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Speaker 1: I remember when he was picked, and you know, I

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Speaker 1: remember saying, look, I think his numbers will eclipse what

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Speaker 1: Stefan Diggs had in this offense the previous year. I

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Speaker 1: just think he's gonna fit beautifully in there and he's

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Speaker 1: ready made, ready to go. Of all the draft analysts,

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Speaker 1: I was probably the most surprised. It should have been

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Speaker 1: a no brainer. He should have been a top ten selectually,

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Speaker 1: probably the top five overall pick because of how valuable

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Speaker 1: the wide receiver spot is. What is going on, Vikings fans.

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Speaker 1: It's Chris Corso here and this is episode number seventy

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Speaker 1: eight of the Minnesota Vikings Podcast. Today I am joined

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Speaker 1: by Vikings team reporter Eric Smith along with producer Jay Nelson,

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Speaker 1: and we have a few things to talk about today.

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Speaker 1: Is the Vikings have filled two coaching vacancies, not the

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Speaker 1: one you're thinking of in the offensive coordinator position, but

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Speaker 1: they did fill these special teams coordinator position with somebody

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Speaker 1: in house. And they filled the strength and conditioning coach

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Speaker 1: position which was left by Mark Yuyama as the Vikings

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Speaker 1: did not pick up his contract. That position was filled

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Speaker 1: by somebody out of house. So we will get to

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Speaker 1: that in this episode. As well as Eric Smith put

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Speaker 1: together a really interesting piece on Vikings rookie wide receiver

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Speaker 1: Justin Jefferson. He did his homework, went and spoke to

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Speaker 1: a ton of draft experts and put together a long

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Speaker 1: form that you can find on Vikings dot com called

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Speaker 1: the Rise of Justin Jefferson. You'll hear a few of

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Speaker 1: those interviews on today's episode, and we're gonna have Eric

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Speaker 1: Hanna explained the project, what he's learned and obviously the

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Speaker 1: most exciting player on the Vikings roster. So real jam

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Speaker 1: packed episode today. And then of course we did a

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Speaker 1: little preview last week of the Super Bowl, but that's

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Speaker 1: what's on everybody's mind. Super Bowl number fifty five in

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Speaker 1: Tampa Bay at Raymond James Stadium as the Tampa Bay

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Speaker 1: Buccaneers become the first ever team to host a Super

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Speaker 1: Bowl at their home stadium as they take on the

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Speaker 1: Kansas City Chiefs. So we will get to all of that,

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Speaker 1: but first I welcome in Eric Smith, who Eric, I

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Speaker 1: just want to just start off the show with I

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Speaker 1: really enjoyed the article you put together on Justin Jefferson,

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Speaker 1: and if you could start off the show that way,

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Speaker 1: just telling Vikings fans the project that you did, and

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Speaker 1: obviously we're getting to it later in the show, but

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Speaker 1: I think it's a great way to start off this episode. Yeah, Chris,

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Speaker 1: I appreciate that and thank for the good words. It

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Speaker 1: was definitely a labor of love over the past month

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Speaker 1: or so. I actually thought about his idea during the season,

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Speaker 1: you know, as Jefferson kept going along and along, It's like, man,

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Speaker 1: this guy is incredible, and he's certainly better than the

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Speaker 1: fifth wide receiever taken in the draft. You know, he's

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Speaker 1: out playing all the other rookies. And I was like,

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Speaker 1: what did people myth on him? How Come he was

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Speaker 1: the fifth re thiever taken? How come he's more productive?

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Speaker 1: How come he had fourteen hundred yards set in records,

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Speaker 1: you know, eighty eight catches, all those numbers that we

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Speaker 1: know about. But I wanted to do kind of a

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Speaker 1: deeper dive on that. So, as you said, I talked

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Speaker 1: to a handful of draft experts that evaluated him almost

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Speaker 1: a year ago, just to kind of get their take

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Speaker 1: on what they hit on, what they missed on, what's

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Speaker 1: the pride of them about about justin jrookie thithen And so, yeah,

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Speaker 1: it turned out really well. I'm pretty proud of it.

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Speaker 1: And as you said, it's called the Rise of Justin

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Speaker 1: Jefferson and you can find it now on Vikings dot Com.

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Speaker 1: Clearly I'll arise, I mean breaking Randy Moss's rookie wide

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Speaker 1: receiving yards record, the franchise record in Vikings history. Justin

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Speaker 1: Jefferson did that this season. Pretty amazing. We'll get to that.

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Speaker 1: Let's get to the coaching changes and the two spots

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Speaker 1: that were filled, the Vikings special team coordinator position, and

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Speaker 1: I really want to hone in on this one because

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Speaker 1: Ryan Ficken, who has been with the Vikings for over

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Speaker 1: a decade fourteen seasons special assistant coach, worked with the

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Speaker 1: wide receivers, worked as an assistant special teams coordinator from

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Speaker 1: twenty thirteen until now for the legendary Mike Preefer for

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Speaker 1: all those years. He's one of my favorite people at

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Speaker 1: the TCO Performance Center, one of my favorite people in

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Speaker 1: the building inside outside of the building. And I'm just

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Speaker 1: really happy that he was given this position by a

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Speaker 1: head coach, Mike Zimmer because we all know that the

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Speaker 1: Vikings special teams unit last season was one of the

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Speaker 1: weaknesses of the team in Marjan maloof his contract was

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Speaker 1: not picked up after being the special teams coordinator for

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Speaker 1: the past couple of years, Jay, So why don't you

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Speaker 1: kind of break down. You've been in the building for

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Speaker 1: fifteen or so years as well, So tell the Vikings

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Speaker 1: fans what they're getting in Ryan Ficking at the special

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Speaker 1: teams coordinator position. Yeah. Ficking and I actually started at

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Speaker 1: right around the same time. We both came in in

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Speaker 1: two thousand and seven. And one of the things that

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Speaker 1: I really loved about this higher was the fact that

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Speaker 1: he's done it the right way. He started off as

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Speaker 1: a special assistant coach and has worked his way through

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Speaker 1: the wide receiver group and eventually to the assistant Special

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Speaker 1: Teams coordinator position. And for me, I'm one that loves

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Speaker 1: to see people that are able to start at the

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Speaker 1: bottom work their way through it, earn it to make

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Speaker 1: sure that they know that they have the right people

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Speaker 1: in place. And the fact that he's been through all

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Speaker 1: the coaching regimes, all of these different situations where he's

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Speaker 1: been able to survive in advance, it's been awesome. And

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Speaker 1: I think that one of the best things that you

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Speaker 1: saw this week was the fact that when the announcement

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Speaker 1: was formally done. If you saw Special teams coordinator Ryan

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Speaker 1: Ficken promoted on Twitter or any of the social media

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Speaker 1: out there, you had pass players, current players, anybody that

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Speaker 1: was associated with it saying congratulations to Ryan Ficken. He's

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Speaker 1: earned it and he's doing it the right way. So

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Speaker 1: to me, it just signals that the front office and

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Speaker 1: the coaching staff got it right and that he's earned

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Speaker 1: this opportunity. And I think for someone who's done everything

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Speaker 1: he's done across the board in the building, I don't

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Speaker 1: think he's gonna mess up his shot here. So I

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Speaker 1: think he's going to do everything he can to succeed

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Speaker 1: and to help this Special Team's department get better than

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Speaker 1: it has been in the last couple of years. I

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Speaker 1: remember number a few years ago. I'm pretty close with

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Speaker 1: Ryan and he's been a good friend of mine. A

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Speaker 1: lot of the young coaches in the organization who have

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Speaker 1: rose through the ranks, it's pretty amazing. I mean, you

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Speaker 1: see Kevin Stefanski get a head coaching job. You see

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Speaker 1: Jonathan Gannon, who was our defensive backs assistant, he just

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Speaker 1: became the defensive coordinator for the Philadelphia Eagles. So you're

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Speaker 1: just seeing some of these young coaches within the Vikings

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Speaker 1: organization take on these big time roles, and at least

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Speaker 1: we got one in house now and Ryan Ficken, because

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Speaker 1: I am so happy that he is not leaving the organization,

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Speaker 1: because he had his fair share of special teams coordinator

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Speaker 1: interviews throughout his time with the Vikings. So let's kind

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Speaker 1: of run through the numbers a little bit, Eric, I mean,

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Speaker 1: when you look at the punting situation last year, it

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Speaker 1: was not good thirty first and punt return yards, thirty

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Speaker 1: second in yards per punt return, thirtieth in yards per punt,

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Speaker 1: and gave up two block punts this season. So I mean,

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Speaker 1: where do you when you're when you're ruying Fick and

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Speaker 1: coming into the situation on the punching side. We'll get

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Speaker 1: into some of the other statistics after, but I think

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Speaker 1: there's definitely some room for improvement. Yeah, they're They're definitely

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Speaker 1: room for improvement. There's no arguing against that. Before I

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Speaker 1: get into how Fick how I think Ficking can impact

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Speaker 1: the team on the field, I do want to echo

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Speaker 1: what both of you have said, and that he is

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Speaker 1: as good a person as there is inside the building.

