Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - How many wins would the Vikings need to be considered a contender for the NFC?

Episode Date: November 24, 2021

Matthew Coller and Sam Ekstrom talk about rumors about the Chicago Bears potentially firing Matt Nagy and whether Vikings fans should be happy about the idea Chicago could can their struggling head coach. They talk about the path to the playoffs and why the San Francisco 49ers game might determine the rest of the season. What's the vibe around the Vikings' building now after everyone was so down two weeks ago? Does it feel like everything is back on track? Plus, how many wins would it take for the Vikings to feel like a real contender? And Dalvin Tomlinson added to the COVID list Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Matthew Collar along with Sam Ekstrom and a shout out to Jonathan Harrison for our cool new intro. We've been doing the countdown thing that Jonathan got on that to get a little theme music in there and very cool graphics. So appreciate him and his work. He also runs our Twitter account at purple underscore insider, which is the best. Go follow. Yeah, he's doing a tremendous job.

Articles, clips, all sorts of things. So make sure you go check that out. And great to be with you as we are talking about a huge Minnesota Vikings win doing a tremendous job. Articles, clips, all sorts of things. So make sure you go check that out. And great to be with you as we are talking about a huge Minnesota Vikings win over the Green Bay Packers. What they've got in terms of a path to the playoffs now, their newfound philosophy, of course, will continue to be at the forefront of the conversation. But I actually have to start in a different place that is not necessarily Vikings related, except for tangentially, is the rumors that Matt Nagy will be fired after Thanksgiving, Sam. And it came to my mind last year when I wrote an article after Matt Patricia had had his last game against the Vikings for the

Detroit Lions. And I wrote, well, the Vikings will miss Matt Patricia because they just stomped the ever-loving heck out of the Lions during his era. And now, not that Dan Campbell has done much better, but do you think that the Vikings should be sad to see it if Matt Nagy is fired by the Chicago Bears? Well, Matt Nagy gave them a heck of a lot more trouble than Matt Patricia ever did. That's for sure. And by the way, Dan Campbell gave the Vikings a better trouble than Matt Patricia ever did. That's for sure. And by the way, Dan Campbell gave the Vikings a better game than Matt Patricia ever did either. Yes, 100%. But Nagy's been kind of a kryptonite for the Vikings, right?

They come in in week 17, three seasons ago, and they win. The Vikings have lost a couple times in Soldier Field where they've had the better quarterback and they still lose. And I think some of that was Vic Fangio, right? I mean, Vic Fangio had that defense playing so well. And after Vic left, it wasn't quite as good and hasn't been as formidable the past couple of years. Still decent. But Nagy has not been able to get a pulse on that Bears offense now for a while. And I guess whenever you get rid of a coach who can't figure

it out, can't squeeze anything out of an offense and a young quarterback, then I guess you're risking that, okay, the next coach might be really good at it. So from a Viking standpoint, even though he's struggling right now with Chicago, you know, the next guy could be really good. So I think that certainly the Vikings are probably holding their breath. Who's this next coach going to be? And the Bears have some incentive to make this change because I believe now they're allowed to interview coaches the final two weeks of the regular season. If they have their eye on some candidates, they can get a little bit of a head start. And it would make sense to fire Nagy after Thanksgiving as cold as it might seem because they get that extra few days for the new interim coach to integrate into what they're doing. So they get about 10 days before their week 13 game. And then that interim coach would lead them against the Vikings twice in the final four weeks of the season. And I think that's another little scary thing for the Vikings too is, you know, what if this is someone that really

pumps up the players, someone that the players would like to perform well for? Maybe he, you know, figures out things with Justin Fields, assuming he's able to return from his injury. The Vikings faced that with Raheem Morris last year with the interim coach boost that propelled the Atlanta Falcons past them in a game they had no business winning so I think while Nagy has had the Vikings number in a way I still think the Vikings are not that happy to uh to see him go yeah I I think um when it comes to the overall competitiveness of the bears, Matt Nagy probably held them back in, in some ways, they still made the playoffs a couple of times, uh, with Mitch Trubisky as their quarterback and Mitch Trubisky.

I mean, the league showed what they thought of him by him getting a one year, $3 million backup quarterback job with the Buffalo bills. So it's not like they thought it was a Ryan Tannehill type of situation with Adam Gase or something. Although, you know, I guess he even came in initially as a backup or a Sam Darnold case where the other team thought, oh, this guy's actually talented. You were just holding him back. Like everyone thought that Trubisky was bad. But when you see this, the high end stuff from Justin Fields. And then you watch on Sunday and you see just confusion, routes that leave the entire middle of the field with nobody running there,

like an offensive system that asks receivers to get wide open one-on-one all the time when that is not really what they have in terms of personnel. The way that they also handled their offensive line was kind of an abomination so i think their general manager deserves it as much as matt nagy does so but there's also this other element of it of matt nagy was really competitive with the minnesota vikings and you're right that defense was a huge part of it but even last year like they smoked the vikings defense last year they ran over them they were running bootlegs, play actions, all of a sudden, stuff that they had never done really before against the Vikings. But I think from the bigger

