Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - Dane Mizutani breaks down Kirk Cousins' Netflix comments, picks the schedule

Episode Date: July 9, 2025

Matthew Coller is joined by Dane Mizutani of the Pioneer Press to react to Kirk Cousins' comments in the Netflix Quarterback documentary regarding leaving Minnesota. Plus, Dane picks the schedule.

Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of Purple Insider, Matthew Coller here, and this is mostly a Porch podcast. Dane Mizzittani, the Pioneer Press is here. We are near the porch, but inside because there's some construction going on outside that would have made this audio basically unlistable. So here we are to have Dane Mizutani pick the Vikings schedule much awaited. We've done this a couple summers in a row where we sit down and have you pick every single Vikings game so I'm excited about that.

We're gonna get to that in just a moment but first we actually have a little bit of news as Netflix has dropped its latest version of quarterback and Kirk Cousins is in it again and we've got some juicy of quarterback and Kirk Cousins is in it again. And we've got some juicy quoteage from Kirk Cousins that I wanna talk about before we get you picking that schedule. So this comes via Josh Kendall of The Athletic who covers the Falcons.

He says that Kirk Cousins in the Netflix documentary said, it felt like I had been a little bit misled or certainly if I had had the information around free agency about them drafting Michael Penick's, it would have affected my decision. Kirk said I had no reason to leave Minnesota and as much as we loved it there, if both teams were drafting a quarterback high,

then he would have decided to remain with the Minnesota Vikings. So I guess Dane, where we should start is your reaction to Kurt Cousins saying, hey, I loved Minnesota, if I had known that they were going to draft quarterback high in Atlanta, I would have just stayed with the Vikings. Are you buying or selling Mr. Cousins' statements?

I'm buying that if all things were equal, if the information that was at his fingertips was the same, I think he would have stayed here. I think the biggest draw to Atlanta, aside from the dollar signs in his eyes, and as much as we want to talk about him being a polarizing quarterback, he is not a polarizing businessman, he's just great at that. But if everything was equal, and the money I think even was a little less in Minnesota, I think he might've stayed if he knew at the time

that yes, Minnesota was gonna take a quarterback high, yes, Atlanta was gonna take a quarterback high. Because I think if we go back and remember that season prior, obviously with the Achilles injury, but I think he was like generally happy in Minnesota and I always go back to that quote, it's not the dollars, it's what the dollars represent. I think if the dollars represented,

you're gonna have to compete for your job both ways. He probably just stays with what he's familiar with. So I believe like the ethos of that quote. What makes me laugh though is Kirk Cousins is like so PR trained during the year that none of this came up. He pouted for a little bit, but then he turned the page and said, I'm gonna be a good teammate. But then like when these behind the scenes cameras come on,

he's more than willing to be open. So I would have preferred to just hear this quote last year, last season, rather than have it pop up in a Netflix documentary in the middle of the summer. But that's kind of par for the course. He knows what to say, when to say it. And yeah, so I think overall not surprised by the quote, but it did make me turn my head this morning when I heard it.

Apologies if you can hear the construction going on outside. We're doing our best here with that. But I'm only half buying it because I think that what he's saying in general makes sense that, hey, if I had known they were gonna do that, I would have just stayed with the situation where I was happy, which logically fits. But here's the difference. If the Atlanta Falcons still had plans when they signed him in the back of their head, maybe,

to go out and draft a quarterback, and then, well, actually, let me reverse a little bit. I'm not sure that they did. I see where you're going here. I'm not sure that they did. I see where you're going here. I'm not sure that the Atlanta Falcons knew that they were going to draft a quarterback, but they got Kirk into their building, and then they got to take a look at him medically,

and then they pulled off this shocking move. They also got to know Michael Pennex through the draft process before they did this as well. And that makes me wonder if they had a true understanding of where he stood with the recovery for his Achilles injury because there are multiple layers to this. And when Kirk first got on the field in 2024, not good, didn't look like he could really even run at all.

So they must have seen him trying to work out or seen where he was at or stuck his leg in an MRI machine or something before they made that surprising decision to get Michael Penick's. And the other reason that I'm not fully buying this is the difference in dollars was massive from what the Vikings, I would guess,

would have offered Kirk Cousins. Because I think the Vikings, and would guess, would have offered Kirk Cousins, because I think the Vikings, and this has maybe been reported around a few different times, but I don't know if there was anything truly definitive as far as a dollar number, but if the Vikings were bringing Kirk Cousins back, it would have been a one-year type of deal,

or maybe a two-year contract that was actually won, and they could get out of it. What Atlanta was offering is a four-year contract with $100 million guaranteed. So you're talking about a difference between staying in Minnesota and maybe getting 30 or 40 million versus 100 million. Like, hey, I know that after a certain amount of dollars,

how many more do you really need? But that's a huge amount of generational dollars that you can have in your family for the rest of your existence. I don't know if it would have changed anything. I mean, if the dollars were the same, then okay. If they were close, then okay. But at least my expectation is that they wouldn't have been

anywhere close, and I think that even if the Falcons had been straight up with Kirk Cousins and said, yes, we're going to sign you to this $100 million guaranteed contract, but we are planning on drafting a quarterback because we like Michael Pennex, I expect that Kirk would have said, okay, the problem is that they didn't tell him they weren't up front with him if there was a 50

or 60 million dollar gap in guaranteed money. I still think he would have left for the Atlanta Falcons. And the other thing is too that, I mean, would he have wanted to stay in Minnesota? It's different if he gets beat out by a rookie quarterback in Minnesota than it would have been in Atlanta. And maybe he wouldn't be thinking about that.

But if you've been the Vikings quarterback for that long, and then they pick somebody else, and then that person beats you out in, I don't know, training camp or in the middle of the season. I think that's so much worse for you than if you go somewhere else and then you can say, oh well, hey, I never really knew what the situation was gonna be.

