Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Brian Murphy is already talking about January after Vikings' decisive win over Packers

Episode Date: September 12, 2022

As first impressions go, the Minnesota Vikings did as well as they possibly could have on Sunday against the Green Bay Packers. Purple Insider's favorite columnist talks about what Kevin O'Connell's mindset has done for the Vikings' vibes and whether it can all continue like this when there are ups and downs within the season. Plus, what's up with the Packers and the NFC? Is the door open for the Vikings to blast through it and win the division now?  -- For more of Matthew's Vikings coverage, head to purpleinsider.substack.com For bonus discussions, interview clips, and more videos, check out our YouTube channel! Interact with us on Twitter! @Purple_Insider Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello and welcome to another episode of Purple Insider, Matthew Collar here and back for another season of Breaking Down Football. Is Brian Murphy a Monday morning Murph episode? Brian, the people were asking, when will Murph return? And the answer is now. And the answer is to break down a gigantic victory for the Minnesota Vikings, 23-7. Sir, what is up? Good to be back. A little ghastly early, though, now that I've got a real corporate job and have to do this at the crack of dawn. So I apologize if we sound a little like we just rolled out of bed.

It's probably because we did. I kept trying to think of stuff to write during the offseason, and there was just nothing compelling. It was like, it's basically the same team. Okay, we'll see what the coach can do when the bullets start flying, as they say. And that's what I wanted to see. I was impressed yesterday. You can't come away from that and not be impressed with how the team responded to the challenge of opening up at home against the three-time division champs and your arch nemesis Aaron Rodgers. O'Connell afforded himself well. The optics looked good.

He was aggressive. He looked like he was having fun. Everybody looked like they loved him. The grumpy old boomer's gone. We've heard that ding-dong song all offseason. Like they loved him, you know, the grumpy old boomers gone, you know, we've heard that ding dong song all, all off season. But there definitely seemed to be a different vibe. I wasn't there, but it felt like there was a different vibe on the sideline and, you know,

building up a pretty comfortable lead and coasting to victory. I'll help. But you know, the optics look good so far. Well, it would have been a noticeable if I think they had come out and been a little flat or kind of looked like they were confused. And we would have said, well, you know, we got to give them time. It's only week one and things like that. Don't overreact and so forth. That's what we would have said. But instead, they just came out and scored a touchdown on the first drive. And it was like, well, that is certainly a way to set the tone. And I think that

that helped absolutely everybody, including the players of like, okay, this works. We've got this because there were times in practice where players looked a little confused about what they were supposed to do on offense. And there were times at podiums where they talked like that, like, well, well, it was a tough offense to learn. And we're just finally starting to get it and things like that. But then to come out and actually make it work the way they did, which was certainly assisted by a number of plays by the green Bay Packers offensively and defensively that I think in green Bay, they're probably going,

huh? What the, what the heck were you guys thinking? How does a linebacker end up on Justin Jefferson? Or how does receivers get no targets after one drop? So Green Bay's calamity is almost probably as thrilling for Vikings fans as it was to have their head coach debut and have all the things that they promised throughout the offseason come to fruition. Well, and anybody that had a chance to watch the game that wasn't at the stadium, you know, Fox was all over Aaron Rodgers, as they are

during most Aaron Rodgers games, especially when it's the 3.30 game of the week on Fox. But they had every close-up imaginable after every missed opportunity, potentially blown assignment. Of course, the sure touchdown that floats through Watson's fingers on the very first snap of the season. Watching Rodgers grimace and stalking the sidelines for a scapegoat was also some pretty high entertainment. I'm sure most Vikings fans were lapping that up as well because it seemed clear that he was impatient. He knows his weapons are limited. Lazard was out.

Devontae Adams is now in Vegas. And you could tell that, you know, whether it was just a little bit of a break a receiver didn't make or a move at a particular point in the route, they were not on the same page. And Rodgers' frustration was, you know, a rarity to see, especially against, even against Mike Zimmer defenses where, you know, he had some hard times. He never seemed overwhelmed or completely, you know, I mean, I didn't get, you know, after he got pancaked in the third quarter and fumbled, I mean, I think he was in a weird place for a while.

So that was probably something that was unique and, and satisfying for Vikings fans as well. Yeah. And I guess the big question, as we have had a little bit of sleep, not as much as I wanted Murph, this how much i care by the way how much of this you take and make into a bigger deal like on both sides of things i mean let's just stick with the packers part first and then we can talk about all the vikings things and whether we think they're going to sustain and whether we think they're going to matter uh throughout the entire regular season not just a great week one for

this team, but with the Packers part of it. I mean, look, the Lions sort of are who they are. I think they're going to be a fun team, but I don't know that they're going to compete for the division. We saw that yesterday. They really don't have a very good defense still. And the Bears, good for them. They had a fun day. I don't think they're going to do it week in and week out but um you know they they got a win but the Packers are the team that matters here are they that much of a mess or are we just thinking that because we just saw that both uh I think it's but it's snapshot in time they're a mess but a snapshot in time last week one, where they went down, where they played New Orleans and got rolled. There was a lot of panic in Wisconsin after that,

