Purple Insider - a Minnesota Vikings and NFL podcast - The Athletic's Alec Lewis covers his first Vikings-Packers game and looks forward to what they can sustain from Week 1

Episode Date: September 13, 2022

Alec Lewis just moved to Minnesota to start covering the Minnesota Vikings so he joins Matthew Coller to talk about his experience with Vikings-Packers, how covering the NFL is different from baseball, and then they break down what the Vikings can take with them from the Packers game and carry over to the matchup with the Eagles  -- For more of Matthew's Vikings coverage, head to purpleinsider.substack.com For bonus discussions, interview clips, and more videos, check out our YouTube channel! Interact with us on Twitter! @Purple_Insider Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hello, welcome to another episode of Purple Insider. Matthew Collar here and joining me for the first time ever, because he just moved here to cover the Minnesota Vikings, Alec Lewis of The Athletic taking Chad Graff's position. And Alec, I have to tell you, it's big shoes to fill. I mean, the writing was fine from Chad, but more so, Chad was the legend of awkward moments around the locker room and in the media room. So these are big shoes to fill because it's been so much less awkward since you

showed up. I can be awkward. Trust me. We can make that happen as quick as we want. And I thought, I mean, yesterday, obviously, and we've talked about this, but I thought there were going to be seven awkward moments. I'm asking dumb questions. I'm running. No, but it was a good time. They are big shoes to fill. I mean, Chad tweeted yesterday, I think after seeing what Justin Jefferson did in the first half, that there wasn't a Patriots receiver that I think

had recorded more than like 55 yards in the whole game. He's like, what am I doing? Chad, I've got a lot of respect for not only having to now deal with Bill Belichick, but obviously what he did here. And he's been, honestly, couldn't have been better and more helpful. And so on a serious note, I'm appreciative of kind of the help he's provided and the experience that he had on this show before me. Well, you and I, speaking of experience, and yes,

everyone knows on the show how much we appreciated Chad and love Chad here. But it is hilarious that he went to, after watching the Vikings destroy Matt Patricia many times, went to cover a team that decided to put Matt Patricia at offensive coordinator. And I'm shocked that it didn't work out. I just can't believe it.

Belichick is finally like out galaxy brain to himself, thinking that he could have no offensive coordinator or kind of the biggest joker doing it in Matt Patricia. And I'm just not surprised that it did not work out. But I am interested though, to hear about your experience that we could get into the game and talk about the team and what it means going forward because you and i have had something similar which is we moved to cover the team right before the season started which is like getting in

a car accident it's like you're looking who's there what happened i don't know what's going on uh i remember i mean even like the first game i covered i was like eric kendricks is it a c or is it a k like er you know what i mean like you don't know anything about the players and then you're asked to start actually doing reports and putting stuff out without the benefit of seeing all of training camp and then thrown into the nfl locker room experience which is uh very different from what you did before in covering the kansas Royals. Yeah, it was a whirlwind. It's been a whirlwind. I mean, you said it.

I literally moved here two weeks ago to Minneapolis. So I came up on an off week like a month ago, found an apartment, made that happen, got up here two weeks ago. And fortunately, with how good of a job guys like you do and Arif and a lot of people around here, I was able probably for a month, if not more, to read you guys' work and then kind of listen to podcasts. And I was doing as much as I could while also trying to cover a Major League Baseball team to kind of understand the dynamics of the history here, which it's still just a major learning curve. But I got up here. I'm fortunate. My editor threw me in the fire the first week. of the history here, which it's still just a major learning curve. But I got up here.

I'm fortunate my editor threw me in the fire the first week. It was like, yeah, go write two stories from interviews. So I was – I think a couple times I was like, and the Royals should have Ezra Cleveland at left – the Vikings, excuse me. But it was a learning curve kind of that first week. And then obviously in the lead up to the game, trying to just get the mechanics of injury reports and how that all works. And then obviously I told you this, but I did not sleep much before Sunday's game. I was kind of jacked up and just ready to go and nervous probably as well.

And then the environment was unbelievable. The skull chant, hard to even – I felt like I was out of body. Something was – environment was unbelievable. The skull chant, hard to even comprehend. I felt like I was out of body. Something was, it was crazy. And then the game, obviously, and the new look offense and trying to assess what was going on. And the locker room afterward, there's people everywhere, cameras everywhere.

