Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Ask Drew Magary Vikings questions

Episode Date: May 16, 2025

*Explicit language warning (we tried to edit them all out but we probably missed one, sorry for that if we did)* Matthew Coller and Drew Magary go live to talk about the Vikings offseason an...d Drew answers any and all Vikings questions.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Starting point is 00:01:17 This is a very random and special episode because joining me on the show to answer your Vikings question is Drew McGarry from Defector, everybody's favorite crazed Minnesota Vikings fan slash brilliant writer. Drew. I have thrown it out there to Vikings fans who for some reason in the middle of the day are online and able to ask you questions that anything is on the table that they want to know from you here today as we have this conversation.
Starting point is 00:01:48 So this is the first time we've done a live chat. I'm a little terrified of having you live, but here we are. Can't really be edited. How are you feeling? No filter, baby. I'm fine. That's fine. I'm ready.
Starting point is 00:02:03 I'm ready for the week to end. And my children are, and my wife, she's a preschool teacher. They are ready for school to end. They are so like, it's like, you know, and the teachers are like, you know what? We don't worry. Just watch Hidden Figures for the ninth time this year. It's like when you don't have to learn anything.
Starting point is 00:02:21 Everyone's done. Everyone's burnt. So my mom was a reading teacher for a very long time, so I understand the feeling. Here's the here's the first question for you. I think it's perfectly apt comes from Michael. Michael says on a scale of one to 10, how insanely pumped are you for the upcoming season?
Starting point is 00:02:43 So this isn't just regular pumped through. This is insanely pumped. I think that's a great place to begin. Am I pumped and jacked? Right? I said I am extremely pumped. I'm pissed that it's only May, right? Cause it's like. And I, I say that as someone who has been watching the NBA playoffs and
Starting point is 00:03:00 enjoying them and it's like a reborn or I don't even know if reborn counts, but a reborn wolves fan, like it's like a reborn or I don't even know if reborn counts, but a reborn wolves fan. Uh, like it's been so exciting to watch all the NBA games, but I cannot get to the NFL season fast enough. I'm extremely bullish on the team to the point where I think a lot of us are bullish on the team to the point where I said to you prior to this recording, like, okay, well, why don't I tell you all the things that I'm still worried about
Starting point is 00:03:26 so that I don't just spend the entire hour being like, yeah, we're gonna win the Super Bowl. That would be bad. Well, that's kind of how it's gone, though, for this entire offseason. I have found myself wondering, like, shouldn't I be criticizing something just in the name of journalism? But when the plan comes together, exactly how I thought it should come together three years ago. And now it's time for JJ McCarthy to take over and do the thing that we've all been waiting for for a really long time.
Starting point is 00:03:57 How many years in a row did we urge them? Hey, you know, Kirk's contracts coming up, maybe draft a quarterback. I think going back to like 2020, even when the, he instead just signed an extension and they thought they could run it all back. And then we did the dance of how do I do podcasts without bringing up his contract when, how also, you know, they would sign somebody in the off season. It's like, all right, they have brought in Shandon Sullivan. He is a corner from the Steelers and this off season, it was like emergency
Starting point is 00:04:31 podcasts after emergency podcast with so much action and keeping their own star players that it is difficult to punch holes in it. But, uh, so if you're doing your one to 10 insanely pump scale, it's a 10, but it also sounds like there is some things that are concerning you. So, uh, what is it that's on your mind? That's worrisome to you. So, uh, before I get to, before I get to that, um, it's not, it's not that I'm like, I'm trying to be fatalist. Cause I think one thing I have noticed that the confidence that I have, and you know, you would know better than I, but it feels contagious.
Starting point is 00:05:11 It feels like it has spread out of the building and to other fans like me to the point where like I wrote about McCarthy last week, I think because I had nothing else to write about or I didn't want to write about anything else because I didn't Have a podcast to go on to talk about the Vikings. I You're the only way I can like get Vikings conversation into my life without writing an obnoxious blog about it So anyway when people respond to like stuff, I've written them, you know about my bullishness is like, oh, it's so cute How Vikings fans are getting their heart gang gang right after heart-tripped out again, and it's like I'm like like I I waved it off so easy cuz it's like you people do not
Starting point is 00:05:52 Do not understand what the fuck is going on with this team right now, but you don't You don't have a handle on exactly like Like kale Williams was so horny for the Vikings that, like, his crazy old man went and told Seth Wickersham, We wish we had gotten drafted by, by these people. This is an organization that knows what it's doing. So if it, it makes you understand how dumb believing in curses is, how dumb fatalism is, it's, you know, the history of this team is, you know, it's star crossed, but it's, you know, it's due to some extremely Earthbound factors, mostly just bad luck or mismanagement, you know, or, you know, a lack of a durable franchise quarterback since Fran Tarkenden, who, by the way, had to go to New York and then be traded back before he could become the Fran Tarkenden that we all sort of remember, or at least the one that I've read about because I wasn't alive when Fran Tarkenden was played, right?
Starting point is 00:06:53 And so, you know, now that the, the ownership, the front office, the coaching staff and the roster, now that, you know, that the organization has it sh** it together I know that if they fall short this year or in the coming ones it won't be because some Nordic witch placed a hex on the team and it's you know it'll be because of again earthbound reasons and I'm okay with that like that's why I was okay with what happened at the end of last season because it was wholly explainable. It wasn't a matter of faith. It was their interior is crap. And another team recognized that and took advantage of it.
Starting point is 00:07:34 And they had the horses to take advantage of it. And that was it. So that's all far too much setup. I'm supposed to tell you what I'm worried about, right? Yeah. Well, I just want to say that one thing we had seen just you can't help but compare it to the past was there you go. Wow. You really went all in for this, even with the mug.
Starting point is 00:07:53 But in the past, it felt like we would come out of a season and there would be these two or three clear things that took them down within the season, even a good year, like in 2019 it was still the interior offensive line. They were getting a little old in certain spots things like that and Then you would go to the next season and the problems were exactly the same and the guard thing It's not just the guard thing like there's been other Versions of the guard thing but guard has been the one that's stood out so much in this conversation and to have them take this playoff game, identify all of the things that were problematic and then go and
Starting point is 00:08:37 fix them. I know that it seems like an obvious thing to do for an NFL franchise, but a lot of times when a team wins 14 games, they don't necessarily do stuff like that. And I also think we need to give them credit going back years for winning 13 games and also having the self-awareness to say, we kind of got away with those 13 wins
Starting point is 00:08:59 and that wasn't reflective of what this is going to be. So we shouldn't treat it like that. We shouldn't treat it like that result can happen again. And I think it had the franchise tag Sam Darnold and maybe signed one guard and brought in Isaiah Rogers or something. It would have been running back the same team that could be very competitive, but had the same fatal flaws. And I don't know, by the end of the year, we might have fatal flaws that we didn't anticipate, but at least for the approach and the thought process, they resolve the issues that showed themselves in the biggest stage.
Starting point is 00:09:34 And I don't know that we've always seen this front office do that. Yeah, I mean, now it's now it's a matter of execution. The planning has been correct. It's okay, can they execute off of that plan, right? So, I mean, the thing that I worry about the most, and this should almost be discounted, but it's injury, because injury is essentially what, you know, it can come at anybody at any time. You know, Patrick Mahomes could go down with a torn ACL at any second, right?