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Speaker 1: And I'm not just saying that because he and I

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Speaker 1: both went to Arizona State. You know, he and I

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Speaker 1: are He and I of course I said, are are

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Speaker 1: good friends. And I texted him after it was officially announced,

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Speaker 1: and he just fired up. I can tell, I can

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Speaker 1: tell Vikings fans of that he is fired up to

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Speaker 1: have this job. And he's earned it. As we said,

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Speaker 1: he's been here fourteen seasons, He's paid his dues. And

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Speaker 1: Mike zimmer on kfan the other day said, you know,

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Speaker 1: just the way that he reacts with players, the rapport

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Speaker 1: he has with players that really sold coach zim on

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Speaker 1: why thick and should finally get the job. But yeah,

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Speaker 1: he has a tall task in front of him, and

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Speaker 1: I think that the fair question to ask, you know,

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Speaker 1: given the struggles of special teams the last two seasons,

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Speaker 1: picking with here for that and you know he wasn't

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Speaker 1: the coordinator, he was the assistant coordinator, but he was

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Speaker 1: obviously here for the last two seasons, you know, with

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Speaker 1: under Marjuan Maloof and this struggle that the special teams

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Speaker 1: unit had. So yeah, I'm interested to see kind of

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Speaker 1: what flavor he adds and how he kind of makes

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Speaker 1: this unit his own because there are questions about how

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Speaker 1: come a guy was promoted who was here when there

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Speaker 1: were struggles. But I have faith in him and I

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Speaker 1: think he's going to bring some new ideas to kind

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Speaker 1: of jump start that. But there's certainly plenty of areas

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Speaker 1: to improve. There's the punning unit was bad, the punt

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Speaker 1: return unit was bad. Kickoff return hasn't made an impact.

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Speaker 1: We gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown last year.

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Speaker 1: We know about Dan bailey struggles overall. I mean, there

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Speaker 1: wasn't a worse unit or phase on the team than

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Speaker 1: special teams obviously in twenty twenty. And he's gonna have

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Speaker 1: big shoes to kind of fill and to get that

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Speaker 1: on the right track. We brought up the punting first.

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna look at the field goals now, as Eric mentioned,

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Speaker 1: thirty second in field goal percentage sixty eight percent for

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Speaker 1: Dan Bailey. We know the issues that happened there. And

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Speaker 1: then the kick return we're right in the middle of

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Speaker 1: the pack at fifteenth at kick return yards with seven

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Speaker 1: twenty two, seventeenth with yards per punt return this season.

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Speaker 1: I mean, I think, like you said, Eric, he has

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Speaker 1: a big time relationship connection with a lot of the players,

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Speaker 1: and one that stood out to me was Adam Fielan

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Speaker 1: retweeted your story on Vikings dot com, Eric and said

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Speaker 1: how happy he was for Ryan Ficken. And that stood

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Speaker 1: out to me because many of you might not remember,

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Speaker 1: but superstar Adam Feeling was a big time member of

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Speaker 1: the special Team's unit at the beginning of his career.

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Speaker 1: That's when Ryan Thicken was a young coach doing what

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Speaker 1: he was doing with that unit. And when you see

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Speaker 1: a player of that magnitude really say that he supports

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Speaker 1: the decision, that's definitely something that really stands out for

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Speaker 1: Ryan Thicken. Over to the next position, it's the strength

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Speaker 1: and conditioning coach position. It is left by Mark Yuiyama,

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Speaker 1: who spent the last couple of seasons. His contract was

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Speaker 1: not renewed. Coach Zimmer announced that in his end of

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Speaker 1: season press conference, So the Vikings go with somebody from

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Speaker 1: the Philadelphia Eagles, Josh hankst He's been the head there

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Speaker 1: at this position for the last eight years, and that

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Speaker 1: this one really stood out to me. Guys, Eric, I'll

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Speaker 1: throw this one at you. I don't know a ton

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Speaker 1: about Josh hank Usually the strength and conditioning coaches kind

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Speaker 1: of stay behind the thenes a lot, but their work

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Speaker 1: is still important. I'll say that, even though they maybe

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Speaker 1: aren't in front of the camera every week like a

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Speaker 1: coordinator or a head coach, but they eventually run the

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Speaker 1: off season program. And we know how tough it was

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Speaker 1: last year with a virtual program. And I'm not saying

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Speaker 1: the virtual program is why so many guys got hurt,

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Speaker 1: but obviously coach them or in the front office felt

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Speaker 1: like it was just time for a change at that spot,

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Speaker 1: obviously not renewing Marco yamouth contract. Though. We'll have to

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Speaker 1: see what impact Josh hink makes, you know, and we

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Speaker 1: might not see that until October November, and how players

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Speaker 1: kind of withstand the grind of the season, and we

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Speaker 1: have to kind of see what the offseason looks like,

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Speaker 1: right because at this point, we still don't know if

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Speaker 1: it's going to be virtual again, if they're going to

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Speaker 1: be thumb in person activities. So you know, like I said,

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Speaker 1: I don't know a ton about Josh hinkst and we'll

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Speaker 1: just kind of have to see as we go what

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Speaker 1: kind of impact he can make. A registered dietitian and

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Speaker 1: strength and conditioning specialist, previously before the Eagles eight seasons there.

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Speaker 1: He worked for the Jacksonville Jaguars, also at the University

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Speaker 1: in Nebraska and the Atlanta Falcons, so he's been pretty

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Speaker 1: much all over the place. So that's kind of how

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Speaker 1: you get to the top and the strength and conditioning business. So, Jay,

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Speaker 1: I don't know if you have anything else to add,

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Speaker 1: but definitely good to see some change at this coaching position.

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Speaker 1: They all have their own style, they all have their

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Speaker 1: own thing that they like to focus on. I'm sure

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Speaker 1: in the interview process, you know, we were kind of

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Speaker 1: talking to him and other candidates about certain things they

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Speaker 1: want to see in certain areas. Maybe there are certain

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Speaker 1: things that they're seeing consistently get injured, whatever it is

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Speaker 1: that when they went through the vetting process before they

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Speaker 1: did hire here Josh Hanks, they definitely were asking, you know,

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Speaker 1: what's your flavor, what's your style for this kind of stuff.

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Speaker 1: So it'll be interesting to see what his focus is.

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Speaker 1: It'll be a change of pace here, and like Eric said,

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Speaker 1: you know, with the offseason program, all that stuff could

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Speaker 1: be completely brand new, and so it will be interesting

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Speaker 1: to cover that this offseason and hopefully we can kind

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Speaker 1: of give the fans a little slice of what's actually

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Speaker 1: happening behind the scenes with him. Definitely a lot to

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Speaker 1: look forward to at that position. But now let's get

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Speaker 1: to the topic of the episode, and that is the

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Speaker 1: rise of Justin Jefferson. We covered it at the beginning

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Speaker 1: of the show. I'm really excited to hear what Eric

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Speaker 1: has here as he talked to you just about every

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Speaker 1: big time draft expert who tracked Justin Jefferson as he

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Speaker 1: was the fifth wide receiver selected in this past year's draft.