picture, if you're a Vikings fan, you want Matt Nagy to stay as the coach because he really holds them back. He limits what the ceiling could be for Justin Fields. And if you bring in the right person, which we have seen some franchises bring in the wrong person and they ruin a young quarterback and they just leave a trail of terribleness behind them. So that does happen when you hire the wrong coach, but if they hire the right coach and Justin Fields maximizes that talent that we've seen in bursts, yeah, I think you'd be pretty concerned. I would also, in the short term, I would be concerned about Bill Lazor being the one who calls their plays as opposed to Matt Nagy, because at times they've thrown him in there and he's actually done a pretty good job. Like when Matt Nagy had to miss a game for COVID. So I think that that's something

you're not necessarily rooting for. You're kind of rooting for like, give them some more time, give them another chance. They also don't have Khalil Mack to help their defense this year for the rest of the season when the Vikings face them which is transition Sam into let's talk about the path to the playoffs of the Vikings you want to talk about that like we have not had any chance to talk about this all year it's like who's staying who's going and that still remains interesting but path to the playoffs give me a one to ten how hard do you think the Vikings path to the playoffs, give me a one to 10. How hard do you think the Vikings path to the post season is 10 is the most difficult one is easy street. I think it's about, um, one was easy street. You said, yeah, one is easy street. 10 is really difficult. I think it's a four. Um, And it's not because they're going to have necessarily

easy games. It's just that I don't think they need to win that many of their games. I think they need to go four and three. And I don't think that's unattainable, which means they can afford to lose to the Rams. They can afford to even lose to the 49ers this week and maybe the Steelers or maybe the Packers, but I think they can still sneak by with some hiccups along the way. San Francisco is playing better. That team is certainly a threat. Philadelphia is playing better, and that team is certainly a threat. Beyond that, I'm not putting stock in Taylor Heineke. I'm not putting stock in Matt Rule and Cam Newton. Certainly not in the Bears, who've pretty much fallen out of it. The Seahawks have completely fallen out of it,

and the Vikings have the tiebreaker there. And the Saints have a tough set of games coming up. They've lost three in a row, and Trevor Simeon's not good. So I don't think there's really anything holding the Vikings back unless those two teams, the Eagles and 49ers get really, really hot. And I don't think their quarterbacks are good enough to do that either. I just think the Vikings have, you know, of those competing teams, the best quarterback, the best setup, probably the best roster to make that run. So I think that, you know, while they do have some tough games along the way, I don't have any faith in the NFC right now. I think the Vikings have not only a good chance at the seventh seed,

but the sixth seed, which they are presently in. And Matthew, we're looking at not a killer game if they lose, but a gangbusters if they beat San Francisco, because then it's house money. Then you've got an 80 plus percent chance to make it. You've got every tiebreaker known to man, and you've got the Lions up next. It's not a win and end game, but it kind of feels close to that in the sense that they would have all sorts of margin for error if they win, which is weird to say because they haven't had any all year.

Right. And this is why it's kind of a trick question, because at this moment you could say four, you could make an argument for five or six because you still have to beat some good teams. You have to be a good defense in San Francisco. You're going to have to play against the Packers again. You have to play against the Rams here. And we know that even though we were just like cracking on Chicago and how bad they've become,

I mean, Chicago under all circumstances has beat the Minnesota Vikings and split because division games, you just never know. So even if you feel like, Oh yeah, I should just walk over them and two easy wins. Well,

that didn't happen in 2016 when they played Jay Cutler, when he was like two and nine or something, whatever it was two and five or whatever. They were horrendous in 2016 and still one. And that has been the case in many years in the past. So you can always lose a game mixed in there. Uh, but easy, easy enough, right? Trending closer for the easy than hard. But if you lose this game against the 49ers, I think it goes from like a four where I would agree with you three or four to like an eight. I think it becomes very difficult. And here's why here's San Francisco's schedule. After the Minnesota game, they play at Seattle.

They have completely given up at Cincinnati will be tough for them. Atlanta completely given up. Tennessee is tough for them. Houston. And then at the Rams. I mean, that is a pretty darn easy schedule where only two or three of those games are tough for San Francisco the rest of the way. And if they are getting hot and playing well, that could be a problem for the Vikings. Philadelphia schedule is even easier.