Yeah, I guess the context that you've now brought up is important. I think in a vacuum, I do believe Kirk. I think if everything was the same, he would have preferred Minnesota to Atlanta. But the context that you just brought up probably is important because everything was not the same. And I think you make a good point where he thinks or saying he was misled by the Atlanta Falcons. The Atlanta Falcons probably feel a little bit like they were misled by Kirk Cousins because money talks all the time and it talks really loudly.

And I just don't know if Atlanta's, maybe Arthur Blank just really wants one before he goes, but I don't think they're committing that much money if they know they're going to draft a guy at eight. So I think we've theorized this. I don't know if it's ever been outwardly reported, but we have always kind of theorized they got Kirk in the building and were like, uh oh, we need a contingency plan and we need a contingency plan fast. So I think the context is important there. I think that's a good point to bring up. But if you're from a Vikings perspective here, like if you're a Vikings fan reading that quote this morning on Tuesday morning, or if you're a Vikings fan watching this podcast

or listening to this podcast now, you should thank your lucky stars that someone was misled throughout this process. Because while I don't know, we can't with the butterfly effect go back and say everything would have been this, this, this, and this. I just think there would have been different vibes last year if Kirk Cousins was in this building. I think Sam Darnold, the way he carried himself throughout this and just kind of a natural progression turning of the page. Sam goes and gets paid. If Kirk Cousins comes here last year and everything is the same or stays in Minnesota, J.J. McCarthy gets hurt and Kirk Cousins performs well, then are we really talking about we are now in the J.J. McCarthy era or are we talking about oh Kirk Cousins versus J.J. McCarthy in training camp? I just think the clean break was so necessary

and whether it was Kirk Lying or misleading about his medicals or Terry Fontenot just being obsessed with the shiny new toy or Arthur blank just wanting a franchise quarterback Whatever the calculus was that led to where we are now I think Vikings fans and I think Vikings management I think Vikings players all of it I think everyone is probably more happy and better for it, regardless of where the other guy is now. Folks, as you know, over the last five years, I've built up Purple Insider into my own small business, but I realize as a business owner that I still have a lot to learn. That's where IDOU comes in.

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say he plays the entire season last year, I would project that they would win maybe eight games with that version of Kirk cousins, which all right, well, you would have drafted a little bit higher, I guess. But the issue would have been exactly what Atlanta is running into, which is the salary cap. The best part of Sam Darnold is that that gentleman costs $10 million and now is off the books. There may have been a little bit of funky stuff that he's on with some dead cap or something, but it's not very much.

And with Kirk, if they had signed Kirk and then he was unhappy and then you're trying to trade him or whatever it might be, then you're talking about potentially either having to leave a big Kirk Cousins cap hit and this uncomfortable situation like Atlanta has right now, or you would have been talking about having to cut him and then not be able to afford other players. Like the main thing that the Vikings were trying to achieve, and this is why I don't believe they ever really made an offer in earnest to try to get Kirk Cousins back. I think they made one to be Midwestern polite and would say, okay, like maybe KOC wanted him back on a one-year deal. If that was all it was going to be and then you're off the books.

But I think Quasi-Odapho Mensa planned this entire thing out over a number of years to be in a position to buy a Will Fries, a Jonathan Allen, a Javon Hargrave, bring back Byron Murphy, bring back Aaron Jones, trade for Jordan Mason. That was the plan all along, and I don't think that they were going to do anything with a Kirk Cousins contract that would divert them from the roster building that has been done

in places like Philadelphia and San Francisco. Like we know those are the models. And if you're paying Kirk Cousins, even if they had brought him back on a deal worth 35 million and there was 50 million guaranteed or something like that, that's still money that you'd have to deal with over the last two years. And let's not forget that last off season,

because they were able to plan forward for JJ McCarthy, not taking up any cap space, Jonathan Grenard, Andrew Van Ginkle, Blake Cashman, those players, I don't know if you can sign them to the contracts that you signed them to. At least some of this would have been restricted. And I think we'd be going into this training camp, not only talking about this uncomfortable

quarterback situation as they are in Atlanta, but we also would have been talking about, well, let's see if Blake Brandle takes another step forward at guard, or hey, he's moving from left to right guard because they drafted Donovan Jackson, or whatever it might have been. Oh, maybe they can develop Jalen Redmond

into being that defensive tackle they've always dreamed of, but instead, we're not having those same discussions that we had during the Kirk era. And it's a little bit of the irony of the salary cap, right? It's like Kirk Cousins can certainly win with the right roster, but you can never build the right roster as long as you have him on his current contract. So none of this exactly works the way it's being presented, but also our experience in covering Kirk Cousins

was kind of like this. This quote reminded me of a lot of the rehashing of history that wasn't exactly right or what happened on that play, Kirk, and there's a different version between what the coach says and what Kirk Cousins said. And it just, I had an anxiety spike as I read this because there were so many times where there was a Kirk Cousins quote

that we were having to pick apart. Who's right here? Who's wrong here? What did he really mean when he said this, that, or the other thing? And having all of that kind of in the past and now moving forward with the organization, it feels like, yeah, you did dodge a bullet

by moving on from this, but not just the actual performance and the salary cap, but also stuff like this that always seemed to pop up with Kirk Cousins. Yeah, it's funny, right? Because if Kirk Cousins and everything that you just laid out is spot on, like I didn't even mention the salary cap,

that is a hugely important piece of this, is that if you brought him back, not only is it awkward, not only is it not a clean break, but you don't have the team you have. But it's funny how if Kirk was on this team and everything was generally similar and we were heading into training camp here in a couple of weeks,

me and you might not be podcasting right now because we would probably be watching quarterback two thinking like, okay, let's see what he said this time. And now you know what? I'll just tell everybody listening and watching. I'm not gonna watch quarterback two. I'm not, I'm gonna let the Atlanta writers watch it. And I'm gonna let them parse through all of this,