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Speaker 1: So take it away, Eric. With the twenty second pick

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Speaker 1: in the two twenty draft, the Minnesota Vikings select Justin

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Speaker 1: Jefferson wide receiver LSU. It was almost a year ago

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Speaker 1: that the Viking took Justin Jefferson was the twenty second

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Speaker 1: overall pick of the twenty twenty NFL Draft. Even though

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Speaker 1: Jefferson was coming off a stellar twenty nineteen season at LSU,

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Speaker 1: Anne had won a national title. He was a fifth

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Speaker 1: wide receiver taken last spring. Henry Rugged, the third went

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Speaker 1: twelfth through the Raiders. Jerry Judy would tab the number

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Speaker 1: fifteen by the Broncos, and Dallas selected Ceedee Lamb at

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Speaker 1: number seventeen. The Eagles then took Galen Raeger with a

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Speaker 1: twenty first pick one spot before Minnesota happily took Jefferson

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Speaker 1: at twenty two. We know now that Efferson wasn't just

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Speaker 1: the best rookie wide receiver in the league, but it

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Speaker 1: is also viewed as one of the top overall talents

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Speaker 1: at his position across the NFL. That was evident by

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Speaker 1: his fourteen hundred receiving yards, a total that was both

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Speaker 1: a Super Bowl era rookie record and a Viking single

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Speaker 1: season record by a rookie. His eighty eight catches led

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Speaker 1: all rookies, and he tied for second with seven touchdown catches.

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Speaker 1: It's called by Jefferson at the thirty two yard line,

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Speaker 1: so justin, Jefferson has the most receiving yards by a

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Speaker 1: rookie in the history of the National Football League. With

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Speaker 1: all that in mind, I wanted to pick the brains

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Speaker 1: of some of the top draft experts across the football

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Speaker 1: world to find out why Jefferson have such a superb

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Speaker 1: season and what some may have missed on him in

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Speaker 1: their pre draft evaluations. To do that, I called up

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Speaker 1: a top knocked panel of draft minds, including Daniel Jeremiah

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Speaker 1: of NFL Network, Dane Brugler of The Athletic, Jordan Reid

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Speaker 1: of the Draft Network, Chris Tropato of Pobs Fourth, and

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Speaker 1: Tholomon Wilcot a Pro Football Focus here their take on

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Speaker 1: why Justin Jefferson with such a dynamic fourth in twenty

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Speaker 1: twenty and with a future hold for him going forward. So, Daniel,

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Speaker 1: we'll start with you, are you at all to pride

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Speaker 1: with a rookie thie then that Justin Jeffson had in

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Speaker 1: twenty twenty. You know the crazy thing is you just

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Speaker 1: listed those numbers and they're astronomical. But I remember when

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Speaker 1: he was picked, and you know, I remember saying, look,

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Speaker 1: I think his numbers will eclipse what Stefan Diggs had

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Speaker 1: in this offense the previous year. I just think he's

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Speaker 1: gonna fit beautifully in there, and he's ready made, ready

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Speaker 1: to go. I guess maybe the just the amount of

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Speaker 1: big plays down the field, maybe that would be the

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Speaker 1: surprise in his yards per catches indicative of just how

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Speaker 1: dynamic he was over the top. But this is one

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Speaker 1: of the most polished receivers we've seen come out in

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Speaker 1: the last several years, and just an absolute gift to

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Speaker 1: the Minnesota Vikings that he was there when when the

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Speaker 1: pick was up and man and you talked about hitting

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Speaker 1: the ground running. He's already established himself as a top

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Speaker 1: five type receiver in the NFL as a rookie. It's

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Speaker 1: pretty nuts. And Chris, how about you, what did you

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Speaker 1: take away from Jefferson first he then in the NFL.

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Speaker 1: Of all the draft analysts, I was probably the most surprised.

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Speaker 1: I had Justin Jefferson as a late second round talent

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Speaker 1: on my final big board, and I've certainly come to

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Speaker 1: terms with the fact that I need to take the

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Speaker 1: L on this one very early. Normally with a draft prospect,

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Speaker 1: you want to wait two or three years to really

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Speaker 1: decide whether or not it was a hit or miss.

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Speaker 1: I'm taking the L very early. What I'm surprised or

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Speaker 1: was surprised the most about what Justin Jefferson did as

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Speaker 1: a rookie. He was able to excel on the outside.

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Speaker 1: I think LSU actually did him somewhat of a disservice

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Speaker 1: in twenty nineteen. Despite the one hundred and eleven catches,

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Speaker 1: the eighteen touchdowns, nearly sixteen hundred yards receiving, he was

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Speaker 1: predominantly a slat wide receiver. Ninety three percent of his

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Speaker 1: snaps came in the slot, and in most cases, when

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Speaker 1: that is where a receiver is lining up most of

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Speaker 1: the time, it's because the coaching staff in that program

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Speaker 1: sees him only as a slot receiver. With the Vikings

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Speaker 1: this season, he was able to beat press coverage on

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Speaker 1: the outside, which is certainly much more difficult than winning

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Speaker 1: from inside in that slot alignment. So that's what really

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Speaker 1: impressed me and surprised me the most that he made

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Speaker 1: a seamless transition to the boundary receiver spot and really

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Speaker 1: exploded in those final fourteen games for the Viking. I'd

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Speaker 1: think fourteen hundred yards. It quite the themeless transition, Chris.

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Speaker 1: But Dane, let me ask you this, what did he

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Speaker 1: specifically do well in twenty twenty to help him have

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Speaker 1: such a historic season. I think, first and foremost, he

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Speaker 1: developed the trust that's required between a quarterback and receiver.

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Speaker 1: It Historically, first year receivers they have a distinct learning

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Speaker 1: curve because it could be tough to you know, get

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Speaker 1: down the timing and a new offense with a new

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Speaker 1: quarterback against better coverage. Then rookie receivers are used to

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Speaker 1: facing and when you factor in the loss of practice time,

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Speaker 1: the workouts last summer the preseason due to COVID, developing

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Speaker 1: that chemistry would theoretically it will be tougher. And we

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Speaker 1: saw that the first few games with Jefferson as he

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Speaker 1: settled in and you know, you kind of got his

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Speaker 1: feet wet, But then he started rattling off these hundred

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Speaker 1: yard receiving games. So I think part of developing that

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Speaker 1: chemistry is just earning trust from the quarterback, staying on

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Speaker 1: time with your routes, being in the right place at

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Speaker 1: the right time. And I know that just sounds very simple.

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Speaker 1: It really is a simplistic way to put it. But

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Speaker 1: for a rookie receiver, that's tough, and so being in

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Speaker 1: the right place at the right time and then being

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Speaker 1: reliable as a finisher. He had only two drops this

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Speaker 1: year with the route running with his hands. Cousins quickly

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Speaker 1: trusted Jefferson, and I think that manifested itself in the

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Speaker 1: stat sheet. Jordan, I know you were high on Jefferson

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Speaker 1: coming out too. You hear Dane talk about his hand

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Speaker 1: in his route running. How about you, what about that

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Speaker 1: aspect of jefferson game did you like as a rookie? Well,

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Speaker 1: I think just his natural maturation as a route runner.

