Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Carson Wentz starts, hardcore Vikings-Eagles breakdown

Episode Date: October 17, 2025

Andrew Krammer of the Minnesota Star Tribune joins the show for a deep dive into the Vikings-Eagles matchup and Carson Wentz starting this weekend. The Purple Insider podcast is brought to you by FanDuel. Also, check out our sponsor HIMS at https://hims.com/purpleinsider Hosted by Simplecast, an AdsWizz company. See https://pcm.adswizz.com for information about our collection and use of personal data for advertising.

Hey, everybody, welcome to another episode of Purple Insider, Matthew Collar here, and we will bring you my conversation with Andrew Kramer of the Star Tribune in just a moment. But first, your update from Kevin O'Connell on the injury situation for the Vikings. As we expected, J.J. McCarthy will not be playing this weekend. He will be the emergency quarterback, but Carson Wentz will start, and Max Rosemur will be the backup as McCarthy continues to recover from his ankle injury. Also on the injury report for today, Blake Cashman is going to be listed as questionable, but O'Connell said that he is expected to play.

So that is a huge return for the Vikings defense to get Blake Cashman back. Also, Michael Juergens, Ty and Grim Dawkins are questionable for this game along with Tyler baddie, but baddie also expected to be able to return if they so need. Andrew Van Ginkle, though, is still out, which means another huge game for Dallas Turner, along with Jonathan Grenard, who did miss some practice time yesterday, but Jonathan Grinard is good to go with no designation. So there is your official injury update. Let's get to the hardcore breakdown now with the Star Tribune's Andrew Kramer.

Hey, everybody, welcome to another episode of Purple Insider, presented by Fanduel, Matthew Collar here, along with Andrew Kramer of the Star Tribune inside TCO Performance Center for our weekly hardcore breakdown of Vikings Eagles. And believe it or not, there is more to this story between these two teams than the starting quarterback, although I think we have a pretty good sense that it will not be J.J. McCarthy starting in this game. So that's where I would like to begin with Carson Wentz. Now, I know that fans want to see McCarthy, but Wentz has played, I think, what would you give them? Like a C plus, like a B minus type of backup quarterback caliber football.

But I think the question that I'm wondering about for this game against this Philadelphia defense that is not like it was last year is, how much does Carson Wentz have to do in order for them to score enough points to beat the Philadelphia Eagles? It's a great question. I don't think much. And it might have to do with how well Brian Flores is. group fairs on the opposite side. But one thing they do have to do is find a way to start quicker and get a lead. This is a team that has trailed for 40 plus minutes and three other five games. They really only trailed for a good duration of the game in the Cincinnati win,

obviously. So Brian Flores' group has not played with much of a lead. They just have two interceptions after leading the NFL in interceptions a year ago. So I think that plays a big factor. But offensively, getting to that fast start might run through Jordan Mason in this run game and whatever holes the offensive line can open up against Jordan Davis and Jalen Carter, because with this Philly defense, they've given up over 100 yards rushing in every single game. Jackson Dart goes off for a 20-yard rushing touchdown of the opening drive of their loss to the Giants 10 days ago. So I just think this is not the same group. They clearly missed Nolan Smith on the edge.

They lost all their veterans. Adairius Smith bid him adieu midway through the year. So it's just not the same group, but I do think the run game could. be a good way to start this one for them. And I'm sure that's how they see it after watching the Eagles tape. So how do we assess the Vikings run games so far? I think run games are so tied to offensive line that when you're playing 746 different combinations of offensive linemen, it's pretty hard to get them in lockstep with each other. And against Cleveland, you know, you tried. You can't have fumbles. There's no question about that. The Jordan Mason's fumbles are, I think, concerning. But aside from that,

it was hard to really get that thing going like an engine when you had the other team's defensive line mostly dominating the Vikings offensive line. And the only way they were surviving on offense was whence getting rid of the ball super fast. But if they get Donovan Jackson back, if Christian Darrasaw plays the entire game, which it sounds like that's the plan from what Kevin O'Connell said, all of a sudden you're looking at a little bit better of a run-blocking offensive line against a defense. that has not been special in that area.

And what I've really noticed about watching Jalen Carter is this dude is not the same. Like he is banged up. He's got a heel problem. He's got an arm problem. He is not dominating the line of scrimmage in the same way that he did last year because of it being banged up. Jordan Davis is a problem with his size. But I think that they can run, especially since they're tackling outside of the D-line, linebackers, secondary is a little bit suspect. I think this is a game where they need to get Mason on the outside.