It was crazy. But it's, I'm really like grateful for the opportunity. It will probably take me some more time to really get my footing. But it's it's a lot of I've met a lot of really good people. And I can't thank really everybody enough for how welcoming they've been. So as as hectic as as it has been, it's been really fun. And I'm just pumped for these next few weeks. Well, I was lucky enough to get a lot of help in my first year

from people like Eric Eager from Pro Football Focus, who comes on the show all the time. Because you think you know football, and then you start covering it, and you're like, okay, there's a lot going on here. And the experience of covering a game is when you're on your couch watching on TV and you've seen the 13th ad in a row for Rescue 911 or whatever, you're like, man, this game's taking forever. But when you're covering it in the stadium and you're trying to take all these notes

and mental notes and watch for all these details, it's actually going a lot faster. And even timing out, like, when am I going to go grab a drink these details it's actually going a lot faster and and that's that's been and even like timing out like when am i gonna go grab a drink or go to the bathroom or whatever else because i don't want to miss anything and what's gonna matter here what am i gonna ask them about what am i gonna write about like it's it's a lot quicker than that and then as you said you walk into that locker room and there's so many people that it's like, uh, who do I go talk to? You got a lot of options. And, uh, you know, the, the, like you said, the TV cameras are everywhere on game day.

So it's, it's really an overwhelming experience. And you're not the only one that's like exhausted after game day. It's not baseball moves at a different pace. Um, you know, cause I, I did a minor league baseball when I was first starting out in the industry and it's like, everybody kind of meanders around for a batting practice. You talk to some people and so forth. The GM is just like available to talk to or whatever. It's, it's very, it's very different.

Um, but I, I was curious about like your thoughts on just the Vikings Packers part of it specifically because to everyone here that is a massive deal like the state uh is in euphoria this morning now that the Vikings have beaten the Packers and you could feel it I mean really like I walked around yesterday morning um just downtown Minneapolis like around where I lived and like you, you saw people with Jersey, but I, you, I mean, the weather was great. The environment just, it felt like a football like day. That's how, that's the only way I know how to really describe it. And then like walking in, I mean, I, I, you see as many people outside the stadiums and Jersey and stuff and get inside. And then, uh, it was just unbelievable. The atmosphere was amazing. And you said it, but like, I come from Kansas city where I covered the Royals for three plus years.

I attended a lot of Chiefs games, not in the media coverage seat. And so that environment is crazy. But I was blown away by so many elements, be it just like how incredible U.S. Bank is, the natural light that flows in. And to your point, I was trying to just like take it all in, but I kind of felt like a quarterback in the pocket. Stuff's like flying at you everywhere. You're trying to stay focused. Like that's how the game was for me. And it is, you said it, way different than just watching a game on the couch. And it's hard probably for anybody to really understand that it was hard for me, I think, to even think about that until I'm in the seat and I'm trying to dissect

coverages and that type of thing. But the rivalry, I mean, I could just tell talking to people around town and just watching kind of, I don't know how people interacted and talked about the game. You could feel it and it was amazing to be a part of yeah and i think that it will take a while before you get used to that and uh don't feel bad first we get snacks so that's always stay fueled up there during the game but i remember courtney cronin her first year was when they went 13 and 3 they they lost Sam Bradford case. Keenum came in Minneapolis miracle. And it was just like, wow, like the world is, is, uh, spinning off its axis here.

So it's a really like, remember these times because you'll get a little more grizzled as, as you go along, but, uh, it's, it's a super fun time for you. And one of the articles that you did when you first got here was really looking at Kevin O'Connell's background. And I feel like that's a great place to discuss what happened on Sunday. It's because to me, the number one story of Sunday wasn't just that Packers struggled and Rodgers looked washed and Sammy Watkins looked super washed and they've got some problems to solve over there. It was really that it all happened the way that they dreamed it would happen. And Kevin O'Connell sort of like to, to a channel Denny green.

I assume, you know, this one, like he was who we thought he was at least for one day. That doesn't mean forever, but for one day he was who we thought he was. And there's really no indication that he's going to be anybody else than what we've seen from the offensive innovator to the guy who takes a more teaching approach to the guy who's trying to create a culture that is going to be a difference maker and have it matter. So I wonder what you found when you looked into his background about what kind of led him here to this place.

Yeah. And I came in obviously to the job and I, I obviously knew first year head coach and GM. So I was fascinated by like, how, how did this guy who 10 years ago was calling games for San Diego state football on the radio become an NFL head coach. And how did he, what intrigued Sean McVay about and I think really the the my takeaway from talking to Mark Sanchez and Matt Cass and a bunch of these guys was he's just very calculated and he and he's very um cerebral in terms of like he he's not going to really leave any tone on stern stone unturned in his thought process like he he's going to think things out. I mean, I think it speaks everything from the way they treated the preseason

and not playing the starters and how healthy they entered week one. I mean, I think that was a purposeful approach for him. I think attacking on offense and trying to find ways to get Justin Jefferson the ball from all different spots. I mean, that is part of the thought process. And so I think it felt like talking to people about Kevin O'Connell, he was going to – things were going to be planned out and things were going to be pretty structured.

