StarTrib:Cousins yet to evolve into a proven winner

[cunningham]

I feel like this is just a continuation of how last season ended against the Bears. Right now Cousins is the last ranked starting quarterback in the NFL, but his pay is at the top.

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Sunday, two quarterbacks made Packer-approved fashion choices at Lambeau Field.

The first: During a ceremony honoring Bart Starr, Brett Favre wore cargo shorts, paying homage to the beer-and-brats ethic of his former home. In Favre’s defense, they were his formal cargo shorts. He probably wore them at his own wedding.

The second: Kirk Cousins wore a Vikings jersey, as if to embody the torment Packers fans have escaped by watching Favre and Aaron Rodgers play the position for the past 27 seasons.


A year ago, during Week 2 of his first season with the Vikings, Cousins led them on an inspired comeback at Lambeau Field to salvage a 29-29 tie. A year later, Cousins was asked to make a few simple throws and decisions. He failed.

Cousins completed 14 of 32 passes for 230 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions as the Vikings lost 21-16. He frequently threw over the heads of open receivers, but it was the pass he didn’t throw far enough that defined his day.


The Vikings took the ball at their own 40 with 10:08 remaining. They ran it three times for 16 yards, then Cousins scrambled for 6 and Cousins threw to Kyle Rudolph for 5 more.

Three more runs totaling 25 yards gave the Vikings a first-and-goal from the 8 with 5:17 remaining. Offensive coordinator Kevin Stefanski called for a play-action rollout.

The easy second guess will be that the Vikings should have kept running the ball. That would presume the offense should never throw a pass when it’s running well, which is silly.

Cousins rolled right and lofted a pass toward the back right corner of the end zone. Packers cornerback Kevin King wrestled it away for an interception and the Vikings wouldn’t threaten again.

Cousins should have thrown the ball away. Instead, an eight-year veteran signed to a record quarterback contract made a mistake that would make a rookie blush.

I thought Cousins was the right quarterback for the Vikings, given their available choices at the time — a deflated Case Keenum, a rehabilitating Teddy Bridgewater or the prospect of starting over with a drafted quarterback.

Sunday, Cousins offered the most compelling case to date that signing him was a mistake. He looked erratic and jittery. He missed wide-open receivers. And he threw that final interception, which is a résumé unto itself.

Cousins has been breaking hearts his entire NFL career, but in Washington he had binders filled with excuses: bad ownership, transient coaching, a dearth of star receivers and a team that looked hopeless before and after his time there.


In Minnesota, he was given a chance to lead a winning team, and he is 9-8-1, and his best moments came near the start of his first season. His play and the Vikings’ urgency hint he is regressing, or that the team overestimated him all along.

Sunday, on a day he would have liked to prompt comparisons to Favre and Rodgers, Cousins instead evoked memories of Christian Ponder.

In 2012, Ponder played well enough for a team with a powerhouse running game and strong defense to make the playoffs. In the 2013 opener at Detroit, he threw three horrific interceptions in a 34-24 loss. Anyone watching that game without bias knew Ponder was done. After the 2014 season, he never threw another NFL pass.

Unlike Ponder, Cousins has proved himself as an NFL passer. But he has not proved himself as an NFL winner, and as subjective as that label might be, you know one when you see one.

Cousins did not look like one at the end of last season, when he was screaming at Adam Thielen on the U.S. Bank Stadium sideline, and he did not look like one Sunday at Lambeau Field.

“I’m very disappointed in my performance today,” Cousins said. “It just wasn’t good enough … I’ll stand up here and take ownership of that.”

That was not the kind of accuracy the Vikings were looking for.

[Chuck North]

[cunningham]

He had time to throw on that one too. For all the flack that the offensive line takes.

Every throw in a close game is important. His accuracy was an issue in that game, but usually on medium to long range throws he is pretty good. It is the short ones he often skips. He likes to look down field. Can't fault a guy for that, but sometimes you really need to take what is there. I am kind of confused as to why he has always been in a WCO system (the Shannahan version) when he would probably be better suited for the Turner/Coryell offense. I suppose the pocket awareness and fumbling make it tough to hold the ball for long periods of time.

The interception was a play action pass. On that one Rudy was wide open short and he threw into triple coverage. That is supposed to be something he thrives with. So you can't fault the coaching staff for calling plays they think Cousins is most comfortable with.

