Is Kirk Cousins the missing piece? The Atlanta Falcons hope so, Kirk Cousins hopes so. But both know it will take more than the veteran quarterback alone to fulfil lofty expectations of a Super Bowl assault over the coming years.

Cousins became the story of the NFL offseason when he signed a four-year $180m contract with Atlanta following six seasons with the Minnesota Vikings.

In doing so he teamed up with newly-appointed head coach Raheem Morris as pilot to a star-studded offense in view of lifting the Falcons back into contention.

He represents what the Falcons believe can be their answer to years of instability at quarterback since the best of Matt Ryan, which has seen them go six straight seasons without reaching the playoffs.

Cousins may still divide opinion having led the Vikings to the postseason just twice, but offers the consistent numbers and ability to maximise the talent that greets him in Atlanta.

“I don’t think (I’m the missing piece), I think I’ve learned a long time ago that that’s not how football works, it’s such a team game,” Cousins told Sky Sports.

“There’s so many parts. If I am the missing piece, I can only do my part as the missing piece, because everyone else is right. It all has to work together. We’ve got to stay healthy.

“And I think a long time ago, I realised that while that’s the outside narratives, when you’re in it, it’s really not how it works.”

Cousins missed rare time on the field last season when he suffered a year-ending torn Achilles against the Green Bay Packers in Week Eight, a change of scenery with the Falcons becoming something of a fresh start in his career.

“I think the unknown is always scary a little bit, especially first coming out of the injury,” Cousins explained. “I think getting here to Atlanta was relief in terms of having some direction as to where things were headed.

“And then as I healed further, that also helped to know that, okay, the strength is coming back. I’m moving athletically again. I love being an athlete. I love playing sports, so to be back on my feet moving well, was a relief.”

The Falcons tossed another spanner in the works in April when they selected quarterback Michael Penix Jr with the eighth overall pick in one of the shocks of the draft, with Cousins and his team only informed of the decision when Atlanta were on the clock.

Owner Arthur Blank would later refer to the team’s uncertainty at quarterback in the post-Matt Ryan era as their reason for drafting Penix, believing they had secured a long-term answer beyond Cousins, who downplayed any suggestion of bad blood over the move.

“The league is always looking at succession plans and how do we move forward, and so teams have done that as of late,” said Cousins. “I think it’s just part of the process of playing this league as you get older, you have got to play your way onto the field and you have got to play a way to stay on the field.

“I’ve kind of always viewed it as I got to earn my right to be out there. And I think it’s no different now.

“You’re reminded all the time. It’s a business. You can’t expect entitlement, you got to earn your way. I think Tom Brady would tell you that, with him being the greatest player of all time, it wasn’t like Bill Belichick just never gave him a hard time.

“I think Tom would look back now and say, it was a difficult road, I’m putting words in his mouth, but I think he’d say, I’m a better player and I’ve got a lot of rings to show for it. There’s no entitlement in this league, and it’s part of what makes it a great product.”

Cousins takes the reins within one of the NFL’s most gifted weaponries, lining up alongside star running back Bijan Robinson and with a pass-catching core of Drake London, Darnell Mooney and tight end Kyle Pitts at his disposal.

His job? Milk every ounce of talent from them.

“An important part of being a quarterback is always who else is around you, and not just the skills, but the offensive line and then the scheme,” said Cousins.

“I’ve been fortunate my whole career to be able to feel like I’m not alone. I’ve got great players around me. I’ve got great coaches around me, and I think Atlanta will be no different.

“You know, Mooney, Drake London, Kyle Pitts, Bijan Robinson, Tyler Allgeier and an offensive line that’s played together, has a lot of experience and is well coached. So I’m excited to be able to go out there feeling like I’m just a distributor, and I’ve got great players around me.”

It also represents one of the youngest offenses in the league, now spearheaded by a 36-year-old play-caller entering his 13th NFL campaign.

By now Cousins is no stranger to his humour being lost on the more youthful players around him. In some ways, he takes it as a positive.

“Some of my team-mates are 22/23 and they’re critical players on our team. You realise there’s a 15-year age gap almost there and I’ll crack a joke around pop culture from 15/20 years ago and they are just too young to know the joke.

“So that’s when you realise that, okay, but that’s a good thing. You want to be older in this league. That means you’ve had a long career and been able to stick around. And I hope I’m even older someday, looking back at younger players, hopefully here, and looking forward to leaving a mark.”

The other marquee offseason change in Atlanta came on the sideline as Morris was appointed successor to Arthur Smith following his success as Los Angeles Rams defensive coordinator, returning to the franchise for which he had previously served as defensive coordinator and interim head coach before heading to Hollywood.

Morris would later bolster his new defense as the Falcons underlined their win-now approach by splashing out to acquire veteran edge rusher Matthew Judon and safety Justin Simmons.

Cousins has been impressed by not only the schematic approach of his new head coach, but also his ability to galvanise a team with the personnel to achieve big things.

“I was reminded again today as he was talking to our team,” said Cousins. “Jimmy Johnson, the former Super Bowl winning head coach of the Cowboys, was big on the pygmalion effect, where you treat a man not as he is, but as you want him to be or as he ought to be, and if you treat him that way, he’ll become that.

“I feel like when Raheem talks to us as players, there’s a little bit of that belief like Jimmy Johnson had, where he’s going to talk to you and treat you in a way that you know this is where you ought to be and that he’s going to treat you as such so that you start to see yourself in that light.

“I think it gives us a lot of energy, and I think it also makes us want to play hard for him.”

Watch the Atlanta Falcons take on the Pittsburgh Steelers from 6pm live on Sky Sports on Sunday September 8, followed by the Dallas Cowboys at the Cleveland Browns from 9.25pm and the Los Angeles Rams at the Detroit Lions at 1.20am Monday morning. Also stream with NOW.

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