They've got the giants. They've got the jets. They've got the Giants, they've got the Jets, they've got football team. The other teams that you're competing with, the two toughest, are really in a great spot to cruise where I think the Vikings have more pitfalls along the way. But like you said, if you beat San Francisco, then you can have the same record as San Francisco and still end up in. Yeah, there is actually a two-game swing coming up this Sunday because the loser will be a game behind without the tiebreaker. So that's massive. I mean, with six games remaining to make up two games on a team is hard. And I guess you could wind up in

a three-way tiebreaker where the head-to-head doesn't mean something, but you can't assume that. Philadelphia, going into last week, I think they had five of seven games against bottom-of-the-barrel teams, from what I saw. They had the third easiest winning percentage against remaining this season. And the Vikings actually had one of the hardest in the NFC because they had two games against the Packers. Well, they've taken care of one of those hardest in the NFC because they had two games against the Packers. Well, they've taken care of one of those, which is extremely helpful. Also, they get the Lions, which is awesome for them. And the Bears at home in week 18, even though it is the Bears, I think the spooky Bears stuff mostly comes into play at Soldier Field. I know there have been wins at US Bank Stadium too, but Soldier Field is the one that should concern people. Week 18, if the Vikings have something to play for and the Bears don't,

and this isn't like a good Bears team with nothing to play for, this is a bad Bears team with nothing to play for, that usually is going to favor the Vikings. So I would tend to think that that's a good opportunity for a win as well. And remember, you're only shooting, I think, for nine. I think you need nine. So San Francisco game, very pivotal, really kind of puts you head and shoulders above the field if you win.

And yeah, I think you assessed it well that a loss means you have to scrap. You have to fight. You're trying again to get back to that 500 mark. This team has not been above 500 since 2019. I mean, they just keep kind of aspiring to get to that arbitrary benchmark when, I mean, really, they got to get a few games over it. Yeah. And so I was going to say famous last words for the, Hey, uh, the bears won't be

trying week 18 and it'll be fine. Uh, that's like a classic, uh, that happened once when I was, well, actually I was, uh, not in media yet, but to the Buffalo bills where the Pittsburgh Steelers weren't playing any of their players. Cause they were already in the playoffs and bills with drew blood. So all they needed was that week 17 win at home. And they were beaten by Tommy Maddox and Brian St. Pierre, if I recall correctly. So yeah, not ideal.

So never say never when it comes to that and the Vikings and the Chicago Bears. Now, I want to talk about something unrelated because we kind of got that situation laid out that this game is as big or it might even be bigger than the Packers game like the Packers game is a great win for them but in terms of your playoff position if they had lost they'd still be going into the San Francisco game saying this is everything right here because that's an actual team you're competing with the Packers have kind of got unless they fall off the edge of the earth they didn't look like they're going to fall off the edge of the earth the Packers have kind of got the division set let off the edge of the earth, they didn't look like they're going to fall off the edge of the earth. The Packers have kind of got the division set. Let me just

pose something real quick with that. Real quick. Just tell me if this is anything to you or if it's nothing. If the Vikings win on Sunday, Packers play the Rams, okay? So the Packers could lose. That's a tough game. Yeah. If the Vikings close that gap one more game, they were one and a half games out of the division lead with the Packers coming up, chance to claim the tiebreaker and with a game in hand, which they would control their destiny then to win that game. So in theory, Matthew, the Vikings would control their destiny to win the division if they can gain one more game, does that mean anything to you? No, not yet. Not yet. They can make it mean something to me. They can always do that. But usually what we do in the NFL is we see something happen and then we go, this is the

truth. This is all the facts that I needed is whatever I just saw. And I don't want to be prisoner of the moment quite in that way. Like I think along the way, there's another loss or two that we didn't see coming. There's another Cooper rush game. Um, and then maybe there's a big win that we get excited about and say they found it. And ultimately we kind of go bounce back and forth the same way we have, because this is the strengths and weaknesses of this team. Now, in order to do that, this is a transition to what I wanted to discuss also today is I want to know what you think of the vibe because a couple of weeks ago we were saying, oh boy, funeral music around here. I think everybody knew it. I think it was super tense

inside the building and everything was about to collapse. Basically the walls were crumbling. There were cracks everywhere. Everybody's pointing fingers at each other. This is when they're three and five and everybody's sort of trying to grab a lifeboat saying, Oh yeah, we're going to play LA, but like save me. And then they win the game in LA. They come back here. They bring some of that belief of the second half. They're aggressive from the very start. They get a huge win at home. Do you think that there is a change within the vibe and the mentality and how this team feels about itself from where it was before a couple of weeks ago? Or is that just, again, riding the roller coaster and this is a high versus that was a low? So, I mean, obviously the messaging is more positive after two straight wins.

I'm actually not a big believer in momentum week to week. I think momentum is an in-game concept that is absolutely true. I'm not sure it translates week to week. I don't know if the win against Green Bay means anything against San Francisco, just because there's so much time. There's two new game plans. There's a whole bunch of different personnel. This isn't baseball where you play the same guys the next day and you can sort of carry whatever happened the night before into that game. It doesn't work that way. I will say too that I sense that this five and five team is still a little, is more focused than the three and three team. When they won that Carolina game, there was this big celebration. They went into the bye and I think everybody kind of felt like they'd made it. And the quotes that I've heard after the five and five are, this is not our goal. We are not going to be satisfied with this. There's a

lot more to come. And I think that's a healthier way to look at it. I would almost say, Matthew, too, that like to get to this point, the Vikings had very serious things going on at three and five. Like you talked about, it felt like, you know, there were funeral dirges playing in the background in everyone's head as they were sort of speaking that week. And then some really serious stuff started happening. Like the Dalvin Cook allegations, Dakota Dozier's in the hospital. There's a COVID outbreak basically on the team, which has now hit Dennis Ryan.