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Speaker 1: I think that's something that really stood out about him,

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Speaker 1: and that's something that he was able to ask coming

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Speaker 1: into the free draft process of how just how seasoned

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Speaker 1: he was as a route runner, and a lot of

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Speaker 1: signs you see with these with these receivers coming into

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Speaker 1: the draft and these offensive systems, they're not really exposed

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Speaker 1: to what I like to call a lot of branches

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Speaker 1: on the route tree. So you get certain branches on

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Speaker 1: the tree that they're running, whether it's quick routes out

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Speaker 1: on the perimeter, or they have so many manufactured touches

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Speaker 1: that they don't really get a lot of exposure to

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Speaker 1: a lot of different routes on the college level, just

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Speaker 1: because of how these offenses are ran nowaday everything is

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Speaker 1: up tempo and getting the balling receiver's hands as quickly

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Speaker 1: as possible. But at LSU, he played in that pro

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Speaker 1: style system with Joe Brady and some of the other

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Speaker 1: offensive minds there, where he was already running a lot

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Speaker 1: of the routes that he was going to be asked

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Speaker 1: to on the next level. So his route running and

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Speaker 1: then his hands, I think I think it was the

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Speaker 1: Titans game of I think that's the game that Kirk

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Speaker 1: really started to develop some trust with him, and I

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Speaker 1: think I think it was a Tennessee game where he

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Speaker 1: had a breakout game for the most part, and it

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Speaker 1: really followed after that. So after that point, I mean,

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Speaker 1: he was just absolutely lights out. Now. I know all

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Speaker 1: of you put attentive work into your pre draft profile

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Speaker 1: then go through hundreds of prospects each spring. But if

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Speaker 1: we take a trip down memory lane, Dane, if you

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Speaker 1: look back, now, what did you hit on with Jefferson

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Speaker 1: in your pre draft report? Well, when I studied Jefferson

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Speaker 1: at LSU, there were two main takeaways that just loved

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Speaker 1: about his game. First, his crafty footwork. He was so

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Speaker 1: savvy as a route runner, creating his own separation, and

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Speaker 1: he did it in different ways, you know, using hesitation,

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Speaker 1: using body language, mixing his gears. I mean, he was

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Speaker 1: not a one trick pony out there. And then second,

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Speaker 1: his ball skills. He's very skilled at squaring his body

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Speaker 1: to the ball, attacking with his hands, the competitiveness that

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Speaker 1: he shows at the catch point that allows him to

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Speaker 1: work the middle of the field, winning contested situations. And

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Speaker 1: you know what I was taught a long time ago

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Speaker 1: when I got started in this business by some of

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Speaker 1: my scouting mentors that when you evaluate the wide receiver position,

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Speaker 1: don't overthink it. It comes down to two qualities. Can

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Speaker 1: you get open and can you finish catches? And Jefferson

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Speaker 1: did both of those things at a high level in

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Speaker 1: the SEC and so it's no surprise that that's been

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Speaker 1: able to translate and he's been able to do some

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Speaker 1: of the same things in the NFL. And Solomon, how

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Speaker 1: about you, what skills did you have noted on Jefferson

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Speaker 1: that you knew he'd bring to the NFL. Fluid route runner, Okay,

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Speaker 1: somebody who could separate at the top of his route,

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Speaker 1: a guy who could create yards after the catch, so

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Speaker 1: even at tight coverage once he had the ball in

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Speaker 1: his hands, he could even be more explosive separating from

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Speaker 1: coverage after the ball was in his hands. So he's

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Speaker 1: a fluid route runner, had excellent feet at the top

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Speaker 1: of his route to be able to separate, and then

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Speaker 1: he had high awareness against zone coverages. No matter what

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Speaker 1: kind of zone coverage you could throw at him, he

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Speaker 1: had a good feel for those zone coverages and knew

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Speaker 1: where the openings would be to put him in sync

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Speaker 1: with the quarterback where it was Joe Burrow at LSU,

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Speaker 1: A Kirk Cousins with the Minnesota Vikings. So those things

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Speaker 1: are going to make you immediately successful, and successful he was.

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Speaker 1: But let's talk about the flip side of those pre

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Speaker 1: draft reports. Daniel, did you admittedly myth on anything with him? Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I mean probably just the more the explosive place, you know,

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Speaker 1: like we were talking about, you know, I did not

432
00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:31,960
Speaker 1: know that he was you know, the yards per catch

433
00:22:32,040 --> 00:22:34,280
Speaker 1: would be where it was, the amount of over the

434
00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:36,080
Speaker 1: top plays that he made. I thought he would just

435
00:22:36,119 --> 00:22:39,800
Speaker 1: wear people out underneath and intermediate. But what he did

436
00:22:39,800 --> 00:22:41,560
Speaker 1: with the ball in his hands after the catch and

437
00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:43,680
Speaker 1: then really just getting on top of coverage. I think

438
00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:47,120
Speaker 1: that was probably the maybe the unexpected part of his game.

439
00:22:47,359 --> 00:22:49,360
Speaker 1: And Chris, you said earlier that you weren't it high

440
00:22:49,400 --> 00:22:52,800
Speaker 1: on Jefferson at other draft experts. Where did you have

441
00:22:52,840 --> 00:22:55,399
Speaker 1: him ranked at the twenty twenty draft rolled around? I

442
00:22:55,440 --> 00:22:58,040
Speaker 1: think I had him as like my wide receiver number twelve.

443
00:22:58,520 --> 00:23:01,520
Speaker 1: I loved the wide receiver class. And again that's a

444
00:23:01,520 --> 00:23:04,360
Speaker 1: lot lower than anyone else had him because, like I said,

445
00:23:04,400 --> 00:23:07,600
Speaker 1: I thought he was a slot only receiver. They schemed

446
00:23:07,600 --> 00:23:10,360
Speaker 1: a lot of his production that LSU offense was very

447
00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:13,360
Speaker 1: run pass option based. They used him on a lot

448
00:23:13,400 --> 00:23:16,240
Speaker 1: of bubble screens and then this deep overroute that was

449
00:23:16,320 --> 00:23:19,600
Speaker 1: kind of a schemed play. The two outside receivers would

450
00:23:19,680 --> 00:23:22,160
Speaker 1: run down the field, there would be a huge void

451
00:23:22,160 --> 00:23:24,760
Speaker 1: in the zone. A lot of his production seemed like

452
00:23:24,760 --> 00:23:27,720
Speaker 1: it was schemed. And to me that said they're worried

453
00:23:27,760 --> 00:23:30,560
Speaker 1: about his ability to create separations, so they need to

454
00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:33,720
Speaker 1: scheme him the football. Like I said, two after the

455
00:23:33,760 --> 00:23:36,480
Speaker 1: catching and contested catch situations, I liked him. That's why

456
00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:39,280
Speaker 1: I still had him as a second round pick. But

457
00:23:39,359 --> 00:23:42,520
Speaker 1: he showed in his rookie season in Minnesota that he

458
00:23:42,560 --> 00:23:46,399
Speaker 1: can win on his individual talent alone, beating press at

459
00:23:46,440 --> 00:23:49,840
Speaker 1: the line, creating separation, and then picking up those valuable

460
00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:51,840
Speaker 1: yards after the catch. Thank to all of you for

461
00:23:51,920 --> 00:23:54,280
Speaker 1: taking them time to chat about Jefferson, and we'll wrap

462
00:23:54,359 --> 00:23:56,600
Speaker 1: up with this final question. If you look into your

463
00:23:56,600 --> 00:23:59,479
Speaker 1: crystal ball, what do you expect from Jefferson in twenty

464
00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:02,200
Speaker 1: twenty one and beyond? And Daniel will start with you, Well,

465
00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:04,560
Speaker 1: he's going to continue to be a high volume guy.

466
00:24:05,359 --> 00:24:08,160
Speaker 1: You know, I think he's just getting started here. When

467
00:24:08,200 --> 00:24:10,320
Speaker 1: you look at guys that are consistently putting up those

468
00:24:10,359 --> 00:24:13,440
Speaker 1: type of numbers year over year. He fits into that class.

469
00:24:13,480 --> 00:24:15,480
Speaker 1: You know. You think about Michael Thomas and when he's

470
00:24:15,480 --> 00:24:18,639
Speaker 1: been healthy, the numbers he's put up. Justin's a faster

471
00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:22,720
Speaker 1: version of him. He's not quite as physically strong as Mike,

472
00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:25,399
Speaker 1: but again that's somebody puts up high volume numbers. You know.