and it turned out okay. I mean, they won 13 games. So I don't, I think what maybe makes this different is that their depth isn't there, you know, and their injuries on the offensive line really hurt them yesterday. And I think the Vikings gave a pretty good blueprint about how to get to Rogers and how to shut down that offense. So their depth, not being what it was a year ago there, their resilience may be tested about that, but I'm not, I'm not ruling out anybody with number 38 or with, with that 38 year old crazy talented,

annoying in your face presence in the NFL. I'm not ruling out anything. Because, look, if Christian Watson catches that pass, the tenor of that game changes immediately because that's Aaron Rodgers counterpunching, as he always does, quickly to silence that crowd. I'm not saying Green Bay played well enough to win at all, but that changes the tenor of that game at that very moment. I think most people thought

this game was in the bag for the Vikings even before halftime. And it's, it played out that way. That catch, if he makes that, I think the game takes on a different trajectory. I think the Vikings still could have won, obviously, but I, so anyway, you know, rumors of, you know, Aaron Rodgers being dead and the Packers going to get bypassed here, I think, are a little premature. Yeah, I, of course, would not be willing to go that far. It is a long season. But I do think that these issues are going to be hard for them to solve rogers temperament has always sort of been trumped by his just pure ability and we saw the arm talent is still the arm talent he made some pretty good throws uh particularly the one that should have been a 75 yard touchdown

but i don't know that the talent is exactly the same as it used to be right like how much it's not definitely not right right like how much was davante adams helping aaron rogers sustain the aaron rogersness into his late 30s uh and uh just by being open all the time and we saw that yesterday with derrick carr i saw a stat like when derrick Carr threw to Devante Adams, he was like four times more valuable and expected points added than he was throwing to anybody else. Like, yeah, that's going to help their car too. And anybody else who comes near the man, uh, just like, you know, just the Jefferson has done for, um, you know, Kirk cousins over the last two years.

I mean, if Jefferson misses games at all this year, how, how good is the offense going to be? Probably not that great. I think that like that's just becoming the thing in the NFL is do you have a freak show receiver? And not that Rodgers can't make somebody else good, but he needs to make somebody else good like yesterday. Right. And like not over the next couple of years, develop somebody, you know, Christian Watson or the fourth round pick Romeo Dubs, like, you know, like he needs them to be there now. And if they thought that signing Sammy

Watkins was going to do that, I think very clear that Sammy Watkins is well below the level of somebody who's going to be able to be that number one that you can rely on all the time. I think that that is a very serious problem. The other thing too, Murph, is when a team says, we're going to rely on our running game of defense, I mean, red flags should pop up because especially like the defense, you can scheme teams on defense. I mean, you can beat teams who have to rely entirely on defense, and we saw that yesterday.

So I think that Green Bay should be in panic mode. I would probably have not have said that last year necessarily after the loss to New Orleans, I would have probably shrugged a little bit more, but with these things, I'm not sure they're as easily solved as just like, oh, well,

they'll get it together next week. Well, and you, you know, as successful as they were last year and as, as quickly as they turned around from that week week one loss debacle, as it were, they also had a great defense last year. And they also decided to carve off a piece of that and let Z'Darrius come over here.

And he had a day yesterday that could make him and Hunter, you know, a tandem for the ages. I mean, they were all over Rodgers. Now, granted, the Packers were without both starting tackles. I get that. Hostile environment at home. But, you know, so Green Bay's defense was as much responsible for their success last was kind of hyped coming in. And yet I don't know how Justin Jefferson on a television broadcast can basically be the only person on the screen downfield. And there were several occasions of that where there was no coverage on him. Now they did, the Vikings did excellent jobs putting him in motion and make, you know, getting him creating separation as much before he needed to

as well. But I, I don't know how that, that happens. And now you have, again, as I mentioned earlier, it seems like the Vikings have put together a blueprint for how to attack Aaron Rogers and how to attack that offense that, that could be, as you said, not fixed on the fly as easily. So this becomes now, i think a very big week to week type of storyline it's like how are the packers doing matters as much as how the vikings are doing here but let's talk about the things that kevin o'connell promised and were able to come to fruition kind of right away right like whether he promised openly himself or just that his hiring implied. One of those things is offensive innovation. And I saw a number.

I will pull it up on my Internet to tell you about it with Justin Jefferson and where he lined up. Now, we were sort of implied promised that Justin Jefferson would be used in some different ways that could create spaces big enough to land a helicopter on in the field where he was. And that was the case for several different throws yesterday. This comes from pro football focus here. Justin Jefferson lined up outside of the numbers in the traditional far wide out receiver only seven times on 34 receiving snaps. So 34 times that Kirk Cousins dropped back. He only lined up way outside seven times on 34 receiving snaps. So 34 times that Kirk Cousins dropped back. He only lined up way outside seven times. It's part of the Los Angeles Rams school of how to get receivers open. It's not all in the slot, but just bring them inside

and try to create more space for Justin Jefferson to move. And they did that brilliantly yesterday. They, they seem to understand everything that the opposing defense was going to try to do as far as their rules, as far as their zones and use Jefferson in condensed formations. And sometimes in the slot to get him incredibly wide open. So it's like the biggest promise that they were making is that they can update the offense. And that looks exactly like what they did yesterday. And how confident everybody looked.

