Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - From the archives: Cris Carter and Morten Andersen interviews

Episode Date: July 10, 2024

Following the tragic loss of Khyree Jackson, Matthew Coller is stepping away for a few days so we are bringing you discussions from the archives. Here's his discussions with Cris Carter and Morten Andersen Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

🎵 Hey everybody, welcome to another episode of Purple Insider. Matthew Collar here. And as I mentioned yesterday, I am taking a little time here before we get into all the hardcore training camp type of talk. I just feel like it's not the right thing to do right now. Just a couple of days removed from Kyrie Jackson passing away. And instead, just stepping away a little bit from the podcast and bringing you some from the archives conversations. And these next two were really fun if you missed them from a few years ago i think you'll really enjoy them one with hall of famer chris carter the other with hall of famer morton anderson talk with chris carter about his old teammates and morton

anderson about kicking which is always relevant in viking land so i'm going to bring you those back to back here now on the podcast. Thanks so much for listening. The first Hall of Famer to appear on the show. In fact, smaller pads than the last Pro Bowler we had, Scott Studwell, on the show. This is Chris Carter. What is up, Chris? How are you? Very good.

How are you doing? We're doing great. Chris, it's just been so interesting for us covering Justin Jefferson on a daily basis to see his mentality. And even though he's kind of got a happy-go-lucky attitude, he also comes across as very serious about his job and really dedicated and wants to be great. I wonder what you've learned about him from your conversation. And just tell me about the wide receiver mentality, because you guys have a know a reputation is demanding the football and things like that but I think you see with Jefferson that he just he really wants

to be one of the truly best receivers in the league so I wonder what you sort of see in his personality right it's hard to be in that position and not want the football I don't I don't know why people look at wide receivers just like, if a guy's a baseball pitcher, you think he wants to play in the outfield? You think he wants to play in right field? No, he wants to throw the baseball. If he's got heat, he wants to throw it. And if it can help the team win, then that's the way we should go about it.

So running backs want to run the ball. Wide receivers need to catch it. And the other thing that's more important about that is I've never seen a wide receiver develop properly without giving him the football. So if you want to see wide receivers develop, you want to continue building legacy, you have to give him the football. The thing about Justin that I've learned is that he's really hungry to understand and learn more about the position, understanding that you have to be a tremendous route runner. It takes years and years of experience, and he's really opened up to try to go out and learn from other guys

that have played the position or currently playing the position and guys that have been successful and played at a high level. So that part I did learn about the young man. Chris, I want to ask you about another former teammate of yours that had wide receiver one type talent. His name is Jake Reach. When Randy came in in 1998, Jake had four straight years of 1,000 yards in a season.

And, you know, for Randy to come in and have the impact he did, Jake was sort of relegated to that wide receiver three role. That's sort of like Adam Thielen. Like if he were shoved to the side for a rookie this year, how did Jake handle that dynamic being as talented as he was and all the talent you had in that room? How did that go? Well, I mean, we had to have real heart-to-heart conversations. You know, the one thing that I did know when Denny Green and the organization was calling me and saying that they were going to draft Randy Moss. Now, I knew that we were a three-receiver offense. You know, we played three receivers about 70% of the time.

So I wasn't necessarily worried about that. But I did know that there's still only one football out there. And at that time, I was very, very healthy. And I felt like I could continue to play. I felt like I was still in my prime. I could continue to play at a high level for at least a couple more years. At that point, I thought, but Jake's a really good friend of mine. So we had a lot of good heart to hearts.

And as far as when someone like myself and you get into the Hall of Fame, it's because you got a lot of good teammates and also people that weren't selfish. So Jake Reed's one of the most unselfish teammates that I've ever had. And ultimately, with us drafting Randy, yes, Jake and his stats and his career probably suffered the most. Yeah. And a guy who I think is very well appreciated in Minnesota, but maybe outside of Minnesota is not, I don't know if there's an understanding of how good Jake Reed was because of that. I wanted to ask you, Chris, as you talk to these wide receivers for the podcast, what comes away as something that all great wide receiver ones

have. And I know obviously this team has had multiple wide receiver ones, but, but Calvin Johnson is six foot six or something. Julian Edelman, who you spoke to is not anywhere close to that, but yet these guys are both dominant wide receivers. So is there something like a commonality between all great wide receivers that you find? I think the thing you mentioned before, all of them have the desire to have the football in the most critical situations. But also, as you go through body types, wide receivers are like thoroughbred horses, even though they might look the same. They come in a lot of different sizes and shapes, and they have different gates about them. All of

those guys that you mentioned, if you're going to be a wide receiver one, you can't be one-dimensional. You can't be a third-down guy. You can't be just a red zone guy. You can't be just a guy that plays outside the numbers. So that's what you'll see is some of the commonality is in the versatility, but ultimately in the most clutch situations, these are the guys you want to put on their hands.