Yeah, and I actually came away impressed by how he ran and how they blocked in Cleveland or against Cleveland in London because that's the number one ranked run defense in football. The Browns, even after last week, give up just 3.1 yards per carry. They're very, very good, obviously. You were playing with basically none of your starters at one point with just Will Fries in there. Yet it was, I believe, 18 carries for 70 yards from the backs, especially out of two tight-end groupings, which the Vikings are averaging almost five yards of carry from this year. they did very, very well, including a 14-yarder, the three-yard touchdown, a nine-yard run.

These were all situations where Hawkinson especially seemed to stand out as a blocker. And so I think just finding a way to keep the big guys on the field, early-down efficiency has actually been Carson Wentz's strengths so far. He has not been great on third down, nor was J.J. McCarthy. They have the 30th ranked third-down offense right now, but they've been able to get the completions, put the ball in play, run the ball. That same kind of formula, I think, can work against Philadelphia. And I do think that they've found a little bit of the strides in the run game in terms of when they bulk up. Even CJ Ham getting back in the mix in week five helped them. They ran twice with him for 11 yards.

So I think they're going to try to bulk up again, maybe get the play action going. It looked a little different against Cleveland in terms of their play action. They tried to spread it out more and do some gun stuff that maybe Carson is more comfortable with. Obviously, they had to get the ball out quickly as well. it didn't behoove them to do a lot of seven-step deep play-action dropbacks. But I do wonder if they start to shift a little bit more toward that kind of bread and butter they're used to as Carson gets more comfortable and as they potentially establish this running game on Sunday. That's a good point about the running game relative to competition was probably as good as they could have hoped. If they don't fumble twice and ruin two drives that way, then maybe we would have seen a lot more of them wearing down Cleveland and probably just a lot more points when you have two possessions washed off the board,

one on the other side, or maybe they were both on the other side of the field, on the Cleveland side of the field, right? Both fumbles, or at very least, in decent field position in the middle of the field, that can't happen. And I feel like that's been a trend for this team through the first five games in general is fumbles, penalties, mistakes that tons of sacks that they've taken, that we just didn't see from them last year that has to change or they're not going to beat anybody. But just circling back to a point you made is something that I've really been banging the drum hard on. Big personnel is winning this year. I watched Rico Dowdle run the last two weeks. They used two tight ends all over the field.

Pittsburgh is using six linemen all the time. The Bills did this last year a lot with six offensive linemen. I don't think the Vikings have that guy who's sort of the Dan Skipper, if you will. But Detroit has done this for a couple years. And Josh Oliver is essentially that guy. So if you put the two tight ends on the field with Jefferson and Addison, you can pound the rock and then also run play action still off of that because Oliver can catch the ball. Hawkinson, of course, can catch the ball. So you still have weapons in there, but defenses are just getting smaller and they've been getting smaller for years.

And when you look at these guys who are playing on the outsides for Philadelphia, you can steamroll some of these players. Aziz O'Jolare, like, Zach Ball is not huge. I mean, he's a, you know, he's a good player, but he's not an enormous guy. Jihad Campbell's had a good start to his NFL career, but he's not a huge guy where you're saying, oh, there's no way you'll be able to push that guy around. So I think there is a legitimate advantage on the edges if you play two tight ends or a fullback. Yeah, now you're potentially what it sounds like playing a six foot seven center once again with Blake Brandel. So the Vikings are going to have a size advantage up front, even at least matching the size that the Eagles bring on the interior. But you're right, the edges.

It just seems like they'd be able to fold them inside, bounce outside, Jordan Mason, I thought, had a couple good runs that he bounced to the edges against the Browns. And one of which I wanted to talk to Hawkinson about afterward because they just seemed to have a connection on Mason bouncing it outside. And Hawkinson pointed out, no, this was a way that we saw Miles Garrett. It was just a real heady play by Hawkinson. We saw Miles Garrett spiking inside against Duo. I told Mason when the play was called, bounce it outside. Like before the snap, we already knew what we were going to do. I mean, that's the kind of stuff that these veteran intellectual players are bringing to them. Even Carson Wentz, Blake Brandel had mentioned that

whence in the run game is targeting things a lot more than he's used to for a quarterback, and that's a veteran guy stepping in there doing it. So I think those things are helping this run game coalesce. The big personnel that the Vikings have seem to be some of the best groupings that they can put out there for the way that their quarterback is currently situated. It might be a different answer if you had this baller quarterback who was out there distributing to Addison, Jefferson, Naylor, and all these things. And Aaron Jones were healthy in the past game. But the way this team is built right now, it sure seems like the big personnel would be the best way to go.