And obviously that first drive offensively, I think with how things developed, it was kind of how the people who have known Kevin O'Connell for a long time, I think, would have would have talked about what they would have expected, because it was just very right plays at right times. Obviously, guys like Justin Jefferson in space. And so I I think through that that process, I remember Mark Sanchez said a quote, like Kevin O'Connell just loves the game within the game. And I think like he thinks about things from as minute as coverages and how the Packers are going to approach things. And it just felt like you saw that from the get-go,

which I think was encouraging for obviously the people close to Kevin, but also Vikings fans. What's interesting to me from Kevin O'Connell is the natural comparisons that you have to make to Mike Zimmer, which you did not cover Mike Zimmer. It was a privilege. And I mean that sarcastically and seriously at the same time, because it was a privilege to cover someone who was so intelligent about football that I could learn.

See, I think that this is something that you're going to have to do more yourself as reporters, that Kevin O'Connell is not teaching us about football. Mike Zimmer really was. I mean, he seemed to be like offended by the idea that we wouldn't know something with a player.

So he needed to tell us, which got him in trouble at times, but we always knew it was going on. Kevin is much more calculated about how he handles things at the podium. Even at one point, he was going to say who had the most votes for captain. And then he was like, no, I'm actually not going to cut himself off. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. It was just like, okay, so he's, he's much more of that way and he's not going to break down strengths and weaknesses of his players and things like that. Like Mike Zimmer would. But I, I do think that what I get the impression of Kevin O'Connell

is that when they went looking for a head coach, they went looking for someone who would listen to other people. And one of the issues that Mike Zimmer had was his stubbornness and kind of his belief that he knew best and everybody else needed to just do what he said and had no voice. And I think that at times that was probably right, like him calling the plays on defense worked out great for the most part but i also think that that shortened his time maybe a little bit here and frustrated a lot of people that they just didn't feel like they

were allowed to be in command so i wonder what you think about it from that perspective of o'connell making it being you know uh, but also making it the collaborative effort that they all talked about wanting when he was hired. Yeah, no doubt. And, and Josh McCown, who I talked to for that story, I remember he, he told me like the first time I met Kevin, I came in, um, I was a free agent thinking about signing with the Cleveland Browns. Kevin O'Connell had just been hired as the Cleveland Browns quarterback coach. And I think Josh McCown, who was older than Kevin at the time was like, what does this young guy know? I want to sign somewhere where I can get better.

And it wasn't like Kevin got on the whiteboard and started drawing things up and it impressed Josh. But even more so throughout time, I think Kevin's ability to be like, OK, this is what I think in terms of offense. But also like Josh, what works for you? What do you think about it? How do you, what do you like about the favorite coordinators that you've worked with? And I think that collaboration, Josh McCown said, it was like, that impressed me that a guy that young with the ideas that he had would also be as willing to learn as he was. And the other thing I think is notable is Kevin O'Connell spent time around so many different types of NFL players as a backup quarterback.

I mean, he was obviously in the quarterback room with Tom Brady when he got drafted with the New England Patriots. But then I guess six years later, he's like in a classroom in San Diego trying to help Johnny Manziel learn about defensive schemes so it's like way different types of personalities and um I think he's been since he obviously got this role here in Minnesota he's been very um I I to use the word again calculated in terms of he wants it to be kind of a player's own type of of locker room and he has like a group of players um leaders that that he speaks with i think on a weekly basis to try to

get the vibe of the room and i i think something that he probably took from the rams um but the collaboration is there and i think it's going to continue to be really important um especially with kirk cousins at quarterback. I mean, Kirk talked about it was like their first real run through in terms of Kevin as a play caller and how Kirk kind of fed off that. And I think that's going to be an ongoing thing. It's not going to look perfect all the time, especially I think early in the season. So how that develops, I think it's going to be fascinating to listen to from both those guys and how they discuss it. Folks, football season is here and you need more gear to represent Minnesota football. Adam Thielen, Randy Moss, John Randall, the purple people eaters, Bud Grant,

all great designs from SodaStick that you can put on hoodies, hats, t-shirts, go to sodastick.com, S-O-T-A-S-T-I-C-K.com. Use the promo code Purple Insider to get 15% off your purchase. And it went so well that we did overlook any shortcomings of anything on the team yesterday, which is exactly how football works all the time. And it's like, well, the right guard got a 30 pro football focus grade yesterday. And, uh, you know, Kirk cousins was shockingly good under pressure, which is probably going

to regress, but we, we won't be that guy, um, today because I, I think that the bigger, broader strokes were that you found what you were looking for, at least for now. And everything has to be couched that way because they could lose by 40 next week and then we'll all call them the biggest dummy. But in general, if you were betting on that, you would not say that that's going to happen. That I think when the biggest moments come, having players take ownership over it and feel like they're a part of that process probably does matter. It's like, I don't think that this stuff was decided on at total random.