At a certain point the line, coaching, and other aspects just become excuses. Just like in Washington it was coaching changes, wide receivers, and ownership. Eventually Cousins has to realize his own limitations and do better. This team is relying on him.

[Phrooster]

Captain Kirk sucks plain and simple

[Da Gas Man]

I am done with Cousins but if I wanted to make an argument, I would point to GB last year. He was Daniel Carlson away from winning on the road. Of course, he was also a bad Clay Matthews penalty from losing it too.

[Tmoney]

On any play Kirk can be Christian Ponder or Rodgers.

50 yards down field in a bucket, he can do that.

Then he is 15 yards behind the line, running backwards and lobs a prayer into the endzone on 1st and goal at the 8.

It's not so much what he does, its when he does it. Usually in a close game.

I am ok with a guy in his first year or two starting to do that. At the stage Kirk is at, it should never happen.

[cunningham]

On any play Kirk can be Christian Ponder or Rodgers.

50 yards down field in a bucket, he can do that.

Then he is 15 yards behind the line, running backwards and lobs a prayer into the endzone on 1st and goal at the 8.

It's not so much what he does, its when he does it. Usually in a close game.

I am ok with a guy in his first year or two starting to do that. At the stage Kirk is at, it should never happen.

Good point. That is what is kind of sticking with me. He is 31 and at this point this is what he is. I think we had rookie guys for so long that many are waiting for Cousins to develop, but he is beyond development. This is who he is. That deep bomb to Diggs, brilliant, but the two picks, beyond rookie mistakes.

I remember dealing with those rookie guys and there were quite a few games where the coaching staff had to tell them that ball control is more important than anything.

What stood out to me was how Cousins was leading with his head when he ran. Either he is stupid or he wants to get hurt and get out. Does he know he can't play to the contract he signed? I know he is dumb, but he will get his head knocked off if he keeps doing that.

[bubu dubu.]

I am done with Cousins but if I wanted to make an argument, I would point to GB last year. He was Daniel Carlson away from winning on the road. Of course, he was also a bad Clay Matthews penalty from losing it too.

And that still wouldn't have helped out his record vs teams with winning records.

[Oscar]

Let me know when Spielman and Zimmer evolve in to proven winners.

#MOIST

[Night Train]

And the award for most obvious sports take in the history of mankind goes to... The Star Tribune!!

[HeHateMe]

I mean this is why he was available in free agency... was it not?

Why was Sam Bradford traded twice towards the back end of his career?

If you can't draft the guy yourself... you're overpaying on the open market or in a trade for someone half way decent.

[cunningham]

I mean this is why he was available in free agency... was it not?

Why was Sam Bradford traded twice towards the back end of his career?

If you can't draft the guy yourself... you're overpaying on the open market or in a trade for someone half way decent.

What is frustrating with that are the people who just kept blaming Washington and saying that Cousins was just not used correctly. That he was mad they were not going to pay him. Those arguments seemed like a reach. My gut feeling was that no team would let a quarterback with any hope of being good walk away. Especially when you are trading for Alex Smith as the replacement. Reading back about Cousins in college he had these same issues. He was a 4th rounder, but Spielman doesn't even take a shot at a 4th rounder... Let alone can you imagine him taking two quarterbacks in one draft?

Something happened when Bridgewater went down. We were waiting at first, but it was like the Cousins contract doubled down on every mistake Spielman had made.

I was hoping Kubiak, who won a Super Bowl with an old and broken Manning - who was a choker, could right this ship. That he could take the lemon and make lemonade... That throw into triple coverage to Diggs for an interception was dumb. The endzone interception was killer. Had we just protected the ball better we win that game.

Cousins shouldn't feel like he has to win the game on his own. As Zimmer said, he needs to play within the system.

[HeHateMe]

I mean this is why he was available in free agency... was it not?

Why was Sam Bradford traded twice towards the back end of his career?

If you can't draft the guy yourself... you're overpaying on the open market or in a trade for someone half way decent.

What is frustrating with that are the people who just kept blaming Washington and saying that Cousins was just not used correctly. That he was mad they were not going to pay him. Those arguments seemed like a reach. My gut feeling was that no team would let a quarterback with any hope of being good walk away. Especially when you are trading for Alex Smith as the replacement. Reading back about Cousins in college he had these same issues. He was a 4th rounder, but Spielman doesn't even take a shot at a 4th rounder... Let alone can you imagine him taking two quarterbacks in one draft?

