Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - FOX Sports NFL Reporter Carmen Vitali thinks Vikings' success is about coaching

Episode Date: September 24, 2024

FOX Sports NFL Reporter Carmen Vitali joins Matthew Coller to discuss the Vikings' hot start and then Matthew talks with fans about the hot start Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of Purple Insider. Matthew Collar here and returning to the show from Fox Sports, Fox Sports Radio as well, NFL reporter Carmen Vitale. Carmen, I haven't seen you in Minnesota yet. I know. Were you a doubter? Is it possible that you were doubting and that's why you haven't been covering any Vikings games yet? No, I beg you, please go look at my track record for everything I've said about the Minnesota Vikings this offseason. And it was, they're not going to be a bad team. They have a ton of talent on offense. Sam Darnold only had to be a game manager to come in and make this offense go,

especially under the tutelage of Kevin O'Connell. And this defense in the third year under Brian Flores, I was so excited about it. I was fully expecting it to be at least a top five unit. This could very well be a top three, top two, maybe top unit in the league. And it's so much fun to watch, to see. I mean, Brian Flores has every single team that runs any type of Shanahan-McVay system,

especially in a blender this year. You saw that with CJ Stroud this past week. I mean, you've seen it. Brock Purdy comes over to him, who is under the architect of that system, and just goes, this is crazy, man. And that's all you need to see. It's amazing. I'm so happy.

I'm so glad it's all working out. I'm so happy for Sam Darnold. Coaching matters. Coaching matters. Coaching matters. It's a great point. And somebody asked me last night on the live stream if the Vikings who then I'm with Mike Tomlin succeeding in Pittsburgh before he came here to be your defensive coordinator. Normally, that guy is your head coach. And then the job that Kevin O'Connell has done creating the atmosphere for Sam Darnold buying into Sam Darnold while still during training camp, developing J.J. McCarthy, which was a very difficult task.

And yet Darnold has looked so prepared. But also the team the Vikings are playing this week in Matt LaFleur, also one of the best coach teams in the entire NFL. Do you think that these are two of the best coaching jobs that we have seen so far in the league this year? Yeah, I've been talking about that too. I think that coach of the year is a race between two NFC North coaches at this point, which is crazy to think. I mean, I think we can all put to bed the narratives or the suspicions that it was just Aaron Rodgers in the beginning of offense and when to have the trust in his guys. But then to see what he's doing with Malik Willis, who not only is the backup quarterback, but did not spend training camp with the Green Bay Packers. This is a guy that got there a week before the season started. And somehow Matt LaFleur has been able to build game plans that adjust to his skill set, which is significantly different than what Jordan

Love can do. Jordan Love is not a running quarterback. He can scramble. He's mobile. He's not a running quarterback in the way that Malik Willis can be. And it's just been incredibly impressive to see that. And also, I think there's a similar story in Green Bay as there is in Minnesota in that Jeff Halfley, the new defensive coordinator up there, switched the scheme, switched so many different things around. They went out, they get a high price safety to kind of make this whole thing go. And it worked. I mean, Xavier McKinney has three interceptions in three games for the Green Bay Packers. They are just lighting the league on fire. Jair Alexander had an interception this last game. I, they have such good compliments to each other on both sides of the ball in the same way that Minnesota does. But I still agree with you in that Ryan Flores is a head coach in this league, has been a head coach in this league. Maybe Jeff Halfley will be too. But as of right now, let's say that Jordan love plays because I think,

you know, Malik Willis has had the pleasure of playing two teams that are not on the same level defensively as the Minnesota Vikings. But it sounds to me like Jordan love is ramping up for this game and it would make sense if they timed it out for him to play against the toughest defense, the division opponent. If he is playing, who do you think is the better football squad yeah that's a really hard it's a I don't know to be quite honest with you because I do think that on paper Jordan Love and the Green Bay Packers offense is a little bit more cohesive right now I still am going to say that Jordan Love is a better quarterback than Sam Darnold and I don't think that that's that shouldn't be a hot take because Jordan Love is now one of the like

tied for the highest paid in the league. He did some incredible things last year, led the youngest team in the league, you know, into the playoffs and beating Dallas in the fashion that they did in the first round. Not to mention he got, you know, before he got hurt, you saw really good things out of him too against Philadelphia, despite the playing service in Brazil.

I think the Packers have a very cohesive, like just an understanding of what they're trying to do. And Sam Donald's still figuring things out well, don't get me wrong. And Kevin O'Connell is putting him in some wonderful positions. I do, however, wonder about what Brian Flores is going to be able to do against Jordan Love, especially if this is his first game back and he has any amount of rust. I mean, you know that he's going to take advantage of that. This game is going to be incredibly good. Incredibly good.

I'm so excited. I was just talking to our NFL on Fox podcast host last night when we were doing the podcast together. We were both talking about how excited we were for this upcoming game i yeah i think that this is probably the most exciting one in quite a long time i mean maybe 2022 when the vikings forgot to wear the correct cleats and slid all over the field and because the game was so disappointing we forget how much it was hyped up leading into it because that was the Packers still searching for the playoffs, the Vikings trying to win the NFC. And of course, it was a major letdown game for the Vikings. But this one, the different vibe here in Minnesota, Carmen, is that it's all new to everybody.

Like if you've seen the meme of the little kazoo kid in the forest where he's like we we like that that might be an old meme at this point but uh i must be getting really old when i when now memes have become an old thing but uh that's how it feels watching this team because they have so many new players that they went and got this off season and then a new quarterback and the fan base has started to sort of galvanize into believing into sam darnarnold uh is it too soon though like when when is it not too soon to talk about what Sam Darnold is doing oh I think people need to enjoy this right away because this is not something we've ever seen from Sam Darnold we've not seen him be able to put it together string games together where he's taking care of the football. I mean, he's throwing for four touchdown passes, four different receivers in this last game against

a very good defense, mind you. I mean, he is incredibly well coached. He seems to really have grasped a lot more than we saw, especially, I mean, in New York where he just looked like a deer in the headlights, had no idea what was happening, what was going on. And I mean, I think the recency bias will have us forget about how highly touted Sam Darnold really was coming out of college. There was so many expectations on this guy. And to come out the other side after, you know, basically hitting rock bottom. I mean, like, I believed I'm one of the Sam Darnold truthers, if you've seen that around the internet, me, Mina Kimes, Benjamin Solak, like any of those, like we have all said that he has the talent,

but it just matters so much where you start and, and what your start in the league is. So the fact that he is kind of coming around the other side and you are seeing a system that really kind of plays to his strengths. I get excited. Have fun with it. I don't know how far this is going to take them. I thought it was really interesting, too, that when J.J. McCarthy went down,

there was so much more doom and gloom. And I'm like, this is not deviating from what the plan always was. The plan was always to start Sam Darnold. It was always to start Sam Darnold for a very significant chunk of the season, if not the whole one, because you want to give your rookie as much time if you have that luxury to ease them into the league. Because again, that start matters so much. So I am very excited for Sam. Vikings fans be excited for Sam, even if it doesn't go well against Green Bay. There's going to be ups and downs. Just ride it out. Right. I do think that there will be a bit of a Darnold coaster as there's going to be ups and downs just just ride it out right i do think that there will be a

bit of a darn old coaster as there's been in previous years with him but you can mitigate the effects of that with the supporting cast that he has the darn old truther thing uh so i i did a investigation basically went to darnold's past and looked at all the circumstances he had the fact that he had never had a good offensive line. His top receiver outside of DJ Moore was, I believe, Robbie Chosen and maybe Jamison Crowder after that. And the coaches were probably bottom five coaches of the last 10 years. I mean, how about getting drafted by Todd Bowles? Then they just fire him after one year. And like, is this good for the guy?

But the thing about Darnold is we, we all could see the same thing, but it almost never happens that we talk ourselves into this with lots of quarterbacks. I don't know why again, old that Rick Meyer comes to mind, but back in the day people kept, and I think the bears maybe did this. They just kept signing Rick Meyer and thinking like, like yeah it was a first round pick he should be good most of these guys do get second chances most of them never work out why is this one different i think the answer has to be kevin o'connell and the fact that the coaching staff that minnesota has i mean we've seen this time and time again too when you talk about kevin o'connell Kirk Cousins went down.

The Vikings still won games last season after that happened. And the fact that he was literally telling the playbook to Josh Dobbs, who had just gotten there three days earlier and is being thrust into starting a game. I mean, not starting. Jalen, he started the game. But the concussion knocks him out early. Josh Dobbs has to go in. Doesn't even know the name of his receivers. And Kevin O'Connell is like playing. I kept saying that he's playing real live action Madden throughout that game because he was.

He was like calling the plays, explaining the checks, explaining what you need to look for, all up until the 15 seconds before that headset cuts out. And that's an incredible thing to do while you're also, oh, by the way, coaching an entire game. You're having to deal with situational things and calling the game and you're dealing with the timeouts and like just game managing on top of doing all of this. It's an incredible testament, I think to Kevin O'Connell. And I've been very, very, I've showered him with praise

whenever I get the chance to since that time because it's i cannot overstate how impressive it is and i can i would venture to say that sam darnold would tell you the same thing oh and this is what owners are always looking for when they're hiring coaches now and we keep sort of saying well why is it always these young offensive minds? But I think that Kevin O'Connell would be one of the guys you would point to and say his approach, not being old school. I think an old school approach wouldn't have been appropriate for Sam Darnold and to work closely with him on a weekly basis on what works for him. And he's talked about the communication of what he's comfortable with and also being

able to identify things that he's comfortable with. It's not you run my offense. It's we're going to create an offense, which I actually was not sure about because last year I thought as time went on, he tried to push Josh Dobbs a little bit too much into their offense. And that's where Dobbs wasn't able to fully handle it. But in this case, it seems sort of curated to what Sam Darnold has been able to do handle it but in this case it seems sort of curated to what sam darnold has been able to do but i think that it can't be overstated and we have another revenge game narrative aaron jones getting revenge this week against the packers it cannot be overstated how important he is he's averaging eight yards of reception out of the backfield he had 94 yards in week one he had over 100 yards this last week and maybe you could speak to this.