It was almost like all this stuff sort of, I don't know if it took the pressure off players that were on the field because there was just so much happening that it was like, well, I guess we'll just go play. We're not going to stress as much about it because there's more serious things going on. Maybe that played a role in it, but they kind of seemed to play relaxed, oddly, in that Los Angeles game. And then they were, again, kind of relaxed in the Green Bay game and they kind of let it loose and Kirk Cousins did things he doesn't usually try. So somehow this team came out of three and five, which seemed like a death march,

and they've actually looked kind of the best they have all year, which is a credit to whatever buttons Mike Zimmer pressed that week seemed to have worked. Hey, everybody, Minnesota football is in full swing and there is no need to exhaust yourself searching all over the internet for Minnesota football tickets because TickPick, that is T-I-C-K-P-I-C-K, is the original no-fee ticket site. It's the only one you'll ever need as your go-to for football tickets. TickPick got rid of all those awful service fees that the other ticket sites charge, which allows them to guarantee the best prices on all of your tickets. TickPick got rid of all those awful service fees that the other ticket sites charge, which allows them to guarantee the best prices on all of your tickets. Don't believe it. If you can find better prices on the same seats on another site, TickPick will give you 110% of the difference. Now, we've had lots of exciting games at U.S. Bank Stadium this year. There are still more to go, including Los Angeles coming

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and the one I always mention because it's the best one, the Randy Moss disgusting act. You can put that on a hoodie, shirt, or almost anything else. And plus, anything you want with Skol on it, SodaStick has it. Again, that's S-O-T-A-S-T-I-C-K.com. Perfect for gifts. And you can get that shipping free by using the code PURPLEINSIDER. It does seem like there is a way where in the NFL, we sort of wait for the results and

then write what happened later. Like write the narrative later. Like, oh, they came together at three and five, everybody who banded together and had team meetings and sung acoustic guitar songs. And everybody went, let's go beat LA. But like, it didn't feel like that at all. I mean, it felt very much like if we lose this, I'm about to blame everybody, you know, and that was not the vibe just from Mike Zimmer. I mean, from lots of people from Adam Thielen, who seemed like a broken man after they lost to Baltimore, where he came out in front of us and said, would you throw us the football,

please? And Justin Jefferson had been saying it. And Mike Zimmer has revealed on multiple occasions how frustrated Justin Jefferson was that they weren't getting the offense going and things like that. And I don't think Justin Jefferson takes very kindly to losing football games. I mean, I asked him this question earlier this year and he kind of said like, yeah, I mean, it's just very different because he's never lost. I mean, they just they when they won every game in LSU is last year.

They killed everybody with three superstar NFL players on the same team. And then he comes here and he's never been above 500 in the NFL, which is really crazy to think about. And so that frustration is building of Justin Jefferson going, I'm a superstar, but I got to win here. Let's go. And Mike Zimmer looking around and saying, man, if we lose one more, this could be it. They could just fire me. And I absolutely think if they had lost the last two games, especially if they gotten killed, we'd be having the Matt Nagy conversation about Mike Zimmer.

Like, is this it? Or is he getting fired? And you could feel that pressure mounting to go along with the Delvin cook allegations to go along with the Delvin Cook allegations, to go along with the COVID outbreak. And it just felt like, and not far separated from Daniil Hunter's injury either, that everyone knew this could be it. And they found a way to win in Los Angeles and found a way to win against Green Bay. I think for a week that's gone away. And now everyone will kind of get like,

oh, we're confident now. We have shown what we can really be. And what we said at the beginning of the year is right, that we were a good team that lost on some bad breaks. But boy, can that change quickly, right? Like this is the hard part about being a 500 NFL team is just how taxing it is to have this weekly thing where you're up and you think that everything is great and then you're down. You think about the Minneapolis Miracle game and they went into that

game in Philadelphia telling us, oh no, it's behind us. Everything is good. We've had a great week of practice, everything else. And then after they lost, they all came out and said, yeah, we had a bad week of practice. We were all distracted by the miracle thing. And you do wonder about that with this team because, like you said, against Carolina, they raised a banner. I mean, they held up the trophy after putting up 500 yards and then came out against Cooper Rush and were super flat. And that's the one thing that you get concerned about vibe wise is that you sort of feel like you've gotten past the toughest part of the schedule. And then you're reminded

that every NFL team is good. And the San Francisco team is actually really good, Sam. I mean, I, I think they've lost some games because of Garoppolo injuries and things like that. But when I look at them on paper, I see a top 10 offense when Garoppolo is playing and a top 10 defense with the personnel that they have. Yeah, I mean, I guess beware of any highlights you see against the Jacksonville Jaguars. But if you watch back that game, Debo looks unbelievable, right? Ayuk looks unbelievable. They've got a lot of speed on that offense. Garoppolo looked like he was extremely confident in what he was doing.

