Broughton missed the Falcons games because of injury, and Kaden Elliss Cousins' teammate on the Falcons last year. All the other defenders played against Cousins last year.
That same familiarity extends to Kubiak as well. Kubiak was the Saints offensive coordinator in 2024, and the majority of the Saints defenders were either on the team or played against Kubiak that year. The list grows slightly, but the majority of this defense should be extremely familiar with the Kubiak system because they practiced against it all year.
Kubiak obvously has some tweaks he's made in the year he's been gone and had to tailor the system to the talent in Las Vegas, but the core principles are there. The thing about familiarity is it works both ways.
Just like the Saints defense knows what Kubiak wants to do, he knows the player's strengths and weaknesses. It'll be interesting to watch the battle of familiarity on all fronts.
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