And he just decided like, oh yeah, you know what coaches should do? They should be like cool with their players now. I think that it's a little more scientific than that of making a decision to have someone like Kevin O'Connell and boy, nobody was happier to talk about it than Kirk Cousins. The first time I have ever seen Kirk Cousins talk about his coach that way, basically when it came to press conferences, Kirk Cousins and Mike Zimmer did not exist to each other. And if you asked Mike Zimmer about Kirk Cousins, he'd be like,

yeah, you know, play good. Missed that one read though, but like it was fine. And with Kirk, you know, we just didn't even ever really discuss the head coach. It was much more the offensive coordinator because you knew that a, their relationship was either non-existent or not great. But B it was like, Mike Zimmer really didn't have anything to do with Kirk cousins. It was entirely, Hey, Gary Kubiak, you go handle it. And I thought it was telling that Kirk kind of really wanted us to know that he was very happy with the way that Kevin O'Connell has set things up. Now, I guess my question to you then is, do you think this will

all matter? Because I tend to think the answer is yes, but I also think like, let's not be too much prisoner of the moment here because it's not like Kirk Cousins has never played a great football game before. He's played a lot of great football games since he got here. Yeah. And I don't want to come off as too naive or ignorant. I know some of the history, but I've listened to you discuss it. But I do think it matters.

And I think it's going to matter going forward. Because, I mean, I don't know. I think in any – and, again, maybe it's naive. But I think in any line of work, I mean, if you're able to kind of challenge the people, the leaders, if they're able to communicate with you and that line goes both ways to push each other to be the optimal result that you're seeking seeking I think it's I think it's a benefit now look yeah I don't think defenses are going to struggle to to locate

Justin Jefferson to realize that he's on the field as much as the Packers did I don't think teams are going to leave their best corner away from Justin Jefferson if they can help it moving forward the way the Packers did. But no, and I thought it was interesting, like even before the game yesterday, I was just very in tune just to observe what was going on. And like, obviously, these teams run through their offenses pregame prep, prep the whole thing. But you can see Kevin, Kevin O'Connell after every like, sim play that that Kirk Cousins ran out on the field like 30 minutes before the game, Kevin O'Connell was talking to him about it.

There was like an active communication after each rep before the game in a way that I just thought that was notable. And maybe it happens all the time everywhere, what have you, but it looked like they were in lockstep in a way that I think for Kirk to have the season that that he needs to have for the Vikings to be as good as fans here want them to be I think it's going to be important that that that continues no I I agree and and it was not something that we saw here of course with the head coach I think it is common around the league I mean that's what you want to see is the

head coach and the quarterback really in lockstep together and discussing what needs to happen and everything else just for the next sequence. And I think that one area where it might help a little bit is when the coach has the quarterbacks back, it just gives power to everything the quarterback says and wants, right? Where it's like, you just, you just set the tone and i'm trying to think of like a babysitting example or something like if you're if your babysitter doesn't like one kid or if your teacher in second grade doesn't like one kid the rest of the students will just sort of will like turn on that kid or not or not take that kid seriously if the teacher

is like kind of you know whatever like making kind of, you know, whatever, like making fun of him or whatever it might be, right. Or going after him all the time. Well, the other kids are going to kind of look at it that way too. Now I I'd like to think that everyone's more adult than that, but it is pro sports. So not always. Um, I think that if it's like very clear that the coach is on the same side as the quarterback, It's everybody else has to fall in line. And that was the case for Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Tom Brady is clearly better at football than Kirk Cousins by kind of a lot throughout his career, but no one ever questioned who was in charge.

And I think if we're looking for ways that it can matter, that is definitely a way. Now, from other things that happen, you mentioned one of the most shocking things and i'm trying to find the numbers on this for the matchup but jair alexander not matching up with justin jefferson was completely stunning and i don't understand it at all in fact none of jefferson's targets went well he was being covered by jair alexander such a strange strategy for the Green Bay Packers yesterday. And when we talk about things that probably will change in the future,

I don't see Philadelphia saying, Darius, hey, Darius Slay, go sit in the stands and watch all your friends get toasted. I don't think that's going to happen. You know, I do think it was interesting because I was reading Matt Steinman who writes for the Packers for us at The Athletic. And I think it's not as simple as, like, I really want to make it out to be that just, like, Jairz Alexander – like, the Packers just –

because I think their defense is so zone-based that to have Jairz Alexander man Justin Jefferson in motion all across – like, I think it affects a lot of facets. And someone who understands the game at a level that I just don't at the moment would probably be able to explain that on a deeper level. So I think the utilization of motion that Kevin O'Connell did and the offense did yesterday and having – I mean, there were times where Alexander Madison's out wide, Dalvin Cook's out wide, Johnny Munt, the Munt game, as I almost termed the headline yesterday.