So circling back to Carson Wentz, I have both been called the Carson Wentz lover and hater recently, which sounds like a fair analysis then of good and bad, weird. But when it comes to Wentz, the thing that I'm most impressed with is that the guy shows up a month before the season and looks very comfortable running the offense. And when he can see something pre-snap

and determine where he's going, with the football. I think he's been fantastic. Hitting the plays in a timely manner, you could tell that it's been practiced well, especially with Justin Jefferson, and being a veteran quarterback, understanding I should just throw this ball up to Justin Jefferson if he has ever one-on-one that paid big dividends against the Cleveland Browns. At the same time, I see a guy who has not accepted that time comes for everybody and has decided he's 24 still. And I feel you, bro. I understand where you're coming from on that, but trying to escape sacks, trying to make plays out of structure has been a complete disaster for Carson Wentz so far. I think if he, and he sort of joked about this,

like, yeah, well, I can think it to play within myself. And then when I get out there, I'm like, I'm going to run over this guy with my shoulder. It's not my throwing shoulder. Who cares if it falls off? But I think that that would be, if I'm Philadelphia, what I'm saying is how can I get him to do that? because early in his career, you didn't want him to do that. You wanted him to stay in the pocket. But now I think Philadelphia would want to, if they can take away first options, if they can take away Jefferson in any way possible,

make him get through progressions, make him have to sit in the pocket. They could be problematic for Wentz. Yeah, and Kenyon Mitchell leaving their last game with a hamstring injury is huge for that. If they want to take away Wence's first reads, if they want to make him hold onto the ball as you're talking about and make mistakes, which we hadn't seen a ton of.

We have seen him make not great decisions in terms of the run like you're talking about. But the two interceptions he's made were tipped at the line against Pittsburgh. In terms of putting the ball in play, we haven't seen a lot of really bad throwing decisions. Just inconsistent accuracy. And then, of course, as you said on the run, maybe those third downs he should find somewhere downfield to throw it as opposed to try and tucking and running. When he is 32, he is hobbled a little bit at this point. his career. But I do think Philadelphia needs, if you're game planning against this Vikings

offense, you're taking away Wenz's first read, trying to make him hold the ball. And the Vikings are going to do everything they can. Like even go back to the Cleveland game, I was really impressed with the way they schemed up some of their play action stuff. There's one snap where they bring Jefferson in the backfield, right at running back at the dot position, they leak him out into the flat, quick little play action, one read play out of his hands in like two seconds. Like that's the kind of stuff Kevin O'Connell is so good at scheming up and the staff is that I've just been just as impressed with what they've done is what Carson has done in the system. Well, and I think my message, if you will, to O'Connell, you're listening, aren't you, is keep doing it. If you have this capability of scheming guys

to get the ball in their hands, who are your best players, even if it's only six yards, even if it's only eight yards, there were some really great designs in that game. And, including at the end of the game, two plays to Jordan Addison that netted them a total of about 10 yards. It was a huge 10 yards in the game that allowed them to win the football game and set up that throw to Jordan Addison in the end zone. I also think there's an effect of in the NFL today, we are seeing a lot of short drives because of field position. And one thing that's going a little bit by the wayside is teams having these super long drives where they wear seven minutes off the clock. and it's a 13-play drive just because you're starting at the 30 or 35 every time. I think if you can do that, you can start to wear down a defense, but also you can make them anxious.

And we actually, I think, saw the Browns get a little anxious, like, oh, they're completing these short passes and like getting a little bit, well, maybe we've got to fill the box up a little bit more to try to defend some of these short throws or send blitzes to get after whence because we're frustrated, we're not pressuring him. There's an antsiness that kind of happens when you control the ball. And I'd like to see them continue to, here's a quickout to Jefferson, seven yards. Here's a kind of a little, you know, joke play that is not anything special, but it's six yards to Hawkinson. I think a KOC has referenced a checkdown to Hawkinson like five different times that he loved from Carson Wentz. But I also love that because it's just keeping the ball and it's just moving it. You're not going to win a shootout, 42 to 45, where you have to throw and throw. and throw and throw down the field.

Yeah, and I don't know if it was this checkdown to Hawkinson he was referencing, but on the last drive, when he completed nine straight throws for 72 yards in the score, he had a 14-yarder to TJ that was in the face of direct pressure up the middle. The kind of throw that was a lot more impressive watching it back than you saw kind of live on the TV copy or even in person. And so Wentz was doing some things against pressure, even with just checking the ball down, that a lot of other quarterbacks, more inexperienced or just not playing as well, would make a poorer decision, poorer throw, whatever, and not get those 14 yards. There's another one, a 21-yarder on that same sequence, where he did the same thing, pressure right up the middle.