And I always wondered when I used to watch you, Chris, is you would do the toe drag thing and just be able to catch, I mean, the quarterback could be throwing it way out of bounds and you would find a way to catch it. I mean, did you like always have this sense that I can catch everything? And there are Adam Thielen catches that maybe you see. And I think of Chris Carter catches where you're like, Oh, no way he's bringing this in. Was that a skill that you developed over your years? Or was that something that you just always had and then refined as you went along? Because it used to kind of blow my mind some of the catches that you would make. I think I've always had the great hand-eye coordination.

It's a gift. I have, you know, tremendous size hands, you know, more than a size 10 hand I have. And, you know, I had a great desire to try to exhaust all of my talent, try to put it out there and try to be as good as I can in all areas. And I knew that I caught the ball different. And, you know, to me, I thought that separated me from other guys. And, you know, I tried to make it a point that the quarterback didn't have to be on target and we could still connect. And that was part of my job. And it made me different. I remember Brad Johnson one time.

He throws me a ball and I think I got smacked pretty good on it. And I made one hell of a catch. And Brad came down and apologized. He's like, Chris, man, I'm so sorry and everything. I said, Brad, you shouldn't be sorry. He's like, yeah, man, I don't like to throw you in the traffic like that. I said, but the fans, they're cheering. They don't think that was you, Brad.

They know that was me. So I think that, you know, you develop a reputation and you try to live up to that reputation um i really understood how wide the field was i understood from the slot outside how many strides i had for the time i hit the numbers the numbers are two yards wide um you probably got about five strides before you're going to hit the number you can toe drag swag about five and then a toe drag swag to 53rd and 53 yards and a third wide is critical to knowing that how far the hash marks are apart covered to how much room you have to operate.

So all those things became very, very important in doing my job so that I can get the more balls. Do you have a favorite catch that you ever made? I would, um, I would say Rich again, and I hooked up, I had only been with the Vikings maybe four or five weeks and we played, um, the Eagles on Monday night and the Eagles have an all out blitz. And they thought that we were going to have a hot read and I was going to break the route off.

And I was able to run past the corner and not the person to have a reputation for his speed and everything to run past the fast guy. And Rich got clobbered. And he stood in there and delivered a strike. And I think I scored from like 75 yards out on a Monday night after only being with the team for a few weeks after buddy Ryan had cut me. So on the national stage, I think I went for a couple of touchdowns and like over 150 yards. And that was a pretty special night.

Well, you proved him right. Didn't buddy Ryan say, all he does is catch touchdowns. So I guess that was, that was correct. Well, I think that with buddy Ryan cut me and he said that I made a pact with myself that he couldn't be right. There was no way, there was no world that existed that he was going to be right. And that's why I really went to working on all aspects of my game so that I necessarily, outside of my long range speed, didn't have any weakness. Chris, you just described that touchdown in great detail.

And there's another wide receiver one, Larry Fitzgerald. There's been articles written about him where he remembers like every touchdown he's ever scored in great detail. He can tell you about the situation and the route. You've scored 130 touchdowns in your career. What kind of recollection do you have about the 15-year career and pulling specific plays from your memory bank? I got very good recollection of it.

At some points in your career, the plays happen in slow motion. So your ability to retain those are a lot different. And I think working around the league, working at the league office, working with NFL films too, I'm around seeing a lot more than normal players would see too. So for, yes, I do have great recall as far as that. Now when I get with my buddies from high school and from college, my memory is not, it's not nearly as sharp and they're always upset and everything. And I said, well, I got all these,

I got 230 NFL games or something like that on top of those memories. So I'm sorry. So at Denver 1999, do you remember what you did on on that day on the Mile High City I think I had like seven or seven or nine catches I think I had like 150 or 170 yard to me I had a feeling um in my I just had a feeling like a lot of the guys on the team, especially the quarterbacks, they ask me before the game, what's it look like or what's it feel like? And typically I would try to draw a circle like my catch radius. And I remember that day telling the quarterback that my radius was – it was ridiculous.

It was limitless. And it was a beautiful day. I remember the sun shining over the mountains in the stadium. Like, yeah, I remember. I remember Ray Crockett playing against him and lighting him up. Yeah, something like that. I think I remember. Eight, 144, and two touchdowns.

That was your line that day. Pretty good memory. What was it? Eight catches, 144, and two touchdowns. I was right in the middle. I was like, okay. Was that Jeff George or was that Randall? Was that George for that game?

What year was that? 99. It was Jeff George, I believe. Have you ever seen anyone throw a football faster than Jeff George? And he can sling it. Yeah, he can. He could sling it. I couldn't remember if that was that was more towards the beginning of the season where we had moved on for Randall and put Jeff George in there. Yeah, he can definitely sling that. That is a great like party trick for you. Just like give me a box score and I'll tell you all about that day.