Starting point is 00:10:02 But where I worry about it is places that I think I should worry about, which is at left tackle with Darryl Saw, because Darryl Saw has never really demonstrated that he can stay healthy for an entire season. It's not his fault, of course. It wasn't his fault that someone fell into the back of his leg, you know, right before halftime last season and destroyed his knee. But, you know, I just watched, you know, TJ Hockenson come back and he was diminished last season. And, you know, we're all sort of assuming that he'll be back at full capacity this season. But, you know, that's not, it's not a guarantee. We're all human, like, and you tear up a knee, you know, that's hard to recover from. So I worry about Darisul's timeline coming back, even though they have been very bullish about that. And then whether or not, you know, he's also, he's had, he has a concussion history. And so then I,
Starting point is 00:10:52 you know, I'm hoping for Justin Skool to be like a decent swing tackle, or I guess Brandle, if they make him the swing tackle instead, you know, however training camp happens. And it's very funny because we were talking about guards. And there's, there's a, you know, the scenario where we end the season with guard as the strongest remaining point on the line because O'Neil is getting a little bit old and because Darryl Sawley can get hurt and then Ryan Kelly has mileage on him too. And, and the backup center there is, is, as far as I can tell, is Michael Juergens, who could suck, right? Like, you know, like, like you say that, that they believe in him and they, you know, that they, they activated him at certain points last year. But that doesn't particularly mean anything. You know, if I haven't seen the guy, you know, they played, they played Ed Ingram for three years and he sucked ass. So I can't count on that being good. So I worry about that. That, that would be my first thing. The next thing would be, and you'll
Starting point is 00:11:51 groan at my bullshit, but it's the corner back room. And I'm right with you where they didn't have, they felt like they didn't have to dip into the second wave of free agency with Asante Samuel or, or Mike Hilton or any of those guys, because they, they said, OK, if we, if we need to, you know, if we need to break glass in case of emergency, we can do that during training camp. We can get to training camp first, and we can, we can really get a full assessment of this backfield before we make any more major moves because everything right now is being is on Paper, right and it looks really good on paper But you need to see it in action and you do too as someone who's going to be at training camp and watching that so You know, I want to make sure that those positions are set because even though I liked Mackay Blackman is rookie year
Starting point is 00:12:41 he wasn't like mind-blowingly awesome he was like serviceable, right? And, you know, eventually you need a, you might need more than serviceable. And so I worry about that. And then I worry about the bullish on Isaiah Rogers. Well, okay, can he play a full season? Can, you know, can Byron Murphy still be as versatile and as good as he is without, as versatile and as good as he is without, you know, without Cambynum there and without, like, you know, a veteran hand like Stephon Gilmore on the opposite side. I always kind of like the idea of bringing back Shaq Griffin just in case because again, serviceable, but I like having serviceable people around.
Starting point is 00:13:21 And then the other one is punt returner and wide receiver three because I'm still not convinced I'm still not convinced that a Good third wide out option is in the building right now Like I like the tie Felton is tall and fast I like I like I liked watching Rondale more his his rookie year like he looked very promising his rookie year But his year was what three years ago? his rookie year. Like he looked very promising his rookie year, but his rookie year was what, three years ago. And then Jalen Naylor is, I think, clearly a guy who's just going to be streaky. Like he'll be, he'll make some nice plays. But that's, that's kind of it. There's not, I don't feel like,
Starting point is 00:13:57 I don't feel like there's a Robert, a prime Robert Woods, like, sitting there on the roster right now. And that to me is, you know, it, you know, it sounds like, uh, you know, sort of champagne problems, right? Like Quasi says, but those are little things that, that, that matter, you know, that it matters. Uh, you know, it matters to have every possible receiving option for any quarterback, not just one like JJ McCarthy, who's coming into his first season as a starter. So I think, uh, to just to go one by one there, uh, with the offensive line, the one thing that they have that most teams in the NFL don't is depth
Starting point is 00:14:35 on the offensive line. Now I don't know what Michael Juergens is going to be either, but there is some signal, at least in the fact that he could beat out a veteran that they signed to be depth to be active on game day in Dan Feeney because Feeney had played in the NFL a lot. So if you're coming in as a young lady, so what he was, but the point is just that somebody with that much experience who had played as a starter before. And if you could beat him out, that means the coaches are trusting you.
Starting point is 00:15:03 If there's an injury more than the guy that they signed purposefully to be a veteran there. That doesn't, it doesn't mean he's going to be a star. It just, but it does, there is signal there to tell you, okay, they think that this guy can actually play. Uh, that's always going to be a little bit tough with a Ryan Kelly who's had injuries that you are one play away from having someone who's inexperienced. As you're starting center. So that is tough.
Starting point is 00:15:25 But because then it's then it's a real problem, right? Because like you said, like if Kelly doesn't work out there, they're back to square one. Right. Like Juergens kind of has to work out. Otherwise, they're boned. Right. Exactly. And there probably will be a couple games where he has to play just even in the best case scenario.
Starting point is 00:15:43 I'm not expecting 1100 snaps from Ryan Kelly, but Blake Brando being a guy that started 17 games and for a good portion of that was a solid left guard and then the wheels completely came off later in the season there. I don't think there's that many backup left guards who are good enough to start 17 games in the NFL and then bringing in Justin school for Christian Darasa, he proved himself last year with Tampa Bay that he can start over multiple games. Then you're developing Walter Rouse as well,
Starting point is 00:16:14 who had a very good training camp. This doesn't solve all problems. Offensive lines get injured. You have to have guys shuffling in and out. But I think of all the positions, maybe on the field, that's the one that has the best depth for them. And the secondary and the quarterback group, we spent so much time last year talking about how screwed they were at the
Starting point is 00:16:34 quarterback group, going into training camp after Mackay Blackman went down. Oh man, they are in so much trouble now. And then they sign, Stefan Gilmore. And again, we think, well, the guy's a hundred years old. We'll see. He plays fine. Shaq Griffin plays fine. I'm kind of giving benefit of the doubt there. And also the fact that you can bring somebody else in if it's problematic.
Starting point is 00:16:56 And I think the same thing goes for wide receiver, where if they get a look at it and they don't love it, there's other options and this team, this management has shown you in the middle of the season, every year in the middle of the season, that they're willing to go out and spend their draft capital, that they're just not going to let a problem live there that they're going to, okay, we don't trust Ty Chandler. We're going to go get cam makers or Christian Derris saw got hurt. We're going to go get cam Robinson. I think they'll do that again,
Starting point is 00:17:26 that it doesn't have to be done here. But I would like to see first if Isaiah Rogers is what they think he's going to be or how Mackay Blackman comes back because I thought Blackman was really good at the end of 2023. And with Rogers, it seems like Flores is big on him. Now Flores, sometimes we talk about him as if he has magic powers and could never ever be wrong.
Starting point is 00:17:48 That could happen with Isaiah Rogers, but I think they have enough time, especially with that position. I mean, the fact that a Stefan Gilmore was there last year, Russell Douglas is still out there. Shaq Griffin is still out there. It's the weirdest position with free agency because if you don't get picked up right away, it's almost like no one picks you up until they have injuries or get into training camp. So I
Starting point is 00:18:12 was like those aren't concerns, but it's that I think there are resolutions to those concerns. I think I think it was it corner worried me a little less free agent wise because as a fan, like I see name talent out there, and I'm like, Oh, OK, we're like, I would like to be able to pick up one of those guys, and we should pick up one of those guys. Whereas I think the wide receiver, the group of wide receivers available right now, it's pretty, pretty slobby. I'm not really that pleased with it. But going back to Corner, I think one of the reasons that I'm hung up on corner is because, and I've texted you with you about this, but in my lifetime, that position has always been pretty dire for us. Like the best, I would say the best corner of my lifetime is probably Antoine Winfield, who was not drafted by the Vikings. And then if if either, either number, you can hear me, right? Either the, the, the second best or the guy ahead of him is Xavier Rhodes, but Xavier Rhodes was like,
Starting point is 00:19:12 Prime Xavier Rhodes was not very long. It was, I think, four or five years. And then also he had the Ann Edwards thing where, like he would go down and you thought, oh, he tore his ACL or something like that. And then he'd missed like a series or something, or he'd miss like a quarter and come back. But X did that all the time and it was so annoying. So it was, I, you know, I think, I think it was when they, they decided to bring back
Starting point is 00:19:36 Byron instead of bringing in DJ Reed, who I'd just watched. I just watched DJ Reed shut down Justin Jefferson in London. So I was like, that seems like a guy that I would like to have. So I think that in my mind, there is still a, a Revis out there. And I know you said the games have all since then, but it's still my fan brain has a hard time getting past that particular hump. I think for corner, it's just more important not to have a weak link than it is to have the true shutdown guy.