And that's going to happen when you're playing with the banged-up injuries on the O line they've got, when you're playing against the defensive fronts that they've been facing, especially against the Cleveland Browns. I think Philly's capable of doing some of the same things. Vic Fangio is not going to bring a ton of pressure, but they're going to be creative with it. They're going to simulate pressures. They're going to get one-on-ones. They're going to do stuff that Brian Flores likes to do.

their pressure packages to create. It's just not going to be in mass numbers all the time. So maybe that plays into rallying to the ball, taking away first reads, all the things that they might want to do against Carson Wentz. And I think if you're the Vikings, you know that the attention is going to be on Jefferson. If Quinnian Mitchell is playing, then he's going to be over there. But if you look at the rest of this old secondary right now, not looking the best. I mean, Cooper DeGine had a great year last year. It's not been quite the same this year. They like to play him more in the nickel, which means a Dory Jackson on the outside. This screams to me, Jordan Addison, 10 catches, 120 yards type of game because there's a weakness

out there. And in the NFL, we know this. Your defense is usually only as good as your weaknesses. And we've seen the past two teams that beat Philadelphia just pound away at their secondary and continue to throw it, especially Adory Jackson. Yeah, I think a Jackson dart, it was Keeley Ringo, who gave up a 34-yarder to little Jordan Humphrey and just a jump ball on one of their touchdown drives. I mean, that's the kind of play that Carson Wentz to Justin Jefferson or even

Addison, who can sky up and get them. They'll make that play every single time. So I do. I think there's weaknesses in the secondary, like you mentioned. They've got some solid players, but O'Connell and West Phillips are good as any at finding the weak points. And I do think Wence is going to be able to target those. I mean, these aren't guys that he practiced against, obviously.

It's been a long time since he's been in Philadelphia. But I would imagine this is going to mean a lot to him to want to play well. And if Kevin O'Connell can make him play within himself and not do too much, this could be a big game for him because this Eagles defense, as we keep talking about, has been just leaking yardage. And if they start with a lot of Jordan Mason, it could lead to a lot of Carson Wentz later on. So before we get to the other side of the ball, need your feeling just generally on the quarterback situation as a whole.

My take on this has been that they should be as patient as J.J. McCarthy needs them to be. That we all want to rush this. I know you and I, I'm sure, as much as anybody else, want to see J.J. McCarthy and start to find out what kind of quarterback he's going to be. But sometimes Roger Goodell's National Football League has other plans, then you lay out at the beginning of the season. And unpredictability is a great thing about football, but it can also be maddening because you just thought, OK, well, even coming out of the Atlanta game, I think we all thought Cincinnati's next, get right game, get to two and one, get back on track and we'll see where this kid takes things. Having him not playing and the last we saw him was Atlanta has kind of been excruciating to talk about. And then now for the team to not have his ankle back to 100% after going overseas, experience swelling, coming back, it just, it feels like when is this going to actually happen with J.J. McCarthy?

and what I'm trying to say is it might take longer than you think and that's okay. Like that doesn't mean his career is over. In fact, it might mean much better things for his career the longer that they decide to be patient with him. Yeah, and he's at a really weird spot

where nothing that's happened to him is his fault. He's missed 20 of 22 games so far in his career due to injuries. The two games he's been on the field, he's one and one. And obviously the results production-wise haven't been great for him. But what have we learned looking around the NFL this season or any year, if you pay attention, it's that patience

usually pays off at the position, whether it's Baker Mayfield, whether it's Sam Darnold, whether it's any other number of reclamation projects that are missing my brain right now, but there are a number of guys who have come back at quarterback and shown that they can be worth something, even if they're not in their first stop. And that's not to say JJ won't be here. It's been two games. I think what they need is more practice time like Kevin O'Connell's talking about with him. Obviously, this training camp that they went through, this summer with him did not get him up to the point where it was, you know, game-proof in terms of his habits, in terms of the things that he fell back on. O'Connell referenced the injury

in the third quarter against the Falcons is a reason, too, of why things kind of broke down on him in that game. Any number of those reasons could help explain, but O'Connell also made sure to mention on Wednesday of this week that these things are all very, very normal for a young quarterback to experience. And it feels like it should be farther along because it's It's been a year and a half, but we're talking about awaiting McCarthy's third start. Jackson Dart just played his third start against the Eagles and won the game. So that's not to say McCarthy can't look the exact same in his third start when he comes out against whoever that's going to be down the road.