I mean, he was all over the place. They were doing so many things that I think to just say, Alexander manned Justin Jefferson the entire time, moving all across the field, affects the coverage of every other DB on the field affects the coverage of every other DB on the field. I think it's a little more complex than that. But to the initial point, you have a guy who's paid a lot of money to play cornerback in this league for reasons that, I mean, even Vikings fans and Justin Jefferson has seen in the past

who wasn't on him for a lot of that game. And so it is curious for sure, as Justin's running these deep overs after one, after another wide open, it was, it was wild. I went with established the month. That's pretty good. It's pretty good. Once they got the month established,

everything just fell into place after that. Just to look at, you how jefferson was matched up he faced uh quay walker once preston smith once you probably noticed them rasul douglas twice eric stokes once darnell savage and adrian amos uh on five different targets so they really were able to go after the safeties and set up those mismatches. And I just think that it's again, not the first time ever the Vikings have out schemed a team, but this, this really reminded me of Kevin Stefanski where it just seemed like one step ahead. Like they had a full understanding of what the Packers defense was going to do and made it their goal to just get Justin Jefferson away from the best player on the other team.

And I mean, I think you're exactly right that it's very easy to say, well, just have them like do the thing. That's what teams do. However, where I, where I would push back on, on like the X's and O's the like, Oh, you don't understand the zone defense. Okay. Well, that's fine. But how many days did you have to get ready for this game oh i know between kevin o'connell's hire and he was clearly going to bring the rams offense and yesterday it was 207 days you had 207 days to get jair alexander ready to cover justin jefferson and you didn't do it and the vikings took full advantage um so i i just i think we can be mind blown about not only like how bad

that was for them but also be impressed with how good it was for the Vikings to have that tact where we are not going to let Jair Alexander slow down our guy and Matt LaFleur essentially said after the game he was like yeah they they out schemed us and they they found Justin Jefferson it was it was like a pretty blunt quote from matt lafleur of like yeah they just kind of figured out i actually i think it's important to kind of note this too um west phillips would obviously been with kevin o'connell on the ram staff coach from up in the booth and and has that perspective and and they have familiarity working with each other in game making in-game game adjustments, Kevin O'Connell and Wes Phillips. And I think that matters.

Like to have a guy you can trust from up top observing cover, I really think that it's a minor, probably little detail of it, but that trust, I think it's so important, especially without the experience that this offense had. So just an element of it that I thought about, like they're continuously moving guys around and finding Justin Jefferson, and I think it was a collective effort. Now the question is, how soon is too soon in the following week

to move on to the next game? Because we're recording this on Monday, and the game is a whole week from now. And yet I still want to kind of push everything forward to like what things can they carry over and what things are maybe not as easy to carry over. I mean, I mentioned the Kirk cousins pressure numbers were good. I don't expect that to happen all the time. And of course they're going to have Darius sl Slay covering Justin Jefferson one-on-one. That is pretty much a guarantee.

And he used to get annihilated by Stefan Diggs. So that will be kind of another thing where it's like Darius Slay versus the Vikings top wide receiver will be a huge matchup. But I also think the offensive line of the Vikings versus the defensive line of the Eagles is going to be fascinating. And I walked out of there feeling like the Vikings offensive line had really just done its job. And that at this point is an incredible compliment to the Vikings offensive line. Now PFF was not super impressed. They had

them 22nd for an overall grade. So is it, uh, is our perception, perception right that they did a good enough job and they should be better and they should be okay? Or should we pause just because Cousins made some plays under pressure and had he not, then we would have said like, oh, the pressure got to Cousins, the line let him down, etc., etc. I think pause a little bit just because one game is just not a huge sample size. I think if there was one major concern up front, obviously you already mentioned it with PFF grades on Ed Ingram. I mean, he got, I think, a back-to-back drive.

He kind of got blown up by Kenny Clark. Now, again, he was facing Kenny Clark in his first ever NFL game starting at right guard. So there's just a lot of nuance and context that to me, as for as much as they did hold up and allow Kirk Cousins to do what he did. I think it just more sample size is going to be important to see. I mean, Brian O'Neill, you asked him after the game last night about going up against the Packers D line and their violence.