Starting point is 00:20:08 Not that Patrick's or tan doesn't help the Denver Broncos. They would have needed to draft a corner in the first round if they were going to get a talent like that, because even DJ Reed is a, is a good player, but I don't, he's not even really the best corner on his team with the jets and you know, you're paying a lot of money for that, but I think it's more about if these guys are all solid and do their job, that's what they had last year that in Flores is defense, you're going to be rallying to make tackles much more than you are going to be locking down one type of guy. And the fact that they play so much zone coverage, I think it allows you to not
Starting point is 00:20:45 necessarily need that type of elite elite elite player to still thrive. And the fact they were able to keep Murphy with his familiarity with the defense, I think cannot be understated when he got hurt in 2023, they completely collapse. So he's got to be healthy and he's a main part of that. But I was very much for that signing. Maybe the initial price that was reported that wasn't really even close to the actual price. That was a little bit steep. But then when you saw, oh, okay, that was fake.
Starting point is 00:21:11 You got the Asian version. Right. Exactly. When you see the actual cap, it's like, oh, okay. Well, I think that's going to be pretty good. But I think that the secondary in general does have questions. I mean, Theo Jackson is someone we've anointed as the next great Anderson Dayho and the next great Anthony Harris, but we'll see. I I've been very impressed by him and very impressed by what the coaches
Starting point is 00:21:33 say about him and Harrison Smith, but that's gotta happen. Well, he's also, he's looked good on, he's looked on good in games for, right? Like it's never been like, Oh, that guy's a slob. Like when I've seen him on, like we'll get him off the, It's not like, you don't get that Ed Ingram reaction, right? So I'm okay. I'm okay with that. And I was okay with them not going into defensive backfield for the draft because, you know, if they didn't like what they saw or whatever, like I would have liked John A. Barron but he didn't, he didn't fall that far. So they couldn't do anything about it. And so, you know, they, they ended up addressing, you know, you know, sort of a. Historic craving that us fans have had in getting a garden diamond Jackson. So I've been fine with all that. And also you can't have everything.
Starting point is 00:22:19 So, okay. So let me get to some, uh, some questions here. Feel free to throw some more in the chat. This is ask Drew McGarry Vikings questions. So, uh, Aaron says, uh, favorite quarterback matchup against Brian Flores defense, what is your favorites on the schedule quarterback versus Brian Flores? Does he mean in terms of like a mismatch or does he mean like a real good match for Brian?
Starting point is 00:22:47 Like I'm taking this as like juicy as in fun, exciting. Can't wait to see it. That's how I'm reading this question. OK, well, that's Burrow in week three. Right. That's like, you know, if we can lock down Joe Burrow, because even when the Bengals can't do Dick like they like last year, Burrow gets even when the Bengals can't do dick like the like last year Burrow gets his right so in order to Get where we want to go
Starting point is 00:23:10 You have to be able to minimize the players who one way or another get theirs That was Rogers and Green Bay every year, right? I was like they were the guys that you could shut down for like a half But you kind of knew that, you know, if you, if you let up, they would come get you, right? They were going to get theirs at some point. So, a guy like Burrow, you know, that would be someone that I would be, I, you know, that I would be very wary of. And then of course, Jaden Daniels, because, you know, I, I think that, I think that the consensus will be, at least among analytics folks, that that team is due for a bit of a regression and perhaps Daniel's too.
Starting point is 00:23:51 But you and I saw how he played at the end of last season and not only was he talented, but he was also unflappable and very smart. And so that's just his rookie year. That's not with a complete offseason under his belt. So how much smarter will he be, you know, going into the second year? He'll still have the same coordinator, whether or not that's, you know, like Cliff really got a good image rehabilitation last year in Washington. But we all know before that, when he was the head coach in Arizona, he was the guy who you could solve after half a season, guy who, you know, was great with Kyler Murray until, you know, until people, until defensive coordinators were like, Oh, OK, we know what to do now. We know exactly what you're going to do. So, you know, whether or not Cliff has
Starting point is 00:24:37 been able to sort of unfuck what's wrong with his brain, you know, that will depend. That will, you know, I assume that that will inform how how Daniels himself performs, or maybe Daniels will be able to play, play well despite that. Lord knows there are there are quarterbacks like Aaron Rogers who have been able to play well despite having substandard offensive minds working behind them. Well, that's what I was going to say about Jaden Daniels is that he might just be everything proof.
Starting point is 00:25:10 There's five quarterbacks in the league at any given time that are like this, where Buffalo, their general manager, is yelling at my friends on the radio in Buffalo, if you saw that. And because that sounds like a buffalo thing. Yeah, they guys are Yelly. I know they are. Oh, yeah. Everybody, everybody in the East in general, but especially like I. But I've heard people talk about Sean McDermott, like off the record.
Starting point is 00:25:33 Like, yes. Yep. Yep. So they defensive call it defensive. I would say. And so he was just went off on them for talking about how they should have drafted a wide receiver. And it's so obvious that they should have drafted a wide receiver. And it's so obvious that they should have drafted a wide receiver. But at the same time, Josh Allen is just everything proof. And even last year when they didn't have good wide receivers, he wins the MVP of the entire league and takes them within one Dalton Kincaid of actually catching a
Starting point is 00:25:59 floating ball out of the sky, competing the Kansas city chiefs and going to the Superbowl. I think Daniels might end up being that way. That's not Kyler Murray in Arizona with Cliff Kingsbury. But think about Lamar where I was never sold on Greg Roman being all that great of a coordinator and are just made him into a God. And then they brought in somebody new for Lamar and he was even better. And I think Jayden Daniels might fall into that category,
Starting point is 00:26:25 but now he has a left tackle. Who's a superstar. He's got whatever's left of Devo Samuel, which I think is probably something if he's motivated to play, uh, he would be on my list for sure. But for me it's Lamar Jackson because I haven't seen him in person, uh, ever in his career. The three guys we've talked about, Burrow Jackson and Daniels, those are also guys who, um, you know,
Starting point is 00:26:46 it reminds me of RG three, his rookie year, putting a stake in the Vikings and overtime. I think it was overtime, but it was like a 76 yard run. And it was a sort of thing where obviously it sucked to lose the game, but like, I couldn't help but admire, right? It's like, these are players. These are players I like to watch. These are not players. Like losing Aaron Rogers sucks. Cause I hear Aaron Rogers, right? It's like these are players, these are players I like to watch. These are not players like losing Aaron Rodgers sucks because I hate Aaron Rodgers, right? And I hated him even before he went completely off the reservation. Like I just I didn't like him, right? But you know, someone like Jaden Daniels, like, if he beats our asses, it's, it's gonna be that I'll be like,
Starting point is 00:27:20 you know, I'll be like, Bravo, sir. Well played. You got us this time. I'll be I'll be sportsman like about it. It's it's it's just the quarterbacks I don't like losing to like Jordan Love. I don't want that to happen. Well, I felt the same way when they would play against Drew Brees and a lot of those great battles where you just have to respect Drew Brees's absolute greatness. And they got him a couple of times in the playoffs.