I just think his character is unbelievable. We've seen the things that the Packers have already said about him this week. This is one of our greatest players ever. There is no disrespect for this man. I think that having that person in the huddle and that presence of someone who can always get you five yards has been so calming for Sam Darnold. It has to be. I mean, that's one of the biggest ways that you can help a young quarterback or a quarterback that's struggling is give him an offensive backfield to lean on. Obviously give him an offensive line, put some weapons around him, have a defense that's going

to get off the field and give you another chance. And that's all the things that the Vikings have done for Sam Darnold. But more than that, to speak to Aaron Jones, he is just a light in any locker room that he's in. He is just the sweetest, most genuine person. I can't tell you how much we loved talking to him, or I've loved talking to him in the locker room. And I don't think I've gotten enough chances to do it, quite frankly. But he is a guy that galvanizes the team, too.

I mean, it was one of the biggest surprises. And quite frankly, I was shocked that Green Bay could not get a deal done with him and then ends up bringing in Josh Jacobs. I know Josh Jacobs is a little bit younger. He has been more productive than Aaron Jones. But I don't know that. And I can't speak to Josh Jacobs' leadership style right now. I don't know that. And I can't speak to Josh Jacobs leadership style right now. I don't know what it is, but Aaron Jones, just the intangible things that he meant to that locker room.

And now in turn is going to mean to this Vikings locker room as the season goes on. He is someone that everybody wants to play for and everybody wants to play with. So I have to imagine that they are going to be fired. This offense in particular is going to be fired up So I have to imagine that they are going to be fired. This offense in particular is going to be fired up for Aaron Jones to go against Green Bay because he was not shy about saying that he was hurt too. He was shocked. He was surprised. He couldn't believe that the team that he had invested so much in that he saw himself finishing his career with

wouldn't get this deal done with him. And I think that the deal that they gave to Josh Jacobs was more than what they would have even given to Aaron Jones. And I think that he took that personally too, and I don't blame him for doing so. And again, just I have nothing but incredibly nice things to say about Aaron Jones and just the way that he is as a teammate, as he is as a player to the media. I'm sure you guys have gotten to see just how wonderful he is and how honest and genuine he is as a teammate, as he is as a player to the media. I'm sure you guys have gotten to see

just how wonderful he is and how honest and genuine he is when he speaks to you. You can't help but root for a guy like that. And I have to imagine that, like I said, the Vikings are going to be fired up to unleash Aaron Jones against his former team. And that's something that I think that the Vikings have put so much value in in this locker room is the personalities that they're acquiring. Guys like Jonathan Grenard, Andrew Van Ginkle, Blake Cashman, Stefan Gilmore. They have brought in true professionals that if you're around this league for this long and produced this way, there's something there beyond just fast

or beyond just fast or beyond just like can catch a football right and i think they really recognize that and we all kind of thought maybe they were a year ahead in terms of their free agent spending and yet it's turned out to be their free agent spending in the offseason was absolutely brilliant including uh sam darnold do you do you think this keeps going, though? I mean, the defense dominating like this, the offense, I mean, it's not just about Darnold. It's also they've allowed 30 points so far, which is the best in the NFL. I mean, it's hard to sustain playing like this. Two of the three games have been at US Bank Stadium. The other game was

in New York against the Giants team that was very flustered from the very start. The discussion here is essentially how high do we set the bar? Because we do a weekly bit where we pick the wins and losses of the schedule with everything we now know. We got to like 12 last night, which I think might be a little aggressive, but center me here, Carmen. I don't. I can, to be honest, because going into this year, going into this season, I was like, this is dependent on Sam Darnold. And I, I don't, I, and rightfully so. I think I did not trust him right off the bat. I needed to see it. But now that I've seen it, I mean, before I saw it, I said that this team could be a nine win team and like up to a nine win team and now that

you've seen sam donald be able to operate this he looks comfortable he looks confident he has he doesn't even have tj hawkinson yet and like you don't even have all of your weapons you have jordan addison battling injury all that kind of stuff and you're still being productive with guys like jaylen nailer and with johnny munt who is incredible love it more touchdowns for johnny munt always. But the fact that he is getting this kind of stuff done without having his full arsenal, I think speaks volumes to the fact that he has not hit his ceiling yet. I don't necessarily want to bank on the Vikings having 12 wins. But I don't know that also anybody is really going to figure this defense out because of

what it was a conversation I had with Brian Flores when he first got to Minnesota and I was asking him about you know the things that he was changing how he developed his system just kind of his overall defensive philosophies and something that's always stuck with me with what he told me was that this is an off this is a defense that runs through my players I am not on the field I cannot make certain calls. I am not on the field. I cannot make certain calls because I am not on the field and I am not seeing things. My system basically equips my guys to be able to see something and have a solution for it without me having to even get involved. He's like, ideally, I'm not even making any of these calls. And that's what you started to see now that guys

like Harrison Smith are super well versed in it. They've been in the system now for a couple of years. And even like Ivan Pace Jr., who I know was out last game, but just an incredible, like being brought up in this system and being able to be given the kind of authority and autonomy that he is, speaks volumes to who he is, but it also just makes it so that this defense doesn't necessarily have tendencies that you can key in on. And it is so opponent specific because these guys really are doing the work during the week.

They are studying film. They are coming up with tweaks to the game plan that aren't, you know, they're not, they weren't last, like they didn't do it last week. It was also something that I'm not, Brian didn't tell me this explicitly, but from knowing certain other defensive coordinators who operate and head coaches, in fact, that operate like Brian Flores does, there are things put into some of these game plans defensively that aren't even

for the opponent that they're playing they're for the next one so they're putting something on tape that where they're running something out of a certain look and they're going to show the team that is going to play them next week this is what we do out of this look and then they're going to change it and that's the flexibility that brian flores defense has so i really think that it's really not going to be anybody that's going to be quite to solve it. I'm not saying that there aren't going to be teams that aren't going to beat it, but they're not going to quite solve it.

It's just going to be, they either have the dudes to, you know, just they're overmatched or whatever it is. But I don't, I don't know that I see that happening with the Packers, maybe. I don't know. It's going to be really interesting. Oh, it is. I think the only downside so far, and the Texans obviously could not run because they were losing the whole game, is the way that San Francisco ran the football. And I was a little surprised they went away from some of the stuff that was working.

It was like they got impatient against Flores' defense. This is where I could see Matt LaFleur saying, the thing we need to do is attack those edges, especially because the edge rushers are edge rushers. They're not Daniil Hunter and Everson Griffin, these big, hulking 4-3 defensive ends who set the edge. And it's not that Grenard can can't do that but he can't do that in the same way that daniel hunter did if someone tries to get to the outside running i think

they've got potentially a chance because this team is really built on rushing from the edge and then confusing quarterbacks post snap which you're talking about and i think what you said is such a great observation because even stefan gilmore was talking about showing up here and realizing this isn't. And he knew Brian Flores before, but he's not creating a system. And then you learn the system and that's what they play. It's everybody is it's like this amoeba thing that doesn't really have a shape to it. And the shape changes all the time. And even so, in the game that ivan pace is out

josh patel has suddenly plays linebacker twice the amount of staff you know oh okay sure he wasn't doing that in the first game when they had pace and cashman but now he is anybody can be anywhere at any time which is uh andrew van ginkle said it's harder to learn but once you can do it and i don't think you could do it with anybody I think you have to have this group of high intelligence players in order to do it. I need two more things from you. I need to know who you think wins Vikings Packers. Do not feel pressure. This fan base is always terrified.

So if you think it's the Packers, you could say that. And then we need to talk about Caleb Williams for a second. But Packers, Vikings, what do you think? I think for all the reasons you just said with, you know, Josh, not only Josh Jacobs, who is more of a,

you know, a North South runner, I feel like, but you also have guys like Jaden Reed and some of their receivers that are, that Matt LaFleur involves in, in the run game, having them come out of the backfield and do all those fun things there. If Jordan Love comes back I just

feel like there's a huge spark for the Green Bay Packers and I feel like that may be the game that that someone gets won over on the Vikings but I want to stress very much that I'm not confident in that pick I could very much see it go the other way. And I really have no, if I had my way, I would not pick this game. I'm just very excited to watch it. If this one, this one feels like a kicker has to make a kick to win the game. And I don't know which kicker,

but I do know if it's the Vikings kicker, he's going to make it because the guy is a freak, but the Packers don't have that much faith in their kicker. So yeah, that how, how the turntables now Caleb Williams, I was impressed with some of the things that I saw from him last week when we were just talking about how they've protected Sam Darnold.

They have not protected Caleb Williams and he is going to get whooped a lot this season. But I also think if you're Vikings fans getting overly excited about some of his struggles, you might want to chill because the talent is still very much there, but you've probably watched more of Caleb than I have so far. So what has your been, uh, what has been your impression? Yeah, I, I tried to temper expectations coming into the season because he is a rookie and a lot of this offense is new, including the offensive coordinator. So it's a brand new system, rookie quarterback. The only continuity this offense is new including the offensive coordinator so it's a brand new system rookie quarterback the only continuity you had along the offensive line

and where i thought that that was going to come into play or that i thought that that was going to anchor this offense it has not happened uh i was initially through the first couple of games thinking that all right this is just know, the scheme is wildly different. They aren't really on the same page. They're putting a lot on Caleb Williams to kind of set the protections and make all the checks and IDs and diagnose what he's looking at in NFL defenses that he's never seen before. But now, after this last game, I mean, their left tackle is getting just flat out beat. he's getting walked into the quarterback on multiple occasions um they were better this last game at picking up certain stunts but again it was then guys just couldn't hold their man even though they like they they shed their shed their block

pick up another guy and it just doesn't work um it's that's really disheartening because i really thought that caleb was going to be able to lean on the unit that had the most continuity on this offense. That has not been the case. Caleb hasn't quite learned what he can and can't get away with when it comes to scrambling out of the pocket and stuff like that. But the mechanics are right. Even when he does scramble, he's always looking downfield. As he kind of gets more used to his receivers, I think that some of those plays are going to start hitting a little bit more.