473
00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:28,080
Speaker 1: I see Keenan Allen every week doing the Charger games

474
00:24:28,640 --> 00:24:30,600
Speaker 1: and understands how he get open and just has a

475
00:24:30,680 --> 00:24:32,920
Speaker 1: natural feel for it. When Keenan Allen's out there and healthy,

476
00:24:32,920 --> 00:24:34,560
Speaker 1: he's gonna catch a million balls. You just get the

477
00:24:34,600 --> 00:24:37,160
Speaker 1: feeling that Justin's gonna be one of those guys year

478
00:24:37,200 --> 00:24:39,800
Speaker 1: after year after year. Davante Adams is another one. You're

479
00:24:39,800 --> 00:24:41,760
Speaker 1: just going to see this production continue to roll. I mean,

480
00:24:41,800 --> 00:24:45,320
Speaker 1: the guy's what twenty two years old, he's just getting started. Jordan,

481
00:24:45,480 --> 00:24:48,840
Speaker 1: how about you? Any prediction for Jefferson going forward? Yeah,

482
00:24:48,840 --> 00:24:50,960
Speaker 1: so Adam Cleland is getting a little bit older, but

483
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:53,320
Speaker 1: we all know he's a really good player as well.

484
00:24:53,359 --> 00:24:55,199
Speaker 1: I think Jefferson is going to continue to be that

485
00:24:55,320 --> 00:24:57,879
Speaker 1: number one and eventually become that number one wide receiver

486
00:24:58,320 --> 00:24:59,960
Speaker 1: for the Bikers. We'll see who they end up high

487
00:25:00,280 --> 00:25:02,400
Speaker 1: as the offensive coordinator. But I think he's a guy

488
00:25:02,440 --> 00:25:04,520
Speaker 1: that definitely can step into any type of offense and

489
00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:07,240
Speaker 1: have success, just because, once again going back to those

490
00:25:07,240 --> 00:25:10,120
Speaker 1: translatable traits, he has those traits that can carry over

491
00:25:10,240 --> 00:25:12,119
Speaker 1: into any offense. So I think there's a lot of

492
00:25:12,280 --> 00:25:14,679
Speaker 1: pera seasons for him in the future. And Chris, I'm

493
00:25:14,720 --> 00:25:16,720
Speaker 1: gonna give you the last word here now if you

494
00:25:16,840 --> 00:25:19,480
Speaker 1: can't to make a bold statement on the potential offensive

495
00:25:19,560 --> 00:25:22,040
Speaker 1: rookie of the year. Well, first off, Justin Jefferson should

496
00:25:22,040 --> 00:25:24,280
Speaker 1: have been the first wide receiver picked in the twenty

497
00:25:24,320 --> 00:25:26,600
Speaker 1: twenty draft. I mean, there was so much hype around

498
00:25:26,600 --> 00:25:30,359
Speaker 1: the Alabama receivers, Jerry Judy, Henry Ruggs, who was the

499
00:25:30,359 --> 00:25:33,119
Speaker 1: first one that was actually selected. There was Jalelyn Reager,

500
00:25:33,200 --> 00:25:34,840
Speaker 1: all the receivers picked in front of him. I mean,

501
00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:37,320
Speaker 1: looking at it now, it should have been a no bringer.

502
00:25:37,359 --> 00:25:39,240
Speaker 1: He should have been a top ten selection, probably a

503
00:25:39,320 --> 00:25:43,280
Speaker 1: top five overall pick, because of how valuable the wide

504
00:25:43,280 --> 00:25:45,639
Speaker 1: receiver spot is, and because for a lot of the

505
00:25:45,720 --> 00:25:48,800
Speaker 1: points that I have already laid out, and many of

506
00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:51,120
Speaker 1: which were the reasons I was wrong on him, He's

507
00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:55,280
Speaker 1: not just a separation based wide receiver. He's not just

508
00:25:55,400 --> 00:25:58,520
Speaker 1: someone who can't get open, but he's good in those

509
00:25:58,560 --> 00:26:03,720
Speaker 1: rebounding situations. He really checks all the boxes for a

510
00:26:03,800 --> 00:26:06,680
Speaker 1: modern day wide receiver. I think he's on the fast

511
00:26:06,720 --> 00:26:08,840
Speaker 1: track to not just being a star, which he already is,

512
00:26:09,200 --> 00:26:12,639
Speaker 1: but being a superstar and ushering in a new era

513
00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:16,080
Speaker 1: of these young wide receivers that really have the complete

514
00:26:16,119 --> 00:26:19,600
Speaker 1: skill set. A big thing that Daniel Jeremiah, Dane Brugler

515
00:26:19,720 --> 00:26:23,800
Speaker 1: and Jordan Reid, Christerpasso and Solomon Wilcott for their incredible

516
00:26:23,840 --> 00:26:26,639
Speaker 1: insight on Justin Jefferson. We can't wait to see what

517
00:26:26,720 --> 00:26:29,560
Speaker 1: the future hold for number eighteen in Purple. I'm Viking

518
00:26:29,600 --> 00:26:37,120
Speaker 1: team reporter Eric Smith. Thanks for listening and school all right,

519
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:39,560
Speaker 1: thank you, Eric. It's always interesting to get the breakdown

520
00:26:39,640 --> 00:26:42,600
Speaker 1: from the experts. And you just heard Daniel Jeremiah was

521
00:26:42,720 --> 00:26:46,800
Speaker 1: so high on Justin Jefferson and like that's a name

522
00:26:46,840 --> 00:26:49,080
Speaker 1: that when he says, when he makes a statement like

523
00:26:49,240 --> 00:26:52,240
Speaker 1: he's already better than Stefan Diggs, which is what he

524
00:26:52,359 --> 00:26:55,399
Speaker 1: said the night he was drafted. That I mean, I

525
00:26:55,720 --> 00:26:58,120
Speaker 1: remember that to this day. And for you to get

526
00:26:58,160 --> 00:27:01,920
Speaker 1: some more insight from him and a few others there

527
00:27:01,680 --> 00:27:04,719
Speaker 1: in that piece. It was really cool stuff and I

528
00:27:04,720 --> 00:27:08,000
Speaker 1: would again tell Vikings fans so go to Vikings dot com.

529
00:27:08,000 --> 00:27:10,919
Speaker 1: It's featured on the website. Go check it out. It's

530
00:27:11,000 --> 00:27:14,080
Speaker 1: really good reporting by Eric. But Eric, just give us

531
00:27:14,080 --> 00:27:16,639
Speaker 1: some closing thoughts on on the piece and what it

532
00:27:16,680 --> 00:27:20,040
Speaker 1: meant and just what you learned throughout the process. Yeah. Well,

533
00:27:20,040 --> 00:27:21,560
Speaker 1: first thought, how I was pretty happy with how it

534
00:27:21,560 --> 00:27:23,600
Speaker 1: turned out, and you know, even though my name is

535
00:27:23,640 --> 00:27:25,679
Speaker 1: on it, there were a lot of people in Van

536
00:27:25,760 --> 00:27:29,000
Speaker 1: behind the scenes that also helped out. Kudo to both

537
00:27:29,000 --> 00:27:31,200
Speaker 1: of you ad well for your help with that. But

538
00:27:31,560 --> 00:27:34,320
Speaker 1: I thought it was really interesting stuff because a lot

539
00:27:34,359 --> 00:27:37,879
Speaker 1: of time guys get drafted, they start their NFL career,

540
00:27:37,960 --> 00:27:40,639
Speaker 1: and then you don't hear from the draft experts again

541
00:27:40,720 --> 00:27:43,600
Speaker 1: because they've moved on to the twenty twenty one draft

542
00:27:43,640 --> 00:27:47,719
Speaker 1: or the ensuing draft that come. And like I said earlier,

543
00:27:47,760 --> 00:27:50,560
Speaker 1: as Jefferson went along in his rookie season and just