Starting point is 00:27:44 But I would as he got times in the playoffs. But I would, is he got his in the miracle game? Like, yes. Yeah. Right. Let off the gas. And then there he did. He drew, breezed it and we needed a goddamn miracle to win it. The second half quarterback play from drew breeze is the best I've ever seen in front of me in person. And when you have great, truly great quarterbacks, seeing them in person is different than on TV because you see how hard it really is for what they just
Starting point is 00:28:09 did. I think on TV, because of the angle, you'll see drops back and he throws and like, Oh, someone caught it. But if you're seeing the whole thing progress in front of you, you could see like how far ahead the guy had to make his decision or just how the tacklers were playing out when he was dodging three of them and running. So you can keep your eye on them the whole time too. You know, like you, there's, there's no cutaway, you know, you can see, you know, in, you know, in continual time, you can see their command over the,
Starting point is 00:28:40 right over the field and over their teammates too. Yeah. And, and seeing even Burrow in 2021 was amazing to just watch someone throw that accurately in person. That's how it was with Drew Brees, the anticipation the accuracy, very cool. So this, you have to say about this schedule that it has a lot of cool matchups that are going to be on the way
Starting point is 00:29:01 starting with the quarterback position. Let's get to a question from Bland Toast says, what is McCarthy's stat line at the end of the year, Drew? Oh, I went, I was concerned. Somebody asked me about that on Blue Sky a while back and I went conservative. I went, I think I went like 3,400 yards, like 25, 26 CDs and like nine interceptions.
Starting point is 00:29:22 Like there are fans, and I've heard them who are like 4,000 yards, 35 touchdowns, like five picks. And that's, you know, it's nice to dream about but it's not unlike the Darnold expectations from a year ago, right? It's like, okay, if he can play, you know, I will, I'll set my expectation at, okay, he'll be able to be, he'll be competent and he'll put up numbers that are, that aren't, that won't wow you, but will be good enough for you, for you to have an offense that looks good.
Starting point is 00:29:59 I have, I believe in the kid a lot, and I think he'll be very good. But this is the thing where I don't want to get over my skis and that's not due to fatalism, it's just due to the basic reality of, he's not a rookie, but he is a second year quarterback. And not every second year quarterback is Patrick Mahomes or Lamar Jackson. Some of them, they need time. And particularly in the front end. I firmly believe that the
Starting point is 00:30:28 newfound commitment to the running game that we're all anticipating, I assume that Kevin O'Connell himself is kind of only planning for that for the front half of the season where if he can, if he starts to feel like he can really take the governor off of the kid and let him, let him huck it, he's going to do that. So that'll be interesting to see because we already know that McCarthy is excellent at running a primary run offense. And that's not a small thing.
Starting point is 00:31:00 Like there are quarterbacks who are bad at that. You know, there are quarterbacks who are bad at executing handoffs and bad at clinics. And know, there are core backs who are bad at executing handoffs and bad clinics. And okay, can he, does he know the right run to audible two at the line? Like we said, like I, like I bitched to you before about, you know, where I hated the, you know, all the Peyton Manning flapping, you know, the line of scrimmage, you know, when there's like, when there's like eight guys in the box, you think, oh, it's going to be a great pass. And then it's, it's, you know, it's a run for one yard. Like all of that, like I think JJ McCarthy is smarter than, than that. And he knows, I think he knows what to call when he sees stuff.
Starting point is 00:31:35 So I'll be interested to, I'll be interested to see that now I'm rambling too much, so I should let you talk. Well, there is something to running a run first type of offense where you're doing a lot of play action, but you're not ramping up a lot of throws to get in a rhythm. And Kirk cousins was excellent at this with Gary Kubiak and with Kevin Stefanski. So if they do start out that way, I think that he can build up into that. And also, like you said, like making checks to the runs and stuff like that.
Starting point is 00:32:04 But I think that with Kevin O'Connell, he's always going to lead into the pass a game no matter what, like if it looks like it's even decent, he's like, all right, let's go all in on this. And, and I know she's there. He's going to eat it. Right. I mean, Josh Dobbs is not a great litmus test because of just how that situation played out with him showing up and they couldn't revamp the entire offense.
Starting point is 00:32:25 But at the same time he was throwing 35 passes with Josh tops even on a nights where they were running the ball. Well, so I think he's still going to do that. Uh, I was going to bring up my clay's projections because I think what's so great about those, he has many years of data of doing these projections for ESPN, but it also allows you to kind of check yourself. Like what is someone who has nothing to do with this think who's also really good at projecting stuff?
Starting point is 00:32:50 He has JJ McCarthy at 3,700 yards, 26 touchdowns, 14 picks, 39 times sacked and 200 yards rushing. I think he'll get sacked less than that. Like that's one of his skills. And I think he'll throw fewer interceptions than that. But I think as far as like a yard wise and touchdown wise, that seems right. And I also feel like they're going to run the ball into the end zone more that will reduce his touchdown totals. No, that's a good point. Yeah. Really, really it's going to be more of a field thing. I think for us and JJ McCarthy, then it is just pure statistics because we're
Starting point is 00:33:26 going to look at it and how does he perform within certain moments when they need a drive to put away a team that there were some previous quarterbacks. That did not do that very well. And it seemed like they were always punting away on a three and out when they had a chance to put a dagger in a team. Are you going to be able to do that? Like how's the operation look? How is it in the end game type of stuff where we did blame Kevin O'Connell for
Starting point is 00:33:50 interceptions that happened while you were winning two or three scores last year, but also someone through those and his name was Sam Darnold. And sometimes you'd be like, Sam, why are we throwing into double coverage against the Packers toward the end zone? When like there was just a little bit of that that I think JJ McCarthy has a great understanding of situational football The score what he's got what the right play is what they need what they need right in that moment Not just always aggressive. I'm gonna try to push it downfield I think that will help play into it, but it could also reduce his yardage totals and stuff like that.
Starting point is 00:34:27 Yeah. And you want a good effective short passing in particularly in the red zone, right? We never really had the, we never really had any touchdowns. You can, you can tell me if I'm wrong, but where, you know, there was, you know, always able to find TJ Hawkinson, you know, in a blank spot or always able to just get a quick swing pass out to the back, and he just, he just walks into the end zone off of an, off an easy play fake. Those sort of easy, short passing touchdowns or first downs, those felt like they were at a premium in this offense, and they have felt that way, you know, I think throughout pretty much the entirety of, of O'Connell's tenure. And I think that that, you know, obviously O'Connell merits some, you know, some scrutiny for that, but also the tools that he was working with, right. I think that there's another argument that we can have about, you know, I do worry that
Starting point is 00:35:28 There's another argument that we can have about, you know, I do worry that O'Connell, I know he is an excellent planner of offense, right? But I do worry about whether or not he is actually a great tactician, whether or not he is able to adjust his calls as the game goes on, if he's able to sort of go with the ebb and flows of the game, to call it in a way that's going to maximize the potential that's, that's on the field. There are times when I feel that he's, if he's able to sort of go with the ebb and flows of the game, to call it in a way that's going to maximize the potential that's, that's on the field. There are times when I feel that he's very good at this. But then there's the end of last season where, you know, he got destroyed by Dan Campbell and then by Sean McVeigh in consecutive weeks. He got thoroughly out-coached. And that's something he's going to have to, he's going to have to get better in those moments and he's going to have to win those coaching matchups for us to get where we're going. And I think that McCarthy maybe will give him an edge in that regard. And I'm sure he feels that way.