He needs to make quicker decisions when he is in the pocket. I know he doesn't have enough time to really throw the ball, and he should have more time than he does, but the reality is he doesn't, and the game plan needs to adjust to that. I think those are all things you're going to start seeing. We him start to connect with roma dunze this last game he throws for 363 yards two touchdowns two interceptions the interceptions came before the touchdown so nobody was excited about it and i get it but you have to kind of if stats matter you're gonna have to you know take some at least some encouragement out of the fact that in a game where there wasn't garbage time, because the bears were in it the whole time

against the Colts, he threw for 363 yards. That's an improvement over what you've seen from rookie quarterbacks in the past. Um, I just think it's still going to take a little bit more time to get it all together. And I've been trying to also say that i can't win in in chicago despite being from there uh i said i was trying to temper expectations at the beginning nobody wanted to hear it now i'm like hey hey you need to give him more time than three games that's not even a good enough sample size for like nfl coaches to game plan against usually they they game plan with four a sample size of four games we haven't even hit that threshold yet it took jordan love a half a season and he had been in the same system for three years he hadn't had the

practical knowledge on the field but he knew that playbook like the back of his hand and it still took about half a season for matla florida to trust him like just just chill everybody in chicago is what i'm gonna keep saying until i'm blue the face, even though people don't want to hear it. Oh, I'm sure they'll listen to you. I'm sure that they'll chill. You know, we are in a universe, uh, like this twisted quarterback ranking culture that will both say that, Oh, well, Sam Darnold, you just needed to give him time and develop them the right situation. But then after three games, call somebody a bus, who is a rookie in the league. It's like, we just can't, we just can't help ourselves as a society,

but whatever the very, very first impression of someone is, is who they are. And I think it's fair. Everyone still brings up Peyton Manning throwing almost 30 interceptions his first year, but that is just so fair. Like we don't know. I did some research on this we don't really even know till year three if a guy can actually play in the league so game three is probably not time yet for a vikings fans to be dancing in the streets about uh caleb williams um okay last last thing i promise yeah how's this nfc north finish you think right now you are not

held to this no one is held to anything there are no consequences what's the what's the NFC North finish? You think right now you are not held to this. No one has held to anything. There are no consequences. What's the, what's the order. Do you think? Uh, I still believe in the lions and, and the lions finishing as the, but I was,

I was always thinking that green Bay was going to be a close second. And that has not changed, especially because they've stolen wins with Malik Willis. Um, I think that that was the opportunity for the Packers to kind of, you know, be bumped down a peg Didn't happen

It was always, it was like, I Initially before the season, I put the Bears ahead of the Vikings But I also said, like I said, the Vikings could be a 7-8-9 win team And still finish last in this division Because I thought that this division was going to be really, really hard to win I still think that But I think that the Vikings and the Bears are a little bit more interchangeable

behind the Lions and the Packers. But, you know, if this continues with the Vikings, I'm not ruling anything out for them. Really not. It might end up being 12-11-10 for wins for the top three teams, and then we see how it battles out with wild cards somewhere else.

I am hopeful to see you at U.s bank stadium at some point soon although the vikings don't return home for a while so you've got plenty of time to book the travel uh carmen vitale fox sports great to have you back i know we will definitely see each other soon so thanks for coming on really glad we could get together same anytime all right okay so i am way far behind on comments, but I will not leave you all hanging. So we're going to go through these, but, uh, what it just, it just keeps hitting me what an interesting time it is, whether it is the conversation about whether they're for real, how good they can be, who they're better than is Sam Darnold going to keep doing it? is the defense

one of the best that we've ever seen from the Vikings or is it something that's going to get exposed eventually all of this is just so deeply fascinating and it is a reminder of what this can be like when the team is good and how entertaining and fun and interesting it is because so many years and even 2022 was interesting and entertaining, but it wasn't quite the same because of how it happened. A real legitimate team that's actually winning and we're not questioning probably has to go back to 2009 and we'll see where it goes from here. But 2009 is truly the last time you could say that we weren't going, well, you know, Keenum's going to start throwing picks or, well, you know, they've won every one score game.

There isn't a, well, you know, right now. And that's a different feeling. It's been a while for me, uh, since I've had that. Janet says, love this defense. One concern might be Murphy. It looked like the Texans targeted him. Flores and the upfront seven are amazing and helping out the secondary tremendously there. That is the weak point so far. Statistically is Byron Murphy. I still think that he's a solid player, but he's not a guy that if he gets ISO'd on Nico Collins

and there was a really, sometimes you can't see this on TV. It was a really great play design when they threw the bomb to Nico Collins, because they had a shift and the Vikings had to adjust at the last second. And then they ran this crosser and he kind of got a little bit caught in the wash. And then it was hard for him to get caught back up. He's been totally fine so far, probably misses more tackles than the other guys they could definitely add one more corner at some point if that's the big move they want to make going into the trade deadline as we talked about but as of where they stand right now uh i i think that their secondary is in okay shape i i think that it's a weaker point than it is stefan gil, but not so much that I think, oh, well, every week they're just

going to target Murphy. Remember last year, just how much, uh, they dropped off when Byron Murphy went out. So I think he is valuable for them. Um, Scott, Scott says, Darnold is younger than burrow. That can't be true. Is that true? That can't be. Really? Did we waste the first round pick on McCarthy? Well, I mean, I don't know. We're three games into this. I'm not going to say that they wasted the first round pick.

And even if they did, then someone is going to trade a first round pick for him. I'm certain of that from what we saw, or at least a second round pick eventually, but that's the front office brain. That's front office brain. And we're not going there quite yet. Uh, let's see. SF says we vastly improved the defense this year. Can we discuss upgrading a center and right guard next year? Front office brain SF that's you. Um, what would the show be like without interior line talk? You're exactly right. You're exactly right. What would this show be without interior offensive line talk? I still don't have any issue with Garrett Bradbury, but I think he's playing through an

injury and it's causing some problems for him because yesterday and in week one, there were several times where he's struggled to pop up and he's holding a knee and he's kind of hunched over. And I think he's playing through something. His overall last two years and several weeks have been, in my opinion, average center play. And that's good for someone who also is a really good leader out there, very good at organizing the offense and cannot be downplayed when it comes to his role in managing Sam Darnold. He is the closest thing to Darnold out there.

And in joint practices, I remember talking to Bradbury after and just asked him, well, what's the operation like with Sam Darnold? And what he said was that he's more involved than he ever was with Kirk in picking up the protections and making changes out there pre-snap. They've done a really good job of that. There hasn't been too many blitzes or times where there was confusion and that's valuable. He will get run over sometimes, but that's valuable. As far as right guard, the change can start at week five, as far as I'm concerned. It's not like

there's been any difference in the play for the first three weeks. Ingram was graded a 39 by PFF for this week. I mean, I just, they might argue that they have chemistry, but there's way too many times where, uh, it, somebody is just going by him too easily and he's having big misses. That just can't happen. And it won't happen with Dalton Reisner, even if he's a little less effective in the run game. But I think their most effective runs are all going to the left side at this point. Brando's playing great.

And Christian Derrissaw, of course, is a beast in there. That would be the short-term solution. Long-term, you know, I don't know. They've got a few things next year that they'll look to, but right now they're three and oh, so it's hard to start evaluating what off season moves they'll make eventually. But as far as the here and now that right guard change is getting closer and closer to happening. Let's see. Wade says asking real questions, what distortion pedal settings best represent the crowd noise and defense last weekend? Well, if you're a guitar guy,

then you know that the metal zone pedal, it sounds like a bunch of loud bees buzzing against each other. So if you were to turn down all of the mids on your amp, turn up all the lows and highs and plug in the metal zone. It would sound like what it sounded last week, but I looked this up 120 decibels. And remember just funny story. The decibel meter is accurate on the big board because in one of the games where there was nothing to play for and no one was cheering, I looked up there and the meter wasn't even moving. and it was like 89. And I was like, Oh, they actually use a real

decibel meter. I just kind of always thought the pump, the crowd noise would just keep going up because that's what it does on the video board. So I'm inclined to believe that 120 would be somewhere in there. And that's what is listed for a rock concert via Google. Because I was trying to get some sort of context. How loud was it? 120 decibels is a rock concert. 136 is what Seattle has peaked at. Well, there is your decibel reporting

only here on Purple Insider. Make sure you like, subscribe, and sign up for the newsletter to get more information such as that. Is the Faithful says, unless Darnold takes them to the Super Bowl, it's an easy choice. McCarthy is the future. Let's see. Jake says, if Darnold wins a few playoff games, then I'd want the sure thing over what might happen with McCarthy.

And Scott says, McCarthy being better than Darnold is pure speculation that's that that is true uh let's see conrad says any word on if jordan addison will be back koc was very positive today on jordan addison and it does sound like there's a very good possibility that he will be back um not guaranteeing anything but sounds like there's a very decent chance. Shane says, this is what scares me. We are never terrible, but every seven and 10 a year, there is a prop up season that carries you to hope only to inevitably let you down. 98, 2000, 2009, 2017. We are due that I totally agree with. They are due for the pop-up season amidst the waves of mediocrity. That is the Vikings franchise. And I didn't think that was going to be it this year. And yet suddenly I do. And I agree with you.