Something happened when Bridgewater went down. We were waiting at first, but it was like the Cousins contract doubled down on every mistake Spielman had made.

I was hoping Kubiak, who won a Super Bowl with an old and broken Manning - who was a choker, could right this ship. That he could take the lemon and make lemonade... That throw into triple coverage to Diggs for an interception was dumb. The endzone interception was killer. Had we just protected the ball better we win that game.

Cousins shouldn't feel like he has to win the game on his own. As Zimmer said, he needs to play within the system.

The Cousins throw late is on the staff as much as it is on him. Why the bleep are you throwing!? It's OK to admit it was a terrible throw and a terrible play call and everyone needs to be corrected who played a part.

[Tmoney]

I mean this is why he was available in free agency... was it not?

Why was Sam Bradford traded twice towards the back end of his career?

If you can't draft the guy yourself... you're overpaying on the open market or in a trade for someone half way decent.

What is frustrating with that are the people who just kept blaming Washington and saying that Cousins was just not used correctly. That he was mad they were not going to pay him. Those arguments seemed like a reach. My gut feeling was that no team would let a quarterback with any hope of being good walk away. Especially when you are trading for Alex Smith as the replacement. Reading back about Cousins in college he had these same issues. He was a 4th rounder, but Spielman doesn't even take a shot at a 4th rounder... Let alone can you imagine him taking two quarterbacks in one draft?

Something happened when Bridgewater went down. We were waiting at first, but it was like the Cousins contract doubled down on every mistake Spielman had made.

I was hoping Kubiak, who won a Super Bowl with an old and broken Manning - who was a choker, could right this ship. That he could take the lemon and make lemonade... That throw into triple coverage to Diggs for an interception was dumb. The endzone interception was killer. Had we just protected the ball better we win that game.

Cousins shouldn't feel like he has to win the game on his own. As Zimmer said, he needs to play within the system.

The Cousins throw late is on the staff as much as it is on him. Why the bleep are you throwing!? It's OK to admit it was a terrible throw and a terrible play call and everyone needs to be corrected who played a part.

I disagree. If you cant call a pass play on 1st and goal at the 8 yard line with your QB, we have a problem.

Nothing else this team can do or will do matters if you cannot trust the QB in that instance.
Thielen was there for a couple yards, I think Rudolph got open but it would have been a tough throw.

At best it would have Ben 2nd and goal at the 4 yard line.

At worst 2nd and goal at the 8.

It should never be a thought in a coordinator's mind that your veteran QB will crap the bed that hard.

If you call plays based on the chance Kirk will throw a horrendous pick, then you are coaching scared. Not coaching to win.

[Chuck North]

For real. As a coaching staff, if you aren't allowed to call a pass play at the 8 yard line, you've got other issues.

[HeHateMe]

What is frustrating with that are the people who just kept blaming Washington and saying that Cousins was just not used correctly. That he was mad they were not going to pay him. Those arguments seemed like a reach. My gut feeling was that no team would let a quarterback with any hope of being good walk away. Especially when you are trading for Alex Smith as the replacement. Reading back about Cousins in college he had these same issues. He was a 4th rounder, but Spielman doesn't even take a shot at a 4th rounder... Let alone can you imagine him taking two quarterbacks in one draft?

Something happened when Bridgewater went down. We were waiting at first, but it was like the Cousins contract doubled down on every mistake Spielman had made.

I was hoping Kubiak, who won a Super Bowl with an old and broken Manning - who was a choker, could right this ship. That he could take the lemon and make lemonade... That throw into triple coverage to Diggs for an interception was dumb. The endzone interception was killer. Had we just protected the ball better we win that game.

Cousins shouldn't feel like he has to win the game on his own. As Zimmer said, he needs to play within the system.

The Cousins throw late is on the staff as much as it is on him. Why the bleep are you throwing!? It's OK to admit it was a terrible throw and a terrible play call and everyone needs to be corrected who played a part.

I disagree. If you cant call a pass play on 1st and goal at the 8 yard line with your QB, we have a problem.

Nothing else this team can do or will do matters if you cannot trust the QB in that instance.
Thielen was there for a couple yards, I think Rudolph got open but it would have been a tough throw.

At best it would have Ben 2nd and goal at the 4 yard line.

At worst 2nd and goal at the 8.

It should never be a thought in a coordinator's mind that your veteran QB will crap the bed that hard.