I mean, let's be honest. I mean, there was a lot of slumped shoulders and there were a lot of, you know, attitudes last season that kind of manifested as the season went on. I saw a lot of happy teammates. I saw a lot of, I saw a lot of happy teammates. I saw a lot of guys that looked like they were supporting each other. I thought, you know, besides all the schematic changes, I just, it, there seemed to be a lot of cohesion agreement and kind of joy. And that you did,

I don't see a lot of joy in any NFL football very often. And there seemed to be a lot there. Look, it's a, it's a marathon. It's one game. We'd be all over them right now for preaching. Be patient. If they got rolled yesterday, we'd be all over them for being like, no, the urgency is now. So it's easy to, to look at O and one or one and O as a defining moment. It's not, it's just what, you know, these things have a tendency to manifest

and they also, they build momentum and energy. So, you know, it always felt like with Zimmer, you know, there was always a tough loss or maybe two in the first month that had you questioning whether they had the fortitude to go 17 games and finish off in a playoff spot, or whether you as a follower had the fortitude to withstand the week-to-week lurching of drama, of problems, of injuries, of terrible decision-making, and sort of that pushing the boulder uphill all year long. That wasn't present yesterday. It will be present at some point. They will face some adversity. They're going to lose a couple games in a row, perhaps. But to have that start off that way, they could not have scripted a better opening drive, opening half, opening

performance on both sides of the ball and even special teams. I mean, Greg Joseph gets in on the fun and kicks a 56-yard field goal. So there were vibes there that you're not familiar with with the Vikings in recent history. And when a team hires a new coach, you really do not know how that's going to go because the opening press conference is always magical and the excitement is all over the building and we got a new guy. The last guy did everything wrong. The new guy is going to do everything right and so forth. But in this case, it was particularly interesting because the players talked with ownership and laid out what they want

and they really described Kevin O'Connell, which by the way, was why it was always weird that Jim Harbaugh was in the mix of this conversation. But, you know, I guess we'll put that in the past, but that'll never stop blowing my mind that that like came close to happening or was even a discussion because Kevin O'Connell really was exactly what they were asking for.

They were asking for someone to update the offense. I mean, and there were shots taken all over the place at Mike Zimmer yesterday. And you guys, before completely doing all that, might want to win a little bit more. But I think that when you hear Adam Thielen talk about, well, this is the most aggressive offense I've been in, I think that's true from what we saw yesterday. And also, Kirk Cousins, another promise made is that supporting Kirk Cousins was going to yield different results. And we'll see long term, because everything kind of has to have that on it. But Kirk Cousins presenting game balls after a win, saying he believes strongly that the leadership was a huge part of this.

I mean, you just didn't have to read between the lines of what everybody was saying yesterday. Yeah. And I don't know how much longer, you know, the Zimmer, you know, boogeyman can, I don't know how much longer they can keep pounding on him like a pinata. I mean, I understand the point, but it was from the moment, you know, he was let go. That's when that storyline and narrative came out. And I guess I would, I'd just be curious today if, if Kevin O'Connell said good morning to everybody and handed out lattes to everyone in the building, just to let everyone know, you know, how special they are and how special football is and how joyful the experience is, win or lose.

It's really all about how you play the game in the NFL. If he doesn't do that today, then all of that's for naught. I just, look, I understand, you know, it was a 90-degree pivot in attitude, in scheme, in age, in message when they sacked Spielman and Zimmer. But, yeah, you get eight months of a honeymoon because nothing really matters, I mean, especially for the coaching staff. I mean, Kwesi's going to be judged pretty quickly on what he did in the offseason and at the draft.

O'Connell's going to get judged by victories and losses, and he's going to have several of both. And I want to see, again, to me the best thing to look for is how somebody really handles adversity. And that could be a missed field goal at the end. It could be a bad play, a penalty, a bad call, circumstances out of your control. Somebody gets in trouble off the field. You know, how is O'Connell going to handle these brush fires that come up inevitably

during a season? And I mean, in a lot of ways, Zimmer was judged ultimately by how he would tend to pour more gas on these brush fires than try to put them out. So we'll see where O'Connell comes across on that. That's where I'm going to be really interested in watching is the pain point of a season or the pain points of a season and how he reacts and how the players respond to how he reacts. So that's next on the list to observe.

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Last year, if there's not a weird fumble in week one, they would have beaten the team that went to the Super Bowl and the Cincinnati Bengals. And like, yeah, I mean, they routinely during Zimmer's era had big wins or great performances or things like that. But I think that with this first impressions are a really big deal. And so the first impression is, OK, there's a lot of talk over the off season and they're teaching them this new offense. And what they're saying is, Hey guys, we promise this is going to work, right? Like this offense that you're having trouble memorizing that you're staying up burning the midnight oil, trying to remember, do you run a button hook or a curl or whatever? You know, it's going to work.