that the riddles that he speaks in, and I'm gonna go enjoy the outside. So it was always something with Kirk whether it was play on the field or kind of the media circus that he attracted sometimes and oftentimes very intention with intentionality. He knew what he was doing most of the time. He knew how to get a reaction. He knew how to paint himself in a light that seemed more favorable to him

rather than kind of always taking accountability for what truly happened. So I believe him at face value. I believe that he believes that if everything was the same, at face value, I believe that he believes that if everything was the same, he would stay in Minnesota. But I think he's probably just kind of wired this way at this point. When you are Kirk Cousins going through the reality of certain situations, I think he tends to conveniently forget some of the big picture or the entire encompassing picture that that is the now because he he wants

to kind of feel like he has been wronged or he has something to prove and it's something that we heard so many times throughout his tenure in Minnesota and I'm sure the Atlanta writers will be hearing it many more times to come this season and however long he's on the books there Well, the first thing he did was admitted to tampering when he got there So that was kind of an interesting first impression, but you're right that there in order to fully believe Oh, yeah, I would have just stayed in Minnesota I loved it there

You have to ignore a lot of context and a lot of other facts about that situation, including the very, and I thought very, call it like alpha press conference that he gave on his way out of Minnesota. You mentioned the, it's not about the dollars, it's what the dollars represent, but there were a bunch of kind of boss lines, which I fully respected.

I actually thought it was kind of cool. Like then he- It's the coolest thing he did on that in Minnesota. He burned it down on the way out. He basically said, pay me or I'm leaving. Right. Like, hey, it's about what the dollars represent. You got to really love me.

And if you don't, I'm going to go somewhere else. But had he not said that, then I would have thought, well, maybe you were considering. But I think that also another part is you have to know when you get to a certain age as a quarterback, no matter what your contract is, they drafted another quarterback when Aaron Rodgers and Brett Favre were in the building, and now he acts like he's so shocked as if Alex Smith was one of the best quarterbacks

in the NFL when they drafted Patrick Mahomes. This isn't the newest thing to ever happen. So there you go, 15 minutes that we never have to do again, because JJ McCarthy is the quarterback. So why don't we why don't you pick some games here? I have made it very known, very public. A lot of people are talking about it that I upped my win total a bit. And you were there for that podcast when I made that call. I intentionally told you don't think about it. Like don't write these down, don't do a lot of planning. We just want your earnest and instant reactions

to each game on the Minnesota Vikings schedule and I wanna know where you stand, how many wins you believe they will have when we get to the end of this. So don't try to shoot for a certain number, just win or loss, what do you think is gonna happen? This is the most fun way to do it because obviously I've looked at the schedule.

But I remember doing the PorchPod last year. I don't know what number, I'm sure someone knows what number I ended up at. But when you're in the heat of this battle and you're just picking and you're like, oh, I gotta win in 11 games? So we'll see what happens. I really haven't gone through and picked this out.

This is all off the cuff, and we'll see how many wins we end up here. I actually think last year you ended up on 10, and we got to the end of the pod, and you went like, oh, I don't even know if they can get 10, and then you looked pretty smart. So let's start it off. At the Chicago Bears, Soldier Field, September 8th.

I can't wait for this one. Caleb Williams, JJ McCarthy, and I saw the Vikings tweeted out that there's only nine more Mondays until they play. And I was like, you know what? That actually doesn't seem that long from now. We're almost playing football here. So is it a win or a loss for the Minnesota Vikings

on September 8th? I'm going win. I think they do start off 1-0. I love that it's in prime time. I love that it's 30 minutes from where J.J. McCarthy grew up. I love that J.J. McCarthy just instantly gets to get thrown into the fire that is Soldier Field. Like I'm sure it won't be a normal game. It never is. So that is Soldier Field. Like I'm sure it won't be a normal game, it never is. So yeah, let's get after it. Week one, J.J. McCarthy at Soldier Field. We'll see what happens.

They won't have to worry about the spikes probably, their seven studs or whatever. Like it's early enough in the season, but I can almost guarantee you that something weird is gonna happen in that game. So welcome to Minnesota, JJ. I'm thinking kick return on the first kickoff for touchdown by somebody

and then a missed field goal by somebody, maybe a double doink to win or lose that game. Okay, one and O. And then Kirk Cousins, possibly Atlanta Falcons. I still think what's gonna happen is some quarterback will get hurt in preseason or training camp and Kirk cousins will end up Wherever that quarterback or just some teams quarterback play so badly maybe Cleveland that they end up making a phone call to Kirk We'll see but as for now planning on Michael Pennings versus JJ McCarthy week to September 21st

What happens home game right? Yep, yep. Two and oh. I think they win that game too. I think it'll be close. I love Michael Penick's and I think there is a world where Michael Penick's would look pretty damn awesome in a Vikings uniform. But watching JajamcCarthy throughout the spring, very excited to watch him in the summer.

It does seem like he has a grasp of this offense right now and I think by September that will be even more amplified. Primetime game at home. I think the Vikings roster is frankly just better largely because the Falcons are paying Kirk Cousins and having to deal with that cap hit. So I like them to win that game too and start two and oh, I'll stop tracking two and oh, two and one, because that defeats the purpose. But yes, they're gonna beat the Falcons in week two. I really would love to know if the Vikings

would have taken Pennex or JJ McCarthy. After seeing Pennex, you could really see that fit with all of his downfield passing. But then again, the Vikings should be very pleased with where things are with J.J. McCarthy. And it might just be the case that everybody from that draft class is awesome. Yeah, it's happened before. The 2020 draft class was like that where all the quarterbacks were somewhere between good and great. And I think that might be what happens for 24.