I wanted to know, Chris, just, like, the differences between playing receiver when you played it and now. Because there's a lot of similarities, for sure. Like, you were talking about knowing the game, the competitiveness element of it, just catching the football. Like, all those things translate. But, you know the the back in the day 90s fan will say going over the middle you know I grew up in Buffalo New York watching Andre

Reed go over the middle now everyone goes over the middle so I wonder what like what you think is is similar and what you think is different for receivers in today's game well it can't be the same. I mean, we know more information. The game is a lot safer. The rules have changed. How many times are they going to throw the footballs changed? But the fundamentals of running routes and getting open and coverages, they haven't invented any new coverages. They haven't put any 12 guys on the field.

They still play base defense, nickel, and dime. That's it. All right? Some teams play a 34. The other ones play a 43. Like, let's get it. So I think that, you know, the last three decades are married together very, very similar because they still are attacking defenses and still great wide

receiver play is, is, is highlighted and craved around the league. So I love the way the game is played now. I'm glad it's safer for all the players out there, not necessarily just wide receivers. And I don't, you know, Lin Swan doesn't take anything away from me because I didn't play in the 70s. So why should I take something away from the guys that are playing after me? That's idiotic. I'm glad the game is growing. I'm glad more people can play the game. We've got more small receivers than ever before.

So now if you're a good route runner and you're tough, like you've got a chance to play receiver and play it at a high level, maybe you didn't have that chance 20 years ago. Chris, you've been so generous with your time. We won't keep you long here. I just, I saw a piece of footage today. It came across my Twitter feed. It was a clip of 1997.

You were catching balls in the flat, and Chris Walsh was out in front of you just blocking guys into oblivion. I don't know if you remember that. Yeah, Arizona. I couldn't believe that it popped up just hours before we were going to talk to you. So I wanted to know if you remember that game. Oh, that's the knockout game. Yeah.

And what were your impressions of Chris Walsh? Man, Chris Walsh is one of the toughest human beings ever. Man, I love Chris Walsh. I loved having him in our locker room. I loved playing with him, going to battle with him. And him and I used to have some packs as far as practice and everything because, you know, Walsh used to like to hang out a little bit on the nightlife. So he would let me know how late he had hung out and everything,

and if he had too many cocktails. And then I would try to pick up the slack. And if I was a little banged up and everything, he would pick up my slack. So I don't know anyone who played with Chris Walsh who did not love him. And Arizona thought that we had something out for him that day. And I just kept saying, man, that guy likes me. Because every time a guy would try to tackle

me, Chris would knock him out. That was one of the most amazing games. But pound for pound, and you're talking about a guy that gave his body up for the game and he suffered as far as his overall health right now because of what he did for the game of football.

But Chris Walsh is the reason why the game is what it is, man. And you need guys, more guys like Chris Walsh playing the game. He played it the right way. Great team. Well, toughness will always play in the NFL, right? Chris, before we wrap up, I just wanted to ask you, like, how's life, man? I mean, this podcast project is really cool. You've done so many great things with broadcasting. Your post-career NFL career has turned into a whole nother career for you. Just how are things, man? Things are very good. Things are very good. I'm in New York now working. Got a good life. Still live in Florida. Still make my

home there. Still got a daughter that works for the Purple, works for their foundation and everything. So still connected to the Purple. That's my favorite team, always will be. So I'm forever fond of the people of Minnesota and Twin Cities, how they embrace me and help me grow up. So that's always a good trip for me to talk about or talk about the Purple or go see the Purple. Ever hear of test driving a phone network?

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The Great Dane, one of the all-time great kickers and a pro football hall of famer, Morton Anderson. So I want to start off and there's so many things I want to ask you, including playing for the Vikings, kickers, kicker mentality, all that. But I have to ask you, including playing for the Vikings, kickers, kicker mentality, all that. But I have to ask you about your podcast and what it's been like for you getting into podcasting. You're doing a lot of really cool interviews. Your podcast is Great Day Nation, which I've just started listening to. So tell me about being a podcaster, man. It's interesting.

It's been eye-opening for me because i'm usually the one answering the questions and now i'm forced to kind of figure out you know what would i want to if i was the interviewee what would i want to answer what questions would i want to hear do i want the layups do i want the easy ones or can we dig a little deeper? And I think what I've kind of found out is that because I know all these guys, you know, either played with them, against them, or they're Hall of Fame brothers or, you know, when you play for 25 years, you pretty much have seen it, you know, everybody. So I found that the guys tend to open up and give me some really good morsels about their lives.