It's going to work. And then it does. And like, you see it right away work. So even when you do hit some tough times, I think it's going to stick with people that all of that came together and happened in the biggest game, like to start the season. If they had beaten the tar out of the Jaguars, it would have been like, okay, whatever. But it was the Packers. Like, it just matters so much more to everybody when that happens.

And I'm big on the show, Murph, in making sure that we correctly remember everything as it pertains to Zimmer and a new coach and everything else. Right. However, if they're not and they just want to say everything that guy did was garbage and that's our rallying cry and bleep that guy and we're going to show him that this was the way you should really be coaching. I'm OK with that. Like, I am totally OK if they make that their thing that galvanizes everybody, because they are the ones that made this bet that they needed a new coach and they were the ones that went to ownership. So if they want to do that, this bet that they needed a new coach and they were the ones that went to ownership so if they want to do that i think that's totally fine yeah it'll get tiresome awfully quickly though uh even if they're six and two i've hit every i i think you know there's there's only so much shelf life you can have on that especially if things go wrong because that's again as i was mentioning that's where I think Zimmer ultimately, you know, failed in his role was, you know, when things got dicey, when things got difficult, he became more reclusive, more isolated, lashed out apparently more. Well, after several years, you know, there's only so much you're going to get out of your troops at that point.

So I get it. I understand, you know, the mental at that point. So I get it. I, I understand that, you know, the mental mental shift from that. I guess what, you know, fans will probably be like, whatever gets you through the night. If you want to make up a false boogeyman and beat on them every Wednesday and say, this is the time that, you know, the, the pre, you know, they won't even say his name, you know, we'll just have euphemisms all day long. The one who shall not be named and the previous regime. It's fine.

But I think the quicker O'Connell can establish an identity, both handling success and handling failure, the more I think that'll fade. Yeah, I mean, right. There's going to be moments during the season that I think, you know, we're not really going to know how the man handles until we actually get there. But I do think that this approach of not like screaming your head off at players, trying to be the same person every day, not just, hey, you know, when we win or when we lose

it's uh going to be an extremely different version of that person although maybe mike zimmer was just mean all the time i don't know um but i also think that like there's been examples around the league of an era of coaches that did things a certain way that have just like 98 percent moved out of the nfl and like belichick is the only guy left doing it. Because even Mike Tomlin has a much more like updated approach about handling players and things like that. And I think that it has a chance to survive those things better because I totally agree with what you're saying

that like pouring gasoline on it, it's the right phrase. Like there were times that they got through some difficult things and hung in playoff races and so forth but eventually it just it would get to a point that it would just break with Zimmer and even my first impression in 2016 my first year covering the team was like that where they start out five and oh they have some things go wrong then you have a an offensive coordinator just straight up and quit. They ran themselves out of playoff races a number of times because they just melted. And I just think that yesterday was kind of you're going to be in a lot of trouble. But these last few weeks of setting the foundation of like, this is how we do things and then having it work right away. I think that it means more than just one and O and one and O in the NFC North. Well, and I also think it's important to realize this was the first time

too, that we really saw the 2022 Vikings as a product you know as a as an entity as an entertainment unit as a it's really been all talk because you know for the most part the starters did not play in the preseason the preseason has been so marginalized now by reducing it to three games and and it should be marginalized I mean but you have teams now you know throwing a protective blanket over everybody because the last thing you need is a blown ACL in an August game in the third quarter against players nobody can ever remember. So I get why that is, but that also sets up with the new regime and also sort of this gift-wrapped product. What were we going to see yesterday on either side of the ball. And what you saw was some efficiency, some innovation, some creativity, some fun, some production. And you saw it sort of, I think, put the Packers on

their heels from moment one. And that's not a position they've always been used to being in, certainly against the Vikings. Now, granted, the Vikings have had some success at home against them and a little bit at Lambeau, but everybody only remembers the games in January that they need to seem to win and can't do it on prime time, i.e. last year. And those are the games that everybody seems to remember, this is why we can't get past the Packers. So this week one win, I don't know if it'll be referenced in October or January. It probably will be just from as like the start of the journey. But I just thought it was impressive to see, wow, this is what this team can be. This is what they unveiled. This is how entertaining they can be. And I'm engaged. I mean, I would have been engaged anyway,

but there's no sense that this is going to be a slog. This could be fun. If anything, it's going to be really interesting if they start laying eggs, because then you're going to have a frame of reference to know this is what they should be. And this is also the standard we should be holding them to. The other thing is too, Murph, Dak Prescott got hurt. He's going to be out a while.

Dallas's season might just be over because Russell Wilson had a similar injury, tried to come back last year, and that didn't work out. The NFC, I mean, it just doesn't look all that good. I mean, part of changing coaches sometimes is there's like in baseball, they'll fire the hitting coach and then all of a sudden the team starts hitting better. They were probably going to hit better anyway. But it's just the timing of it, like just regression. It's almost like the NFC is pretty gnarly right now. what I was thinking about yesterday is that the one storyline that we're going to kind of be tracking all along is did they make the right decision with their entire off-season decision

making, right? Like, did they make the right decision bringing back Cousins and doing all the things that they did to sign Jordan Hicks, who was pretty good yesterday, and bring in Z'Darrius Smith and all those things? And again, like that, this isn't decided, but after looking at the NFC, I thought, I didn't think it was the right way to go at the moment, but now with Dak Prescott out, that was a pretty powerful team. And like New Orleans didn't look that good. They barely got by, you know, Atlanta. I'm not sure anybody in the NFC North challenges the Vikings except the Packers. Like, some things may be starting already in week one to line up for this team.