Starting point is 00:36:15 But all of all of this is TVD, right? It's all just we can't know until we see them play. There's certainly something that goes with experience when it comes to the feel for a game. And I think what we don't realize is the guys with the headsets down there, how chaotic it is in the headset. Right. Like being a NASCAR pit crew guy and how much is going on. And I thought the Vikings did an amazing job last year in preseason where they mic'd up O'Connell in the middle of the game and he was talking but he was also yelling at the referee, he was also listening to the play call and he's like, oh you're gonna like this play call that's coming up and like there's so many things happening
Starting point is 00:36:55 that I think it does take some time to really hone in and Andy Reid might be a good example of this early in his career where their offense was great. He was a great coach, but there was just that bit missing of game management, which is super hard. But you're also the play caller. And I think Shanahan messes this up sometimes McVay messes this stuff up. And there were also times where I felt like just some common sense would go a long way. Just, Hey, you're in.
Starting point is 00:37:23 And I know I go back to that green Bay interception, but that was probably one of them that drove me the most crazy, but there was one in London as well. It's third and 13. You're winning the game. Aaron Rogers is doing absolutely nothing to you. Run a delay handoff, get four yards and punt this ball away and you'd be fine. But it said he throws it down the field and get interception.
Starting point is 00:37:41 There's like the little things right there. Now the out coach in the playoffs to me is a different story. That is a different level of football. It's like, there was a great stat that Zach Lowe had the other day about the NBA playoffs and how the Denver Nuggets completely played a different defense against OKC
Starting point is 00:37:58 than they had ever played in the regular season. And that's what happens in the playoffs in the NFL. And not to mention Sean McVeigh got two weeks to prepare for that one. But I think O'Connell does need to understand that you have to throw in a lot of different stuff. You can't just run out what you've done before. It has to look different. There has to be tendency breakers or you're going to get out coached
Starting point is 00:38:21 because it seemed like McVeigh knew everything that was coming there. But let me get the. Yeah, because ahead and get another question for you here. Yeah, no, you can get to the question. It's the, you know, how we always talk about the, or how they always talk about the illusion of complexity, right? Yeah. Yeah. Um, but you know, if you're going against a coach who can see through that illusion, yep, that's a bit of a problem for you. You actually might need a bit of complexity. Well, and I think that at some points they had, they were predictable at some points with their first down runs with certain formations and things like that.
Starting point is 00:38:50 And that just doesn't come from me. That's also, uh, Bobby Peters, who you might know, did an entire book study of the Vikings offense. And that was one of his takeaways was he could figure out, uh, you know, he's been a coach before and he's, he writes these X's and O's books, but he could figure out when they were running on first down based on the formation and the personnel every time. And you can't have stuff like that, right? You can't have stuff like that when you get to the playoffs. If you play Atlanta in week 14, you know, or whatever, it's like, okay, well, they only had a few days to prep for you.
Starting point is 00:39:20 But when it's Sean McVeigh, it's going to be different. Uh, speaking of Sean, Sean here says, drew, do you think there is more to the story relating to Caleb Williams? It seems like his dad is trying to cover or make excuses for his son's bench nap time, mid game and poor play. I have to say real quick, drew that of course we made a big deal and Seifert and I did a whole podcast about William saying he wanted to be a Viking. The quote that I didn't see until later was him saying no one had showed him how to watch film. That's insane.
Starting point is 00:39:51 That was a huge red fly because there, I'll just tell you a quick story. My friend Sage Rosenfels before the senior bowl a couple of years ago, had Brock Purdy come to his house and go over Shanahan style offenses and watch film with them and stuff like there's former NFL quarterbacks everywhere you could go to Kurt Warner's YouTube page and learn how to watch film I mean that is one of the worst excuses I have ever heard there's NFL gurus and quarterbacks and former guys you could meet with that is not an excuse that reminded me of when Laquan Treadwell said he had never learned how to run routes. And it was like year three.
Starting point is 00:40:27 I go, you're not going to, how are you going to do that now? That to me was crazy, but what was your, uh, what was your feeling on that whole story? Uh, our own Dave McKenna, uh, that defector, he, he had unearthed some shady stuff that, uh, the old man Williams had been involved in in the past. And I don't mean like creepy stuff. I just mean like, like grifter, like, yeah, boring grifter type stuff.
Starting point is 00:40:51 And, you know, so when, you know, when I saw the, the workers' room, uh, excerpt, like it just struck me as sort of. Basic stage parenting type quotes, right? Like, you know, you and I know the, the Marv Marinoviches and the Levar balls but these parents are all over the place. RG3's old man was a lunatic, right? So you can't, these are not necessarily the most reliable sources on on these things, right? Like I I'm sure that like any sane person would not want to play for the Bears because they suck most of the time So, I mean it stood to reason right?
Starting point is 00:41:27 It's a sort of it's a sort of quote that makes sense in your head enough that you can that you would you take it as gospel But I can't necessarily Trust that old man. The other thing is that You know, you know how many almost this almost happened stories are there in sports history? How many almost this almost happened stories are there in sports history? Infinite right so yeah, he's not here anymore. He's in Chicago. He better he better figure it out, man Okay, let me throw this though. Let me toss this on top of it remember The Chicago Bears were drafting number one, but that wasn't even their draft pick
Starting point is 00:42:09 They were not that bad of a team the year before. No, it was that bad. The Patriots, the commanders, you want to talk about a team with a bad history? How about bad facilities? Previously, bad coaching, bad ownership, bad everything. You didn't hear a word from Jaden Daniels, and I'm sure that it was said to his friends like, Oh boy, commanders. Okay. I go. Yeah. So it goes or, you know, Drake, can they get, you know, Randy
Starting point is 00:42:27 Moss and his prime back for me? Because right now there's no receivers here. I'm sure that those guys were preferring to throw to Justin Jefferson and play for the Vikings. I mean, what's the other dream? But you never, you never heard this come out and they had worse, much, much worse situations than Caleb Williams. This sounds like a lot of, and I know that I don't know when these interviews were done,
Starting point is 00:42:49 but almost setting up to pre make excuses before it even went sideways because the Chicago team was talked about last year as a good situation for a quarterback. And it's a little, it's a little like hot dog soup meme guy. Like if we could only find the person responsible for you guys winning five games, it wasn't it wasn't Mike Tomzak and the history of quarterbacks for the Bears. It's you man getting sacked 68 times. I don't know all this stuff. This excuse making makes me not that I'm concerned for the Bears necessarily, but if I were there, I would be saying, I don't know, guys, this sounds
Starting point is 00:43:26 pretty rough. Yeah, I think, you know, I'm almost like I tend to overcorrect based on, uh, you know, not wanting to be too boomery about stuff like this, right? Like, you know, cause I was there for, you know, cam Newton getting, you know, drag for wanting to be an entertainer and an icon and and you know, I don't know every other number of of Athletes who you know, it's like oh, it's all about him or you know, and these are always these are never white athletes Of course, right? So like there's I always you know, I always sort of want to make sure I check myself in that But you know when people are talking about how poor Williams's body language has been, not just in Chicago,
Starting point is 00:44:12 but back when he was at USC, it was correct. It was like if he's not like the quarterback, you have to be this bland, stoned-faced dude on the sidelines. And if you're Tom if you're Tom Bray, you can go, LFG! Like a, like a dork, right? And, and, you know, and get the troops fired up that way. But you can't really, you know, you know, as your mood goes, so goes the mood of the offense and also the team itself, right? So if you're sitting there, you know, the towel around your head and you're, you know, and you're, you know, doing the, you know, you're not making the surrender Cobra,
Starting point is 00:44:49 but you're pretty much there, then, you know, everyone else go follow suit and you can't really do that. You have to be, you know, you have to be the carnival barker a little bit. And, you know, I wanna assume that Ben Johnson will, you know, that that sort of thing is correctable. I do. I don't think it's like some sort of moral failing. I don't think it's like, oh, Cale Williams is a bad kid or whatever. It's just, you know, he is such a talented quarterback that, you know, if he goes collapses at the end of the season. And you see him like being really pissy on the sidelines. You're like, Yeah, I'd be pissed too if I were that guy. Like, everyone's, everyone's doing wrong by him. But
Starting point is 00:45:32 then there's the other side of the equation. It's that, you know, you're the quarterback. You have to do right by your team. So, and that becomes especially true in the NFL. You can't just, you can't just wile away to, Oh, well, especially now, you can't, you can't blame it on your head coach because he doesn't have, he doesn't have Lincoln Riley to blame anymore. He doesn't have Matt Eberfluss to blame anymore. And maybe Ben Johnson is a slob, but you know, he deserves the benefit of the doubt. And so, you know, I, my judgment on Cale Williams is that I still think he, I still think that there is the potential there. I think that he was still drafted number one for a reason. Like, like, it's very fun to do the redrafts where, you know, Daniels and Maggott picked before him, but nobody was doing that before that, before that actual draft. Everyone was like, Caleb Williams is the guy, and, you know, obviously you're, you're going way too far when you're saying he's the next Mahomes,
Starting point is 00:46:26 but it's almost like you can't help it because it's so much fun to think about, right? But then the draft happens and then reality sets in. And whether or not that reality is something that Williams is forced to know, something that Williams is, you know, forced to grasp or is taught to grasp is still very much up for debate. But, you know, I'd like to think he, he can not while he's playing against us, like I'll be sucks against us, but in the other 14 games, sure.