You know, one of the things that all these guys, these high performance guys have in common is that they all struggled at some point. There was always a some difficult, difficult roads and bumps in the road and unexpected turns but but they they persevered because number one they were extremely talented and then they had an opportunity to do it right I think that's the big one they somebody helped them along the way to get an opportunity to be seen or to mentor be taught and. And then they excelled at it. They got the confidence and excelled and they never looked back. So for me, that's really the fun part is to listen to the story, the aha moment. When did it come for Warren Moon or when did it come for Tony Dungy that we are releasing tomorrow? And what is it that makes these guys tick? You know, what is it that makes

them go? And what is it that's so uncompromising in their life? In other words, what is non-negotiable to them that maybe normal human beings, if you will, you know, are not willing to do? There's just something about the high performance person that strikes me as being very uncompromising and stubborn and want to willing to go a place that's very distasteful in order to go to the greatest heights i think and that's been very interesting for me uh interviewing yeah you know i think that that's what makes sports so fascinating, right? Is that sometimes even athletes don't realize the percentile that they exist in of all people

that ever tried to kick a football, for example, and what it takes to be a one of two hall of fame kickers ever, or, or whatever it might be a super bowl winning coach or a hall of fame quarterback that you know, I think that sometimes they don't, while they're in it, they don't recognize sort of how special that is that you have to be. So is there something that you think is kind of pervasive through everyone that you talk to? I mean, I know you said that they go through bumps, but how like how they overcome those is something that you've sort of taken away? Yeah, I think the one common denominator for all these guys is that they invite failure in. They welcome failure. They yearn for it.

They need it. And they need it exactly because you improve much more when you fail than when the hands are above your head. And for me, that's the interesting telling element of, of these guys is that without, without exception, they were all willing to fail miserably to become legendary. And if you look at, you can look at the corporate world, entertainment world, science, anybody who's a trailblazer, anybody who's a trendset the imperfection of humans and celebrate the perseverance, I would say months in a public park in 2005, after leaving the Vikings in 2004.

And I had a good year with the Vikings, but I was thinking, oh, I'm going to get a call right away. I'm going to be playing my 24th year in 2005. And the phone didn't ring for 20 months. That was disheartening. That was difficult. That was distasteful. That was the world of suck. And people are saying, Morton, you had a good run. Maybe it's time to hang up the cleats.

But I was 77 points away from becoming the all-time leading scorer in the history of the game. And that was important to me. So what are you willing to do? And what are you willing to sacrifice to get there and become legendary, right? And it was literally, you know, 20 months in a public park. And when the Little Leaguers came, I would have to defer the field. I would have my little outfit on. I would have the Kenny Stable shoulder pads. I would have my Vikings jersey on, my Giants helmet on, and my Pro Bowl socks.

And I would go out there in this get-up and kick footballs. And nobody was watching watching and nobody cared. And I would bribe the grounds crew to cut the grass for me, you know, and take them to lunch. And then 2005 turned to 2006. And when the opportunity came, I sat in my basement and watched the guy for the Falcons miss four field goals. I said, you know, I turned to my neighbor Eric and said, I'm switching to water now because the phone's going to ring.

He said, it hasn't rang in 20 months. I said, I know, but it's going to ring. And 20 minutes later after the game, the phone rang. And the next day I was, you know, in a tryout with four flat bellies, half my age, who wanted the job too. Now I'm 46 years old and these guys are 23 years old. But I had a really good tryout. I hit that orange stripe in the net that signals the middle.

I hit it 14 times out of 15 and kind of turned around and said, questions anyone? And my special teams coach said um yeah i got one black a blue ink so it became black ink i signed my one-year deal and three months later in in the georgia dome i became the all-time leading scorer and they stopped the game and handed my jersey to my eight-year-old son and family was there and so you you think at that point, was it worth it? Was it worth it to go through that world of suck for 20 months? And you emphatically answer that by saying, of course it was.

But you kicked great. Because now you're legendary, right? Right. But you kicked great for the Falcons, 87% one year, 89% the next year. So why did you want to keep playing? Was it just to go for that record or just because you believe you were still one of the best kickers in the league? Yeah, well, I mean, one, to finish on my terms, a lot of guys don't get to do that. A lot of guys are being told that's enough.