So I do think it's hard. We talk about this so much. There's six days between every single game. We sit there and we gnaw on all the details and we talk about this ad nauseum. And fans want to see it because they wait six days between games to see. see it, and they are still going to be waiting on McCarthy, so I get it. But you're not going necessarily know the next time he plays. You might not know by the end of this year, and the Vikings might not. But what measures success and what matters is them to at least get some

evidence with him and at least see him at some point this year. It's a long season. They've got how many games left, 12? There's no saying Carson Wentz is going to start more than the next two of them. We have no idea. It feels like I've already lived a full season. I mean, this training camp almost felt like a season in itself because every single day felt so big where with uh when kirk is the quarterback like all right today i'm watching the third string defensive tackle to see it you know right but we're paying so much ultra attention to every single day of j j mccarthy and tracking his progress but i think what even this year told us is and not just us but the team as well i mean after the joint practices kevin o'connell was downright giddy about how j jay mccarthy looked and he

should have been. He looked great. I thought he made a ton of progress. He wasn't playing with Jefferson for the entire training camp. And it looked like he had gotten a lot of things down, getting rid of the ball, having the right footwork, all that sort of stuff. But you have to be able to apply that. And I like to make the, you know, different comparisons with golf a lot. I know you're not the hugest golf guy. But think about going out to the driving range and you're trying to get it right and you're crushing in the driving range. And then you go to the first tee and you hook it in the woods. It's just a whole different level of pressure. It's just different when you're doing it with actual stakes and actual variables that you can't control in practice, even in a joint

practice. And one of those variables is that Justin's school can be beat instantly and you'll get destroyed. And then you have that in your head for the rest of the game. Justin's school got beat badly, maybe twice in that game, like really badly. But out of 27 or something dropbacks, but you could feel those, like even in his performance. And that is very normal. That happened to Tom Brady in the Super Bowl before. So it's not anything new that pressure impacts a quarterback, especially a young one. And that's why when you look at that game, you have to say, well, maybe more experience is the only real answer. But if he's not ready and every time that happens, then the footwork goes awry, then you're not going to win very much. And it's going to be a pretty

ugly season, so they have to balance this. I think that Kevin O'Connell, you know, he gets that big contract extension in the off season and is immediately asked to justify it. Like if you are who we thought you were, then this is a situation that you should be able to handle and navigate through. But it's not easy. And I'm sure that he also hears a little bit of the, hey, look at Sam Darnold. Hey, look at Aaron Rogers, chatter. And there's probably a strong desire to, well, I got to get, I got to get the Quebec out there and show that we made the right decision, but you can't really control when someone is truly ready to play in this league. And Kevin O'Connell is also somebody who's talked, you know, we all know the whole thing about, you know, organizations of ruining

quarterbacks, all those things. And J.J. McCarthy hasn't even taken a snap yet, as you mentioned school, with Christian Darrisaw, who, by the way, didn't come back until McCarthy was already injured. Or Addison. Or Addison. And this offensive line is in better shape at entering Sunday than than it was back in weeks one or two, well, frankly, I suppose weeks two, after the injuries that started to hit them right away. But I do think with O'Connell, McCarthy, all of this, it's going to be a difficult situation because he has to walk a very tight rope in terms of them optics. It's a 22-year-old kid, somebody who is your franchise quarterback, but yet you've got a veteran locker room. You've got a very expensive roster. You've got guys that want to win.

And you've got a veteran in Carson Wentz who's completing 70% of his passes through three starts. He's two at one. He's committed two turnovers and your one loss. But again, both of those were tipped. If you're O'Connell, you're still looking at just the basics of it. And who gives you the best chance to win on Sunday? And it seems like that's Carson Wentz. Right.

And it's just, I think of the whole situation is just unfortunate on so many levels. I mean, you can't control a meniscus tear that would have, if he didn't have it, he probably wouldn't have played last year. would have gotten so, so much work behind the scenes physically doing these things. And I think that there's such a difference between, and to stick with the golf analogy, knowing that your hands are supposed to be a certain way or your hips are supposed to turn a certain way and actually making your body do it. And I just don't think he's there yet, which is going to come along with throwing actual passes in any environment,

whether it's practice or whether it's in games. And that's a great point. The whole year last year, remember Josh McCown saying this offseason of like if we got anything, out of last year I at least got to know the guy. And that says a lot just about how much they did not get to work together on the field. Obviously, he only was healthy up until August 10th, that first preseason game. So I think the lack of practice time, O'Connell keeps saying it to the point that it kind of becomes numb, I think, to people's ears, not just media, but fans. I think fans need to realize that, no, that is the truth, that this guy has not had a ton of time on task, as they like to

say. And that's going to be something that makes the coaching staff more comfortable, certainly, time they put him out there if they can bank a lot of time with him on the field. And at least they've got two weeks now going back to the bye week to work from moving forward. Right. And I will raise the hand and admit that I underrated that. I definitely underrated last year. I thought you could take a ton out of that type of season. And he probably has mentally, but not physically, not with actually forming the, I don't know, whatever, the brain languages, the synapse, the neurons, whatever it is together to get that, what do they call it like muscle memory that kind of thing right i mean that that's a that's a very

real thing and then also like you can only train your eyes with vr so much to be able to see where those things are going and what people don't realize about playing quarterback is that you have to be a fortune teller like you have to be able to see three seconds ahead or whatever a second and a half ahead of where someone's going to be and where defenders are going to be and this is why like Drew Brees is such a freak, right, where he just has some matrix in his head where he drops back and he releases the football. And when you freeze the tape, you're like, I have no idea what's going on right there. And then it presents itself. Like, oh, that defender was leaning that way. And that's why he saw whatever. This is a very, very difficult thing to do that, by the way,