If you call plays based on the chance Kirk will throw a horrendous pick, then you are coaching scared. Not coaching to win.

Agree to disagree then. Kirk threw a horrendous ball but they were moving the chains so easily with the running game, I don't know why they were passing on first down there.

[cunningham]

The Cousins throw late is on the staff as much as it is on him. Why the bleep are you throwing!? It's OK to admit it was a terrible throw and a terrible play call and everyone needs to be corrected who played a part.

I disagree. If you cant call a pass play on 1st and goal at the 8 yard line with your QB, we have a problem.

Nothing else this team can do or will do matters if you cannot trust the QB in that instance.
Thielen was there for a couple yards, I think Rudolph got open but it would have been a tough throw.

At best it would have Ben 2nd and goal at the 4 yard line.

At worst 2nd and goal at the 8.

It should never be a thought in a coordinator's mind that your veteran QB will crap the bed that hard.

If you call plays based on the chance Kirk will throw a horrendous pick, then you are coaching scared. Not coaching to win.

Agree to disagree then. Kirk threw a horrendous ball but they were moving the chains so easily with the running game, I don't know why they were passing on first down there.

To be fair to Cousins he was throwing better earlier in the game. Diggs dropped a few. Then he got erratic. One would think at this point in Cousins career that he would be more aware of ball control and not throw an int in the endzone. He was fighting to come back, which isn't really his strong suit. Especially in a tight game on the road. Had he not turned it over this game would have ended much different.

The cards were stacked against us though. The call in penalty from NY was BS. The interception had the defender touch Diggs, but that wasn't called. Spotting the other team 21 points is a near insurmountable task.

Zimmer is pretty clear that turnovers are something to avoid at all costs. After the deep hail Mary was successful one would think that Cousins would be careful, but he doesn't seem to be able to turn it off once it is turned on. The only thing you could do is to call all run plays, but that would be predictable.

[Ash Ketchum]

Hard to defend Cousins after that game. Still a better QB than either Keenum or Bridgewater.

There’s nothing wrong with a pass on first down in that situation. Vikings fans for years complained how the team ALWAYS ran it on first down and became super predictable. Now of course, those people are complaining about the polar opposite.

That was on Cousins, 100%.

[Deep Purple]

Keenum proved hands down in 2017 he is a much better proven Vikings starting QB than Cousins....and its not even close.

[PurpleHaze]

Keenum proved hands down in 2017 he is a much better proven Vikings starting QB than Cousins....and its not even close.

2017 proved that the defense won games. When the Vikes needed Keenum most in Philly HE COMPLETELY SHIT THE BED! That game was the reason why Keenum didn't deserve a contract.

What is his excuse in Denver?!?!

[cunningham]

Keenum proved hands down in 2017 he is a much better proven Vikings starting QB than Cousins....and its not even close.

2017 proved that the defense won games. When the Vikes needed Keenum most in Philly HE COMPLETELY SHIT THE BED! That game was the reason why Keenum didn't deserve a contract.

What is his excuse in Denver?!?!

The whole team was trounced by the Eagles. Keenum, Bridgewater, or Cousins are not gonna win you games alone. Out of the three I feel like Keenum could on occasion drive this team back. Teddy did a few times too, but in his limited time he did end a few nail biters by getting strip sacked. Nature of the game.

Denver can’t be blamed on Keenum, but he got them one more win than the year before.

The question really comes down to does Cousins add enough to offset his high price tag? Can we lose pieces at other spots and still win enough games?

Right now the cost/reward on Cousins isn’t paying off. Now that nearly a week has passed I am ready to see if he can redeem himself.

If he doesn’t, things will start to get really ugly. I would bet they come out fast, hard, and we pull ahead early at home. Run, Run, play action. My fear is that Cook has never been reliable injury-wise. People are worried if Cousins got hurt, but if Cook gets hurt it is over.

[RubeTube]

Keenum proved hands down in 2017 he is a much better proven Vikings starting QB than Cousins....and its not even close.

2017 proved that the defense won games. When the Vikes needed Keenum most in Philly HE COMPLETELY SHIT THE BED! That game was the reason why Keenum didn't deserve a contract.

What is his excuse in Denver?!?!

The whole team was trounced by the Eagles. Keenum, Bridgewater, or Cousins are not gonna win you games alone. Out of the three I feel like Keenum could on occasion drive this team back. Teddy did a few times too, but in his limited time he did end a few nail biters by getting strip sacked. Nature of the game.