And, you know, the defense, I guess you can say they gained some confidence. I don't know if shutting down Trevor Lawrence and Urban Meyer's team gives you a reason to pat yourself on the back too much, but three points allowed until garbage time against any team is still pretty good, especially when you flew across country on the road. I'll give them that. So they, and they're well coached, right? I mean, this is a team that's been places.

They know how to win and they've had injuries. And just like the Vikings, they had to kind of figure things out and they've righted their ship to some extent. So now, you know, did the Vikings have enough sort of tricks in their bag to slow down that San Francisco offense? Because that's an offense that's smartly executed. I don't think that they can do like everything because of the limitations that Garoppolo presents, but Shanahan knows how to like do the right things, how to move the chains, how to like use the play action when it's smart to do so.

And he gets a ton out of his running backs. Now it's Elijah Mitchell. That's the new running back that they're churning through. Churn and burn running backs. They don't give them big money. So except for their fullback, they give him a lot of money, which is crazy. And Derek McKinnon that one time, they gave a lot of money too, which was weird. Yeah. That was the last time they were going to do that. That didn't work out very well, but they, they know how to sort of play Vikings ball, but do it maybe even a little bit better and more efficiently. So I would definitely be a little concerned if I was a Vikings fan going into this one on the road where I can't remember the last time they played like a great game at San Francisco. And

if, if at all in the Zimmer era, correct me if I'm wrong. Yeah. I mean that you have the 2015 opener where that was hideous and then you have the playoff game. Was there one in between? I don't think there was one in between. I, yeah, I think that's it. So those are the only two times yet. And like going to their place is difficult because if you start adding up what they've had to go through, and this is where I want to make another statement, is if they are able to beat the 49ers and then get to that easy streak that we talked about and take advantage of it, of course.

You can't lose to the Lions. Look, I mean, Houston beat Tennessee. And if that can happen, and if you can need a 54-yard field goal against the Lions, I mean, Houston beat Tennessee. And if that can happen, and if you can need a 54 yard field goal against the lions, I'm not willing to say sometimes I see the ESPN FPI, the football power index will say a team has an 80% chance to win this football game. I think no NFL team ever has an 80% chance to win against another team. Like that's not, no, that's not how it works. It's probably somewhere between 60, like 58 and 60 is the most you'll ever get because the other team is a professional football team. So anyway, that's not the point. If they are able to manage

their way through this and beat San Francisco, and then you got the lions coming up, you start to look at this and say, what a job by a lot of people here to navigate this. And yeah, it took some good breaks against green Bay. There's no question about that, that, you know, the penalty situation, the interceptions and such, but then we start to look around and go to pull themselves out of that place that looked like everybody was out new coach, new quarterback, new GM, blow this thing up, put new panels on the stadium again. Like, and to be in this spot, if they could beat San Francisco, I would start saying this is maybe Mike Zimmer's best coaching job because of how tumultuous it was and how much pressure he was under. And this is the NFL for you. If they lose to San Francisco

and then all of a sudden you're talking about, well, your playoff odds have dropped to 40% or whatever else, and they still are doing this. Then I think we're back to going, I don't know. I don't know what if they make it it? What if they don't? Who's here? Who's not? I think that that game comes right back. And in a way, I feel almost ridiculous being this way, like that to have one game carry so much weight, but it's the position that they've sort of put everybody in, including the owners who have to make decisions on these things. It's like, well, this is what happens when you win half your games is that games like this become so gigantic that they completely carry your entire identity on their back. Like your identity, if you beat this team is you're the hottest team in football. Everybody watch out for this top five passing offense.

And if you go out there and no show, then it's who cares about the Vikings? It's crazy to think about. Yeah. They've told us that they're good. Mike Zimmer has said that's a good team. We've written that they're good. So they say it. We say it. The owners believe it. And they keep negating the opportunity to prove it, right? Like every time they've had a chance to show that, yes, we are legitimately good.

This is who we are. You can trust in us. They have not taken that opportunity. to show that, yes, we are legitimately good. This is who we are. You can trust in us. They have not taken that opportunity. So now that they have a chance to actually string together a legitimate three-game winning streak, they can again prove that we are good. Because good teams, every good team needs to have a winning streak. That's how you get your record to be better.

That's how you win double-digit games in a season. Well, if the Vikings end the season with maximum two game winning streak, I mean, they probably weren't very good. They were probably pretty mediocre. And right now we are 10 of 17 into the season and they still have not proven it. They have proven to be exactly a five and five team. They've taken us on this roller coaster ride. And I think that in the course of a season, you get all 17 games to prove yourself and they still have a chance, but they're running out of time to prove that they're good.