They were due for that pop-up season. How it ends, we never quite know. So we can't assume that it will end in catastrophe. The only thing about that, and I'm not downplaying, because this is your identity. This is the identity of Vikings fans. I did a story earlier this year where I interviewed the guy who wrote the episode of How I Met Your Mother, where every time someone talks about Gary Anderson missing the kick, he goes, damn, like that, slaps the table. And it is very much the identity of Vikings fans of what has happened to them in the past, not having the Superbowl, having things go wrong. And the assumption is that it will just

keep happening, but that is not the only franchise. This is not the only franchise that has that, or has had that identity in the past. Philadelphia didn't win a Superbowl for a long time. New Orleans didn't win a Superbowl for a long time. New Orleans didn't win a Super Bowl for a long time. There are all sorts of franchises that until they got there, they just talked about how many calamities they had in the playoffs or how many bad seasons they had. So it's never a guarantee in the future what happened in the past. But I understand how deeply rooted that is in the entire it's like part of the ethos of being in Minnesota is to understand all the, the travesties that have happened in sports around the teams. And when you see a team win three and O or even like the wolves last year, when they beat the nuggets and they're going to

the Western conference finals, there's probably always in the back of your head that won't go away until someone raises a trophy that something bad could go wrong here. Jeffrey says, I think no matter what we trade Darnold, well, they probably won't be trading him. I did get a message on a sign and trade that maybe it's possible, but if you're another team, I don't know if you want to trade for that cap hit. If you're doing a franchise tag or something, uh, KOC is a quarterback whisperer feels similar to Purdy in San Francisco, a system quarterback McCarthy is more upside with his leadership and pocket presence. Well, we've seen great leadership and pocket presence from Sam Darnold so far. It really depends on just how the rest of this looks, where that conversation goes is entirely dependent on how the rest of this plays out.

The scrambling, the pocket presence, it's been great for Darnold. He took a couple of sacks against Houston, but he also made plays. He scrambled the last two weeks. And as far as leadership goes, I don't know what more you want from the way that he's operated the offense. He's not as fiery as maybe McCarthy, but he's, he's been very good. I don't look at Purdy the same way that you do. I think that he's been much better than Jimmy Garoppolo, even though Garoppolo was pretty effective until he got hurt all the time. But I mean, they might look at it that way. It's just that Darnold is not a game managing journeyman. He is a freakishly talented journeyman. That's the difference. Let's see.

Daniel says you'd be mistaken to think that it wouldn't take a 15, 20 year, 20, 15 to 20 a year for a dynasty. I feel like he's more about winning and playing. Uh, plus the face of a dynasty gets paid with endorsement. Never heard Brady complain. Oh, uh, okay. I see what you're saying. Sam Darnold's not taking 15 million a year. If he wins 12 games, not happening. Nope. He's not taking some humongous pay cut to stay with the Vikings. He's going to go get paid what he's worth, just like Baker Mayfield did this year. The thing is, though, that if you sign a guy to a multi-year contract, you can do the cap

manipulation thing with him. And also, it's not 15 or 20 a year. It'd more like be 45, 40 a year when the top guy's making 60, because it's only been one year. It would, it would be almost to a T Baker Mayfield is how they would go about that. If they were going to keep Janet says, no matter what happens, there is no way I trade JJ. Um, O'Connell is a quarterback whisperer have to take advantage of JJ's contract. That should still be the plan as of right now, as of right now, as JJ's contract. That should still be the plan as of right now, as of right now,

as of this moment, it should still be the plan. But if, when you think about going forward and you look at the team that they have, as far as free agents and who they're going to lose, it's not many guys that they're going to lose off of this team. That would be the argument for staying with sam darnold into the future even in the conversation that i said we weren't going to

go too far down that road but you guys like having it so i guess we will but uh when it just when it comes to this decision i mean if everybody's coming back grenard van ginkle if harrison smith plays another year he's been great so far gilmore says i want to stay and i'll take the same contract stick around because he is in super bowl mode if those things are happening then you have to try it for another year because the team's going to stay together long-term. If it ends up here, here's, I don't know why we haven't made this comparison at all is that it could end up being something like what happened with Aaron Rogers and green Bay and Jordan love. And if that's how it plays out, well,

then that's a best case scenario that you could develop a guy over multiple seasons. And they did the thing with Rogers where they sign him to a contract that they could manipulate to keep their Superbowl caliber type of team together. That might be the strategy. And heck, if you end up with the problem of having to sign JJ McCarthy down the road, well, then that is under the category of good problems to have. Mike says, this is the point I was getting at at my hopes are getting higher for this year my faith in the culture and belief that they have built within the group that they

are coaching the coaching job that we've seen the the players and the way they've brought themselves together uh and the chemistry that they have the unselfishness that they have it's really special it's really unique and it is special uh they have so many guys with such high football character such commitment to being great i mean if you're stefan gilmore and you're still playing at this point that guy's made enough money he'd be fine he's only here because he wants the ball and he wants to play with a good team that's winning. And that's, and if you're here for that, just like Harrison Smith, the reason here, Harrison Smith is here is to try to win and no other reason he's got money. He's had many contracts. He's fine. He's here because he wants to win and play football for Brian Flores. That is a strong thing inside of a locker room. When you have guys that do not need to be here and are only here because they

believe they can win. I think that's part of what is pulling this culture together as, as well as everybody else that is rooting for Sam Darnold. It's not just you. It's the whole locker room. Like they want this to work. They want Sam Darnold to be the story of the year and you can really tell and you can really feel that uh let's see drew says uh vikings have no fear of green bay and so does

the packers uh on minnesota that's what makes this uh matchup so good these two have played each other so many times it's always great and the games are always crazy and close especially at Lambeau it feels like they're particularly weird and they just know each other so well but they don't know Darnold as well as they knew Kirk and the Vikings don't know who's playing quarterback and their running game is now a little bit different so there's a lot of intrigue there. Oh gosh, says Seattle is actually the Vikings with less good defense. I don't agree with that. I think their defense is great.

Let me pull up the standings here again. How many points have they allowed? 43. So they've only allowed 43 points through the first couple of weeks. I know the Vikings have 30, but I mean, I think their defense is great. Boy, a mafia has been fantastic for them.

The Vikings have played a little harder though. Harder teams. But I mean, I think their defense is great. Boye Mafe has been fantastic for them. The Vikings have played a little harder though, harder teams. That might be part of your evaluation there, but they're a really good defense. We're finally to the comments. This shows my negligence and I apologize for that. That we're to the comments where you guys are reacting to Manny's predicting. And it's great. Marley says 12 and five was my absolute best case scenario.

Predicted 11 and six and the fifth seed behind the 12 and five lions. Shooter McGavin says the defense is faster without Hicks and Kendricks. I agree with you there. Let's see. Jake says in the six years that Kirk was here, the team never felt as good as this year's team feels. Thank God we were, or we were stuck in NFL limbo.

Thank God we could be excited again. 2018 in the beginning of the season did not feel that way that you're describing in limbo. And there was a week of my life in 2019 after they beat new Orleans that I thought that they were even with San Francisco when they went there, I was incorrect. They were not even, and they got completely thwacked by San Francisco in 2019. Aside from that, was there ever a moment where you felt like the Vikings were as good as they are right now in the Kirk era. And that's not to blame Kirk. That's to say in the Kirk era, because that's a whole franchise failure.

2022. Yes. When they beat Buffalo, I said, okay, they're a real contender. They just went to eight one. That was an incredible win.

And then they also got the whacked the next week as well. And, and Hey, like we'll see what happens this time around. If there's a thwacking on the way, uh, Marley says, would you rather have from 2017 Linval roads or all universe Harrison

Smith? Ooh, uh, I would go probably roads right now because I feel like the interior defensive line is doing well and Rhodes was such a game changer, but you can, I mean, Harrison Smith should have been defensive MVP in my opinion that year. So any one of those would be great. Harrison Smith still playing well and they've got a lot of good safety play, probably Rhodes. If you have a guy who could

shut down the top receiver from the other team, it's just, you could play defense totally different. Uh, Linval though, the crazy thing about 17 with Linval is that he pressured the passer. That was what was crazy is that he was, he was getting legitimate upfield pressure. I've seen a little bit of that from Harrison Phillips, but not in the way that, uh, it happened with with Linval Joseph that year. I mean, he was just absolutely phenomenal. Marley says 27 teams. The last time this team felt like a true heavyweight contender and actually smoked a team 34,

seven against the Bengals when Teddy made his return and McKinnon couldn't handle it. Two yard dump off. I remember McKinnon had a huge game that, that game they threw screen passes and he, McKinnon had a huge game that, that game, they threw screen passes and he, I think he had a downfield touchdown. That game was over fast.

That was where the Bengals, there was a report they were going to fire Marvin Lewis, and then they didn't fire Marvin Lewis. But yes, I agree that that was the last time. And a little bit in 2019 where they, they demolished teams and the fans were completely behind that moment that you described where they were chanting teddy teddy oh that was incredible that was

and when you win like this and they're not there yet when you win like this you remember these moments darnold coming back onto the field after getting injured. And the response is the early season version of that. And all of you who like the Vikings have been pretty short changed on wonderful moments. 2022 had a good number of them. The biggest comeback in terms of points ever. And the whole story of Patrick Peterson saying we just need five touchdowns. And then them doing it, that the catch from Justin Jefferson,

but a lot of those other seasons just sort of go like Jordan Addison making that great play against San Francisco in 2023. That's not in the front of mind when you think about the Vikings, just because they won seven games. What did it all mean? But when you have great seasons, that's

when you make those memories that last forever about those years and how they got there. And you could kind of already feel some of that building and you feel a team come together and you feel like the team likes each other and wants, we were just commenting today, the reporters that guys are saying hi to us when we get to the locker room. Like, oh, hey, guys, how you doing today? Doesn't happen when your team is 7-10. I can tell you that. And that's not a criticism of the players at all.