Starting point is 00:46:57 I hope he's okay. Well, I just think that he's come across sort of entitled and soft and coddled and all those sorts of things that make it very difficult for you in the NFL, because there's so much scrutiny and it just doesn't stop for you. It's not like, Oh man, we had that really tough game against Washington that emotionally broke me, but Toledo's coming up. It's like, no, if you look at the Viking schedule, it's like, Oh, well you follow up Baltimore with the lions and then the commanders, right?
Starting point is 00:47:28 I mean, these teams that are great, it doesn't work that way. And you just wonder that is he going to be able to handle the beat down that it is the NFL? Because last year he didn't. And I think when, when you see guys give up, that's always concerning to me. And I never saw Drake may give up. And that team was so bad. That team was comically bad. And they had a coach who had never done it before and had no clue and thought it was a good strategy to call his team soft and
Starting point is 00:47:56 like the third day. And Jake may just kept fighting and they lost some games real terrible. And then the next week he was all right. And I just didn't see that from Caleb because I think he had the ability in that season to grab it by the reins and say, we're not going to fall apart here. And he was also standing there not calling a timeout on Thanksgiving day, trying to change a play. And then, you know, his coach rightfully gets embarrassed for that and fired. But, but, but what gets forgotten because Eberfluss got fired is that the
Starting point is 00:48:26 quarterback is allowed to make a tea with his hands as well. And I thought that he got worse and worse and worse as the season went along as the league beat him down. So can someone fundamentally get mentally tougher? I guess we're going to find out as he matures, but all the talent in the universe. I just think, is he also going to evaluate himself and say, I've got to see the field better. I've got to hang in the pocket better. I've got to do these things because if you've been told forever that
Starting point is 00:48:54 the way you play is perfect and flawless, and then you get to the NFL and it's not, and you're supposed to play differently, can you actually do that? We saw that from other quarterbacks, but I don't know if we're going to see it from him or not. I think it's possible. Like, you know, I think I think that Gino Smith might have been branded a bit of a malcontent. Yeah, when he was in New York, and you know, obviously the the the broken jaw incident is, you know, kind of what defines that. But I do think that, you know, I think
Starting point is 00:49:24 that in the case of like Anthony Richardson pulling himself out of a game, that's kind of a deal breaker, right? But guys who otherwise are extremely talented, but might like, but they're so young, they, they just quite don't get the hang of how to be a professional yet. I, you know, I'm, I'm willing to cut those guys some slack to see, to see what happens. I think it's possible. That's where I'm at is, uh, we're going to find out rather than I'm trying to, cause I'm not trying to get on TV.
Starting point is 00:49:52 If I was trying to get on TV, then I would call it right now. He's no Shadr Sanders. I'll tell you what. Yeah. Well, but that's, that is another thing though, that some of this stuff is real and you have to be allowed to say it too. Uh, when it is real, um, Skywalking McCarthy says, is it bad that I have the same feeling as as after 2017, where the narrative was,
Starting point is 00:50:14 we're a quarterback away. I feel it will be an eight and nine season. It sounds like Skywalking McCarthy is worried about the similar regression that we've seen coming off of great seasons in the past. Yeah, but it's apples and oranges. You're just using the past to predict the future. For no reason other than just, oh, I'm ready to be hurt again. I think you have to look at it a bit more objectively. I think that's where the confidence comes from,
Starting point is 00:50:46 from the fans and even the local media about this team, is that this is not a paper tiger of a roster that was always just one piece away, quite the opposite. It's a very, very, very talented roster, very deep, one that is not just a QB away, one that just won 14 games with Sam Darnold at the helm. So it's, it is, you know, plug and play is way too overused of a term, and it's always incorrect. But it's the sort of thing where, you know, I don't, I don't think that there is, I don't think there are many Vikings fans out there who watched last year's team and said, You know what, you know, the only thing we need is a quarterback. No, no one said that. They said, OK, we need guards, we need a center. We need
Starting point is 00:51:33 defensive tacklers who can get to the passer. And then after that, like, you know, let's, let's get our rookie QB to see if he can become, you know, sort of the quarterback who can cover over flaws the way that Josh Allen and and Lamar Jackson and the big guys can. But it's, I don't have that. I think if, I think if you're just sitting like, Oh, well, you know, is it wrong're not you're not you're you're you're using history as a crutch and for no real reason you're just making yourself miserable for reasons that you don't need to. Like I I want to make sure that I had so much fun last season taking every game as it comes and I plan on doing that exact thing again even though I'm insanely bullish on the team this year, I want to stay just in a week to week mode and go with the flow. So I'll defend skywalking McCarthy here though, because it's not just the Minnesota Vikings who have a remarkable history of
Starting point is 00:52:36 going to the NFC championship or winning double digit games and then falling off. It's also everyone in the NFL who doesn't have one of the best quarterbacks in the league or proven to have one of the best quarterbacks in the league. This is life in the NFL on purpose designed this way for everyone to be rising and falling in every fan base. You're not the Pittsburgh Pirates or the Colorado Rockies where you go into a season knowing you'll never win. This is where everyone believes they have a chance on day one. And there are some things that could be regression.
Starting point is 00:53:08 Any one of them is that they were healthy last year. Uh, another thing is the schedule last year. I mean, I think as we go through the schedule, there's no doubt about how hard it projects to be. And you could run into more pitfalls. And also there's this major factor of not knowing how the quarterback is going to play. So those things are much more glaring than maybe they would be if you were the Ravens and Lamar Jackson, where you walk into the season starting the conversation at 11 wins.
Starting point is 00:53:38 And then will it be 11 or 15? Like, let's find out. This is, it could be less than that. If some of those boxes end up getting checked. Now talking yourself into that at this moment on May 16th is not something I would do. Like, no, I would find one wrong thing happened first, and then we'll start to get there. Well, the other thing is that I still feel like, uh, after 2017, um, when they brought in Kirk, I still feel like the Vikings minus Mike Zimmer were kind of the only people in Minnesota who thought Kirk Cousins was the Super Bowl guarantee. Like, I don't remember, like when that signing happened, I was like, yeah, that seems like a pretty decent option,
Starting point is 00:54:19 but I wasn't like, like I live in Washington. I know Kirk Cousins. Like, I was like, I wasn't like like I live in Washington. I know Kirk Cousins like I was like I wasn't like oh, yeah It's a lock now for sure no doubt about it like that I don't and I didn't get that sense from other other fans either I didn't feel like there was a whole lot of chestiness Going on bringing a dude who had never won dick, you know, like you You know, I just I, I just, I don't, I, again, I don't, I don't quite, I don't quite see reality lining up for, for our man, but I do appreciate the question.