We've had enough of you. Are we going to get with a younger newer cheaper model let's face it that happens to the majority of guys so so that feeling of being able to go out on my terms was really really uh paramount for me and then to to put myself in the history books of being the all-time leader in points in the history of the game in a in a game i didn't grow up watching or playing you know i came from europe i was a soccer player that was kind of cool that was like hey you know the american dream so that was important and uh and then to prove to myself that i could hang with guys half my age and beat them and be and excel at it and be great at a late age you know I was when I was 47 years old my very last game in the NFL I kicked four field goals against the Seattle Seahawks and I was named NFC special teams player of the week at 47 the oldest to ever be

that and uh so that's kind of cool it is yeah mean, that's a heck of a way to go out. And I was going to ask you about, because Minnesota and kicking woes are connected now, not in 2004, it went fine in 2004, but other times not so much. And I guess I wonder about when you talk about overcoming failure and there were years in your career that you had dips. And I'm sure that along the way, there were kicks that you could have won games that you didn't. Um, but it seems like there are some kickers and we just saw this in Minnesota where Greg Joseph overcame earlier this year, missing a kick, missing a kick in that game to hit a 54 yard game winner. What is it? What's the mentality that separates the kickers who can get over that and the ones who can't, because

we've seen many times guys miss a key kick and that's it for them. You don't see them again. Yeah, it's a long, steady grind. It's a marathon. I tell my guys it's not a sprint. It's a marathon. And you've got to be able to persevere over a long period of time. They don't hand out the prizes in September or your rookie year.

That's way down the line, hopefully, for you. And let's look at a career of 15, 20 years. In my case, 25 years aren't very unusual. But let's at least get 10 years and look at that body of work and what are we doing year in and year out? Are you able to be consistent? Are you able to not have three, four, five misses in a row? Are you able to go to a happy place, go to your base, and be able to kick at a high level despite having a distasteful situation maybe earlier in the game? If you miss early, are you able to come back and make late in the game? And all those things that it takes to be great at this position. It's a very polarizing position. It's one of the most

difficult and one of the most important on the football team next to the quarterback. Quarterback handles the ball every snap. I totally get it. But the kicker influences and affects the game probably more than any other position besides the quarterback it's crazy when you look at the end of the year who's got the most points and i believe you own the new orleans saints uh most points record right i mean so i think so i can't don't remember anymore your wikipedia has got a lot of records there morton's yeah i think that's one of them we'll go with it well yeah so because uh you know blair walsh for example missed the field goal in the playoffs and then the next year it just seemed to carry over and i think for people who've never done it like myself um it's sort of a mystery it's like well why don't you just kind of put

it in the past but obviously uh it's much more complicated than that yeah and i also think that there's a tendency on the the part of the coaches and management to pull the trigger really fast on that position. So if the guy's having a bad game, well, we can just go get another guy. Well, you can't just go get another guy. And you've got to realize it's a luxury when you find somebody who's good and consistent. You want to nurture that guy. You want to pay him well.

You want to stick with him and make him understand that he's your guy, that I'm not bailing on you if you have a bad game. I mean, you're not going to bail on a wide receiver because he drops four or five balls in the game, are you? I don't think so. So the same with kickers, right? I think you just need to sometimes have a little bit of patience, especially with a young guy, and develop him,

especially if you see that potential. Listen, there's 200 guys that can kick the ball really far, really far, and really well. But when the lights come on at 1 o'clock Sunday afternoon, you get about 80% that drops right off and are not a factor anymore because of right here between the years. And then you have 20% who will, some will be journeymen and bounce around and not be able to, because of what I just said, the impatience of the coaching staff, the management, also their inability to put games together productively. And then you have elite guys,

a handful of guys where you say, these guys can be legendary, the Justin Tuckers and the Harrison Butkers and those type of guys where you say, wow, they're difference makers for their football team. They're a weapon. They could make it to the Pro Football Hall of Fame one day if they keep this going. They could be considered maybe the best that ever was. But they're far and few between. They're far and few between. And so it was the same when we played, and we didn't have the luxury

of K-balls. We didn't have the luxury of K-balls. We didn't have the luxury of a designated long snapper and being with a punter the whole time, and he was my holder. There was a lot of musical chairs in that environment back then. So that has changed to the benefit of the guys now. They're better because they have better opportunity to be better, in my opinion. Although you kicked one from 60 yourself so you weren't that far away from a justin tucker 66 yard kick uh i wanted i wanted to ask you to describe to me because um who better to ask what it's like

to trot onto the field for a 54 yard game winning field goal i mean just like what goes through your mind what is it like lining it up? What is that feeling? You've got a packed house, you know, I mean, just take me through that. Well, nothing different than a 49 yarder with five yards to spare because that's what a 54 yarder is. So you, you, you know, you have a same kick mentality. I think that's really important.

You realize that not one kick go to, defines your ability as a kicker, and it doesn't validate you whether it comes in the first quarter or in the fourth quarter or in overtime. So I think that's important. I think you need to realize as a performer two things you control and two things only, attitude and effort. Everything else is white noise. Where we get in trouble in this business is when we start paying attention to things we don't control. We take the focus away from our positive behavior and what we control and making that

dominant. So kicking is very simple to make your positive behavior that you control dominant. And everything else is white noise and you shouldn't pay any attention to it. You got to keep it simple. Having said all that, when you go out on a field for a game winner, you need to just be. And what I mean by that is when a young guy plays, he tends to force himself on the game a lot. There's a certain level of impatience where he goes, I wish I get a kick in early in the first quarter, then I'll be off to a good start, and then I will have a good game.