Denver can’t be blamed on Keenum, but he got them one more win than the year before.

The question really comes down to does Cousins add enough to offset his high price tag? Can we lose pieces at other spots and still win enough games?

Right now the cost/reward on Cousins isn’t paying off. Now that nearly a week has passed I am ready to see if he can redeem himself.

If he doesn’t, things will start to get really ugly. I would bet they come out fast, hard, and we pull ahead early at home. Run, Run, play action. My fear is that Cook has never been reliable injury-wise. People are worried if Cousins got hurt, but if Cook gets hurt it is over.

What pieces did we lose?

Cousins bashers want to go on and on about this. You do realize Keenum got paid a good chunk of money too.

You are looking at one more good offensive linemen right now and Keenum with this same exact team.

[PurpleFloyd]

I wasn’t a fan of bringing in Cousins but face it, what QB could Spielman possibly have given Zimmer that would have yielded better results?

I liked Case but he has limitations as well. Teddy has no arm talent and plays scared. We will see over the next 6 weeks or so in New Orleans what he has because he is stepping into a playoff caliber team and an offense he should be able to score lots of points on.

Realistically the one guy Rick probably screwed the pooch on was taking Teddy over Carr. Other than that I don’t see any other options we realistically had that are any sort of upgrade over Cousins.

Put me on the Sloter bandwagon I guess.

[Joe Bag 'O Donuts]

2017 proved that the defense won games. When the Vikes needed Keenum most in Philly HE COMPLETELY SHIT THE BED! That game was the reason why Keenum didn't deserve a contract.

What is his excuse in Denver?!?!

The whole team was trounced by the Eagles. Keenum, Bridgewater, or Cousins are not gonna win you games alone. Out of the three I feel like Keenum could on occasion drive this team back. Teddy did a few times too, but in his limited time he did end a few nail biters by getting strip sacked. Nature of the game.

Denver can’t be blamed on Keenum, but he got them one more win than the year before.

The question really comes down to does Cousins add enough to offset his high price tag? Can we lose pieces at other spots and still win enough games?

Right now the cost/reward on Cousins isn’t paying off. Now that nearly a week has passed I am ready to see if he can redeem himself.

If he doesn’t, things will start to get really ugly. I would bet they come out fast, hard, and we pull ahead early at home. Run, Run, play action. My fear is that Cook has never been reliable injury-wise. People are worried if Cousins got hurt, but if Cook gets hurt it is over.

What pieces did we lose?

Cousins bashers want to go on and on about this. You do realize Keenum got paid a good chunk of money too.

You are looking at one more good offensive linemen right now and Keenum with this same exact team.

No Tube, recognize that when it comes to Keenum, it was a team meltdown, whereas Cousins owns every failure.

[Beef Supreme]

Also in the STrib this week:


- Sky deemed likely to be blue.
- Water still the wettest thing around.
- The sun continues to set in the west.


Further bulletins as news breaks!

[cunningham]

The whole team was trounced by the Eagles. Keenum, Bridgewater, or Cousins are not gonna win you games alone. Out of the three I feel like Keenum could on occasion drive this team back. Teddy did a few times too, but in his limited time he did end a few nail biters by getting strip sacked. Nature of the game.

Denver can’t be blamed on Keenum, but he got them one more win than the year before.

The question really comes down to does Cousins add enough to offset his high price tag? Can we lose pieces at other spots and still win enough games?

Right now the cost/reward on Cousins isn’t paying off. Now that nearly a week has passed I am ready to see if he can redeem himself.

If he doesn’t, things will start to get really ugly. I would bet they come out fast, hard, and we pull ahead early at home. Run, Run, play action. My fear is that Cook has never been reliable injury-wise. People are worried if Cousins got hurt, but if Cook gets hurt it is over.

What pieces did we lose?

Cousins bashers want to go on and on about this. You do realize Keenum got paid a good chunk of money too.

You are looking at one more good offensive linemen right now and Keenum with this same exact team.

No Tube, recognize that when it comes to Keenum, it was a team meltdown, whereas Cousins owns every failure.

Why can’t we ever have a quarterback who can lead this team back against good teams? It feels like with any of the quarterbacks we’ve had here for many years now that if we fall behind it is over. When Keenum played Cousins in ‘17 both threw killer interceptions. In the end though, Keenum was better that day. I remember watching and thinking, “thank God we have Keenum and not Cousins..”

