Kevin O'Connell says he knows what Kirk Cousins can do. Is that good or bad for the Vikings?

This, folks, was a perfect teaching moment for all the people who cling too tightly to statistics on a piece of paper as the way to judge NFL quarterbacks.

Kevin O'Connell was winning his first news conference as Vikings head coach on Thursday when a question came to this mind that would tap into the 36-year-old's one year spent coaching Kirk Cousins as Washington's quarterbacks coach and his one year spent coaching Matthew Stafford as Rams offensive coordinator.

O'Connell was in Washington in 2017 when that team steadfastly refused to gamble its future on Cousins after two years of franchise-tagging him. O'Connell also was in Los Angeles in 2021 when the Rams successfully wagered their future on Stafford being the missing piece to winning Super Bowl LVI at their home stadium.

In 2017, Cousins threw 13 interceptions while still surpassing 4,000 yards. Mix in his undeniable passing accuracy, ignore Washington's 7-9 record that year, and it was enough for now-former Vikings General Manager Rick Spielman to unsuccessfully gamble his future and the future of now-former Vikings coach Mike Zimmer on giving Cousins the first fully guaranteed multi-year contract in NFL history.

In 2021, Stafford threw a league-high 17 interceptions. Three more in the postseason made it 20 total.

So, Kev, tell us what, if any, similarities and differences there are between Kirk and Matt?

The similarities rolled off the young coach's tongue quite easily.

"They have a lot of similarities when it comes to the physical nature of throwing the football," O'Connell said. "I think those guys are elite throwers. Accuracy is the No. 1 requirement in this league as a quarterback from a physical standpoint."

O'Connell didn't spell out the differences but made his point. Even in 2022, stats can't tell the whole story.

"Matthew Stafford is one of the most talented players I've ever been around," O'Connell said. "I have so much respect for him obviously from a physical standpoint but also that makeup and that ability to process and do a lot of things at the line of scrimmage. I see Kirk being able to do a lot of those things, and I see us being able to build an offense to maximize what he does best. A quarterback-friendly system where they can have an attacking mind-set, aggressive mind-set."

Three times, O'Connell used the term "quieted mind" when describing how he wants his team, particularly Cousins, to play. That's not a term one would use consistently to describe Cousins when he's been under pressure the past eight years as an NFL starter.

Aggressive is another word one wouldn't use to consistently describe Cousins' career. O'Connell knows this from their year together in Washington.

In 2017, Cousins defended his cautious nature in response to comments made by then-Washington coach Jay Gruden. In a Sports Illustrated article, Cousins said if he played quarterback like Gruden wanted him to, he would throw 20 interceptions a year. Gruden read the article and responded by telling reporters, "And he'd throw 60 touchdowns, too. I just think there is going to be a point in time where he is going to have to give some receivers some chances that maybe look a little covered."

Cousins is under contract for one more year because Spielman doubled down with a two-year extension, creating a five-year financial commitment, the weight of which was too much to sustain the defensive personnel to Zimmer's satisfaction beyond 2019's playoff run. Zimmer had openly warned against going down this path at the 2018 scouting combine when rumors of Cousins coming to Minnesota for beaucoup bucks were swirling.

Now, the Kirk Konundrum belongs to a young, offensive-minded head coach who played Cousins' position and better understands it. O'Connell said he was excited to coach Cousins, even if everything he said didn't sound like ringing endorsements. New General Manager Kwesi Adofo-Mensah said he's excited that O'Connell is excited. Owners Zygi and Mark Wilf said they too are excited that O'Connell will be coaching Cousins.

"I think he'll bring the best out of him, and I think he'll boost that offense to another level," Zygi said.

"We're going to work with Kirk as our quarterback for 2022 for sure, being super competitive," Mark said.

If the Vikings want to limit their commitment to Cousins to one more year before reassessing the situation, it will cost them a whopping $45 million in cap space. It might be worth it to see if O'Connell can turn a statistically good quarterback into one that's much better than his 59-59-2 career record says he is.

"I know who he is as a player, and I know what he's capable of," O'Connell said. "And part of our job as coaches is maximizing a player's ability to have success.

"I feel that's going to be an advantage for us as we build our system offensively, make sure we really focus on the things Kirk does well, and help him on a daily basis connect with his team, lead us, be a completely quieted-mind quarterback that can go play because he's talented enough to go do that."

Others have tried. Now it's O'Connell's turn. The young man who just coached LA's missing piece to a Super Bowl win will have to prove that he himself is the missing piece in Minnesota.