Starting point is 00:54:53 Well, I'm trying to find out what the over under wind totals were for 2018 to get an objective look at that. Um, right. 10, like did people think that the Vikings were going to be that good? I think it was 10. Yeah. The over under for 2018 was 10. Well that's the only thing who, who was picking us to win the Superbowl that year.
Starting point is 00:55:14 Like do you remember like, what's there like, like, do you like, you know how like, like look when we get to August, right. And like the ESPN staff like put out all their, all their predictions for the season. It's all going to be like Philly. Yeah, Philly, Philly, Philly, Philly, Casey, Baltimore, Philly, Philly, Philly, Philly, maybe Buffalo. Like maybe somebody goes a little bit gets a little crazy and like puts the Packers there because someone always wants to put the Packers in there. But like that wasn't like there was not some overwhelming,
Starting point is 00:55:42 you know, sentiment that the Vikings were like, they're a juggernaut now, like league wide before 2018. That was not the case at all. I think they were they were definitely in the conversation. And now remembering as I looked at the rest of the league for that same discussion, there were only three or four teams that were above 10 because it was a 16 game season. So we have to adjust for that. Yeah. I think that they had pushed themselves into the discussion, but I don't remember people putting them as the favorite to win the Super Bowl.
Starting point is 00:56:12 I agree. But this is really the last time since then that I think expectations were that high. Let me get you a couple of kind of fun questions for you. I we have you did not tell me how much time you have, by the way. So I don't know how long we're doing. I would do a few minutes. I will say though, one more thing is that I think that there is a a market difference between expectations and excitement. I think everyone is extremely
Starting point is 00:56:37 excited for this season. Yeah. Right. But I don't know how many fans like you'll get some a few bold fans out there who would be like, we're winning the Super Bowl this year. Like, I think it's just like, everyone's excited for the potential start of something good. But that something good is not merely this year. Like we're all looking forward to kind of an era here. And, you know, we all hope that there's a Super Bowl win
Starting point is 00:57:02 somewhere within it, but not, you know, it could be at any time, but it's just, we are excited to see, it's an excitement. It's not a, you know, oh, I'm going on my take here and, you know, doing the coward thing by, you know, bringing like a donkey about, you know, this is gonna happen or that's gonna happen. It's not gonna, that's not the sensation I feel right now.
Starting point is 00:57:25 Okay. Rapid fire with a couple of these. Hunter says, how many F-bombs do you average per game when watching the Vikings? I mean, it kind of depends on the game, doesn't it? Right? Like, although like, okay. So like I have happy F-bombs, right? You know, and then I have, I have sad F-? You know and then I have I have sad that bombs and then I have ref f bombs and I have coach f bombs.
Starting point is 00:57:50 I rarely have coach f bombs these days with McConnell, but let's let's go with. The. 50 yeah, I was keeping the numbers pretty high. I'll say I'll say 50. Ben wants to know which broadcast crews do you want and which don't you want for the I assume you mean for the Vikings this upcoming season? Is there anyone in particular that you find annoying or aggravating? Yeah I I'm on the record as a lifelong slow wrath hater cannot stand.
Starting point is 00:58:19 He is absolutely god awful. Just the worst. And then also and I think I think everyone else knows this too When you get the Vilma game when you get Kenny Albert and and Jonathan Ville like Kenny Albert's font Like he's not his old man, but whatever but Vilma is like it's it always it's so Disarming to me because he was a cool player like he was at the you and then he was the Saints and the Jets He was a cool player and he is like the boringest blandish Shittiest color guy like I think color guys in general have gotten better
Starting point is 00:58:50 but Like and I know I know Tom Brady is a hilarious exception to that For for very Tom Brady reasons, but in general when I get you know I'm the sort of guys that like even likes like Troy Aikman like there are people who hate Troy Aikman, but I'm like Yeah, he's fine. Whatever. I don't care. It's you have to work hard to really get on my nerves and slur it than Thoma are those guys and then also for play-by-play guys I'm pretty cool with all of them But I do I'm also on the record as being very underwhelmed by Mike Turrico, even though he's very prepared
Starting point is 00:59:23 Very on point. There's just no, there's no person there. I think the best I ever got from Turrico once was, one was the Sam Hubbard return in the playoff game, Ravens Bengals, when he really got, like his voice cracked and that was fun. And then there was another time last year, it wasn't a Vikings game, but it was one of the, it was a team mismanaging the clock.
Starting point is 00:59:46 They weren't taking timeouts or whatever. And Toreco goes, time's running down. No one knows what they're doing. And it was very like, it was very house mob. It was very cute in that regard, but I'm not, I don't, it doesn't feel like an event when I get Toreco. So he's the guy that of all the national ones, I'm pretty
Starting point is 01:00:06 on the most lukewarm on. I think just in general, the over time, these broadcasts have all been sort of smoothed out to be very close to each other. And there's not too many that really pop as being sometimes. When I watch old games, the broadcast is so comically bad that it's almost fun. And that just doesn't happen anymore. In fact, I was going to take you to task cause you did a, let's
Starting point is 01:00:27 remember Mike Patrick post and you were kind of nice about the Patrick Thiesman McGuire booth. And I hated that booth. Oh, that's funny. Cause I, I don't agree. I love that. I enjoyed that booth. Oh, the war Paul McGuire was the dumbest, loudest.
Starting point is 01:00:45 And like, wow. And Thiesman and thighs when thighs was just a talking haircut. He sucks. I Live here. I know how he is Just every week. He's just oh, he's just so bad and like his voice is annoying I hated it. Oh, and I you like Mike Patrick was sort of like a victim of circumstance there. Like if he did a college game, it was OK. So it was like he wasn't asking Todd Blackledge about Britney Spears. But like otherwise, like otherwise that booth, I dreaded that booth with all my heart. And we just as we see it totally differently.
Starting point is 01:01:20 I loved McGuire's outbursts and he used to talk about the line play all the time. You talk about tough. This guy. I love that. I love that. I was also maybe 12. Oh, all right. OK. So well, and I'm from Buffalo. Paul McGuire's from Buffalo. Oh, after. So, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Starting point is 01:01:39 You saw him at the bar. Yeah. I don't know if they talk like that. But Alex says, where is the letdown game this season? If I knew, would it be a letdown? Right? I mean, it'll be, you know, it'll be like a loss to Chicago or, you know, it's always, you know, the game you think like, oh, they're going to win.
Starting point is 01:01:59 I think I think the most obvious dangerous game is, and you've talked about this, is that short trip to LA to play the Chargers. Cause it's like, you know, the Chargers were, I don't know what their Vegas win total was before last season, but it wasn't 11, like they won 11 games, right? No one thought that roster would win 11 games. And of course Harbaugh harbaughed them to 11
Starting point is 01:02:26 wins, despite having a barren roster. And so they're going to be good, even if they don't have a good roster. And you're gonna have to go play them on a short week in LA, and you're gonna have to deal with Justin Herbert, and you're gonna have to do them after, and you have to do that after playing Philly, who's gonna be kicked out of you. So, you know, I remember when we went to play the Rams in on the short week after the Detroit loss, it was like the Rams were one and three. They hadn't gotten their together. So it was like, oh, we're just going to run them over. And that that didn't happen. Right. So I think that.