And he said, we're violent, too. Like we think we're committed to being better. You asked him that question and I thought the response was telling now more sample size against teams like Philadelphia in Philadelphia are going to further answer whether it's true or not the um lowest graded offensive lineman on the vikings was not ingram despite scoring a 30 so you can just do a little calculation in your head about what you know about the vikings offensive line figure out who that was and how bad it was um a hint right in the middle uh and and that to me continues to be a weakness like i i know that brian o'neill was very confident when he said that and i thought christian derisaw played a really good game the numbers back that up that he was the highest graded pass blocker on the team and everything that i saw from derisaw

this year suggested to me and camp that he was ready for this and he seems very confident we talked to him yesterday after the game that like his attitude and just like his body language everything else when you talk to him is a lot different because of all the things he went through last year but i think this continues to be a weakness on the defensive side i also look at what philadelphia did with aj brown and this is where the true proving ground will be for them that is an elite receiver who they paid a lot for and they will throw that man the football and who do you have to cover him is the question andrew booth goes down yesterday you've got dancler and peterson of course and sullivan and these guys like were not tested at all because rogers didn't trust his receivers

and and might go to their team and ask for all of the receivers to be cut after yesterday, as frustrated, as upset as he was, that's not going to be the case with Jalen hurts throwing to AJ Brown. Well, the first thing it's funny, you said Sammy Watkins earlier, like maybe in the first five minutes of this podcast. And I was just like, wait, was Sammy Watkins on the field? Like, I honestly don't remember seeing it, which is reflective obviously of that wide receiving core um and and the first drop was something unlike uh

you'll usually see maybe for them you'll see it but no I think the secondary it the they will feel the pressure here and I think it's gonna um the onus is gonna be on the pass rush a little bit against a really really good offensive line obviously that the onus is going to be on the pass rush a little bit against a really, really good offensive line, obviously, that the Eagles have. So it'll be a tough test. I thought – I mean, I haven't talked much about what Harrison Smith did yesterday, but I saw some tape and obviously was flipping through Twitter and some people highlighting some of his – kind of rereading Aaron Rodgers' eyes. I think he's just going to be crucial against A.J. Brown,

against the Eagles' passing attack. And, I mean, it's a proving opportunity for Jalen Hurts. He's going to have to do it without Jalen Rieger. So that's going to be something that we'll look for. It's the Jalen Rieger return game. But, no, the defense, it'll be kind of interesting. Cam Dantzler, I thought, held up well yesterday. But I mean, the package receiving core is what it is.

So another test for him. Just another probably way to evaluate what this team is and can be. And as we're going over some of the things that stuck out on the D-line, Delvin Tomlinson's performance, the fact that they moved him out to slam into tackles to then create pass rushing lanes, I thought was very creative. There would be no use to doing such things when the Vikings had Everson

Griffin there. You just want him to rush, but with pieces that move around, I thought they were, they were clever, maybe outsmarted themselves a little bit with Daniil Hunter over the A gap. I don't think you need to do that. Just like, let him, let him go off of his edge where he's gotten 14 sacks a couple of times. But I, I, I think that it's like, as a, as a goes week to week, it's really going

to depend the most on just whether those guys get pressure more than anything. And also like, we never talk about Harrison Smith on the show. Cause's just Harrison Smith I mean like he's just not great he has been like he's still Harrison Smith he has played mind games with Aaron Rogers for I don't know how many years uh that has kind of been like a one-on-one matchup in itself with Rogers versus Harrison Smith so yeah it's I'm glad you brought it up because it's like you're getting new eyes on one of the superstars of the NFL that no one really talks about because he's a pretty quiet guy yeah I was just blown away really like watching him live and just like I mean he would seem to be everywhere and then some of these clips that I've seen him like lined up on one side over the tight end seeing the tight ends blocking drifting to the opposite side I'm just like I again, you guys and Vikings fans who

watch us every year have seen this for a long time. But yeah, it was fascinating. And I think the point you made about how much pressure guys like Daniil Hunter and Z'Darrius Smith can create and whether they can stay healthy for an extended period, it's a huge huge um element to to this team's potential in my opinion and i mean kirk cousins one of my favorite lines of last night uh was kirk cousins referenced a line from another coach that i think said uh he said like i would do anything in my soul to have two pass rushers something of the service hilarious um but But I think it's going to be important. And it'll be an interesting test against a running quarterback like Jalen Hurts. I mean, to be able to set the edge, keep him in the pocket,

it'll be a different test. And I think it'll be fun to watch. Yeah, no, that's for sure that it's a very different quarterback than Aaron Rodgers and everything. Like PFF has studied this and found that how your secondary performs is more important than your pass rush. But it's hard to connect the two or disconnect the two because everything is, is faster for the quarterback when he knows that rush is coming and there's a psychological element to it. And I think we're clearly going to see that because I,

it's, it is a, it's a little rickety, I still think. And it's like they're asking Harrison Smith to cover up for it. They're asking Zedarius Smith, Daniil Hunter, and Eric Hendricks, and Jordan Hicks, who deserves credit for playing a great game yesterday. All of those things kind of have to cover up for. We're not really sure how this is going to go. And we might be talking a little differently about the secondary of christian watson catches the 75 yard touchdown um so i have one more question then a little game for you before we wrap okay the question is it's a it's a oft asked question on this show is uh how many wins you think they'll finish with unbelievable so one of my buddies asked me this the other day, and I think I said nine,