But what he needs to realize is he doesn't control it. The game has no memory. The game doesn't control it. The game has no memory. The game doesn't care. The game will play itself. And what you need to do as a performer is plug yourself into the game when the opportunity comes. And then you need to trust. And then you need to release and you need to be free and pull the trigger fearlessly. Easier said than done, but that can be trained mentally. That can be trained with a clear mind. And I think a lot of times when guys don't get it done in these perceived pressure situations, and I don't like the word pressure because pressure happens only when your skill set doesn't match the task at hand. Think about that, right? If it's in your

wheelhouse, then you should have clarity of mind and you should be able to freely with good breathing and a relaxed technique, go through the ball down the target line. But when you can't do that, it's because your mind's cluttered and you're scared. You're scared of failing. You're thinking about failing instead of just focusing on two things, effort and attitude, and pulling the trigger and owning your workbench, understanding the moment of truth. Which for a kicker, a moment of truth, when the plant foot hits the ground, that's the moment of truth. Why?

You're either right or wrong. Once that plant foot hits the ground, it's like a quarterback on a seven step drop. When that last foot hits the ground and he gets ready to throw, he's either right or wrong. Moment of truth. So there's moments of truths and work benches in everything and every position that we, that we play. It just happens to be that the kicking position is so visible and so vulnerable and so out there because feedback's immediate. Right.

It's immediate. Yeah. Right. And if the quarterback overthrows his receiver, people probably won't remember one of 40 passes. Right. It's immediate. Yeah. Right. And if the quarterback overthrows his receiver, people probably won't remember one of 40 passes. Right. But if a receiver, you know, listen, standards now for kickers and we're kicking around 50, I mean, 80% plus now that's average. The good guys are 90% plus. I would venture to say that if a receiver caught eight out of 10 balls, he would be all pro every year. And that's just average when you take kickers. So the comparisons, you know, it's difficult for me to understand when people criticize a guy that misses like a 49-yard field goal. Well, where's the critique when that 15-yard out was dropped,

when it hit you right in the chest plate, and you could have had a first down and continued to drive or maybe scored, run a fade route, oh, off the fingertips. Why wasn't that ball caught? And why does that have less credence than a kicker missing a field goal therein lies my conundrum folks football season is in full swing but we've got basketball and hockey getting rolling as well and soda stick has got you covered you have to see the moose t-shirt designs for marcus felino you could also get your hands on the very popular dollar bill carril shirts as well on the

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Use the promo code purple insider for free shipping and also follow myself and soda stick on Twitter for our giveaways. The brutal nature of the game, Morten, but you overcame that for many years. I was going to say, I'm up in the press box drinking Diet Pepsi and my heart's racing in those moments. So I just can't imagine how different, I mean, how different you are than me to be able to calm down. Well, you need to switch to a beer and relax a little bit. Back in the day, they might have had that in the press box today it's only it's only the uh the diet pepsi i wanted to ask you about um you talk about

receivers and um being all pro oh four you got a chance to play with uh dante call pepper randy moss one of the great offenses that's ever existed in the nfl i just wonder what you i mean what you sort of observed there is somebody who had uh in 98 which we don't have to talk about uh had uh beaten the vikings and seen randy moss you know from playing the vikings against them and then you get a chance to play with those guys uh up close i wonder what that was like for you well they were both great players but it was funny to me there were rules for us and then there were rules for dante and randy yeah the randy rules randy ratio yep so that that you know i thought that was funny i mean a little bit uh a little bit disrespectful

to the rest of the team but never never mind that it's um they were great players and and were an important obviously very important components of our offense. And we did go deep in the playoffs. I mean, we lost to Philadelphia in the divisional playoff that year in Philly, and we probably could have won that game had it not been for a couple of plays here and there. That's always the case. But we had 12 men on the field on a fake field goal. Rookie offensive lineman didn't get off the field. Randy split out left, and we were going to throw it to him. Nobody covered him, but we had't get off the field. Randy split out left and we were going to throw

it to him. Nobody covered him, but we had 12 men on the field. So we backed up. It's happened a couple of times to the Vikings actually. So instead of getting seven, we got three and that was really a difference in the game. Yeah. That's a, that's not the only 12 men on the field that hurt the Vikings in 09 as well. I mean, when you think about the number of just different teams that you played with, is there something that when you played with great teams, I mean, the Atlanta team, of course, was incredible in 1998 and a missed kick ends up sending you to the Super Bowl, but nonetheless, an incredible team. Is the teams that stick out to your mind now, I guess, what made them special? Teams I played for? Yeah, teams that were great.