Starting point is 01:03:01 The let the letdown game is always dictated to some degree by recency bias, you know, who's, who looks really bad early in the season? And how good did we look the week before? Or, you know, how close do we come to beating a big boy team or something like that? And those are always the, that's always the confluence of circumstances that allows you to be shocked and appalled when you drop a game to Caleb Williams, even though he's thrown three picks, or, or you lose to, or you lose to Cleveland in London, right? Like, I think, like, that Steelers game in Dublin, that's not an easy game. I know that we're, we were talking about, Oh, OK, well, they don't have to go to, you know, they don't have to go to not Hines Field anymore to, you know, to face the hometown crowd, but still the Pittsburgh Steelers. And, you know, Mike Tomlin's still going to have them,
Starting point is 01:03:48 you know, running at 5,000 miles an hour at the quarterback. And, you know, that's, that's going to be, that's going to be a tough game. So as the NFL, they're all potential letdown games when you think about it, but it's, it's always going to be dictated by how you're feeling about both the Vikings going into that game and then about their opponents, but you know, sort of the last time you saw them.
Starting point is 01:04:11 So if the Chargers look like absolute dog shit before we play them and we somehow like managed to beat the mighty Eagles, then you better you better be on high alert. Maybe on high upset alert going into going into that week. I was thinking the late season giants just feels like a overlook. The Giants, they're mediocre to bad and then no, they're they're so. They're so probably. But that's why it's a letdown. There's not that many letdowns on the schedule in general.
Starting point is 01:04:40 So if you're picking one from a timing perspective,, uh, timing perspective, I have this live, live read here from our friends at multitude who work with both of our podcasts and then, uh, maybe a couple more. Is that good with you? Uh, yeah, let's see. Let's see two more. Okay. All right. But I do need to tell everyone that, uh, we've got a sponsor on the show tempo meals that is helping me avoid my addiction to fast food, a weekly delivery service that has chef crafted meals from a dietitian approved menu that brings it fresh to your door. Perfectly portioned lunches
Starting point is 01:05:13 and dinners take all the guesswork out of eating. They're fully prepared so you get them, you put them in the microwave three minutes later you are eating. I got another box the other day delicious Korean beef quesadilla, absolutely fantastic, but dozens and dozens and dozens of options for you for whatever your preferences may be. So for a limited time, Tempo is offering my listeners 60% off their first box. Go to tempo meals dot com slash purple insider for that. Tempo meals.com slash purple insider for 60% off your first box rules and restrictions may apply. Uh, so here's one from a Nick says better all time Vikings position group,
Starting point is 01:05:53 wide receiver or defensive end. Let's talk this out because my, my reflexive answer is wide receivers. My first favorite Viking was Anthony Carter, right? And the procession really hasn't stopped since then. Anthony Carter, Chris Carter, Jake Reed, Randy Moss, Staphon Diggs, Adam Thielen, Justin Jefferson, Jordan Addison. Like, that's really impressive. And so when I go back to end, OK, well, you know, I started off really strong. That was Al Noga, Keith Millard. They were excellent. I don't, um, I'm bad about the sixties and seventies, right? Because I wasn't, you know, I wasn't sentient then. Right. Right. So then we got Everson Griffin.
Starting point is 01:06:34 We got Jared Allen. Um, we got, you know, I mean, Carl Ehler is one of the best players in football history in general. He has to be in the discussion there. So, but also Ahmad Rashad was a great Vikings receiver and then not a very good telekick television host after that. I'm inclined to say wide receiver, but I feel like that that is because of my age.
Starting point is 01:06:59 Um, what do you think? I think wide receiver is probably the answer here because if you even just went by decade and said, all right, receivers of the seventies, you're getting to a mod Rashad pretty quick. I think that's right. Or when, when, when did his career span? I think, I mean, he played in the 1970s. Yeah. I think he was like a, an all decade player or something in the seventies.
Starting point is 01:07:25 Wasn't it? I mean, he was really, really good in the seventies, so he would get in that conversation, but if you're doing a Mount Rushmore of Vikings receivers, he's not even talked about and he was one of the best receivers of his decade and the same thing goes for Anthony Carter. If you just did best receivers of the eighties and then into the very early nineties, Anthony Carter's name is coming up fairly soon. Those guys aren't anywhere close to the top two.
Starting point is 01:07:50 They might have two of the top 10 receivers ever. I think Randy Moss has a case for number two overall, number three overall in the history of the sport. That's that as great as it is, Eller of course gets up there and as great as it is to have a Hall of Famer in Dolman, a Hall of Famer in Jared Allen. Oh my God, I didn't mention Dolman. Yeah, I don't think that Dolman, he was fantastic. I don't think Dolman, Allen,
Starting point is 01:08:15 but I don't think they get into the realm of, in their position group historically of Chris Carter and Randy Moss. Well, also you got, I mean, you can make an argument that the Vikings have the best wide receiver history of any franchise. Maybe outside of San Francisco, right? Or Pittsburgh, right?
Starting point is 01:08:30 Pittsburgh, I think, is number two, yeah. Yeah, so I would say wide out. And you know what? That's been the joy of cheering for this team my entire life, where it's like, okay, they haven't won a Super Bowl, but the number of cool players I have gotten to watch have made the Vikings well worth the price of admission.
Starting point is 01:08:49 It's not like I had to be a Titans fan and watch them, you know, go two yards at a time on their way going three and 14 every year. Okay. Uh, I think you've answered most of the best questions here. So how about we leave it with this? What question do you have for me? What do you want to ask me? Oh God.
Starting point is 01:09:07 Okay. Uh, you usually text these anyway. So I try, I try to mix into the shows questions that you have in general, but, uh, what's on your mind? Do you think the second quarter, the backup quarterback is currently on the roster? Hmm. I think it's very realistic that he's not because Sam Howell, I mean, I like to say
Starting point is 01:09:35 I'm more than you. I know that. I mean, he played one year. He went four and 13 got sacked a hundred million times. My issue with Sam Howell was actually not even really truly what happened in Washington, but sacks always scare me when guys have a million sacks. That's a hard problem to fix. It was actually for me what he looked like in the game against the Packers
Starting point is 01:09:57 because as a connoisseur of backup quarterbacks in my life, one of the great signs of a, of an all time journeyman, someone that you love, and you could trust a Josh McKellar is when they have to be thrown into a situation out of nowhere and they look prepared and they, oh my gosh, he came off the bench. I mentioned Sage Rosenfels. He had a game where he was down 20 points when he played for the dolphins, the Buffalo came into the game, came back and won it in the middle of the game when Gus Farah got hurt.
Starting point is 01:10:27 Cause of course Gus Farah, but Gus was that kind of guy. Like, Oh, he could come in and just be prepared. It looked like how it wasn't really ready to play that night. And I think that's a concerning sign for him. Uh, I think Brett Rippon is liked by the team, but I don't know if they want to trust him now. I get Sean Manion vibes from Britain. Ripon. Yeah, I think the same sort of Nick Mullins kind of like if they
Starting point is 01:10:50 absolutely have to, he can run the offense. But well, Mullins is fun. Like I like watching Mullins play even when he was throwing picks. Brett Rippon, if he's he's out there might be like, oh, maybe I should maybe I should maybe I should work some Sunday ticket and into what I'm writing right now. So I do think that there is a very realistic chance that they get Sam Howland. They don't love how he's learning the offense and how he's grasping at all.
Starting point is 01:11:14 And then they just say, we've got to go get someone else. And there's always some quarterback battle that a journeyman is losing elsewhere to a younger player. And I'll just I'll just toss out there that Max Brosmer looked good at a rookie mini camp. And that means everything. And we should break it down in a hundred different ways, but you never know.
Starting point is 01:11:33 Max Brosmer. You never know. That's the fun baby. That's right. Drew McGarry, this was a lot of fun. I hope you enjoyed answering great questions from Vikings fans. I appreciate
Starting point is 01:11:45 everybody who jumped in randomly in the middle of the day to ask true great questions. So thank you, sir, for your time. And we'll see you soon. See ya. Bye. All right. And thank you everybody for watching slash listening and we'll catch y'all later. Football.

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