Kirk Cousins turns 33 years old on Thursday and, yes, the Vikings quarterback still calls himself a "work in progress" when it comes to making "off-schedule" plays when all heck breaks down around him.
So how does a nine-year NFL veteran go about improving in that area? How does he and his coaches script a way in practice to get better at playing off-script in a game?
"That is a really good question," Vikings offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak said. "That's something we talk about all the time."
Certain quarterbacks just seem to have the knack. The best of the best right now is, of course, Patrick Mahomes in Kansas City. Cousins has his strengths, but impersonating Patrick Mahomes is far from one of them.
"You kind of take two steps forward, one step back," Cousins said. "But I'll always try to get better in that area."
Is that even possible? When the offensive line breaks down — as it almost certainly will numerous times with prized left tackle Christian Darrisaw sidelined and right guard still a huge question mark — can the more robotic Cousins get better at improvising? Does he even have that club in his bag?
"He does, yeah; he does," Kubiak said. "It's part of his game that can improve, and he's working to improve on it.
"I think back to last year with our first game against the Packers, the first play of the game. I think it was the first play of the season. He took off running and made a big play to Adam [Thielen]. And I think back to that Tampa Bay game, getting a lot of match coverage, he took off and made some plays with his legs. It's a tool in his toolbox that we've got to keep using, and he's improving at it."