Cincinnati, September 21st at US Bank Stadium, our first noon game of the year. I forgot to mention the Atlanta game is also on prime time, but US Bank Stadium Joe Burrow, his first trip ever to US Bank Stadium. I think the Vikings will lose that game. I just think if there is one question mark on this team right now, it's the secondary. And who's going to hang with Jamar Chase? It might be a 45-42 game because Cincinnati pretty much just said screw defense.

We're only going gonna play offense. I think the Vikings should be able to score with them. I think I just trust Joe Burrow more than I trust JJ McCarthy, and that's what it comes down to. I think it'll be fun. I think if the Vikings win week one in primetime, week two in primetime,

and JJ McCarthy looks great in both of those games before a national audience then week three JJ McCarthy the up-and-comer against Joe burrow One of the best in the game like I think a lot of people will attach themselves to that latch on to that. I Just think Joe burrow right now with where he's at is better than JJ McCarthy regardless of how good he looks For the next couple of months, so Vikings lose that game I think it'll be close because I don't think since he plays defense and They have changed if there's one thing to their benefit on defense

They change defensive coordinators, which means that tendencies are gonna be a little bit harder to come by But you know fair enough when you're talking about a future hall of fame quarterback, one of the best in the game versus somebody who's unproven, that's a little different than McCarthy versus Williams, McCarthy versus Michael Pennings. All right. Now to the overseas contests, uh, in Dublin, Ireland against the Pittsburgh Steelers and then Cleveland in London, a game that you're going to be

going to, how do they do against Aaron Rogers overseas for the second time in as many years? I think they lose to the Pittsburgh Steelers. I do. And the Vikings never lose abroad. They don't. But I think, I think that the roster that the Steelers have constructed, matching up with the Vikings, there are ways that the Steelers are going to be able to hang with the Vikings.

I guess I'm betting on Aaron Rodgers, which at the beginning of this podcast, I wouldn't have said I would do because the man's 41 and frankly looked horrible last year on not the same turf but in the same neck of the woods. But I think with the travel and staring down the barrel of another week in the UK, I think there's going to be just a lot of distractions that go into that game. I know they're going to do the thing where they try to sync up their circadian rhythms and they try to eat melatonin and drink coffee and like stay on Minnesota time for that game in Dublin. But I think in theory, it sounds very good to go through

the AFC North without playing a true road game because they play the Steelers in Dublin than the Browns in London. But I think when you are staying overseas for two weeks and you're kind of projecting out, I think there is a chance that, I don't want to say they overlook the Steelers, but that there's just so much going on with where things are headed after that. So I think they lose to the Steelers in week four, but on that same record, I think they bounce back and beat the Browns in week five. So I think it's a split overseas.

If it happens the other way and they beat the Steelers and they lose to the Browns, I'm gonna take credit for that. I get credit for the split. I just don't think they sweep the two weeks abroad as well as they play across the pond generally. Okay, three and two, and yeah, I don't know, I just, with Aaron Rodgers,

his performance was so mediocre last year. The thing you have to be concerned about is Pittsburgh's defense, and they just added Jalen Ramsey to that mix, and suddenly Jalen Ramsey versus Justin Jefferson sounds awesome, and the defensive line is great. So the Vikings offensive line will be tested there. It's always hard to run against the Pittsburgh Steelers.

That there's a lot going on there. When I did some research about the overseas games, I looked up every single overseas game that has happened since the NFL launched this initiative, I guess to have games in London all the time. And one of the things that I noticed, and I just, I didn't include the Brazil game, because I don't know what to make of that.

But one thing that I noticed was that the better team often won, which I know sounds like, wow, hot take, right? But in the NFL, it's usually like an any given Sunday, and it was really leaning toward, if you were the better team, you usually won and covered when they went over there. So if the Vikings are the better team than Pittsburgh and Cleveland, I would give them the edge. I really give them the edge over Cleveland

because they'll be over there for the entire week. Pittsburgh's not a joke team, though. I mean, they're in the playoffs. They have winning records all the time. So it's not a crazy idea that they could lose. So three and two going into the bye week. And now this next stretch. It's a gauntlet.

This might be the toughest stretch I've ever seen on any Viking schedule ever. Starting with the Philadelphia Eagles at US Bank Stadium October 19th, coming out of the bye week. They lose, the Vikings lose that game. I, I, Philly until I see differently see differently, and it's July 8th, I'm just going to remember the team that absolutely dismantled the Kansas City Chiefs and the Super Bowl. I know they'll look different by October of 2025, but I can't get that out of my head and I can't see the Vikings beating a team

that they have seemingly modeled themselves after in their roster build. So that's, I mean, it's the start of a gauntlet in their schedule and probably a stretch that will define how good this team is. I just don't think they beat the defending Super Bowl champions. So the only argument that I would make,

and I totally get that, they are still probably the strongest roster in the entire league, is that sometimes when we all pick a game to go a certain way, it just doesn't. And I mean, think about San Francisco last year. How many of us had the Vikings losing to San Francisco in that first game and they blasted San Francisco.

And the other part is there's a reason why teams don't go back to back is because they've played a lot of football games and last year Saquon Barkley maybe had one of the best, I mean what, top three to five running back seasons of all time. Do you know how often that gets repeated in the next year? Never. Never a clock is when it gets repeated. And that even Adrian Peterson dropped from six yards a carry down to about four and a half yards

a carry the year after. I think Philadelphia will be a little bit more wound down and I don't think their D line is the same as it was last year. So I'm not trying to talk you out of it, three and three, but I think that that one's probably closer than we're making it because of how good Philadelphia was last year.

Now this to me might be the entire, of the whole schedule, the hardest game. And that is at the Los Angeles Chargers. People forget the Chargers had the number one defense in the entire NFL last year. They have a excellent quarterback, and I'm gonna toss out a little shout to Los Angeles last year. They have a excellent quarterback, and I'm gonna toss out a little shout to Los Angeles last year.