And obviously if we get to the end of the line, they can't claim that anymore. They can't say, well, if we only had 10 more games to prove it, we would have been great. No, part of the process is getting to a point, whether it's the beginning of the season or the middle of the season, or even toward the end, where you play your best football and become the best you can be. That's what championship teams do.

And the Vikings can say they saw a glimpse of that offensively on Sunday, but they got to prove that now for several games to establish that that is their identity and not an anomaly. Because right now this season is full of kind of anomalies and there's been no consistency. To be a championship team, there's got to be some consistency. Okay. One more question about this. Then I have a little game. What would their record have to be in order for you to go into the playoff saying, guys, this team can go to the Super Bowl. And I mentioned this the other day, that the Vikings right now have a passing offense,

not an offense on the whole, but a passing offense that is indicative of teams that reach the Super Bowl. That doesn't mean for sure they're reaching the Super Bowl because they have this. But in terms of expected points added through the pass after this incredible game they just played, it jolted them up into the top five in the NFL. They have to maintain that to the end of the season, of course. But what would their record have to be for you to say, you know what? I wouldn't be surprised if they run their way through the NFC, especially with only one team getting a first round behind us. So a 10 and seven finish would mean that overall they finished seven and two.

No. Yeah. Yeah. Seven and two from bad math from a three and five record. They went to 10 and seven. That would be a really nice stretch. And if they can boast that a couple of those wins were against LA and green Bay and on the road at San Francisco and on the road at the chargers, who by the way, hung 41 on a good Steelers defense on Sunday night. So that way

looks a lot better. Um, if they can quarterback got punched in the stomach, did you see that? That was the weirdest thing. It was not mentioned all in the broadcast and, uh, Cam Hayward just punched Justin Herbert in the stomach. Uh, but Herbert bounced right back and had a, an amazing game. And that's, that's kind of the ups and downs of each week, right? When the NFL, cause he played incredible that night despite an offense that i'm not sure is designed the best but i'm sorry that was a that was a tangent because i was just like mind blown i've never seen a player just punch a quarterback in the stomach and not get thrown out of the game well hey they say you can't go for the knees you can't go for the head

so you just go for the torso and just yeah hope they don't flag it. I think that 10 and 7 would give me reason to look up and sort of take stock of, all right, well, they beat Green Bay, almost beat Arizona. They perhaps have beaten LA in this scenario, haven't played Tampa. And who am I forgetting? Who's the other powerful team at the top uh what you said LA Cowboys Cowboys and the Cowboys we don't really know because Dak didn't play they still lost um but I I would still say all right well Dallas you know they've they at least know them a little bit um but but I digress I think then you start sort of rationalizing, well, they might have a shot here. They do have to go on the road, but probably to a place where the playoffs before. So yeah, I think that that

would be a really nice benchmark. That would represent five of the next seven, seven of nine overall. What's your number? Sam Ekstrom here, wondering if you're stuck on your company's injury report. In an unfortunate situation like that, it's good to have someone in your corner. That's where Kemet, Sanford, and Kramer Law can help you understand your rights under Minnesota's workers' compensation laws. There's enough uncertainty in our lives nowadays that the last thing you want is to feel helpless if you wind up in a bad situation after a workplace injury. Kemet, Sanford, and Kramer will fight for you if there's been a wrongfully denied work comp claim so you can get the benefits you deserve. If your claim's been accepted, they help with rehabilitation disputes, medical disputes, help you get a second opinion,

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The website is yourminnesotaworkcomployer.com, where you can find a phone number to get a free consultation. This is an attorney advertisement from Kemet Sanford and Kramer, yourminnesotaworkcomployer.com. Real quick quick we have some breaking news amidst our stream here and we can talk about this in a second i was going to also say uh 10 and 7 because that means that they've really blasted through some of these great teams at the end delvin tomlinson on the list and delvin tomlinson is not vaccinated. So now what happened last week was confusing with Joey Bosa. So Joey Bosa got put on the COVID list and then he tested negative before the game. So he was able to play.

So I think that this means that there is a chance still that dalvin thompson could play if he's a close contact and he did not test positive and it doesn't say and whether he did but if he tested positive then he's got to be out 10 days so that is a difference and i guess we'll see if they tell us anything when it comes to this stuff they generally have not but we'll find out there i think isn't that the distinction a close contact is is like Kirk Cousins had a close contact, but didn't test positive. So he came back after five days. So Delvin Tomlinson could still play. But if he doesn't, this is a running team. You got some problems, I think. If he has tested positive and can't play, you got some problems.

Yep. And Tomlinson has, you know, sneakily been one of the underrated players on that defensive line. He doesn't do a lot of flashy stuff, but he's been consistently graded very highly, even though their run defense hasn't been stellar. He, he has been good. And what did, what did I just say on the post game podcast? I think I think it was, or no, it was our video yesterday where I talked about they've got a plethora of nose tackles. And no real three technique. I mean, we're going to see probably a big dose of Sheldon Richardson, obviously. And I guess I don't, James Lynch maybe does a little bit of three tech. It's going to be a weird rotation on the defensive line.