So, I don't know. I mean, like, maybe this is a little too much, but, like, that is a big injury for a team that would have been one of the ones you'd be looking at all year for a playoff spot. So, this sounds like, you know, the campaign, why not the Vikings? Why not us? Well, I mean, it's just that things are going their way. Like, you know, like you can't. Somebody's going to emerge, though. There's going to be some sleeper NFC team, as you say, that, you know,

because it does look like a hot mess, the conference. There's no clear favorite. But somebody's going to sneak in and have a six and two start. I mean, it won't be the New York Giants as much as that two-point conversion got everybody all excited, but I mean, somebody like that. There'll probably be a stealth team that'll emerge as a potential throne grabber, I guess, as it were. But yeah, yeah, the Vikings are, you know, first of all, the division is theirs for the taking. The conference could be theirs for the taking. I don't think they need to get greedy. I think, you know, 10, 11 wins positions themselves fine if Green Bay continues

to struggle and regress. So I don't think the Bears are for real. I think the Lions are going to be entertaining, as you said, but they already showed that they're not quite ready for prime time there you know why not the vikings and then see what happens in january see what happens in january already that's where we're at uh but that is that is week one reactions uh final thoughts murph before you have to go to uh a meeting you woke me up and you have to go to a meeting. What are, what are we doing here? Uh, just earning a living,

man, just grinding away nine to five. Awesome. Man doesn't want to help me, but you know, I'm doing everything I can. Um, no,

it's, I look, I'm next week is going to be really rough. I don't know how we're going to rectify this. You're going to be actually in Philadelphia. The game's going to end late. I don't know if you're going to sleep at all. Uh, good luck with that. Um, final thought, man, football, to end late. I don't know if you're going to sleep at all.

Good luck with that. Final thought. Football, man. Final thought, though. I'm going to be curious again how they handle a hostile environment. Philly's a team on the rise. At least we've been told that. That is a notoriously difficult place to play. It's a night game.

We all know Kirk's record is under the lights. This is a quick test response. This is probably going to be an NFC playoff team. How are you going to handle perceived success on the road nationally televised? So, yeah, that'll be a nice little pain point, as I say. It's a tough place to play. I think the week one win sets up for this feeling really important

and dramatic right out of the gate, which is cool for Monday Night Football. So Murph, we will do it. I'll be in a hotel room in Philadelphia next week when we do Monday Morning Murph. I appreciate you getting up a little extra early here and breaking this down. And your column at purpleinsider.com is I'm posting it shortly. So always great work. And every week you're going to have a post game pod in the morning, as well as a column up there as well.

So great to have you back. And we will talk again soon, sir. Sounds good. Thanks for having me. Okay. Before I wrap up the show, let's answer some fan questions and a reminder. If you have something on your mind reacting to Vikings Packers or just a general NFL question,

feel free to go to purpleinsider.com. Use the contact us that will go directly to me. And you can also DM me on Twitter or send me just a regular tweet and just tag it fans only. Do not tag it only fans because then it will come up with a lot of very interesting results but uh anyway so let's get to uh rat trappen who is a friend of the show uh sent me a picture of himself at the game yesterday great to see uh question fresh off a dominant win over the number one seed of last year's NFC playoff field. Our defense looked much better than expected.

Do you think this level of play is sustainable? I don't have the numbers yet, but I'd venture to guess our DVOA, which is the football outsiders kind of catch all stat on offense and defense. We're both top 10 this week. Your thoughts. Do I think the whole thing that happened yesterday can happen week after week after week well I do but I also have like follow-up questions about that right like I do think that week after week after week Zedarius Smith and Daniil Hunter can harass the opposing

quarterback and that will make a huge deal toward helping the secondary. I do think that Justin Jefferson will repeatedly find himself open and that I'm not sure there's any adjustment that opposing teams can make to stop Justin Jefferson from doing things like he did yesterday. The only thing I would say is that there were some extremes yesterday that might not happen every week. Zedaria Smith and Daniil Hunter both got sacks yesterday. From my eye, they were both tremendous. That is going to maybe not exist every single week where they completely take over the game.

They can make an impact, certainly, but you won't get that amount of pressure on the quarterback every single week other teams will have receivers that can like get open and catch footballs unlike the green bay packers that was pretty extreme i don't know that you're going to see another game all year long where the receivers get so few targets and so few catches against a secondary that in my mind is still questionable. It's definitely helped by the defensive line, but if you're talking about A.J. Brown, Tyreek Hill is on this schedule, there's good wide receivers to come that are going to test more Patrick Peterson, Cam Dantzler, Shannon Sullivan, and the depth now.