Their fans showed up for that Vikings-Rams game on Thursday night. It's a little harder to get the fans out there for a Thursday night game in the middle of October where people have lives, and I think the Chargers have maybe reinvigorated their fan base. All that said, not trying to talk you into a result here,

I just think it's a really, really tough game. So the Vikings at three and three against the Chargers, what happens? Short week, right? That's on Thursday night in Los Angeles. I think they win, but I think it's, I think your inclination or like your gut reaction, certainly as a Vikings fan,

if you're looking at the schedule is yeah the Vikings are better than the Chargers that's probably true like roster you know up top to bottom but year two of Jim Harbaugh things are starting to trend forward year two right he's only been here for two years yeah it feels like he's been here forever. I think after the short week is tough, but I think after losing to Philadelphia, getting away, right away turning the page, I think where I lean Vikings is just their roster from top to bottom. I think their playmakers are better.

I think their quarterback by that point in the season, if he is trending in the direction that I think he will trend this season, not on par with Justin Herbert, but any given day can give you a puncher's chance. And so I think why I'm picking a win there is I'm betting on JJ McCarthy beating his former coach and with the help of the Vikings roster just being better than the Chargers. But I agree, tough week to go from Super Bowl champions to short week flying backwards in time zones. It's not gonna be an easy one. I just don't think this, I think the skid kind of stops there

or I guess I had them beating Cleveland. When you pick the schedule, you don't know where you're at. But I don't think this snowball will continue after losing to the Super Bowl Champions at home. All right, four and three. And then you talk about tough. Now they do get a couple extra days here, but they go from playing the Los Angeles Chargers

to Ford Field, and this will be quite a travel situation for us even, like going out to LA, and it sort of reminds me of the playoffs last year. Of week 18, we're in Detroit, then we're traveling to Glendale, it's like whoa, this is a lot. But there is a couple extra days. They play on October 23rd and then not again until November 2nd. So whatever happens with the Chargers, we're going to have a lot of time to talk about that. But going to Detroit, this is again, another one of this sort of games of the year, I think in the entire NFL

to have these two teams. It's become an awesome rivalry between the Vikings and the Lions and KOC has kind of been owned by Dan Campbell during the, but every game has a lot of drama around it. So do you think that the Vikings avenge last year's week 18 at Ford Field? No, I don't.

I can't pick against the Lions at home. And there was a time in my life where that would have sounded preposterous. But sitting in the press box of Ford Field last year, super impressed. I don't know if there's a better home field advantage in the league right now. And the Vikings have a pretty good one. But I think that has turned into somewhat of a house of horrors for the Vikings. And I think that's going to be, aside from just getting completely out of your element and going across the pond, it's going to be the biggest challenge of J.J. McCarthy's

career to date. Right down the road from where he went to college, right down the road from where he became somewhat of a hometown hero in Michigan, they'll all be against him in that moment. And mind you, the Detroit Lions are still, if not the one of the best teams in football. The only thing, and maybe this is cheating and skipping ahead, I'm probably going to pick the Vikings to win at home. I'm curious how the Lions look without Frank Ragnau.

That's a tremendous loss for that offensive line. Best center and to me, toughness, everything that encompasses who you want in the middle of that offensive line, it was Frank Ragnau and now he's just gone. And I think there was probably some sort of tea leaves or reading of tea leaves that he was going to be, I don't think it was a complete shock that he retired

and the Lions were like, ah, we don't have a contingency plan. But I think it's really hard to replace a guy like that. So if you're looking for, there's a little crack in the foundation, maybe the Vikings could steal one in Detroit. I think it's there But that roster is just too talented and that home field advantage is no joke

I think they are two of the top five rosters in the entire NFL and then actually if you look at the all these opponents Philly the Chargers Detroit and then our next one, which is the Baltimore Ravens I mean this might be if you made this is your top five teams, including the Vikings for just pure rosters in the NFL, you might be right. So four and four, they come back home, Lamar Jackson, his first time ever at US Bank Stadium. I mean, thank you, Roger, just from us. This is great.

I mean, we get, at US Bank Stadium, we get to sit there and watch Joe Burrow against Brian Flores, Lamar Jackson against Brian Flores, the Philadelphia Eagles against the Vikings defense. I mean, there's a lot of juice in these home games. If you're a season ticket holder, like congratulations for this year. But suddenly in your version of the schedule, this is a pretty big game at four and four. So are they able to defeat the great MVP, two timetime MVP and really could have been three-time MVP, Lamar Jackson?

See, this analysis is not gonna be very good for this game because I'm going to harken back to what you just said like five, 10 minutes ago. I think everyone's gonna be picking against the Vikings in this game, neglecting the fact that they're at home and that Brian Flores is a mastermind who you don't have to beat Lamar Jackson in the seven game series, you just have to confuse him for one Sunday.

I think they do that. I think this is one of those games on the schedule that you look at and say they have no chance, not against that team, not against Lamar Jackson, not against Derek Henry, not against that defense that's always flying around and ball hawking pretty much ever since I was a child. It feels like that Ravens defense has been the same and if not the same, then it's rhymed with the other defenses from the past. Everyone's going to be picking against them, so I'm going to pick the Vikings for that

game. So I think they went. I can buy it. I think I mean, look, with the team that they have, there's going to be a handful of these games where they're not favored, but there's still a coin flip to win the game, especially if it's at home. And the reason you build the roster as strong as you do is so you don't face Baltimore and go, oh, man, they have no chance because there were a lot of games in the past and some they even won, but we would go into it

and be like, their roster's just not really good enough to win this game. I don't feel that way about, like this is a tough one. Philly's a tough one, Detroit's a tough one, but I don't feel like when you match up position for position, this is where it does come down to McCarthy and, I don't know, Will Reichert, I guess, is you can go toe to toe with any of these teams