Sure, yeah. I would say the 98 team was just full of great personalities, guys that were willing to go to bat for each other, guys that were willing to handle everything internally so if there was a problem, it would be handled. Very, very strong type A personalities who were ballers, who were great, and who didn't put up with crap and didn't put up with people being lazy or late or any of that stuff. Coaches didn't need to do anything. The players handled it. So that was a great football team. We could have won it all. We ran into Denver in Elway's last year there, and we got bogged down in the red zone in the Super Bowl. Instead of touchdowns, we kicked field goals, and I missed a field goal.

And, you know, they made a couple big pass plays on us. But overall, we were a really good football team. Listen, we were 13. Let's see, we were 14-2 and had to go on the road against the Vikings, and we were road dogs coming to the Metrodome. Vikings had that offensive juggernaut with Cunningham and the gang up there with Chris Carter, and I think it might have been Randy Moss Chris Carter. And I think it was,

might've been Randy Moss's rookie year actually. It was. Yep. And they had a defense with Randall and all the guys. So we were, you know, we were fortunate to hang with them all that, that whole game and, and, and win it in overtime. But we had a special team, and we felt that we were not intimidated by the Vikings.

Everybody thought the Vikings would win, but we weren't intimidated. So that was a really good football team. We had some teams in the 80s with the Saints, with the Dome Patrol, with Sam Mills, Ricky Jackson, Vaughn Johnson, and Pat Swilling. Unbelievable teams. Ball control. Jim Moore Sr. was the head coach and Jim Finks, GM. Really good football teams where we made the playoffs several years in a row,

but we got beat in the first round. I think one of the years actually against the Vikings. So we just weren't able to punch the ticket to the big game down there. We should have on several occasions. We were good enough, but we didn't. And then, you know, the Chiefs were really good in 02 and 03 when I was there. We had an offensive, just a slew of offensive weapons

with Priest Holmes and Trent Green at the quarterback, Tony Gonzalez and Kennison and just really good players, Will Shields and Willie Rolfe on the line. Great running game. We were good. We scored points. But, again, we got beat. Got beat by the Colts and Peyton Manning in the playoffs.

We had home field advantage. We had a bye, but still got beat. And so there's a lot of frustration there. It doesn't take away from us being a really good football team. So I've been on great football teams. I've been on some very average ones, and I've been on some really bad ones. And I would say the biggest difference really is the quality of the players and the quality of the direction that is given by the head coach and that type of personality. You know, Dan Reeves was an ex-player. He was very good. Dick Vermeule was very good with the players and handling and administering that. And then there

were some that were not as good. And I'm not going to mention them, but they were just people that were less excellent than others others that's a good way to put it yeah it's so it's so interesting when you have a career like that and you you start off in in the 80s and all the way to the basically where the game becomes what it is today that that gives you a perspective that very few other humans in the history of football have had i have two more questions one of them is kind of funny, but I've always wondered it. And then the other one. Before you do, let me lend some perspective to what you just said. I'm one of the few players that ever played for the three commissioners, Roselle Tagliabue and Godel. I played in the 80s and 90s and the new millennium. So three decades

and went through two strikes, two player strike 1982 for pension benefits. The reason that we have an okay pension now is we went on strike in 82. And the reason that there's player movement, salary cap and free agency was 1987 and Reggie Wyatt and us going on strike in 87. So just wanted to throw that in there. Yeah. I mean, you got to see really the evolution of the game, not only from a perspective of football on the field, but also what it is as a business when you started playing. I mean, it was, I was even thinking about myself, like they used to black out games as I just now last night, I'm watching the game on my computer here.

And it's just how much that's changed. There's so many teams that you were on that I would love to talk about. I mean, the 95 Falcons with June Jones and Eric Metcalf and Jeff George. I mean, you just got to see up close so many cool ones, but I wanted to ask about your face mask because kickers and face masks. What a bizarre relationship. I mean, you have, you have the map bar that was just no kind of face mask. And he used to tackle people. And then, you know, now guys are kind of a little more normal.

I grew up in Buffalo. Steve Christie, one of the great all-time kickers, he had to kind of went down and it was like over here. But you had one of the most memorable face masks. That's right. Just that it was like someone shrunk a regular face mask. Explain that face mask to me more. Well, it gave me a lot of vision. I wanted, you know, I never liked that. I didn't want to get that nose bar in there because I wanted to make sure I could see clearly, you know, if a fist

came in there, so be it. You know, that's collateral damage. So the two was just really to protect the teeth a little bit, the mouth cheekbone. And I would take that face mask with me everywhere I went and we would dip it. And so with the Vikings, it would be purple. It was the same one. Oh yeah. It was the same one. It's amazing. And we would just change the color. We would just change the color of it.