Jalen Hertz isn't even great at. And he's played and he's won a Super Bowl. So I think you'd only do that through practicing a lot and then actually getting out there. And I think that they should let this entire thing sort of come to them. Like, okay, it has to be 100%. We all agree with that. But in terms of the performance from the rest of the team with Wence, I think we'll just all know if it's time. Like it might be time against Detroit if they go O and 2.

It might not be time if they go 2 and 0, right? We're all just going to have a feeling, okay, the wheels have kind of come off. Now it's time to go back to McCarthy. It will be interesting if Carson Wenz keeps winning. That will make it interesting in terms of, when that decision comes, and that's not to say that Carson's going to win every game from here on out, and there won't be some kind of natural point that you're talking about, because I do think that's possible. It does make it interesting if Carson keeps winning and

playing well, which he has done so far. It's not like they've played the best defenses in the NFL, although Cleveland is very good. He, though, has played efficiently enough. All right, I'm going to give something a shot as we move over to the Eagles offense versus the Vikings defense. I'm going to give something to try. You're much better at this than me. The vibes don't feel very good in Philadelphia right now with the last two performances. I can't say 100% for sure, but that's just my sense. They've lost the last two games. Total meltdown in the second half against Denver, just a no-show in New York. And it feels like a lot of people are pointing fingers and looking around at each other. I think we learn

a lot about this current group, because we know this. Every team is different. You can have the most close-knit bonded team one year and then a team that can't stand each other the next year. I think we learn about them on offense versus the Vikings defense this Sunday. In terms of learning about Philadelphia, learning if they need another hour-long player-led meeting between Sequin, AJ, and Jalen Hertz. At least they showed up to it, unlike in Miami, apparently. I do, yeah, because Brian Flores' group could stress you. It could get real loud and stressful there, and it could have for Michael Pennix back in week two.

Because it was incredibly loud there before that game slipped away on the Vikings. And it can get so loud when fans are into it. And I think coming off the by, Super Bowl champs being here, even though it's a noon game at U.S. Bank, I do think the environment can be that similar. And as we know, this Vikings pass rush, even if they don't have Andrew Van Ginkle, they should have Blake Cashman back, it would seem. That's going to be huge for them. I think the pressure packages they can put together with Blake. And I do think they're going to try and pressure Jalen Hertz.

I think getting as many guys up at the line, I think filling the running lanes, I think taking away the extra element of the quarterback run where they can open up gaps and create that numbers advantage with Jalen, trying to take that away by just overwhelming them up front. I think might be their best bet, not that I know anything or a modicum of what Brian Flores does, but just how they match up and how they got beat two years ago, very different teams, obviously, but Jalen Hertz ran and D'Andre Swift ran all over them two years. ago and they just didn't do enough up front and I think they're going to change that this time around. Yeah, there's a couple things with Jalen Hertz that I think that they will do everything they can to utilize and then also some other things, everything to avoid. I don't think you want straight dropbacks against two deep safeties, different looks that change after the snap, pre-snap stuff that doesn't really show itself and then it's okay, there's a different coverage than I ever thought. And if Harrison Smith is out there a little more, we'll kind of see on that. But

But then there's even more of that sort of tomfoolery that they do with opposing quarterbacks. I don't think that that's the strength of Jalen Hertz is to have a nine-step drop and look at three different options, super quick. You look at his snap to release. It's the slowest in the NFL. I think where he would be really great is running a lot of that stuff with the ball in his hands and just forcing the Vikings to stop it.

Because so far, when teams have said, we dare you to stop our run game, they have not been the best in doing it. Now, they came up clutch against Cleveland, and if they didn't, they would have lost that game. But against Pittsburgh, they did not. And if I'm watching the Pittsburgh game from Philly's perspective, I'm going, big personnel, run, run, run, quick pass, run, run, that would be along the lines. And I don't think they have the line to do it the same way they did it in 23 or in the same way they did it to teams last year. But I would be thinking smash mouth all day long against this Vikings team and try to take away

all those opportunities to blitz, all those opportunities to confuse, which they do so well. Yeah, and I don't have the numbers. I don't remember the single high percentage split, all that stuff against the Steelers, but I do remember walking away from watching the Dublin game thinking that

Brian Flores really respected Rogers in terms of backing off. Not that they didn't blitz in moments because they did, but in terms of a lot of two safety, deep stuff, really playing off coverage, and that led to some of the dink and dunk stuff where Dallas Turner's a little too far off a D.K. Metcalfe.

on a 14-yard or the 80-yard or where Ivan Pace seems to go the wrong way. Just a lot of different things that broke down for them in coverage, but they seemed to kind of play a little, and maybe because they didn't respect Gainwell. Maybe they didn't respect the run game or what the Steelers might try to do up front. It's obviously different this time around with Saquan and Jalen. So I don't think they're going to make the same mistake if that was a mistake against the Steelers because it just didn't seem like they tried to take away.