Caleb Evans had to go in the game. That's where you drop if Andrew Booth Jr. is out for any amount of time. You drop from Cam Dantzler all the way down to a fourth-round draft pick who is a nice development project player, but I don't think that he's ready to play a lot of snaps in the NFL right away. The depth at that secondary position, especially corner. I mean, if Shandon Sullivan were to get hurt, the next man up is literally on the practice squad. So can this defense be top 10 because of what we saw yesterday?

That version of it probably can be on the fringe of top 10 and really on the back of those pass rushers. And I thought in the interior of the defensive line was okay. They still got run over at times. I know that's part of the strategy, but that will be a factor that they'll need a little better from them in terms of the run stopping. Cause that's where it all starts though. They did get the huge stop at the

one yard line you can't really rely on that from week in and week out you're going to have to bring that number of six yards per carry down um so i think that there's still questions to be answered it was a perfect storm with rogers playing his first game with a lot of those receivers had they played green bay in week seven for the first time, would it have looked like that, right? So timing helps. The U.S. Bank Stadium crowd was out of its absolute mind yesterday. That helps.

A lot of things came together really well for them. The defense has more to prove to me than the offense, which has been doing some version of this for several years now, really since 2018, the Vikings offense has been good. When I looked at just points scored over a three-year period from 2019 to 2021, they were 11th. I mean, so you're really looking for getting that number a little bit higher, but they were in the top third of the NFL already offensively on the back of great wide receiver play and a good quarterback and a good running back. So like none of that surprised me and then making tweaks to it and getting everyone on

the same page like they did. All of that was very impressive. That's what's going to have to drive this thing more so because there will be bumps along the road for the defense i almost guarantee it i still find it hard to believe that you know smith and hunter are going to each play 17 games and the depth guys uh you know maybe somebody will start to develop they're going to have to use them throughout the season, but that unit is going to face tougher challenges than they did for a green Bay team. That was clearly way off its game in week one. And even then still almost threw a 75 yard touchdown,

still almost had a 75 yard drive that would have resulted in a touchdown. Had they not gotten the fourth down stop, right right so there was a little bending to the Vikings defense even as dominant as the performance came across but the offensive side of things it's really going to come down to is there going to be some teams that still take advantage of that one weakness because the Packers did on a couple of occasions and they scored 23 points. They didn't score 43 points, right? So it was kind of like, it was very, very good. And the way that they use Jefferson was spectacular, all time great for the first half of the game. And they're going to continue to do that. Um, but now it's on tape and teams have some opportunity to take a look at the things that

the Vikings did with Justin Jefferson kind of speaks again to the perfect storm. I think over the next couple of weeks though, I mean, they could be the number one offense in the league or way up there through three or four weeks. I mean, because look who they're facing. Philadelphia does not have a good defense. I'm not sure their defensive coordinator knows what he's doing. And then, you know, you're talking about the Detroit lions who I think are going to be fun and exciting and entertaining, but their defense, uh, is not going to stop Justin Jefferson very much. Um, so yeah, I mean, I think that all of this is sustainable to the point where there are weaknesses, uh, and they're kind of the ones that

we knew would be weak. They did not show up in week one. They eventually over a very long season will. And the one thing that can keep you powering through all weaknesses, the resolve to everything is what the passing game aggressiveness in the passing game. And that existed yesterday. It was, I think the most impressive thing to me was how aggressive they were in the passing game. And if you continue to have success there, you can get over missing a corner and having a really rough night on defense. You can get over having your right guard have some problems because people will be open down the field. I mean, I think that's what we saw. And, uh, I haven't gotten the PFF grades yet, but the tackles looked very impressive to me overall. And, and even whatever their grades are, you know,

you're playing against really, really good competition that has to be factored in. And so to not give up pressure from the edges on Kirk cousins, I mean, that's just going to be a huge benefit for the Vikings. If Derrissaw takes that step forward, which everything points to him doing that this year. So a lot of it is a lot of it is sustainable. The most important thing is sustainable and Kevin O'Connell being aggressive going for that fourth down. I mean, if he had kicked the field goal at the one yard line on his first drive, I think he would have gotten booed, but still like it was beyond that. It was also the way the game was called as a whole that can be sustainable. Even if there are going to be your natural Kirk cousins, ups and downs throughout the season. All right. This one from 76 Spector 76

fans only question post-game overreactions, which one is the closest to true? Jefferson for NFL MVP, Vikings defense equals 85 Bears, Rodgers is finally washed, the run defense will eventually be the Vikings undoing. So the closest to true is Justin Jefferson MVP. However, I really have a tough time thinking that a wide receiver is going to win MVP. But if there is a situation where that could happen, it would be here with him. If he had a historic year, the Vikings win 12 games and he's just open all the time.

I wonder if he would get more of the credit. That's what it really comes down to is, are you going to get more of the credit. That's what it really comes down to is can, are you going to get more of the credit than your quarterback? I wonder if Justin Jefferson actually would get more of the credit than Kirk cousins. And I mean, after yesterday with as much as he was open, it would be deserving that O'Connell and Jefferson would get a lot of the credit though. Cousins on the 64 yardyard play was terrific, stepped up in the pocket, something he has not done enough of during his career, and made a great throw to Jefferson.