It's just the vibe. The vibe is they're 3-0. They like each other. Oh, hey, reporters are here to write good things about us. Like, everybody is in a good place. And you can feel that when you watch through TV, you can feel that in the stadium. You can feel that in the locker room. It doesn't happen every year.

Most years in the NFL are roller coasters. And that feeling makes you think that it is possible that they can continue to do this because it has a similar feeling to 2017 in terms of what's going on in the locker room. The only difference is in 17, there was angst in the locker room about the Teddy and case and Sam Bradford situation. There was not, or there is not angst now there because there's no question about who the quarterback is. That will be a question later on, but no questions now. There's no angst over almost anything in the locker room at this moment. There isn't some bigger storyline.

And there's also not a head coach who's going to freak out if they lose this week. If they lose this week, they'll fly to London and they'll respond probably because it's just not the same Mike Zimmer that when you go 5-0 and you lose a single game, loses his mind afterward. And in that case also loses an offensive coordinator after that. That's not the type of stuff that happens now with Kevin O'Connell, which makes it a little bit different. Uh, let's see. Pamela says, I think you are not taking into account the team feel. I think this is a better team than 17, not even freaking out about injuries. Yeah, the team feels kind of what I was getting into a little bit there. And as far as better than 17, when you have the number one defense and a top 10 offense that year,

those are very high bars to reach. And then we can't quite go there after three weeks. I think that's my point. Is it possible? I mean, that team won 13 games and had a first round by. They were absolutely phenomenal. Don't let the way that it ended change the way that you thought about it in the regular season. Where it was different is now we get this right away, but that year you were more skeptical early on.

Remember that to go three and two in 2017 they had to screen pass their way to beating the bears just barely surviving against mitch trubisky in his first start in 2017 that's not what's going on here which is them smacking people in the face to start the season uh i'm not watching the Bills game, but it sounds like the Jaguars are about as low as a team could possibly be. And it might be time to move on from Doug Peterson, who was the guy that felt like to save them. That is such a tough place to be for a franchise. But I think as we look at the Vikings schedule, as we look at the AFC South and the Vikings schedule, you know this, we know this, things have to go right for you in order to win 12, 13 games. The thing that could go right for

the Vikings is that all those AFC South teams just stink. And that's how it looks like it is right now. Indy's defense can't really stop anything and Anthony Richardson needs development and the Jaguars are a complete mess. They've already beaten the Texans. I mean, you're looking like very good shape from an AFC South that was supposed to be good and it is not so good at all. Uh, let's see. Uh, anyone else think it was fun? Daniel says anyone else think it was funny that Kirk's receiver threw up his hands because he got slightly tugged. Let's let a catchable pass hit the ground. Not trying to Anyone else think it was funny? Daniel says, anyone else think it was funny that Kirk's receiver threw up his hands because he got slightly tugged? Let's let a catchable pass hit the ground, not trying to catch it.

Yeah, the Kyle Pitts thing, trying to draw the pass interference at the end. Those Atlanta game, you have to give them this, that when you're watching it from a Vikings perspective, those close, crazy games got frustrating and exhausting after a while. Like again, they're playing another close game. This is not good for the nerves when it's someone else's problem. It's just pure entertainment. I was sitting back on the couch like, Oh, this is fun. Good football game. I enjoyed it. And I have to say it is good. It is good that Kirk looked a lot better. Um. He really, really looked much better in terms of his health over the last couple of weeks.

So he'll progress, I think, from there. But still, not being able to do the QB sneak. I don't know. There's not a whole lot of mobility there. Sean says, can you imagine what happens if they keep rolling? Then you get Hawkinson and Addison back. We were not far from that. And even, I mean, even if the right guard is better, then, you know, if they replace the right guard and it's better,

then you could be talking about very much a better team. And if you develop Dallas Turner into more of a threat, as we go forward, there is potential for this to get stronger as it goes, as the schedule gets weaker, which makes it look like it could be one of those seasons as we go forward. Long way to go, but that, that is how it looks. Wade says peak Xavier roads may not have lasted long,

but he was the best Vikings corner ever during that period. But my heart will always love Winfield more. Yeah. Winfield, the guy they just put into the ring of honor, Bobby Bryant. They've had some good ones over the years, but that 15, 16, 17, and a little 18 run for Xavier Rhodes was just phenomenal. And they have an okay group of corners without a major weakness right now but if there's one area that could eventually get attacked it is those corners when teams have to

play from behind they have the corners job is so much easier even when you look at the data from yesterday's game where you go oh well they completed 70 of their passes and each corner kind of gave up a lot of completions but it doesn't matter because it was in front of them the entire time. And when you're playing from behind as the Texans, you're just trying to complete passes and move the ball when they play a close game. That's when I want to see how the corners play and when they will get truly tested is when they're playing in more of a back and forth, even game than they've had to play so far. Let's see. Let me let me scroll only about halfway through the scroll.

You guys have been on fire in this comment section. I really appreciate that. It's been super fun conversation with all of you. And I appreciate the effort. Pamela says, are people really worried KOC will make a poor decision about who can play in his scheme? I assume that you mean about Darnold and J.J. McCarthy. Well, you're right about Kevin O'Connell having the best potential view

of these quarterbacks. There's no doubt about that. And who he's going to have is the, the problem is that who's best in the scheme and who's best to play right away for next year is maybe not the answer for who's best for the salary cap and who's best for the longterm, which would be JJ McCarthy and taking advantage of that rookie contract. So this is a complicated multifaceted decision that makes it hard to get through a quick discussion about it because it then becomes so complex about how are you going to continue to build on what they have as a roster. And that's why I kind of always want to

pull it back to, let's just see where we're going with this because we're not there yet to the point where we can still have that discussion. Dante 1984 says Keenum took us to the NFC championship and they still moved on. Right. The difference is that Sam Darnold is actually good at like, as far as a talent, the case Keenum massive, massive respect for case Keenum. He's six foot tall and he has not a very strong arm, a lot of heart, a lot of football IQ,

a lot of great leadership qualities, but he got away with a lot that season. And if they had brought him back in 2018, maybe he gets into the playoffs with those things. I'm not sure. His throw it up in the air and see who catches it may have kept working but got away with a lot that year and did not really have the pure throwing ability to go year after year after year as an effective quarterback

the difference with sam darnold is the throwing ability and the size i mean they both kind of have a wiggle when it comes to scrambling, but Darnold is a huge dude with a big arm that is not going to be looked at someone who's going to just regress. And Case Keenum did regress. He went to Denver. He went to Washington. He started a lot of games. It was never the same.

So that's the difference to me, but you're right. No, they did go to the NFC championship and they did move on. And that could be the case with Sam Darnold and JJ McCarthy, because they do very much believe in JJ McCarthy. I think it would be more like an Aaron Rogers and Jordan love situation where they would kind of try to go for another year, maybe sign a two-year contract with them. That's more of a one-year deal deal but gets him more money and messes around with the salary cap so then they could go to McCarthy after that uh let's see Marley franchise Sam if he makes the NFC championship game and let McCarthy get a true year of learning experience they they could do that uh if you're setting the bar at the NFC championship game that I mean that's a lot but that's also

not crazy you're right Alex Smith they did move on and go to Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Mahomes after that so that that is a that is fair enough as far as your reasoning and they certainly could do that okay oh Jaden Daniels is playing well huh well actually i'm way behind you guys i haven't been looking at the games at all i haven't been looking at the scores i have been locked into this conversation oh wow look at that look at that jayden daniels you know oh my gosh 10 for 11 with 152 yards what is happening happening? Cincinnati, I guess, maybe not as good as we thought. Washington, though, drafting a quarterback. This could end up being a good quarterback class. I think that after two weeks, people decided that it wasn't. I was snarking about this yesterday

with Bo Nix, because Bo Nix played well in this game. And I know you guys don't like Bo Nix very much, but we can't decide what these guys are going to be after two games and Jane Daniels, same deal, but wow. 10 for 11 Cincinnati does not look like that much of a threat. They really don't. Uh, they lost to the Patriots in week one, bounced back, but lost kansas city in a game they probably shouldn't have lost um hunter says doug peterson getting fired in season could be getting fired after today uh would you do that i mean i might that that's that that trevor lawrence thing i have not watched trevor lawrence a and thought, dude, this guy's amazing. Never, not even, which is crazy because in college you did every time.

Is it the coaching? Is it him? Is it the roster construction? He just, there's something that doesn't quite click with Trevor Lawrence. He has this kind of conservative nature to him. He makes a lot of bad mistakes. He just doesn't look like a true franchise quarterback to me. And I not saying that it's not Doug Peterson's fault and maybe a better coach seeing a better coach in Los Angeles with

the chargers play better, uh, with, uh, Jim Harbaugh, but I don't know, after so many years, you do have to kind of wonder, is it there or is it not there? I think it's the hardest thing in sports. And Darnold is absolutely showing us this. It is the hardest thing in sports by far to figure out if a quarterback is good or not when they haven't been great. And even sometimes when they're great, they're only great for a short time. Like Carson Wentz, if this was 2018 and I was saying, Hey, you could draft any quarterback in the league and put them on the Vikings. You might've said Carson Wentz is like the third guy. And then immediately it's over Trevor Lawrence though.