Gainwell, certainly on the edges. I think Gainwell, that game had most of his production on the outsides. And they've since clamped down on that or did at least a good job on the outsides. It was more the interior against Cleveland. That was a big issue. Who do you think is under the most pressure defensive-wise on the Vikings roster here? We're assuming Blake Cashman is going to come back as of the time we're recording this. I think that's a huge for them.

But just across the roster, who do you feel like really needs a good game here against Philadelphia? The interior. I think Jonathan Allen, I think Levi Drake, I think Ivan Pace. these are guys that I at least in the Cleveland game I don't think played well against the run and Wyatt Teller the interior, Betonio, they're really good with Cleveland like that that was going to be a tough matchup but I just don't think the Vikings played up to it it seemed like Judkins was able to start a lot of things inside and then find the kind of bounce out outside lanes and overall paces missed 10 tackles through five games he hasn't

been the same guy I think Levi's been disruptive but you're not seeing him finish And that's also been a theme, whether it's Eric Wilson also missing a bunch of tackles, Theo Jackson not being much of a support when he crashes down in the run game. These guys are not finishing against ball carriers in ways that they need to. And I think that is the biggest thing that I want to see. And to me, it starts in the middle with some of the guys I mentioned. So stat for you from True Media, the Vikings are seventh best in terms of when they make first contact with the running back. So how far, how many yards they've gained, and 27th after first contact.

You're just not tackling. I think that's pretty clear. You're getting where you're supposed to get schematically and not making tackles. And I think that Theo Jackson is a guy that's under a lot of pressure here because now they haven't faced teams that have really been throwing a lot. Other teams have been ahead. Pennix didn't throw a ton. Dylan Gabriel didn't throw a ton. And we know that Theo is a playmaker in the passing game.

He's got great hands. He's got great instinct. So he hasn't had a chance. And I'll say this for someone like Jonathan Allen. They haven't had chances to be who they are at their best version, which is why when I talk about PFF grades all the time, I talk about context. If you don't give Jonathan Allen very many chances at the opposing team straight dropping back,

he's not going to get as many pressures, and he's not going to get as high of a grade when he's playing against a team that's just running and running and running against him. It doesn't play to his strength. But I think the same thing has existed for Theo Jackson. And this team said, Cam Bynum, you're not worth it. And Cam Bynum has been terrific as an Indianapolis cult.

He was terrific as a Minnesota Viking, a fantastic player. And they said that position, we can replace it, which I generally understand and agree with, like just by positional value. But that means the next guy up has to be a very good player. And Josh Mattelis has had to take on a different role this year because of Bynum's exit and because of missing Harrison Smith. I think they need something from these guys. I think they need playmaking because the one thing that they could rely on with Bynum, downhill tackling and playmaking.

That's two things that they could rely on from Cam Bynum, but he got interceptions. He made plays, and they just have not gotten that really from their safety so far. No, and interestingly enough, Brian Flores and the defensive coaching staff clearly does not think Harrison Smith is worthy of a starting spot right now. And they keep referencing when Brian's getting asked every week about Harrison, he keeps saying, well, Theo and Mattelis are playing well. Like he keeps saying that, and he does keep saying that he thinks Harrison's working his way back, while Harrison's also saying that he feels like himself already. So it just seems to me like they view Theo is playing well enough to take that spot. And in coverage, they are playing fairly well. Oh, yeah.

They have only given up. I think the Packers are the only team that's given up fewer explosive plays in the run in the past. The Vikings, they've only given up 10 through five weeks. They've done a really good job at that portion of it. But you're right. And when you talked about Bynum, it made me think of something that he had said in his. years here about how it took him until I think he'd mentioned year three to feel really comfortable breaking down in space and tackling. He felt that was something he specifically needed to work on as a

college corner who was making the transition to safety who kind of always had the boundary, had the sideline to work with, didn't have to make a ton of open field stuff. And that changed in the NFL and he had to adapt to it. And you're seeing now Theo different player, different journey, but you're seeing issues that Cam had earlier in his career where we have to remember it takes time for guys to develop into the players they were. Just because Theo might be a year three or year four guy doesn't mean he's on the same trajectory as Bynum was who actually played through three to four years before he became that player. Theo might be that guy in year two, three as a starter.