544
00:27:50,960 --> 00:27:54,200
Speaker 1: with killing it, I mean hundred yard games and Path

545
00:27:54,280 --> 00:27:56,520
Speaker 1: and Randy Moth, Path and an Kuon Bolden, I'm like,

546
00:27:56,960 --> 00:27:59,440
Speaker 1: you know, this guy is incredible and it's not every

547
00:27:59,520 --> 00:28:02,200
Speaker 1: year that get a rookie season like this, and so

548
00:28:02,240 --> 00:28:05,159
Speaker 1: I knew probably about week twelve or thirteen that I

549
00:28:05,200 --> 00:28:08,120
Speaker 1: really wanted to do something this offseason that highlighted him,

550
00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:11,600
Speaker 1: and I thought, why not take a look back at five,

551
00:28:11,800 --> 00:28:14,800
Speaker 1: you know, heavy hitter draft experts and kind of get

552
00:28:14,840 --> 00:28:17,000
Speaker 1: their take on what he did well, what he didn't

553
00:28:17,040 --> 00:28:19,280
Speaker 1: do well, and kind of parlay that into where he

554
00:28:19,320 --> 00:28:22,400
Speaker 1: had now, you know, almost a year later after being drafted.

555
00:28:22,720 --> 00:28:25,480
Speaker 1: So yeah, I thought that Daniel Jeremiah's comments were really

556
00:28:25,480 --> 00:28:27,879
Speaker 1: eye opening a corso, like you said, he was just

557
00:28:27,960 --> 00:28:31,280
Speaker 1: so pumped for the Viking to draft him at twenty two.

558
00:28:31,680 --> 00:28:35,320
Speaker 1: But the person who I probably took away the mote from,

559
00:28:35,320 --> 00:28:37,960
Speaker 1: even though he was low on Jefferson, as you heard

560
00:28:37,960 --> 00:28:42,040
Speaker 1: in that piece, was Chris Depasso of CBS Sports. And

561
00:28:42,640 --> 00:28:45,520
Speaker 1: not to rag or bag on Chris or anything, but

562
00:28:45,960 --> 00:28:49,360
Speaker 1: he had Jefferson at his number twelve wide receiver going

563
00:28:49,400 --> 00:28:51,160
Speaker 1: into the draft and had him as a late second

564
00:28:51,200 --> 00:28:54,200
Speaker 1: round talent, and that's in any other year, that's not

565
00:28:54,280 --> 00:28:58,840
Speaker 1: bad to be a late second round talent. But Chris admitted, Hey,

566
00:28:58,920 --> 00:29:01,080
Speaker 1: I gotta take the l on this because I was wrong,

567
00:29:01,440 --> 00:29:04,480
Speaker 1: and I really enjoyed his honesty, but also listening to

568
00:29:04,560 --> 00:29:07,640
Speaker 1: why he was wrong and why he admitted Okay, this

569
00:29:07,720 --> 00:29:10,520
Speaker 1: is where I missed on him. And even though Chris

570
00:29:10,640 --> 00:29:14,400
Speaker 1: was the most vocal in admitting that, I'm sure there

571
00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:16,600
Speaker 1: are a lot of other people who missed on him too,

572
00:29:16,640 --> 00:29:19,640
Speaker 1: because first off, no one could have seen this coming.

573
00:29:19,680 --> 00:29:22,520
Speaker 1: No one really projected to fourteen hundred yards. If they did,

574
00:29:22,560 --> 00:29:26,120
Speaker 1: he would have been a top three pick. But for

575
00:29:26,160 --> 00:29:29,200
Speaker 1: the production, man like it, which is incredible. So I

576
00:29:29,320 --> 00:29:32,360
Speaker 1: enjoyed all five of those guys comments and insight, and

577
00:29:32,840 --> 00:29:36,240
Speaker 1: hopefully it gave Viking fans a better deep dive into

578
00:29:36,280 --> 00:29:38,760
Speaker 1: what made him so good, more so than just the

579
00:29:38,840 --> 00:29:43,280
Speaker 1: eighty eight catches, fourteen hundred yards and seven touchdowns. Really

580
00:29:43,280 --> 00:29:46,000
Speaker 1: good work on that piece, Eric, and I mean it

581
00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:48,960
Speaker 1: brought me back to draft night, and I'm gonna throw

582
00:29:49,000 --> 00:29:50,959
Speaker 1: it out here on this podcast. I was a low

583
00:29:51,040 --> 00:29:55,680
Speaker 1: key LSU guy throughout that college season, and I watched

584
00:29:56,040 --> 00:30:00,240
Speaker 1: what that offense did and eighteen touchdowns. I believe what

585
00:30:00,280 --> 00:30:04,239
Speaker 1: he had with Joe Burrow at quarterback, and when the

586
00:30:04,280 --> 00:30:07,520
Speaker 1: Eagles were on the clock, I will literally never forget

587
00:30:07,920 --> 00:30:09,480
Speaker 1: that I thought that he was going to go to

588
00:30:09,520 --> 00:30:12,440
Speaker 1: the Eagles and we were gonna end up with Jalen Raiger,

589
00:30:13,120 --> 00:30:16,120
Speaker 1: who I was not at all high on compared to

590
00:30:16,200 --> 00:30:19,240
Speaker 1: I'm a big name kind of guy. Jay, I like

591
00:30:19,440 --> 00:30:23,680
Speaker 1: watching Shocking, I like watching the LSU Tigers just absolutely

592
00:30:23,840 --> 00:30:26,960
Speaker 1: dominate teams, and that wide receiver was the one that

593
00:30:27,040 --> 00:30:29,680
Speaker 1: I wanted. I didn't think there was any way that

594
00:30:29,760 --> 00:30:32,440
Speaker 1: he would drop to our pick, but you could see

595
00:30:32,440 --> 00:30:35,479
Speaker 1: it in some of the content that the Vikings dot

596
00:30:35,560 --> 00:30:38,960
Speaker 1: Com our crew the VN put together on the voyage.

597
00:30:39,560 --> 00:30:43,520
Speaker 1: The Vikings coaching staff was elated that it was the

598
00:30:43,560 --> 00:30:47,760
Speaker 1: Eagles who took Jalen Raeger instead of Justin Jefferson. And

599
00:30:47,800 --> 00:30:49,960
Speaker 1: the fact that that it's the Eagles makes it even

600
00:30:50,000 --> 00:30:52,800
Speaker 1: better because we don't like the Eagles at all. Jay,

601
00:30:53,280 --> 00:30:55,719
Speaker 1: I know with you, you're probably swapping your LSU jersey

602
00:30:55,760 --> 00:30:58,360
Speaker 1: for your next jersey, for your Yankees jersey, for whatever

603
00:30:58,760 --> 00:31:01,920
Speaker 1: other big time front running team you want to jump on. Here, buddy, Now,

604
00:31:01,960 --> 00:31:05,040
Speaker 1: it's it was awesome. It was fortuitous that we were

605
00:31:05,120 --> 00:31:07,840
Speaker 1: able to be able to pick him, and you know,

606
00:31:07,880 --> 00:31:11,000
Speaker 1: it's it's hindsight is twenty twenty. But man, I think

607
00:31:11,000 --> 00:31:13,200
Speaker 1: there are a whole lot of teams that were would

608
00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:15,680
Speaker 1: love to have been able to grab him at that pick.

609
00:31:15,840 --> 00:31:18,400
Speaker 1: And it's just kind of funny to me that when

610
00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:20,280
Speaker 1: you start looking at how long he fell in the

611
00:31:20,320 --> 00:31:22,760
Speaker 1: draft and where he fell, and then he started breaking

612
00:31:22,800 --> 00:31:25,280
Speaker 1: Randy Moss's records where Randy was in a similar boat,

613
00:31:25,280 --> 00:31:27,719
Speaker 1: where he fell to later in the draft, longer than

614
00:31:27,760 --> 00:31:30,040
Speaker 1: he should have. There's a whole lot of history where

615
00:31:30,040 --> 00:31:32,960
Speaker 1: people are looking at Vikings wide receivers saying, man, I

616
00:31:32,960 --> 00:31:35,160
Speaker 1: don't know how he fell that far, but we're sure

617
00:31:35,160 --> 00:31:37,000
Speaker 1: as heck glad that we were able to get him.