There's something that's not right there. And they have to keep trying coaches. They have no other option. They have to keep trying coaches because maybe it's like Matt Stafford, who was good, but then struggled quite a bit. And then finally got in the right situation. I just, we are in an era of football and this might, this might very well be because so many people actually can play quarterback that we are in an era of football where the team strength, this is why it's, it feels like a throwback to the early 2000s. The team strength overall in coaching is just dominating because it isn't five quarterbacks that run the league anymore. And that's how it feels right now.

So maybe Trevor Lawrence is a victim of circumstance that they don't have a great team in Jacksonville. And when you get blown out like this on Monday Night Football, that's going to put you right on the hot seat and maybe out. That would be crazy if they fired a coach a couple of weeks into the season, but they had to be skeptical going into this year about Peterson, right? He probably won't get fired right now, but in season feels almost inevitable. Drew says, how do you rate KOC top three or top five head coach. Well, the problem is with saying top three is that there's coaches in this league. And I just have my standing sitting here.

So that's, I'm looking at just, it gives me all the teams to reference when we're having this discussion, there's coaches in the league that have just done a lot more winning. I mean, we can't start calling someone a top five head coach when they have no playoff wins. I just don't buy that. You can't do that.

Sean McDermott did the crazy thing that was in the Tyler Dunn story. Tyler's going to come on the show this week, by the way. But they're about to go 3-0. That team's won their division four straight years, and it's about to be five probably this year. Put him up there, Andy Reid. Mike Tomlin is three and oh, again, got to put him up there. John Harbaugh has a super bowl. You got it. You got to give it to him. But right outside of that range, that's, that's where I would put Kevin O'Connell. I don't think you could put them

above the guys who have won playoff games above the Kyle Shanahan, above the Sean McVay. Even Dan Campbell went to the NFC Championship game last year. That is something the Vikings have not accomplished. I mean, I would rather have Kevin O'Connell than Dan Campbell, but the winning has spoken for itself there with the way they've turned around that franchise under Dan Campbell. So you can't pick them ahead of more accomplished coaches. But if you were saying for the next five years, draft coaches for the next five years, and do I get Flores as well?

If I get Flores as well, then I'm picking this coaching staff very high in the discussion. Absolutely. Let's see. Marcus says, still don't like taking quarterbacks high in the first too many fail let alone become franchise quarterbacks you never get mahomes you never get josh allen you never get cj stroud you never get it's a thing that the vikings had to do and did the right thing in doing in picking jj mccarthy and if they end up with the problem that another guy who was picked super high becomes great, well, that's a, that's fine. Uh, but it is usually,

and this might change a little bit, but usually if you're trying to pick up somebody else's stuff and hope that it works out, there are way more Rick Myers than there are Sam Darnold's and Gino Smith's way more Christian ponders or EJ manuals or whatever, who get second chances with other teams than there are, uh, somebody like Sam Darnold. So trying to just go out and grab whatever quarterback to put on your team and not picking one high also doesn't work. There's no pure model, but the most successful model in history of getting a quarterback is picking one high and they made the right decision. And JJ McCarthy looked great. He really did. He looked great in his training camp. So picking one high was still the right thing to do.

And Marcus follows up by saying the NFL changing run heavy, positive plays over pass heavy home run plays. Bo Nix might become the best quarterback in that class. I'd be surprised if Bo Nix did become the best. And I do not buy what you're selling exactly. When you're talking about the run heavy and positive plays over pass heavy, pass heavy is still going to win in the league. The thing that has changed is running quarterbacks. Lamar Jackson or Jaden Daniels can throw fewer passes and they can control the football, but it's still quarterback

centric. It's not running backs or running the league. It's running quarterbacks are a big factor. Josh Allen is a big factor, but whoever passes the football the best will still have the best chance to win. And that has been true forever and will always be true. And I promise as we get to the end of the season and we look up the team that was most, the five teams that were most valuable passing the football, they'll be in the playoffs. They'll be going deep in the playoffs. What's happening is an adjustment to teams trying so hard to prevent explosives that I agree with, but offenses through history have always found answers. And I think they will quarterback play is a little more spread out, but it's not, it's not

that you should not draft a quarterback in the first round because you should build your run game. That's not ever going to be the case. You're still looking for the 3-0 Chiefs, the 3-0 Bills behind the two best quarterbacks in the NFL. Every one of us would take those guys at any dollar figure, anytime, anywhere. And they're still going to have the highest odds to win the Superbowl as they usually do. So I'm not, I'm not going there with you. Uh, as far as drafting quarterbacks, the Vikings did the right thing in drafting JJ McCarthy. It's just that they've been

very pleasantly surprised when it came to Sam Darnold so far, uh, blowfishes, how's Jefferson's finger? Did that cause the two uncharacteristic drops? Kevin O'Connell wasn't really buying into that when he was asked about it as far as causing the drops. But as far as we know, his finger is fine. He came in, did an x-ray, and they said he's okay. I would expect him to keep playing. It is a little slightly concerning that he's got a thigh last week and then a hand this week. But National Football League, folks, battle of attrition, as they say. But he'll be okay. concerning that he's got, you know, a thigh last week and then a hand this week, but national football league folks battle of attrition, as they say, uh, but he'll be okay. As far as I know,

Derek says, let's be real. The weakness of the Vikings is depth. We have to pray for health and pretty much every position group to make a run. Well, that, that applies to everyone most of the time, but I actually think this is the deepest team since 2017, because even if you go position by position, if Aaron Jones can't play for a week, Ty Chandler's been great. Nobody has great offensive line depth, but David Questenberry is about as good of a backup left tackle and right tackle as you can find in the entire league. He was really good. He played nine snaps yesterday. It was really good. Interior depth, they have some guys, but on the D line,

Taki Taimani has kind of emerged as somebody that they can play. I wouldn't say they have a ton of depth there. Depth in the edge rusher is a ton. Corner, it's weak. Safety, it's really good. But most positions, and heck, the wide receiver position, one of the most important positions on the field has proven to be very deep. When we all thought that it was going to be a weak position for them at wide receiver in the depth. But Jalen Naylor is good. And you know, Brandon Powell is a ball player. He is a ball player. He just makes plays. There's a punt coming down and the gunner is going to grab it at the one yard line. And Brandon Powell throws a shoulder into the guy and it goes into the end zone. It's one of those small, just ball player

plays. They have dudes at a lot of different positions. I think even a tight end, they've shown their depth. They, they have the best depth that they've had in a long time. I think it's a weakness of everybody at some point. Of course, if you lose 10 players and you're starting lineup, no one's good, but better than before, you can lose some people on this team and they have,

uh, um, and they could still survive. That is something unique to the 2024 Vikings and why I would say that I don't think it's going to fall off. Mike says the Metal Zone tone is called scooped mids. Yes, it is. Yes, it is. That's what he's referring to in simple terms is,

like, if you've ever heard Metallica and it sounds like chainsaws, that's what he's referring to. And that's what, that's what it sounded like. It sounded like Metallica was playing that level of sound and the buzz to it. And the way that us bank stadium is built and why it's not always great for concerts is because the sound seems to go up and then back down the way that they built it.

It just seems to, I don't know how this works. Okay. If you're a sound expert, you can let me know. It has waves to it. It just sounds like wave, wave, wave of sound. And it feels like the sound is going up and down and up and down. And if you're down on that field, it has to be insane because even in the press box, where I sit is on the third level. So there's one level that's right on the field. And I was there for one game. Whoa, no, that is way too loud for me. And I moved back up to the third level where I'm a separated a little bit and I can actually concentrate, but I still get the sense of the crowd. It was in my space where I sit deafening. And it's rarely deafening in my spot because I'm a little separated from the crowd. I'm a little farther back.

Now it was something, it was really something to hear the energy that Vikings fans created. And that's in that place has not been like that in a long time. Reconnected says, how do you know McCarthy wouldn't have even better numbers than Darnold if he didn't hurt his week? Well, I mean, how do we know anything? How do we know? I mean, how do we know that you can't have much better numbers than Sam Darnold? I have mentioned to you guys quite a few times how sold they were on J.J. McCarthy.

When Kevin O'Connell said he's our franchise quarterback, he meant it. At the same time, J.J. McCarthy would have been a rookie starting instead of Darnold. It would not have looked like this. Darnold's experience is playing into his success. There will be a learning curve when it comes to darn or McCarthy, whenever he plays in the same way that there was on Jordan love. So if this team feels like they're on the doorstep of a super bowl, they would probably try to keep Sam Darnold rather than fight through the learning curve because McCarthy, unless he,

they think he's my homes and could step right in without playing at all this year. You know, I, i think that they would try to stay with uh j.j mccarthy but it it becomes complicated it does become complicated at this point um so i i mean that conversation is as as interesting as it gets uh when it comes to um you know when it comes to their future situation uh david says you're wrong uh go read the article by rob nyer from years ago which compares futileness to being greater than the red sox and cubs uh i'm not really sure uh what you mean as far as like does does it impact the future or something, but the Red Sox and Cubs won world series. So I don't know. My whole point was that

what's happened in the past to the Vikings does not affect their future. And I will always believe that there are so many teams that have tortured pasts that overcome them and end up winning super bowls. I, it has no impact. Most of these players have not been here through any of this. And a lot of the players were getting to the point that they weren't even born when Gary Anderson missed wide left. So it doesn't make any difference at all.

What's happened in the past that only lives in minnesota lore in my opinion uh and we've seen plenty of teams okay they haven't won championships but they've certainly proven that minnesota teams are are capable of getting out of the doorstep but things go wrong for teams sometimes and you only you would only feel this way the thing about minnesota vikings history that i and I'm fascinated by, I love Minnesota Vikings history. I was just watching Alan Page's A Football Life, which was made in 2015. So interesting.