Regarding your question about the protocols, certainly is possible that it could be a close contact situation. But with all that's been going around the team, I mean, it stands to reason that this could be a positive test. And what the Vikings are, right now, they're sort of in constant incubation, right? I mean, they think they're out of the woods, but what you can't account for is that this thing can linger in you for two, three, four days without testing positive, asymptomatic.

You might spread it to one or two people. That's why they just can't escape this. This is three weeks now where they've had to deal with serious issues i believe they've got everyone else back correct me if i'm wrong on that um willikas is back they've got bradbury back dozer was reinstated today i think this is their only person left on it but it's at a significant position of weakness where now they're gonna have to move sheldon back inside. He had just moved to outside. No Michael Pierce for at least two more weeks. Yeah, this is a big development.

Well, and this is the thing, and I've said it all season. So just as this pops up, I'll say it again. This is why reporters asked players about their status because it affects availability. If this was a close contact from someone who was vaccinated, they would not be on this list. They would just say, well, that's what your vax is for. And we'll test you a few times and see what happens. And then that person would play. Just, I believe this is what happened to Amari Cooper, right? And that's why he's out. So that makes a significant difference. It did with Aaron Rodgers. It did with Kirk Cousins in practice. And that's why it was asked about because of football availability, not because of curiosity about people's medical

decisions. Okay. Just want to throw that out there. And also this is why the players who chose not to do this deserve to be criticized. Had Cam Bynum struggled, Harrison Smith would have deserved a lot of criticism. He would have deserved it. I mean, they got away with not having him, but he would have deserved, hey man, you let your team down. You're a guy they just signed to a huge contract, both of these guys. You're a guy that they signed to a huge contract and you decided not to do something that is proven medically safe. And 90% of the league has done it. And you said, no, no, I know whatever Joe Rogan says on his podcast, or I know better, or I've done my own research. And so I'm going to put my availability for key football games in jeopardy.

These are people who consistently put their bodies in much more dangerous positions than something proven safe. But this is worth being criticized for, is what I'm saying, is putting your team now in a very tough position if Delvin Tomlinson has to miss a game because he decided not to do this. And that's why Mike Zimmer was upset about it. That's why their front office was upset about it with Cousins. And now what we have is multiple unvaccinated players who have ended up on this list. And there's two other ones who are pretty

important to this team, Adam Thielen and Kirk cousins. And also I'll throw Delvin cook in there as well that we know of to be unvaccinated who it's just like people have, people have yelled at Brian Murphy for bringing this up, like with Kirkins, but it's like the Grim Reaper is around the corner and you never know. So we'll see if it's just a close contact. And for Delvin's health, I very much hope that. That it's just a close contact and he tests negative and everything's okay and he plays and they move forward. We certainly hope that he ends up healthy for that reason.

But I just thought we heard so much about how dare you ask about this and that. Well, this is why football, not because of the other stuff. There's other podcasts you can listen to for that. This is football. Anyhow. Okay. Real quick, quick game, rapid fire here. Do you trust that guy?

And actually it's perfect because a guy, a couple of guys on my list of this, do you trust that guy? A game we were just talking about. So let's just start out with James Lynch and Armand Watts. Do you trust those guys if Delvin Tomlinson can't play? I trust Armand Watts. I think he's been good. I think that, I mean, he's been starting first of all, right? So, and I think that they've been just as good in their interior defensive line with Watts as they were with Pierce. And that's not to say he's a better player than Pierce, but the results have been fine. He has not been picked on like Jaleel Johnson or Shamar

Stephan. It hasn't been like last year. It's been much better than that, I think. So props to Watts. James Lynch, I have no clue. I mean, the team seems to like him. He plays sparingly. He's playing a nose position, which is like two steps inside of what he was doing in college, where I think he was an end. Three tech didn't work for him. Nose tackle seems to be a better fit where he's not asked to necessarily get around people and get to the quarterback. So maybe this is better for him. He's got a decent anchor. He can hold up in the run game. But I don't think I trust him in an elevated role yet. I'm more skeptical about Lynch. Yeah, I agree that Armond Watts over the last two years has proven that he can at least

play in the NFL. And that was not something they had in someone like Jaleel Johnson or Jalen Holmes. So you can believe that Armand Watts can play a football game and be a reasonably decent NFL player. With Lynch, if he's got to play the whole game, I question that. If you're just throwing him in there for a rotational, he's got to be out there for one drive or something. I think he's been all right out there for one drive or something.

I think he's been all right, but there's a big difference between playing 60 plays and playing like 15 plays where you can just kind of go give everything you got and see what happens. If they have to go up against one of the best rushing attacks in the league in San Francisco, that's always super creative and really great at finding a different ways to mix things up in the run game. Well, I think that's going to be really tough for them if Delvin Tomlinson is not in. And so I would say that I trust one out of two, but only to some extent.