I'll up it to 10 right now. I mean, I think 10, maybe I should go higher than that, be more optimistic. But, you know, I just think for as well as they performed and understand that we need to hammer, need to talk about, it was a really important game, first game of a new regime. It just – I guess I come from baseball. I'm so sample size oriented, and there's just not that big of one in the NFL. So I need to probably flip that switch real quick. But I'll say 10, and we'll see what happens. It'll be a really good test on Monday night. And, I mean, we didn't really talk special teams.

I joked about Jalen Rieger, and we didn't talk special teams because it's special teams. But, I mean, Greg Joseph and what he did, I think that's going to be an essential piece as well as the punt return game and environments like that. I think if they can corral the three phases and marry them the way they did, they could win more than 10. But I'll say 10, and I'm glad I elongated that answer so much. Rieger-venge game, anybody? Am I right? Yeah, well, just so we know, us reporting during camp

that Greg Joseph was kicking the ball really well, it didn't jinx him. People were worried about that. It did not jinx him. People were worried about that. It did not jinx him. Okay, so here's the game. Now, everyone understands that you just moved here, and you're just learning about the team, okay? Yeah, yeah. Don't feel bad if there's some things you don't know.

But I want to ask you, have you heard of this guy with the Vikings, Vikings history, and it'll get progressively harder okay so we'll see kind of where you're at uh randy moss you heard of this guy yeah yeah i have yeah yeah okay what what i'm gonna need to tell me about randy moss you've heard of him randy moss he's unbelievable 84 come on randy Moss is unbelievable. I think what you were – he was with – I mean, we're talking about the Vikings. He was with the Patriots in what, 2008, 2009? I mean, I have flashbacks to some of those games. Randy Moss is amazing.

I like him as a commentator as well, but he's a really good wide receiver. So, thank you. That's a good start. Okay, I believe you. I believe you've heard of Randy Moss. Okay. How about Fran Tarkenton? Yeah. Quarterback Georgia. Of course.

Okay. All right. Okay. Let's, let's get a little bit harder here. Chris Dolman. I should probably know Chris Dolman. I don't know Chris Dolman. Chris Dolman does have a gold jacket. That's bad. That's bad. It's okay. For the first six months on the beat, in fact, I have a book that I had the author on who wrote about the whole history of the Vikings.

I'll give it to you. Well, here's the deal. It's interesting. I was talking to Arif about this the other day. It's like, okay, I'm trying to learn about personnel grouping. I'm trying to learn about current strategy in the NFL with weak zone. I'm trying to learn about match coverage, match zone. I'm trying to learn about 3-4 defenses, Brandon Staley, Vic Fangio scheme.

Trying to learn the entire roster, every coach involved, the brass. I mean, there's a lot going on. And I got gotta add history gotta add it you know what you sound like here is a guy making excuses is what you sound yeah there are no excuses in football that's for baseball the ball bounced wrong so you're gonna have to adjust uh okay so chris dillman is a hall of fame pass rusher who played for the vikings i gotta know that uh from the the 80s to the 90s but was um also played for the Vikings from the eighties to the nineties, but was also played for the Falcons for the 49ers.

Unbelievable player of, of the era. One of the greatest of all time edge rushers. How about, so we'll take a step back here. How about Dante Culpepper? Yeah, of course. Quarterback. Yes. Yeah.

I played with Dante Culpepper on like NFL street or something. I don't know if you're the right age to have had a dream cast, I played with Dante Culpepper on like NFL street or something. Um, I don't know if you're the right age to have had a dream cast, but I went and bought one as an adult because the NFL two K game is so amazing with, uh, Randy Moss and Dante Culpepper. How about Tommy Kramer?

It's the alignment. No, you got to follow Tommy on Twitter. Tommy Kramer was a quarterback in the 80s for the Vikings and is one of the most. Please don't tag him on that clip or post that clip. It's okay. You just got here. Everyone understands.

I'm just trying to get a general sense. Tommy Kramer is not super well known outside of Minnesota, but as far as former Vikings, one of the most beloved and popular Vikings, especially post-career, he has a urinal with the Packers logo on it in his house. Sure. So he's really leaned into that. Why would you not? If you could, why would you not?