But I want to read you what Patrick Mahomes did yesterday, just real quick before we get on the MVP. 30 for 39, 360 yards, 5 touchdowns, and a 144 quarterback rating. There are some QBs in this league who are going to win MVP. You know, whether it's Mahomes or Josh Allen, like there were some performances in week one that sort of pointed you toward, oh yes, these are your more likely MVPs. They just happen to be in the AFC, which is a really good break for the Vikings.

Vikings defense being 85 bears, that's way too much of an overreaction. That is not happening. Rodgers is finally washed is something that we have been joking around about for quite a while. And that start, that game reminded me a lot of what he looked like in 2018 when the Rodgers's wash thing actually began and the reason was because his numbers were dipping and you looked at his age and said well this this doesn't look great and then over the last two years Matt LaFleur brought in his offense. They had a great offensive line, which their line is going to improve when they get, assuming they actually do, Bakhtiari and Jenkins back. And then, you know, you have wide receivers that aren't going to help him very much. You know, how much

can Matt LaFleur scheme? How much can the running game help them? I'm assuming that Alan Lazard coming back will give him his receiver that he knows better and is on the same page with, but that doesn't mean he's the next Devante Adams. I think this is going to be a tough year for Rogers to put up the type of numbers he has the last two years. But even when we're talking about bad Rogers years, like let's, let's like to have a quick look at what those have been during his career. So I mentioned 2018 where, uh, he was six, nine, and one as a starter that year, still through 25 touchdowns, two picks through for almost 300 yards a game and a 97 quarterback rating. Like a bad year for Aaron Rogers is still a very good year. 2015 was maybe the worst that he had played in his prime.

And he still threw 31 touchdowns, eight picks, 92 quarterback rating that year, which was a little bit down. So it's not impossible for Aaron Rodgers to have down years statistically. And I think that he will this year but also I wouldn't be surprised if uh he still ends up you know putting together a good season and they win a lot of games like that would not surprise me I'm not going to go uh berserk as you you asked about overreactions I'm not going to go berserk for one bad Aaron Rodgers game because his stat line looks a lot better with a 75 yard touchdown um so if that if that ends up know, coming to fruition, that play, then you would have looked at his performance yesterday a little differently, I think.

So, finally washed, I'm not going to quite go there. But down year, very possible. Run defense will eventually be the undoing of the Vikings. I'm going to say, so I don't want to like their overreaction. So I don't want, like if I have to pick one, like that's probably my second place is that the run defense, it could be the undoing Tomlinson and Harrison Phillips are just going to have to take on a lot of responsibility because you have the edge rushers out wide and there were, you know, you, you got, you know, two deep safeties. I don't remember any plays outside of the goal line where there were more people in the

box outside of like the regular two deep safeties. So you just had the linebackers there, the edge rushers and the defensive linemen that is going to put some strain on the interior of the defensive line. And I think if either one of those guys got banged up for a couple weeks, then yes, it could be an undoing of the Vikings defense that the run defense is so reliant on having really good nose tackle play. And if you've looked at any of those old school 3-4s, and this is different, but if you've looked at any of the old school 3 school three fours it's kind of all built around that that big guy that Gilbert Brown that Jerry Ball um and you know that's that the Vikings don't have that like they don't have neither one of

these guys is Linval Joseph they're both very good at stuffing the run but they're not this monster dominant completely take over games and stuff the run by but they're not this monster dominant, completely take over games and stuff the run by themselves. They're not Pat Williams. Could it be an undoing? If either one of those guys goes down, I would say absolutely yes. That, that, that, that is not an overreaction. The only question would be, would a bad run defense actually undo an entire team? Like, could that undo a defense? It kind of did last year. But I tend to think that it won't,

that more of their setup to handle giving up a little bit extra on the run to make sure that they're more difficult against the pass. Okay, last question here from Luteritz on Twitter. Luteritz Tyler on Twitter. Um, let's see, have a question for the podcast with quarterbacks like Allen and Mahomes dominating the league. Are we going to see more of these types of quarterbacks in the future or are Allen and Mahomes once in a lifetime type quarterbacks? Uh, I don't think they're once in a lifetime. I mean mean historically there have been quarterbacks like these guys before maybe not the exact style that mahomes plays but dante culpepper is pretty

similar to josh allen i think where it was some high variance amazing running ability an offense that was just all him and bombs just straight bombs and, I mean, the numbers won't tell you that like John Elway was like Mahomes, but John Elway kind of was like Mahomes where he wasn't a running quarterback all the time, but his mobility was a huge factor. He could run with the ball. He ran more than Mahomes for sure. But just this insane arm talent where any throw was possible the leadership the clutch element how everybody gravitated to him you know John Elway was like that Dan Marino came into the league and set records as a I think second year player just in insane 1984 season so there have been guys who have come in before and and go back and look at Marino's athleticism early in his career you

probably remember him being like post Achilles where he couldnino's athleticism early in his career. You probably remember him being like post-Achilles where he couldn't really move. But early in his career, he would move around a lot and he could really gun that thing. So, yeah, there have been other quarterbacks like this historically. Any section of time that you take in the NFL, almost, you're going to find five quarterbacks who are Hall of Famers that just rise above everybody else for whatever reason. I don't know why this happens cyclically, but it always seems to where the older guys, the Drew Brees and so forth, are going out or getting old and Rodgers and then new players emerge. It's kind of like how, you know, LeBron comes after Jordan and then you got, you know, Curry and the next. It's sort of just like this in sports.