Yeah. Yeah. It went with me everywhere. Just like my kenny stable shoulder pads yeah i mean did you ever have to i mean i'm sure you did right like make a couple of tackles along the way because i had a couple where i pushed a guy out of bounds deon sanders got scared when you saw me ran out of bounds so that's about it okay So you never had one of those, those moments where you got to like deck a guy like Pat McAfee style. No, that wasn't really my thing.

I mean, I got decked a few times. I got ear hold, I got blindsided and stuff like that. I was a speed bump on a couple of occasions, but yeah, that's about it. Yeah.

I did a story about kickers tackling where with the special teams coach. And I asked Kai for Beth about it. He didn't really like the question. He was just like, yeah, what are you making fun of me? I'm like, no, I really want to know what your thought process is when the guy's coming at you at 23 miles an hour. But, um, Well, mine, mine, you know, my nickname was the matador. So you can figure, you can figure it out.

There's the goal line, you know, Everyone thinks of you as the great day and they don't know the matador uh that's great uh okay so last one is i mentioned i grew up in buffalo steve tasker to me belongs in the hall of fame and i just wonder what you think of and even i see christy's got a case too uh the the very limited number of special teamers who are in the hall of fame but as i mentioned there are many kickers who own team records for the most points ever scored by a player from that franchise and uh you look through the great somebody reminded me of jason hansen the other day when the vikings are playing the lines and i guess i just wonder about blazing that trail yourself to get a gold jacket and what you

think of the future if there are going to be many more opportunities for kickers, punters, specialists. Bill Bates was a great one back in the day. Matthew Slater is a great one. Devin Hester. Devin Hester, of course. Yeah, for sure. Well, I think, can you answer the question, can you write the story of the NFL without mentioning this guy? And clearly, you cannot write the story of the NFL and special teams without Steve Tasker. It's impossible. He was a game changer blocking kicks and in the return game, but especially on coverage, but especially blocking kicks and changing the momentum of a game.

So Steve Tasker absolutely belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. So does Devin Hester, and there's others. You know, Gary Anderson belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. So does Devin Hester. And there's others. You know, Gary Anderson belongs in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You know, he had an unbelievable run. And he's one of the greatest kickers in the history of the game. You cannot write the story of the NFL without mentioning Gary Anderson. Same with Jason Hansen. Maybe Sebastian Janikowski and their punter, Leckler, Shane Leckler,

another possibility. Sean Landetta is another punter that should be in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. You can't write the story of the NFL without understanding that Sean Landetta was a weapon for the Giants, Philadelphiaadelphia and wherever he played so you know it's just that there's there's there's a lot of traffic at the door you know and i i found that out i was the leading scorer in the history of the game it took me five years to get in right so adam minotauri he's in he should be first ballot and then justin tucker hangs up. He'll be there. I'm sure of it. And you know, if some of these young guys keep going, who knows? So we,

but it's going to be a slow process. Yeah. It, it, it, unfortunately. But I hope it changes, you know, I hope we can get more guys in for sure. Yeah. Me too. I think that while growing up watching Marv Levy as a coach, he was one that really emphasized special teams. He was one of the first. Him and Dick Vermeule were the two first special teams coaches in the history of the game. Right.

So I always sort of looked for that value of those guys. And Steve Tasker, I love your comments on him. So, well, we'll see if it happens. I think the NFL would be smart to put a lot of guys in at once who've been deserving and have been waiting to sort of open it up. Um, yeah, I know that's right. That's right. They did. And I feel like you need a couple of those because there's just been so many guys backlog. Um, but anyway, um, more, more, and this has been a super fun conversation and I love when I can walk away and feel like I learned a lot from my guest um

the great good yeah no i did i mean i really did um i'm still gonna get nervous up in the press box though when it gets to the fourth quarter and i'll be shaking my fingers typing my story so um great day nation is your podcast and uh you um you you probably got a decent rolodex there guys you can reach out to for your show we've've had a, to date, I think we're 57 episodes in, uh, Tony Dungy gets released tomorrow. We just had Warren moon on and we just keep going over 35 pro football, hall of famer. So far we've had Bill Marion, Charles Barkley and lots of just, you know,

influencers and thought leaders. Tony Dungy was riveting, really good conversation about his leadership model and what, you know, what he stands for and believes in. And it's an interesting listen if you, you know, if you want to learn stuff, that's for sure, from a guy who did it at the highest level and did it the right way. Yeah, and the Minnesota connection there as well with Tony Fungi. So that's right.

Honored to have you on. Well, I'm at two Hall of Famers. I have Chris Carter and you, so we'll keep on working through our list, but great, great stuff. I'm really glad we can do it. You're welcome here anytime and take care, man. Thanks a lot. All right, man. All the best. See you.