Go find it. So good. It's on YouTube. So I love the history of this team and love diving into it. But the reason that all of you have had your hearts broken so many times is how relevant the team is and how good it's been. And eventually teams that are good break through. Usually that's what makes it so difficult on all of you, but also leads you to believe

that at some point that that is going to happen, that they're going to break through. But it's not like it's just been so bad, like the Lions, year after year after year, where you're just pointless and why even watch? So I think that this franchise's mentality has always been it just takes that one year. It just takes that one time to get over the hump. Let's see. Mike says, can you do an episode on our position coaches? Feel like

they are unsung stars right now. Well, Keena McCardle, uh, you know what I'll try to do at some point, maybe I can do this, uh, is maybe try to get an interview with, with some of them for the show. I interviewed them regularly for articles, which you should go sign up for the newsletter. If you haven't over purple insider.com good place to be. Um, so I, I usually, I do talk to the coordinators pretty often and position coaches, but I just haven't gotten them on the show. I've had Matt Daniels a couple of times. Didn't quite make that work out in training camp, but Keenan McArdle is as good as it gets his job. How freaking good is Keenan McArdle at his job? Jalen Naylor, Brandon Powell, Brandon Powell wasn't even a receiver really two years ago. He's a part returner and a bit player for the Rams.

Now he's out there making plays. And the same thing goes, Jalen Naylor was a guy that just couldn't get on the field really, but he was identified by Keenan McArdle, I believe is my understanding. And he's become another good wide receiver, KJ Osborne before that. I mean, it's a, it's a real, it's a real edge for this team to have Keenan McArdle as their wide receiver coach. He's the one that stands out to me the most. Uh, let's see. So, uh, London is going to be a crazy game. Yeah. I think I agree with you on that. Uh, Derek says we just want to be best at this ridiculous sport. Once at the end of the year, too much to ask 63 years. We should have at least one.

Yes, you should. Uh, of all the years of being close, then yes, you should. Absolutely. Um, blowfishes says loving McCarthy being Darnold's biggest fan on Twitter. Yeah. I don't, I don't think that you can really quite capture, and this is starts with the head coach, but it trickles down to everybody. The, the chemistry between these guys and the entire locker room is like that. And it speaks to Darnold though, in my opinion, because Darnold is the

veteran. He's the guy who's been around. He's the one who could have come here cynical and been like, you guys all like the rookie or whatever. We never heard anything like that. He is intentionally uninteresting at the podium. And I respect that fully. Why would you want to make headlines? Why would you want to point attention at yourself? If you're Sam Darnold, he was trained in the way of the New York media, but it's his, his approach to McCarthy, to the whole situation. The fact that McCarthy is at home watching the game, protecting his knee. I imagine he'll be back at some point, but the fact that he is cheering on Sam Darnold on Twitter, I think he doesn't have to do that. I think it just shows you the type of relationship that they built in the

teammate that he wants to be to Sam Darnold. And when Darnold made a crazy throw in that one preseason game, that was all JJ McCarthy wanted to talk about. Did you guys see that throw? I mean, both of them have been very good teammates and again i think that comes from who they are but also the environment that is created for those two to work together even though you could end up with an uncomfortable situation eventually i shot you 99 the silly thing is if the vikings lost to the 49ers and texans in a close game i think fans would feel less afraid of losing to the packers whereas now expectations are so high that losing now is scary. Well, the reason that losing is a little less scary is because it would, it would make you three in one and three in one is still way better than

where we thought they were going to be. It will be a tough test going to Lambeau. That defense looks really good. Their offense is playing great. It's two of the best teams in the NFL. I think if you were doing a power ranking that you would put both teams in the top seven, the way that they've adjusted to having Malik Willis, this is one of those battles that you just dream of in the regular season. So many games in the regular season are going to be like later on this year when they go Jaguars, Titans, back-to-back weeks at Jaguars, at Titans. Like, okay, well, you know, that's not the, could be fun games, but not the ones with the most juice.

So I like to drink it in when we get a week like this. Like, let's talk about every position, every player, every matchup, everything we can get our hands on, because this is the type of matchup that at the beginning of the season, you know, there's only going to be so many. You hope for those, you hope for the energy of those,

and we've got it for this week. So that's cool. Daniel says McCarthy is going to be the quarterback, but I'd be okay with signing Darnold for two years. Give McCarthy the keys after seeing him fully healthy for a full year trade Darnold. Yeah. I mean, that could be the approach of, of course they've only played three games, so I don't know what the approach is going to be, but if it goes that way, that then that probably would be how they would handle it. Or at least it would be how I would handle it. Or at least it would be how I would

handle it. I don't know what they're talking about behind the scenes. It would be extremely difficult to move on from a quarterback that won you 12 games and got you to a position where you were walking into a playoffs, feeling like you could seriously compete for a Superbowl. If they get to that point, if that's where they end up being, then it is incredibly difficult to try to move on from that, to go to a rookie unproven quarterback because the entire locker room fan base plus Darnold, you know, I mean, he's very talented. So it's not like you're saying, well, look, we got to go to the more talented guy. Um, McCarthy is good, but is he more talented guy. McCarthy is good, but is he more talented than this? Like, I don't know. But there's also a really long way to go here. And there's another scenario where this goes just

okay. And they finished maybe 10 and seven or nine and eight. And they say, we need to be better as a team, which is going to cost money. And they say, thanks for everything, Sam Darnold. They get him a huge paycheck. He goes elsewhere. And then they'll think about that decision forever. How this ends up playing out will determine the path. And I'm sure as we speak, they are in the front office, the real front office, they are formulating these paths. So path number one is this scenario. Path number two is that scenario. Path number three is that scenario with how they want to approach this. But the fact that they have someone they believe in behind Darnold makes it harder to make a bad decision because you know that you have the fallback of JJ McCarthy in his town.

Landon says, with the early success this season, do you think Quasey could make a trade before the deadline and go all in? Yeah, it's possible i don't know that they need to do it but cornerback is the position that i would look at for sure if they were going to do it he could do that i noticed that there hasn't been too many quacey critics in the um in the comments so far that's another one where like do i i dance around the bases on that not yet because they haven't won anything. It's just that throughout Kweisi Adafomense's tenure here, there has been a lot of questioning

of where they were going, and that's fair. But I think that they had a plan and they stuck to it and they're seeing the results of it. And a lot of that, of course, is based on the amount of salary cap space that they were able to create with Kweisi and Rob Brzezinski in the front office. And then what I think the best thing that Casey Adolfo Mensah seems to have done is

just trust in his coaches when it comes to players. When Brian Flores says, I heard about this Blake Cashman dude, and I started watching his tape and I thought he'd be perfect for us. He goes to the front office and says, I really like this Blake Cashman. I want to put him high on my free agent list, find a way to go get him. And the front office says, great, let's do it. Let's go find a way to get him. And it's not like Madden getting a guy where you just click sign player, how much money, Who cares? Signed him. Blake Cashman is signed with your team.

I know this has gotten more complicated on Madden over the years, but that's what you usually did back in my day. It's not like that. You have to negotiate with the free agent. You have to make a pitch to the free agent and his agent has to be comfortable with what you're offering, the structure, all those things.

This is conduciveness. It's the front office, listening to the coaches, getting them what they need to succeed, and then seeing it come to fruition. Don't change this. Do not change this operation of how they've built the roster going forward because this is how it needs to work. Chris says, what about head coach coordinator pairs combined? KOC and Flores might be the best outside of Reed and Spagnolo unless there's a pair I'm forgetting. No, it's a good point. It's a good point that the pair is as good as it gets in the NFL. Yeah. Because even in Buffalo, they have some questions

about their offensive coordinator, though, not tonight, not on this night. They do not. And they're three and oh, so they shouldn't um but around the league i mean there there are questions about teams that are strong on one side or another um so if we were just talking about i mean yeah great point on mike tomlin mike tomlin's one of the best coaches ever but his offensive coordinator is arthur smith who's maybe doing a good job this year still uh yeah i mean arthur smith i would take aoc way over and mike tomlin and brian floris are probably pretty even defensively so that's a good point it's a good point this is as well of a coach team as you're ever going to see in the nfl just period it's a great staff josh mccown they have built a strong staff all the way through

of i mean even special teams, the special teams is playing well that will Reichard and drafting him was something that even I was like, Oh, they're drafting a kicker really, I guess. And then you see the guy kick and you go, Oh, I didn't know they were drafting a freak, uh, which they did in, in will Reichard. And you guys saw it. I was actually glad. I like when things that I try to report sort of come to fruition. So when I report throughout the summer, you know, I think there's something going on with this defense. If they can add Gilmore, they could be really good. And then they add Gilmore and then they're good. And I go, Oh,

well, that's good. Cause I said that like, I want my reporting to you to be accurate. Right. And with Will Reichard when he lined up for the 58 yarder I was like if he hits this everyone's going to realize how freaking good this guy is at kicking and bang that was good from 65 there's something there he was he was entertainment for everyone in training camp to see him kick the football it's really something I don't know how we got onto that. We got from a coaching combinations to that. Uh, Matt says, can you explain the quick head movement by the center drawing a penalty? I've watched a lot of football. Never heard of that. Have you? No, I have not. I've also never seen two re kicks. Sean Hockley must be stopped. Is there, I want

them to call the rules as they're made i don't he was just inventing rules during that football game if they had lost then i would have said what was that reffing in that game uh that it sounded like it sounded like someone if you were ever in college and you were trying to kind of, not that I did this, if you were trying to kind of work your way through a class and just get a C and move on because you weren't that interested in it and you didn't really need the GPA. So, cause maybe you went to community college like I did, and you're just trying to get

through some of this stuff. And then there's that one kid who wants every detail. I mean, that's Sean Hockley at the referee. He just, he was the one that studied teacher. You missed one little rule. You missed one little thing about this economics. 102 that that's Sean Hockley ref in the game. He loved himself some flag in that game, man. He was throwing flags left and right. It was, it was it was absurd so no to your point no i had not seen that happen but the rule book is thick and he knows every single bit of it uh daniel says believe me when i say darnold's accuracy has been inhumane

no regard for human life with his accuracy no No catch radius needed. He's also keeping people uninjured. What I notice about Sam Darnold's accuracy is that he doesn't have to be perfect because the ball is thrown so hard. It just, he can, he doesn't have to lead it in front of people in the same way that other quarterbacks do. He could kind of just throw it right at them. Like Jalen Naylor just gets a little bit open and just throw it right at the Adam. It's going so fast where Drew Brees had to throw it 15 yards out in front of him and let the guy run into it where it seems like Darnold could throw it five yards out in front of him. His accuracy has been way better than I thought though. It really is. And, and Justin makes this point. I agree with this. I was, he's, Justin says,