So there will, but will there be more players who are amazing athletes that as kids are told, yes, you can play quarterback a hundred percent. There were the most black quarterbacks that started in the NFL. I think ever. I think I saw that, um, uh, in week one. So you're, you're going to see players who might've been told that, uh, they should go play wide receiver or tight end or defensive end or something that are now playing quarterback. And I know that somebody roasted me on Twitter for bringing up Anthony Richardson, cause he had a tough game, uh, against Florida,

uh, but, or, I I mean for Florida against Kentucky, but that's the type of athlete that teams are now sort of staying with and saying we can develop his raw tools. Also, the pick six that he threw seemed to be just a miscommunication, so I don't know. I didn't watch that game because I'm not a draft scout, but I'm intrigued by somebody with that type of physical skill. And you saw CJ Stroud and you saw Bryce Young and the way that he moved around and made some

plays against Texas. Like those are things that teams are looking for. I think quarterbacks are better developed. Athletes are better developed than ever. So quarterback play will continue to get better. Yes. I don't think that Allen and Mahomes are just total outliers, that we will see more guys who kind of play like them. Okay, actually, I lied. One more because I like this question. This is from RunBayou79. Is it more likely the Rams miss Kevin O'Connell

or their lackadaisical approach to training camp and preseason really hurt them? If it's the latter, would that be concerning for the Vikings? Since our staff seems to have brought over the approach from LA. Um, yeah, I mean, obviously like after the, this was probably sent right after the Rams game, uh, where they lost to Buffalo. So sorry, I didn't get this question in. I think we have the answer that the training camp and preseason, I mean, the Rams have always handled

it this way. It's not lackadaisical. It's actually really well thought out when it comes to preseason and training camp. It's by design. It's kind of like this. Like when you have a car, for example, that, you know, if you bought it in 2000, it has certain innovations and runs pretty well in comparison to cars from the seventies. Right. But if you buy a car now, it will park itself for you, right? Like, like that's kind of the way that this exists. So way back in the day, they're playing six preseason games and having two a days and destroying each other in practice and then going out and playing a 14 game season. Then that changes a little. They're

still doing the two days, but the preseason is cut down and they're only playing the starters in the third week. And now you just have it studied and looked at and analyzed in a bunch of different ways. And they found that it just doesn't make much of a difference to get them out there for preseason and boy did that show like for the vikings right away bang touchdown drive and and chemistry between cousins and jefferson and the defense is on the same page like right away uh that's because these guys are they're they're 365 about football back in the day if you showed up to training camp, I mean, think about like they have iPads and everything else and like all sorts of information.

They work out with each other. Back in the day, you showed up to training camp to work yourself into shape and to learn the playbook. These guys know it. They get it in April, and they know it by the time they get to training camp, and they just have to sharpen it up. So things are very different there. Why the Rams came out and look so bad is I don't think because they missed Kevin O'Connell.

Not that he wasn't a good offensive coordinator for the Rams. He's here. And not that he didn't prove himself in week one because he did. I think it's because the Rams number two wide receiver was a terrible football player. And they're just in, they're just in trouble. Like Matt Stafford has had injuries his whole career. He has an elbow problem and their offensive line is not the same without Andrew Whitworth. That is a humongous difference that they face. Von Miller shredded them. And the, a team that really prided itself on getting one more receiver all the time

doesn't have receivers outside of Cooper Cup. And they're just going to have to rely on him so much. They also can't run the ball. Cam Akers is just super bad at football. This is why last year we questioned at around this time what the Rams did because they had to win the Superbowl or it was probably going to fall off. This is what Kweisi Adafo-Mento was saying. And I'm not declaring the Rams dead, but this is what Kweisi Adafo-Mento was saying in the USA Today piece. If you go all in and you trade your draft picks for all these players, like they did for Vaughn Miller, for Matt Stafford, You run the risk of missing on that first year and then having it all come apart the following season.

It's very much like the Vikings from 2017 to 2018. The Vikings assumed that everything that went right the season before would go right again, and the Rams were in a position where they had to make that assumption that they were going to have a window here. But it really shows you when you play also 21 football games, how tough that is, how beat up you get. Players retire, players get new contracts that cost a lot of money that are restrictive when you win. So that's football, right? That's why every team thinks they have a chance because there's always franchises rising and falling. That to me is the biggest factor. So anyway, lots of fun to come on the show this week. We'll have Alec Lewis, who is a new reporter from the athletic covering the Vikings. Very excited

to talk about him along with some other guests as well. So, uh, Monday night football Eagles, that's what's up next for the Vikings. Feel free to continue to send your fans-only questions. I am going to stay on top of them. I don't care what it takes. So purpleinsider.com to send those questions or on Twitter. Catch you guys later.