618
00:31:37,000 --> 00:31:38,840
Speaker 1: So as long as we can keep him in Purple

619
00:31:38,880 --> 00:31:40,800
Speaker 1: for his entire career, I will be a very very

620
00:31:40,800 --> 00:31:42,920
Speaker 1: happy man. And it's going to be fun to see

621
00:31:42,960 --> 00:31:45,120
Speaker 1: what he can do in year two, coming off his

622
00:31:45,240 --> 00:31:47,520
Speaker 1: rookie season and doing what he's done, because the thing is,

623
00:31:47,520 --> 00:31:49,160
Speaker 1: with all the production he's had, he's now going to

624
00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:53,240
Speaker 1: target on his back and between he, Dalvin, Feeling Irv,

625
00:31:53,360 --> 00:31:56,200
Speaker 1: all these different playmakers that we've got, there's a lot

626
00:31:56,240 --> 00:31:58,120
Speaker 1: of weapons here for this new OC to be able

627
00:31:58,160 --> 00:31:59,960
Speaker 1: to run with, and it'll be fun to see what

628
00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:02,360
Speaker 1: Justin can do in year two. Yeah, that's for sure.

629
00:32:02,400 --> 00:32:05,600
Speaker 1: And if there's one thing that Gary Kubiak, who left

630
00:32:05,600 --> 00:32:09,280
Speaker 1: the Vikings with it was drafting Justin Jefferson, because I

631
00:32:09,360 --> 00:32:12,400
Speaker 1: remember when the Vikings drafted him. It was Gary who

632
00:32:12,480 --> 00:32:15,400
Speaker 1: was so excited on the phone. He was the one

633
00:32:15,400 --> 00:32:18,960
Speaker 1: who talked to him first. He was the one who

634
00:32:19,040 --> 00:32:20,880
Speaker 1: pretty much put his foot out and said, draft that

635
00:32:20,960 --> 00:32:23,880
Speaker 1: guy right now. And I am happy. I think we're

636
00:32:23,880 --> 00:32:28,000
Speaker 1: all happy that he did. So thank you to Gary Kubiak,

637
00:32:28,200 --> 00:32:30,920
Speaker 1: and thank you to the Philadelphia Eagles for letting him

638
00:32:31,000 --> 00:32:35,400
Speaker 1: drop to Austin taking Jalen Rieger instead. Let's move on

639
00:32:35,480 --> 00:32:38,200
Speaker 1: to the final topic of this episode of the Minnesota

640
00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:42,880
Speaker 1: Vikings podcast. It is the most famous game in the world,

641
00:32:42,960 --> 00:32:46,240
Speaker 1: the Super Bowl, which is held in Tampa Bay. This year,

642
00:32:46,560 --> 00:32:49,640
Speaker 1: the number one seed Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC

643
00:32:50,160 --> 00:32:53,760
Speaker 1: take on the number five seed Tampa Bay Buccaneers. It's

644
00:32:53,840 --> 00:32:59,000
Speaker 1: old versus New, It's Tom Brady versus Patrick Mahomes. We

645
00:32:59,040 --> 00:33:01,560
Speaker 1: talked about it last week. I think if you're the

646
00:33:01,680 --> 00:33:04,200
Speaker 1: NFL and you're Roger Goodell and you're looking to make

647
00:33:04,240 --> 00:33:08,680
Speaker 1: whatever money you can on this game following a COVID

648
00:33:08,960 --> 00:33:11,840
Speaker 1: riddled season, I think this is the matchup that you

649
00:33:11,880 --> 00:33:13,960
Speaker 1: were looking for. Eric. I mean you said it. I

650
00:33:13,960 --> 00:33:17,520
Speaker 1: mean it's the goat against maybe the potential goat, you know.

651
00:33:17,680 --> 00:33:20,400
Speaker 1: I mean, there's no doubting that Tom Brady's the goat,

652
00:33:20,520 --> 00:33:23,480
Speaker 1: and it's gonna be a long time before anyone even

653
00:33:23,480 --> 00:33:25,600
Speaker 1: gets in that conversation because they're gonna have to win

654
00:33:25,760 --> 00:33:28,640
Speaker 1: at least six super bowl just to equal him, you know,

655
00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:32,200
Speaker 1: potentially seven depending on what happened on Sunday. But if

656
00:33:32,200 --> 00:33:34,760
Speaker 1: there's anyone who can do it as of right now,

657
00:33:35,080 --> 00:33:38,200
Speaker 1: doesn't it feel like Patrick Mahomes is that guy. I mean,

658
00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:41,280
Speaker 1: he's already won one title, he went to an AFC

659
00:33:41,400 --> 00:33:43,560
Speaker 1: title game the year before and maybe should have been

660
00:33:43,600 --> 00:33:46,200
Speaker 1: in the Super Bowl. If he wins Sunday and get

661
00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:49,120
Speaker 1: back to back seasons, which hasn't happened since Brady did

662
00:33:49,120 --> 00:33:53,320
Speaker 1: it with a Patriots, then then the conversation start because

663
00:33:53,360 --> 00:33:56,720
Speaker 1: at some point, at some point, Brady's not gonna play anymore.

664
00:33:56,840 --> 00:33:58,200
Speaker 1: I mean it could be a few more years, but

665
00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:01,160
Speaker 1: at some point he's not gonna play anymore if he's fifty.

666
00:34:01,280 --> 00:34:06,400
Speaker 1: But Mahomes, if he can get another ring on Sunday

667
00:34:06,480 --> 00:34:09,120
Speaker 1: and get to two and keep Brady at thick, then

668
00:34:09,120 --> 00:34:11,600
Speaker 1: he's only four back. And then it kind of becomes

669
00:34:11,840 --> 00:34:14,839
Speaker 1: a large, big picture scale of Okay, can he get

670
00:34:14,880 --> 00:34:17,279
Speaker 1: four more over the rest of his career, And it

671
00:34:17,360 --> 00:34:19,840
Speaker 1: kind of reminds me of Tiger Woods, you know, a

672
00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:22,640
Speaker 1: few decades ago of you know, he got off with

673
00:34:22,719 --> 00:34:26,120
Speaker 1: such a hot start, and he's trying to pass Jack

674
00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:31,280
Speaker 1: Nicholas record of major titles in golf. So obviously different sports,

675
00:34:31,320 --> 00:34:33,480
Speaker 1: but that's kind of how I equate it. And as

676
00:34:33,520 --> 00:34:36,000
Speaker 1: a football fan, it's going to be fun to watch

677
00:34:36,040 --> 00:34:38,359
Speaker 1: to see a if Mahomes can get to number two

678
00:34:39,160 --> 00:34:42,280
Speaker 1: on Sunday and be if he can get the Brady's

679
00:34:42,280 --> 00:34:45,320
Speaker 1: final tally at the end of his career, Brady is

680
00:34:45,400 --> 00:34:49,200
Speaker 1: six of nine, which is just unbelievable. I can't even

681
00:34:49,600 --> 00:34:52,839
Speaker 1: I mean, six Super Bowl rings in nine appearances if

682
00:34:52,840 --> 00:34:56,359
Speaker 1: it wasn't for the New York Giants winning two in Philadelphia,

683
00:34:56,400 --> 00:34:59,879
Speaker 1: winning that game at US Banks Stadium, which is I mean,

684
00:35:00,040 --> 00:35:01,480
Speaker 1: we were all there for that was one of the

685
00:35:01,480 --> 00:35:04,719
Speaker 1: most entertaining games I've ever seen in my life. I mean,

686
00:35:04,760 --> 00:35:07,759
Speaker 1: it's unbelievable what Tom Brady has been able to do.