But this is year one for him, basically, as that guy. We're seeing some growing pains through at least this early portion of the season. I think we're seeing a lot of bets that maybe have not quite paid off the way they thought. Like you mentioned the defensive tackles and Redmond has been a great bet. And I think Levi Drake has done well. There's been a lot of wow moments for him with his power, but maybe consistency is something that's still coming along. And with Theo, my point is just that in a game like this

where I think there's going to be a lot of pressure on Jalen Hertz to get the ball to A.J. Brown, it's a big dramatic thing there. If he's forcing it that way, this is an opportunity for Theo Jackson to make some plays. And he's going to have to improve on that downfield tackling or they're going to get big explosive plays from Sequin Barclay. I don't think the guy is so cooked that he can't break off a 70-yard run at any time. So let's talk about the game here and who's going to win. How about that?

The Vikings are two and a half point underdogs. Do you think that they will win slash cover or, well, I guess if they win, they cover. win or it would have to be a really, really close loss. Just talk about your prediction. I think the Vikings are going to win. I do. So line be damned. I think they're going to end up winning, well covering that game because they're underdogs. So I think they're going to win because of the reasons we just set up with the offense,

with Carson Wentz, with how this Philly defense has not been the same. And I think the Vikings coming out of the by week seem to be hammering all the right notes in terms of ball control, eliminating the penalties. They're 15, I think it is, pre-snap penalties on offense are the second or third most in the NFL. It's just uncharacteristic, and so are the turnovers. And I think if they can force Philly to feel stressed on offense, that might lead to a couple game-changing turnovers

that we've seen them produced before. Five of their takeaways have come in one game. They just have not been the same kind of game-changing group defensively that we're used to seeing. So I think a stressed Philly team and annoyed Philly team coming off multiple losses, maybe pressing the gas a little bit too much, might be what they need in a raucous environment at U.S. Bank to take the ball away. And I do think that's why the Vikings win, and I think they win by seven points. The over under for this on Fanduil, 43 and a half. And I feel like if that's an under, the Vikings have a great chance to win.

Shootout, they have a quarterback who won the Super Bowl. And they have superstars in a lot of different areas. I don't think that's the game you want to play with them and they can really control it if they're rolling and cooking the right way. My one concern about this is that when a team that's this good seems like they're down bad,

a lot of times they sort of dig in and fight. We have seen that from Philadelphia in recent years. This is a great franchise. It's a bunch of all-star players. I know that it's a coach that gets railed on constantly, but then you look at his record and you're like, okay, what? Like even their worst most tragic recent season was one where they made the playoffs and then they lost it with half of their roster banged up in 2023 and then they come back and win the Super Bowl and then everyone says that Nick Siriani is a complete moron.

You're like, I'm not sure I'm really fully understanding this, but I think that the acumen is going to be tested here with the offensive coordinator with Siriani because we know Flores is going to throw the kitchen saying both teams really need this game. And I think Philadelphia is a team that can kind of, I don't know, bow up against the Vikings, can handle the atmosphere. They've been in every atmosphere in the world with this group that is their main players. I don't know when the last time I picked the Vikings to lose, though, was I was thinking about, like they won 14 last year, so I probably picked them to win almost every game. This feels like one where I might lean toward the Philadelphia Eagles, but every time you do that, the comments section is just so angry.

but maybe in this case they won't be. I think very, very, very close win for the Eagles, but I don't know. They should. I mean, the Vikings can win this game. But any time you're talking about a backup quarterback starting, a team that's this talented in Philly, it's hard for me to just say, oh, yeah,

Vikings should win this one. I think we could do another 30, 40-minute podcast on why they could lose this game, why the Vikings could. We could set a great argument, a whole, you know, put a jury out for why the Philadelphia Eagles could absolutely win this game. That's not absurd at all because, yeah, the Vikings do not stop the run.

If they cannot tackle like they haven't tackled, if the Eagles, knowing Carson Wentz, get him to do a lot of dumb things, get him to hold the ball, this could absolutely go south for the Vikings like any NFL game could. So, no, that's not absurd at all. Yeah, I think I'm just paying respect to Philadelphia here, that when they lose a game, the entire world is like, you are terrible, you're the worst team ever. They've done that several years in a row, and Philadelphia usually proves that that's not the case. but I know we have high-profile listeners to this show

that can be offended by things sometimes, so I just want to make sure we're all clear on that prediction. Anyway, Andrew Kramer's Star Tribune, thanks so much, everybody. I guess we'll just have to see what happens on the old football field, everybody. We'll catch you later. Football.

Football.