Okay, I'll give you a couple more. How about Jared Allen yeah of course defensive lineman yeah stud stud player fun to watch I don't know personality I was watching uh there was a um pack Packers Vikings like throwback game I tweeted a picture of Brad Childress who was wearing like one of those. Um, his headset looked like he was like calling cold, calling somebody for insurance, nothing against Brad Childress. I have not, but, uh, so I was watching that game. Jared Allen was kind of, um,

on fire. So it was fun. Yeah. And, uh, also is going into the Vikings ring of honor this year. So maybe there will be an athletic feature at some point about him. All right. One more, one more. Who would be important for you to know from Vikings history? How random do we want to get? If you didn't know Chris Dolman, I don't want to do too much to you.

How about Pat Williams? Yeah, I was talking about him last night with John and Arif. After the game, we were talking about Pat and Kevin, I was talking about him last night with John and Arif. After the game, we were talking about Pat and Kevin, I believe. So, yeah, no, yeah, rings a bell. Okay, so it seems like your 2000s Vikings is pretty solid. Yeah, Blair Walsh. Just when you go back farther than that. Yeah, Blair Walsh, I could get.

I mean, Chad Greenway, I know. Christian Ponder, Laquan Treadwell. Yeah. These are human beings who were Vikings. Okay, last one. Gary Anderson. Oh, you're going to have to learn this one, my brother. No, I've heard it.

And if I saw highlights, it would be like, yeah, Gary Anderson. I guess a cop out. You're probably like, come on, man. There's one particular highlight that is very fundamental to how Minnesota Vikings fans view their view. Yeah. Not just, not just the whole thing, but this, this one exists in the blood.

Okay. This is inescapable gary anderson in 1998 so fun to tell someone about this yeah 1998 i can hear everyone screaming like about this uh the minnesota vikings went 15 and one it was randy moss's rookie year and randall cunningham had uh this unbelievable season at the time, one of the greatest ever by a quarterback. And they, in the NFC championship game, had the ball. And all they needed was a field goal to put them up by 10 points.

I knew it was going to be kicker. Knew. And Gary Anderson made every kick that season. Not like hyperbolically. I mean, literally. Every kick. And John Madden says on the broadcast, and I was a young tyke watching this, so I recall it quite well. John Madden says, you know, this guy's made every single kick this year, so he's going to put this one right through and he missed it wide to the left. And they ended up giving up a game-tying drive.

They lose in overtime. The Atlanta Falcons go to the Super Bowl instead of the Minnesota Vikings and then just get whooped by John Elway. So they were in their greatest season since the 70s. They were a few feet away from one of the greatest kickers of all time in Gary Anderson, who had made every single kick, and it was 38 yards away or whatever. So, yeah, it was like a chip shot, and he missed it.

The randomness of football can be cruel, and I don't need to tell anybody to hear that. But, yeah, it's good to know, but I mean, it's kind of not. I mean, it's not a good good thing. I don't know. I mean, every time – this will be our bit. Every time you come on the show, I'm going to tell you about a different Vikings travesty that you don't know about.

All right. Maybe I should prep. Or is it more fun if I just listen, like story time? No, it's way more fun. I'm not saying don't look up any Vikings history, but you'll be busy on the game. And not only that, but the'll be busy on the game. So, and not only that,

but the rabbit hole of this goes so outrageously deep that even if you have heard of some of them, I'll find new ones. So what is cool is it's built a character in people here that you can, I can tangibly see it. I mean, I, it was interesting.

I, I went to a restaurant the other night. There was a Vikings fan. I knew he was wearing a shirt or something sitting next to me. And I asked, like, what do you think about the team this year? And I'm just, like, playing it. He didn't know that I now have this job writing about it. And he's like, we'll see, man.

We'll see. It was, like, built by years of – I couldn't get anything out of him. But, I mean, he's been through it. He's been through it. He's been through it. Yes. Somebody tweeted me yesterday because I said, oh, this Viking win means whatever. And there was like two minutes left.

And somebody tweeted me like, stop it. They could still blow it. And like, OK, OK, maybe not quite to this level, but I, but I feel you though. I get why you're saying the levels to this go beyond your comprehension. So we'll have story time at the end of every episode that we do in the future. Alec Lewis, is it just Alec Lewis on Twitter? What's your Alec under underscore Lewis underscore with a C, which you have to tell everyone.

Yeah. Love it. And thank you, mom and dad. I appreciate you guys. Not just doing an X, making my life way easier, but no built.

It's built character. It's it's your thing. Like everybody, everybody has their thing. Dane is a hilarious golfer. So we call it Mizutani golf. Like everybody's got their thing. Oh,

you is a C and not X is your thing right away. So Alex, great to get to know you enjoying having you on the beat and we will do this again for sure. Thanks a lot for your time, man. Of course, Matthew. Thanks for having me. It'll be a fun week in Philadelphia. I'm not weak, fun night in Philadelphia. I'm excited. Thanks for having me. That was fun.