if you're just going player for player, and then it depends on how your quarterback performs. Chicago, Caleb Williams did not enjoy his first trip ever to US Bank Stadium at all. Will he enjoy his second trip ever to US Bank Stadium? No, I don't think so. And I think Ben Johnson could be the right coach for that job. But similarly to how I can't get the Eagles beating the Chiefs out

of my head, and that's why I picked them to beat the Vikings, I cannot get Caleb Williams disastrous stretches of play as a rookie out of my head and until he proves me otherwise like I I just can't trust him I can't trust him to win that primetime game at home in week one and I can't trust him to win whatever week we're at now on the road against a very good defense that I talked about Brian Flores hopefully being able to confuse Lamar Jackson and throw him off his game. I don't think he's gonna have to try that

hard with Caleb Williams. That guy doesn't even want to film he says. So yeah look I do expect Caleb Williams to take a step forward this year. I think Ben Johnson's gonna put him in positions to succeed. I just think a road matchup against the Vikings in that environment is enough to make even the best quarterbacks kind of rattle and not feel comfortable. And I think it's probably amplified for a guy like that in year two who has struggled in that building, not 365 days earlier. The biggest curiosity I have is just, Ben Johnson has owned Brian Flores' defense, and he's really the only guy who can say that

in the NFL over these last few years. Does that carry over, or is that more of a execution? Is it more of a roster? Is it more of an O-line? Because I like what Chicago did with their O-line. I don't love it in the way that I was amazed with the Detroit offensive line at their best. And I think that that helps you solve a lot of problems.

Whereas I think Chicago's is better. Joe Tooney's really good. Jonah Jackson, I have questions. Drew Dalman, I have questions. Their tackles are not perfect. So I think that we're gonna see where that intellectual battle really stands when he doesn't have the totally stacked roster.

And then can Caleb Williams execute it, not fully sold on the idea that he can just yet. So did you take a win there? Oh yeah, the Vikings win. Okay, so the Vikings now six and four. And this one's gonna be special too. JJ McCarthy to Lambeau Field for the very first time

in his career. And I remember last year we talked to some guys that had never been there before and just like how cool that was. And I know Vikings fans don't like to hear about how the Packers Stadium is cool. It is folks, it just is. And if you've been there,

you know exactly what I'm talking about. You walk through the field, you kind of get the aura of the whole thing. So for McCarthy to go there and let's see, what's the date? Oh, November 23rd. Get in your slippery shoes. OK, guys, no wearing those tiny little studs. Let's make sure we got the long ones.

But no, this is a game that, you know, I think Green Bay will still be a competitive team fighting for a playoff spot is another one that could be absolutely huge. And I think this one also has that extra juice of JJ McCarthy and Lambeau for the first time. Yeah, I like the Vikings to win that game too. And now I think I've have them on a three game winning streak. I think I picked them Baltimore, Chicago and now Green Bay. I think they catch a little wave out of that big stretch or that gauntlet of games and while you have to go from that gauntlet to

Two games in division. I think the Vikings roster is better than both of those teams. So it'll come down to can Jajan McCarthy rise to the moment in the Marquis stadium that is Lambeau Field, yes, I think he will. And I think this is something that he will probably treat as a big game, not just because it's the Packers, not just because at this point it could be a big game on the schedule, because I think he'll treat it as a big game because he understands the history of this rivalry and what it means to kind of walk into Lambeau Field and get a win.

He's done that time and time again throughout his career, whether it was with Nazareth Academy when he was in high school, down into IMG, Michigan, he always seems to rise to the occasion in big games. And I think this might be in terms of just narrative and rivalry, one of the biggest of his career once we reached that point in the season. So they win the game. Seven and four going down the stretch, a good start to JJ McCarthy's career overall. And now they go out to Seattle for the Sam Darnold revenge game. Although I just, I just have a thing about calling things revenge games.

Like Sam Darnold's not getting revenge against the Vikings and the Vikings aren't getting revenge against Sam Darnold. They love each other. Sam Darnold doesn't have $100 million without the Vikings. And we certainly learned a lot about KOC and how he handles quarterbacks. And it was a fun season and everybody's gonna hug. So I don't know.

Like the Sam Darnold hug game is what I'm going to call this. We had a really interesting time in Seattle last time. You and I couldn't find the media entrance. We got absolutely soaked. You didn't bring backup socks and ruined a pair of shoes. And look where we are, November 30th in Seattle. I'm sure the weather will be absolutely phenomenal.

But I was impressed though with the crowd. That was one where the Vikings did not take over that venue and Vikings fans usually do have at least, you know, 25% of an opposing arena. They did not have that at Seattle's whatever it's called now stadium. Hopefully I can look at a map about how to get into the stadium first. This time we'll work on that. But do they get another dramatic victory in Seattle like they did last year?

Quick sidebar and then I promise I will pick the game. But yes, I did not pack an extra pair of socks and I wore those shoes soaking wet throughout the entire game. And then I wore them to the airport and I wore them on the plane and and I wore them on the plane, and then I wore them back home, and as soon as I got home,

my girlfriend said, what is that smell? And I said, those are my shoes, and she said, throw them in the trash. So, RIP those shoes, but it was a hell of a game. Look, I think the Vikings win that game too, but what Sam Darnold did in Seattle last season cannot be overstated. It was a playoff game for the Vikings in that moment

and for the Seahawks in that moment. The crowd brought it. The weather was crappy, hence my shoes. And Sam Darnold stepped up and got it done. It's gonna be a challenge for JJ McCarthy. He's not just gonna walk into up and got it done. It's going to be a challenge for J.J. McCarthy. He's not just going to walk into Seattle and get a win. He's going to have to show his moxie, show what he has. So I think what I would be picking in this game