I was expecting more like Gardner Minshew performance out of Darnold. I'm amazed and happy. I don't disagree with you. I mean, I, I came back from training camp sunburned and sweaty and smelling nasty in here each night telling you guys, again, we're trying to report things on going on camp. And I'm like, it's looking pretty good guys. The arm is pretty good. I'm surprised that how this arm talent is crazy. But I also expected, well, he's probably going to have to game manage his way through and then hopefully hit a couple of shots.

You know, that's what they're looking for is, well, if he could just do this, then they could run, they could play defense, they could slow the game down. That's not how they've had to play. That was not really expected for me. It was more of, Hey, maybe a little run and, and throw a couple of deep shots, but they've asked him to be a complete quarterback, and he has. Let's see.

Marcus says, did you go to Metallica at US Bank recently? Missed it because I saw red hot chili peppers. It was let down. It was a bad sound. I actually went to Taylor Swift last year with the wife, and well, Ms. Swift put on a heck of a show. A lot going on with that.

I mean, there's, there's all this theater to it, which made it entertaining. It was still very echoey. It still had this and it's, it's meant for football. But I did read that Metallica was pretty good there. Maybe they've done some things to try to help it out. Maybe that was the case, but yes, uh, the, you know, the, the, the, the metal stuff I would guess really is, is pretty crazy. Oh, let's see. Let's see. You guys have done an amazing job in this chat. There's so much here and you know what

I really appreciate. Just want to throw this out there for all of you listening live while I'm scrolling for more things to say or more of your comments to read is just how respectful you are of each other is so greatly and deeply appreciated for me because it would be very hard for me to be blocking people and scanning through trash talking to each other and disrespect and i mean you guys have just done a great job here so thank you for that uh david says you don't understand it in case you have lived here try being in your mid-50s that's the point they are in the top five wins of all time and everyone else has multiple superbowls. Well, that's the thing, David. Remember, remember now,

when I was four and a half, the Buffalo Bills lined up for a field goal to win the Super Bowl and they missed it. And then they went to three more Super Bowls when I was five and a half, six and a half, and seven and a half, and they lost them. And then they had an amazing team in 1999. Yes, 1999. And they got a game winning drive from their quarterback. And I was 13 years old and the music city miracle happened. And the team that pulled off the music city miracleacle went to the Super Bowl and not the Buffalo Bills, who were probably the best team.

That was just my upbringing. And not only that, but in 1999, and you guys can definitely relate to this, the Dallas Stars scored a game-winning goal while a gentleman's foot was in the crease. At the time, that was illegal, and yet they did not call it. And so the Sabres lost the Stanley cup. That was my upbringing. I feel you that I move here. And on the first day that I arrive here,

I am unpacking boxes in 2016. And I get a text from a friend that says, what the heck just happened to Teddy Bridgewater? I've seen it. I've been to an NFC championship where they no show 2017. I've seen them sign the big money quarterback and then let everybody down. I'm sorry. I don't even know why I have these headphones on. It's starting to hurt my ears. I've been doing this for so long tonight. Great chat. So then, you know, 2022, they win all these games. They get all this luck.

They go to the playoffs and they check down on fourth and eight. I mean, I I've I'm, I'm right there with you. I was watching. I was also watching Gary Anderson that day. I remember it well. And yet I've also seen so many other teams in all of sports come up short time after time after time and have tragic things happen to them and have their fan base feel the same way you do. Well, we could just never get over the hump. We just always coming up short. And then at some point they don't and they win. And I think every year that you go into a season, when things like this start to happen, you're just hurting yourself by saying, what if it's Gary Anderson again? What if it's case Keenum in the NFC championship again?

It really takes away from the fun. Even if a lot of times because 31 teams end up disappointed, you don't end up getting where you want to go. I completely get you. I really do. But I also think that that's just a hard place to live in when you're going to keep showing up every single year. It's a lot of stress to put on yourself when you want to also enjoy in the moment what's happening, enjoy the win of what's

happening and that's why i'm sort of constantly suggesting to ride the wave here just ride the wave uh lefty says if darnold gets us to a division in 10 wins you got to extend him and be like jj you're gonna sit until you're 25 like rogers Yeah, it's hard to do that with the rookie quarterback contract. Rodgers came up in a bit of a different world. The Jordan Love thing isn't crazy. And at the same time, even that is a little bit of a different world with JJ McCarthy because you're behind Sam Darnold, not Aaron Rodgers. If you're behind Aaron Rodgers, he's winning the MVP.

It's a different feeling with thegers, he's winning the MVP. It's a different feeling with the fact that he's winning the MVP as opposed to, well, maybe Darnold plays well enough to get him 10 wins in a division that that's just different. Like, uh, the fact that, you know, Rogers had won a super bowl. He's one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time. It, that, that is just different to sit behind than it is somebody you feel like, could I be as good as him? And it becomes a little more dicey. I like this from Nick. It's Sean Hockley time, Sean Hockley. Yes. That's absolutely what, uh, what it felt like for sure. Um, so do we, do we get a sudden head movement explanation here?

Uh, okay. So blowfishes says sudden head movement can be considered trying to draw the defense off side can leave the offensive lineman, uh, exposed and not ready to get hit. Okay. Hey, there's, there's a rule guy right there. I had not seen it called. I, your explanation is good. Your explanation is good.

Your explanation is good, but, um, uh, Melky, I agree that, uh, the sound at, at,

at, oh yeah. At the X. Oh yes. I agree. I saw lady Gaga there at the X and also Lord is really good there. I think that's, I don't think I've gone to a concert at target center,

but I liked it. Target field. I've gone to a concert at target center, but I liked it. Target field. I went to see green day at target field. That was good. That was definitely good. Um, let's see. Nick says, uh, look at the, uh, Red Sox history from 20 or from 1919 to Oh three, similar to Vikings. Then look at 04 to 18. There's always hope. Yeah. That's how I look at it. That is definitely how I look at it is that there's nothing tangible that's actually holding you back. There is no cosmic force that's saying it can't work out for you. And in this era right now, the cosmic force,

a lot of times was just that there were unbelievable quarterbacks who rose above everybody else, but we might see the game changing a little bit to where it's not like that in the same way as it was. We may be in a little bit more of an era of two or three quarterbacks, not just dominating the entire NFL for so long. Think about the AFC where every single year for like 20 years, it was either Roethlisberger, Brady or Manning. And then Flacco got mixed in there. It's just not happening right now because defenses are changing and because those quarterbacks have moved on. Let's see. Marcus says, Dominic Hasik, Miroslav Shatan, of course, great players.

Kelly Reed, only a Buffalo fan can relate. Yeah, that's, well, that's the thing is I saw that happen and Buffalo hasn't won a championship either. And yet I've never thought that the Sabres, because a guy's foot was in the crease could never win. I've never thought that Josh Allen, because his kicker missed one or because his coach screwed up on 13 seconds can never win. Uh, and, and there are other fan bases like the Eagles had a lot of close calls. Imagine being the Eagles. And I know you

guys have no sympathy, but think about it from their franchise perspective. They had good teams way back in the day with like the Harold Carmichael era, Jaworski. They go to the 80 Super Bowl. They don't win. And then they have Donovan McNabb, five NFC championship games, one Super Bowl. They don't get there.

The Eagles have always been good. And then they win it. But with who? Nick Foles, been good and then they win it but with who nick foals the most unlikely person to win it you just said this is why we watch this is why we watch because you just never know what in the world is going to happen uh let's see wayne says uh lots to be encouraged about sam's play and b flow's defense i totally agree and that's where we're at why don't we take a lesson and how about this It took me two hours and 40 minutes, but I got to the end of the comment section and I tried to get as many as I could in for tonight,

but this, this is a, I'm not going to go three hours every time, but this is a, this is a day to go three hours because it's been so long since this team has been in this spot. And this game is so big that this is a time to do it and hopefully we'll have more opportunities to do it uh as well in the future but you know what why don't you live live where your feet are as kirk cousins used to say and as sam darnold has said live where your feet are for now this week vikings packers will be talking about it all week tons of guests coming up. You guys have requested Drew McGarry.

So I'm recording with Drew McGarry tomorrow. Carmen Vitale from Fox Sports coming on the show. Tyler Dunn, who will be in Green Bay. I am told to cover the game so much coming up. So this was a great conversation. Greatly appreciate all of you checking in. I still got an article or two to write so i'm gonna go but thank you all so much for such a great chat hopefully everything went well with this new

streaming system i feel like it must have because uh nobody was uh giving me any indication that it wasn't so great stuff everybody thanks to manny for coming on earlier and we will do it again very soon football why don't I just, I should do this at the end. Put somebody on the screen saying football. Let's leave it at that. Great stuff, guys. you you you you