Here we are two years later and now that I have watched Cousins extensively and read about him I see more clearly why I felt that way. Cousins has heart. He just isn’t good enough. Neither was Teddy. Neither was Keenum.

[Beef Supreme]

What pieces did we lose?

Cousins bashers want to go on and on about this. You do realize Keenum got paid a good chunk of money too.

You are looking at one more good offensive linemen right now and Keenum with this same exact team.

No Tube, recognize that when it comes to Keenum, it was a team meltdown, whereas Cousins owns every failure.

Why can’t we ever have a quarterback who can lead this team back against good teams? It feels like with any of the quarterbacks we’ve had here for many years now that if we fall behind it is over. When Keenum played Cousins in ‘17 both threw killer interceptions. In the end though, Keenum was better that day. I remember watching and thinking, “thank God we have Keenum and not Cousins..”

Here we are two years later and now that I have watched Cousins extensively and read about him I see more clearly why I felt that way. Cousins has heart. He just isn’t good enough. Neither was Teddy. Neither was Keenum.

I remember that game too. IIRC, Cousins threw for a bunch of yards, but never seemed like a threat to actually win the game.

I keep coming back to that monster, guaranteed contract with Cousins. He’d be alright on a bargain deal. But he’s on a huge deal and we have no flexibility with it at all.

Rick’s epitaph, perhaps...

[cunningham]

No Tube, recognize that when it comes to Keenum, it was a team meltdown, whereas Cousins owns every failure.

Why can’t we ever have a quarterback who can lead this team back against good teams? It feels like with any of the quarterbacks we’ve had here for many years now that if we fall behind it is over. When Keenum played Cousins in ‘17 both threw killer interceptions. In the end though, Keenum was better that day. I remember watching and thinking, “thank God we have Keenum and not Cousins..”

Here we are two years later and now that I have watched Cousins extensively and read about him I see more clearly why I felt that way. Cousins has heart. He just isn’t good enough. Neither was Teddy. Neither was Keenum.

I remember that game too. IIRC, Cousins threw for a bunch of yards, but never seemed like a threat to actually win the game.

I keep coming back to that monster, guaranteed contract with Cousins. He’d be alright on a bargain deal. But he’s on a huge deal and we have no flexibility with it at all.

Rick’s epitaph, perhaps...

Can only hope. And I was the biggest backer of Spielman. He was like a magician in the draft, but after years of the same issues we need someone new. We've been decent for many years, but a few positions are continually an issue.

I still have some hope in Cousins. My fear is that he is getting worse. This is his offense, we have top receivers and a good TE. The line is crappy, but whose isn't?

I think he has a good game this week and things calm down a bit. Losing to GB on the road always stings, but it shows how much better we are now. That used to be a solid loss usually under Zim.

[Deep Purple]

Just the fact that the Vikings are trying to trade for Jalen Ramsey tells me how desperate Speilman is. No matter what the right thing to do is draft a QB next year.

[Badbeat]

Also in the STrib this week:


- Sky deemed likely to be blue.
- Water still the wettest thing around.
- The sun continues to set in the west.


Further bulletins as news breaks!

Being a liquid, water is not itself wet, but can make other solid materials wet.

Wetness is the ability of a liquid to adhere to the surface of a solid, so when we say that something is wet, we mean that the liquid is sticking to the surface of a material.

Whether an object is wet or dry depends on a balance between cohesive and adhesive forces. Cohesive forces are attractive forces within the liquid that cause the molecules in the liquid to prefer to stick together. Cohesive forces are also responsible for surface tension. If the cohesive forces are very strong, then the liquid molecules really like to stay close together and they won't spread out on the surface of an object very much. On the contrary, adhesive forces are the attractive forces between the liquid and the surface of the material. If the adhesive forces are strong, then the liquid will try and spread out onto the surface as much as possible. So how wet a surface is depends on the balance between these two forces. If the adhesive forces (liquid-solid) are bigger than the cohesive forces (liquid-liquid), we say the material becomes wet, and the liquid tends to spread out to maximize contact with the surface. On the other hand, if the adhesive forces (liquid-solid) are smaller than the cohesive forces (liquid-liquid), we say the material is dry, and the liquid tends to bead-up into a spherical drop and tries to minimize the contact with the surface.