Let me go to the other side of the ball. Now that the Vikings have these offensive numbers that look good all of a sudden, you trust Clint Kubiak? You trusting him? Or whoever, there's also rumors about other people helping him call plays that's not super unique in the NFL to have other people in the staff helping with play calling but Clint Kubiak and his offense do you trust him as a play caller now after what we've just seen I wouldn't say I've got a tremendous amount of faith. I think, you know, the, one of the big changes was Cousins, to be honest, and, and maybe this absolves Kubiak of a little

bit of blame earlier on. Maybe we were too hard on him. Not, it's not as hard on Cousins. And I think that, I think we analyzed it with, you know, with a healthy view that, okay, Cousins is being pretty conservative here. And he's not making any risky throws at all. And he started doing that. And the Vikings always claimed that they had shot plays called along the way and Cousins was just refusing to pull the trigger. Kubiak, I thought, had one of his best games against the Packers. Still thought he made some curious moves. And I still think that he runs the ball at odd times. And I think that I'm going to need to see more to have, to have more faith in that.

So I don't trust him. Not yet. Maybe, maybe someday. Yeah. I saw a stat today from Seth Walder of ESPN that the Vikings are 24th in motion percentage. So pre-snap motion proven to work something that most modern offenses have

24th, not good enough. I'm going to say, no, I do not fully trust him until that number in the play action number or just much higher. We've seen, those are key indicators of like, you know, what you're doing as an offense. And for those to be low, I'm not sure I'm in full trust mode yet. And I think that a lot of the big plays came from Kirk Cousins just making awesome throws. You asked Cousins to make some very high difficulty throws and Jefferson to make some very high difficulty catches. That's not something you say, oh, wow, the offensive coordinator really nailed it. I mean, that's just like great players making great plays. That's hard to ask for each week.

So, yeah, not sold yet on the idea that Clint Kubiak suddenly has it clicked in, but their offense statistically now looks a lot better. Last one for you, because we talked about the other day whether you trust Greg Joseph and it's like, you'll never trust the kicker until the Vikings franchise doesn't exist anymore.

So anyway, anyone in the secondary do you trust anyone not not named harrison smith in the secondary i think i still trust patrick peterson mostly i i i do um i maybe i'm i'm looking at it through through a bias lens just because of his status, but I still feel like, you know, his PFF grades and he would tell us this as well. Maybe I'm just like falling into his trance, but you know, he got dinged for a couple of touchdowns. He gave up early in the season on busted coverages where the secondary wasn't really together.

Um, but I thought, I think he's played pretty well for the most part. I, I trust Peterson losing faith in Alexander, but gaining faith in Breland. Breland's been better. Xavier Woods also, like,

I don't think he's going to play that badly again. That was a terrible performance, but he's been really good all year. So I, I have more faith than maybe you do doubting Matthew. Yeah. Doubting Matthew. That's what everybody calls me. I'm going to say, well, you're right because the PFF numbers gave Peterson credit for the 77 yard touchdown against Arizona. Now that's correct. Like there was a wrong read by him. And I think that that was even acknowledged by him that it was a mistake that he made.

So that's why those numbers can be a little misleading at times, because that makes everything look way worse because of that one play. I took that out of it and looked at the numbers and he was averaging like six yards and attempt against them. So he's been pretty good outside of that play. I took that out of it and looked at the numbers and he was averaging like six yards an attempt against him. So he's been pretty good outside of that play. Can he stay a hundred percent the rest of the way? I don't know. A little nervous about that. I would say no, that there isn't anybody you really trust, but Breland is playing much better in recent weeks. They clearly decided they like him more than Cam Dantzler and it's going to stay that way. And at least since the first couple of weeks of the season, I know he's,

he's gotten that whipping boy sort of thing. Like just like Dakota Dozier became last year, where the fan base kind of obsesses over one guy. And even when he's not a problem in a game, it's still like, yeah, he was terrible just because he's not good. Or they decided that he deserved that more than Breland has this year. I think Breland's overall year has been kind of what you would have expected. But in a big situation, Jimmy G's back there. It's third and eight, game on the line.

Debo Samuel's lining up somewhere. I don't know if there's anybody that I say, oh, if so-and-so's on him, then you're good. I'm not sure I'm ready to say that, but I think Peterson has been fine. I don't know if it was worth the amount that they paid him to be fine, but I think he's been fine.

So the answer is no, not really. There's not really anybody that I'm willing to say that I totally trust. So look, if you're watching us for the first time, you enjoyed the conversation, wherever you get your podcasts, check it out. Purple Insider, just type that in. You'll find it.

Our written work is over at purpleinsider.substack.com. And if you're on Twitter, it'll be really easy for you if you want to find us. Just go follow Purple Insider on Twitter. And again, our guy Jonathan Harrison does a great job of putting all of our stuff out there. So thanks, everybody, for watching. And this is the first time I think we've had breaking news within a live stream, unfortunate news, but kind of interesting and different. So thank you, Sam, for your time. And thanks to bring me the news for hosting us. And we will talk to you guys next time.