and why I would pick the Vikings to end is not so much because of J.J. McCarthy, but because of Brian Flores knowing Sam Darnold and Kevin O'Connell knowing Sam Darnold. I think the knowledge you build and gain about a quarterback when he is yours, I think it's the same reason if Kirk Cousins was still the quarterback of the Falcons week two, I would pick against them. I just think they're going to know what to do against Sam Darnold and how to get him

off of his game and I'm not I don't want to take away from Sam Darnold skill set and say like it's so easy to knock him off his line Like he's he gets to punch back too, and I expect him to do that I expect him to be good this year in Seattle with you know where he's at in his career and the ascension that he showed from This time last year to this time this year in Seattle with, you know, where he's at in his career and the ascension that he showed from this time last year to this time this year. But I, I, I'm just going to bet on the Vikings know this guy and for one game, I think they're going to get the best of him. You know,

now I'm thinking what we should have done in part for this podcast was talk about the tribulations of each stadium that we've had throughout our lives. I was just looking at the schedule. So not to ignore what you said about Sam Darnall. I do think that confusing blitzes were problematic for him last year and the confusing blitz king is the guy who's running the Vikings defense. To me, that's the edge.

And they also have a new offensive coordinator in Clint Kubiak that there's some familiarity with, but we also just don't know how different that's going to be. I think that a new offensive coordinator in Clint Kubiak that there's some familiarity with but we also just don't know how different That's going to be I think that Seattle's offensive coordinator last year was not very good But I got stuck in the Los Angeles stadium because you actually exit on one of the higher levels It makes no sense So because it's built down into the ground so I went ship I went all the way to the bottom So I'm like hundreds of feet below the earth.

Looking up. And I'm like, how do you get out of here? And I'm asking a janitor and the guy's like, are you serious? He's like, nowhere close. Okay. How about Detroit? Couldn't find my way in last year

because I was told by a security guard I was in the wrong spot when I was in the right spot. So Kaylin Kailer from ESPN and I, we walked all the way around all of Ford Field in the middle of winter, trying to find our way through that one. What was, oh, it's Seattle, we just had that problem. Green Bay, they suddenly changed the parking lot on us one time.

I could not find it because it wasn't labeled, and I walked in during the National Anthem. So, there's every one of these stadiums. All right, you have the Vikings at eight and four and they are now rolling. They are the talk of the National Football League at this point and they will return home to face my predicted MVP of the National Football League, Jaden Daniels on December 7th. So are they nine and four? Do they keep the streak going?

No, I think they lose that game. And I think, look, let's just say it. Jaden Daniels, is that what you said? You have him as the MVP this year? I think he's going to take, he, you can't be much better than he was as a rookie. And I think he's going to take another step forward this year. That guy is everything you want in a franchise quarterback.

On the field and off the field, he has swag about him. He has gone into Washington and completely changed the franchise. And I think they are gonna be one of the best teams in the NFL this year. And I think coming off that stretch that the Vikings will then be coming off of, you've just, the chunk of that schedule early on with the gauntlet of games and

then back to back against division opponents and then going out to Seattle and then coming home and playing a team like that with a quarterback like that. It's a lot to ask. I I'm very excited that we get to see Jayden Daniels in person in the same season that we get to see Lamar Jackson in person in the same season that we get to see Joe Burrow in person. But I don't think the Vikings beat Jayden Daniels like they beat Lamar Jackson earlier in the season. Fun game, tough game. Funny, right? Like there is a time not too long ago, where you would look at Washington and say, well, they

won that game, let's move on. There's nothing to talk about shows you how important finding the right quarterback is to completely change in the narrative for a franchise. Vikings aren't going to win that game. My only question is, has the commanders franchise changed enough around Jaden Daniels for them to be a great team. They got, they were good enough last year and they get one amazing performance from him in their defense in Detroit. And then all of a sudden you are at the NFC championship.

It's kind of how play-offs can be funny like that. They get a fumble from Baker Mayfield and then they get a meltdown from Detroit, but Detroit also loses its top corner on the first play of the game or whatever it was, and suddenly you're finding yourself as like the darlings of the NFC, and I think the commanders will be very good, but I kind of expected more. I mean, they brought in Debo Samuel.

I'm skeptical about Debo and where he's at with his career right now, and did they, okay, Laramie Tunsell should have improved the offensive line, but on defense, how much did they really make gains? That would be my biggest question there. Plus young quarterback, first time at US Bank Stadium. We have seen some disappointing performances

by really good opposing quarterbacks. CJ Shroud last year. Exactly, when they come to US Bank Stadium. All right, so four games left in the season. We are going to big D on December 14th, the Vikings and Dallas Cowboys shockingly on national TV. I can't believe that a Cowboys game would be on national television, but somehow they found a way to fit it in this

one. I think is probably the most overlooked game on the schedule as could actually be tough. They were bad last year, but just two years ago with a lot of that foundation, Dallas was a really good team. So you've got the Vikings eight and six going to Dallas. I think they win in Dallas, but I agree with you.

I don't think it's gonna be this walkover game. I don't think you can win a Superbowl with Dak Prescott, but you can win a lot of regular season games with Dak Prescott. I think the reports came out today, he's expecting to be fully healthy by training camp or certainly by the start of the regular season. If he stays healthy, if he is the quarterback there, and that's where you are having to go into Jerry World with the Vikings late in the season, I don there and that's where you are having to go into Jerry World with the Vikings late in the season. I don't think that's just an easy

win but this is where I go back to the roster and I don't think I've talked about the roster in a few games here. It's been more narrative driven while it's the game is picking or while I'm picking the game in my head. I think the Vikings are just better than the Cowboys top to bottom. And I think late in the season when execution is very important, I think that is going to be of the utmost importance. I'll take them to win that game on the road. Game records. That's what the Cowboys have. That's what would concern me.

They have Micah Parsons. They have I assume Trevon Diggs is going to come back to 100%. they have C.D. Lamb it's always possible that they can pull off a win but that would advance the Vikings then to 9 and 6 with three games left to go. Do we have to talk a lot about the Giants game because there's no one on earth who picked the Viking schedule who picked them to lose against the New York Giants at New York That that team's got some defensive talent But aside from that I don't even think Brian Dabels the coach by the time the Vikings arrive in in New York Yeah, we just skip past that. I'm just excited to go to New York or on Christmas time. That'll be fun

Nothing like Christmas time in New York. The Vikings will win that game and it won't be close. Okay, so will win that game and it won't be close. Okay, so 10 and six, or what, no, 10 and five. 10 and six, I think. Well, there's two games left to go, so it's gotta be, I knew this would happen. Shoot. I knew this would happen. Let me run through it real quick.

Let me run it through quick. You had wins against Chicago, Atlanta, so they start out three and two, and then you have them losing to Philly. Three and three. Three and three, no, yeah, three and two, and then you have them losing to Philly. Three and three. Three and three. No, yeah, three and three then.

The Chargers, this is, sorry folks, we lost track. It always happens. Every single time, if I don't write it down. If you're at this point in the podcast, you're listening. So you can hear us go through. Yeah, this is a recap of the, obviously, that's the reason we did this was to recap. So they start out three and two,

they lose to Philly three and three, they beat the Chargers to four and three, beat Detroit, right? They lose to Detroit for four and four. Four and four, and then they go on a four game win streak to go to eight and four, lose to go to eight and five, then nine and five, 10 and, yeah, it's 10 and five. Okay, 10 and five.

10, okay. Yeah. Okay, I had it right, mostly. All right. They already won 10 games, wow. Look at that, look where we're at in the schedule. Two games to go, home against Detroit, and then home against the Green Bay Packers

to finish off the schedule. See, I kind of put myself in a box because earlier in the podcast, if people were listening earlier and they've gotten to the end, I said I was going to pick Detroit to lose this game. So Viking split, they do. I don't think Kevin O'Connell has had so little success against the Detroit Lions in his career over the past three or four years.

I think it turns at some point. I think they win a home game. So yeah, I guess they're at win number 11. My biggest piece of analysis for that is I think the US Bank stadium crowd is going to bring it. I think by that point in the season, if they have already won 10 games, they will be firing on all cylinders. And in this reality, the Vikings are one of the better teams in the NFL.

I think they put it together on the field at home against the Lions and moved to 11 and five. 11 and five and then the Green Bay Packers, maybe Kirk, backup quarterback for the Vikings will take off his shirt again and blow the Gjallarhorn. Just had to work that into a Jaren. Close the loop. There's never been a bigger gap between the pregame hype

and what actually happened than the Jaren Hall game of everyone's so jacked up, Kirk's ripping off his shirt, US Bank Stadium just explodes and then yeah, nothing. So do they win 12 games? Yeah, they do. So they beat Green Bay? Yeah, they do. So they beat Green Bay at home, they close the season out on a high note, they win 12 games, and it is crazy to me that I have them at 12 games winning, or 12 games won, and

that's still two less than what Sam Darnold did last year. What happened last season was truly incredible. I don't think we really realized what was happening at the time. And I think if the Vikings win 12 games, like they're going to do, you heard it here first in the Olmos Porchpod, obviously people will be excited about that team and that version. But I think it will also give some credence and some appreciation to how special last season was too. I don't think it gets talked about enough I think me and you talk about what Sam Darnold did But if the Vikings win 12 games people will be ecstatic if they win 12 games with JJ McCarthy as their quarterback

they will be penciled in to win a Super Bowl at some time in his career and They will still fall two games short of what they did last season. So last season was special. I do think this season is going to be special to evidence by they're going to win 12 games. I just picked them to win 12 games. I think in the spring or the, at the end of OTAs, I had them at 57% to make the playoffs. If they win 12 games, they're going to make the playoffs. So that's what a week away from the,

a month away from the facility can do for you. Well, this will be a question that I keep going back to with you as we go through training camp and watch JJ McCarthy on a daily basis. Can't wait to do those podcasts, those very sweaty, tired podcasts after practice inside TCO Performance Center. Very excited for those to see if you are gonna stay

on this 12-win train or if you start to lose confidence in that as things go. The only interesting part to me about the way you pick this is that the start of the season, the way you have it, would have a lot of people going like, are the Vikings mid? Is like J.J. McCarthy mid? It's actually what happened with Bo Nicks last year

where they started out kind of average and then all of a sudden the Broncos reeled off a bunch of wins and they end up with a 10 win season in the playoffs. Now they're high on their young quarterback but the middle of the season, if they are able to rip off wins against the Chargers, Detroit, Baltimore, Chicago,

I mean we're talking about like bang, bang, bang, bang. They would be one of the biggest, most discussed teams in the entire NFL if they got hot during that run, because there's just so many good teams that they're going to face. I think the schedule is a little hard for 12 wins, but I'm the one that was sitting here at 11. So I think that what that tells you is that there is at least from us, the benefit of the doubt for JJ McCarthy and the supporting cast and what Kevin O'Connell can do.

And we'll see if we give less benefit of the doubt or more as we go along. So I think what we'll probably have in our picks is like, how confident are we in our in the picks that we made before training camp? Do we get three weeks in and say, like, oh, 11 wins, I feel great about that. Or are we going like, maybe we should delete that podcast? That's what we're going to find out. So, Dane Mizutani, Pioneer Press, thank you so much for stopping by the house here in the, as you said, almost Porch podcast. I think this worked out much better than having all the construction sounds outside, but we still got the natural light. So this was, this was good. I enjoyed it. Thanks for coming over.

Football. Football. I enjoyed it. Thanks for coming over. Football. Football. Can't wait.