687
00:35:08,200 --> 00:35:11,600
Speaker 1: And we will see. I mean, it's his tenth Super

688
00:35:11,640 --> 00:35:15,200
Speaker 1: Bowl appearance in his twenty one year career, it's pretty

689
00:35:15,200 --> 00:35:16,920
Speaker 1: amazing that he just goes to a team like the

690
00:35:16,920 --> 00:35:19,800
Speaker 1: Tampa Bay Buccaneers finds his way to the super Bowl.

691
00:35:20,600 --> 00:35:24,960
Speaker 1: But Patrick Mahomes, let's cover that. Jay second straight super

692
00:35:24,960 --> 00:35:28,200
Speaker 1: Bowl in his four year career. He's the new kid

693
00:35:28,239 --> 00:35:30,680
Speaker 1: on the block. I mean at this point, he plays

694
00:35:30,719 --> 00:35:33,839
Speaker 1: like a veteran at his age. It's unbelievable what he's

695
00:35:33,840 --> 00:35:37,400
Speaker 1: been able to do. Obviously, they are the defending champions

696
00:35:37,480 --> 00:35:40,560
Speaker 1: last year, defeating the San Francisco forty nine ers. I mean,

697
00:35:40,600 --> 00:35:42,680
Speaker 1: if you get you you laid out all these stats

698
00:35:42,680 --> 00:35:45,120
Speaker 1: here Jay, what he has been able to do. The

699
00:35:45,120 --> 00:35:47,439
Speaker 1: thing that stands out to me most and I'm gonna

700
00:35:47,440 --> 00:35:51,320
Speaker 1: throw my stat in there as well. Thirty plus points

701
00:35:51,440 --> 00:35:57,040
Speaker 1: for this Chief's offense in playoff games averaged for Patrick

702
00:35:57,320 --> 00:36:00,319
Speaker 1: led by Patrick Mahomes. I think that's just unbelievable that

703
00:36:00,360 --> 00:36:03,279
Speaker 1: they average over thirty points in playoff games with a

704
00:36:03,360 --> 00:36:06,200
Speaker 1: quarterback of his age. Yeah, it's it's it's great. It's

705
00:36:06,280 --> 00:36:09,479
Speaker 1: it's the old goat versus new goat. Right, Like Eric said,

706
00:36:09,520 --> 00:36:12,200
Speaker 1: like we're we're sitting in a position right now where

707
00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:14,879
Speaker 1: you're wondering how long is Tom going to do this?

708
00:36:15,040 --> 00:36:17,320
Speaker 1: But you've got a Patrick Mahomes who wins a title

709
00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:20,080
Speaker 1: last year, and you know who knows maybe the reason

710
00:36:20,080 --> 00:36:22,359
Speaker 1: why Tom got out of the ABC he was looking

711
00:36:22,400 --> 00:36:24,480
Speaker 1: at it saying, I gotta go another route because I

712
00:36:24,480 --> 00:36:26,520
Speaker 1: got this guy standing in my way with this team

713
00:36:26,840 --> 00:36:31,440
Speaker 1: in the Chiefs that have just a boatloaded playmakers. I

714
00:36:31,480 --> 00:36:34,879
Speaker 1: think Tom having done this over and over and over

715
00:36:34,920 --> 00:36:37,800
Speaker 1: again in his career for literally almost half of his career,

716
00:36:38,280 --> 00:36:41,439
Speaker 1: having been in Super Bowls, which is just bananas. I

717
00:36:41,480 --> 00:36:44,000
Speaker 1: think Tom the moment's not going to be too big

718
00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:46,480
Speaker 1: for him. But the fact that they're at home also

719
00:36:46,520 --> 00:36:48,040
Speaker 1: helps give them a little bit of an edge, and

720
00:36:48,280 --> 00:36:51,080
Speaker 1: so Patrick Mahomes is going to have to do what

721
00:36:51,200 --> 00:36:53,880
Speaker 1: he's done all season, and that is run up the score.

722
00:36:54,000 --> 00:36:55,759
Speaker 1: It's kind of crazy when you look back at some

723
00:36:55,800 --> 00:36:58,200
Speaker 1: of those games. The majority of the first quarter, they

724
00:36:58,200 --> 00:37:00,840
Speaker 1: haven't really done a ton as far are scoring wise,

725
00:37:01,360 --> 00:37:03,359
Speaker 1: But when it gets to the second quarter and from

726
00:37:03,360 --> 00:37:07,200
Speaker 1: that point forward, they put the pedal down and they

727
00:37:07,280 --> 00:37:09,839
Speaker 1: do not stop, and they just keep running points after

728
00:37:09,880 --> 00:37:12,440
Speaker 1: points after points. And one of the things they do

729
00:37:12,480 --> 00:37:15,000
Speaker 1: the best is they hit the big play over and

730
00:37:15,000 --> 00:37:18,040
Speaker 1: over and over again, and those explosive plays. They're going

731
00:37:18,080 --> 00:37:20,040
Speaker 1: to need to do that against that Tampa front that

732
00:37:20,160 --> 00:37:22,000
Speaker 1: is going to put a ton of pressure on them.

733
00:37:22,440 --> 00:37:24,759
Speaker 1: And I just feel like Patrick Mahomes is if he

734
00:37:24,840 --> 00:37:27,839
Speaker 1: wants to cement himself as the leader of the new

735
00:37:27,880 --> 00:37:30,840
Speaker 1: era and the leader of the new class of players

736
00:37:30,840 --> 00:37:34,160
Speaker 1: and quarterbacks that are in this league, he can completely

737
00:37:34,200 --> 00:37:36,440
Speaker 1: plant his flag this week and say I'm coming for you,

738
00:37:36,560 --> 00:37:38,799
Speaker 1: Tom Brady for the rest of your career. Is I mean,

739
00:37:38,840 --> 00:37:42,239
Speaker 1: it has to literally be in his mind. Losing that

740
00:37:42,320 --> 00:37:44,879
Speaker 1: AFC Championship game a few years ago, when they were

741
00:37:45,000 --> 00:37:48,640
Speaker 1: so close to beating the New England Patriots in that game,

742
00:37:49,040 --> 00:37:51,120
Speaker 1: you had to think that they would be back in

743
00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:53,759
Speaker 1: a situation who are Mahomes would have a chance to

744
00:37:53,760 --> 00:37:56,359
Speaker 1: get his revenge And here we are. I mean, if

745
00:37:56,360 --> 00:37:58,880
Speaker 1: you look at the numbers a passing offense against the

746
00:37:58,960 --> 00:38:02,080
Speaker 1: passing offense, as Jay said, Chiefs were number one this

747
00:38:02,160 --> 00:38:05,920
Speaker 1: year in total offensive yards, the Bucks were seven total

748
00:38:05,960 --> 00:38:09,200
Speaker 1: offensive touchdowns, the Bucks were number two. Chiefs were number

749
00:38:09,239 --> 00:38:12,640
Speaker 1: three total passing yards. Chiefs were number one, Bucks for

750
00:38:12,760 --> 00:38:14,920
Speaker 1: number two. I mean, it just goes on and on

751
00:38:14,960 --> 00:38:17,960
Speaker 1: when it comes to passing offenses and the stats that

752
00:38:18,080 --> 00:38:22,719
Speaker 1: these two these two guys who are absolutely separated in

753
00:38:22,840 --> 00:38:26,319
Speaker 1: decades of age, but they're able to literally have some

754
00:38:26,400 --> 00:38:30,600
Speaker 1: of the most successful passing offenses in the NFL. Let's

755
00:38:30,600 --> 00:38:33,239
Speaker 1: go to the defense now, and I'm gonna throw this

756
00:38:33,280 --> 00:38:35,920
Speaker 1: at you, Eric, I mean, what do you expect from

757
00:38:35,920 --> 00:38:39,359
Speaker 1: this Buccaneers defense. They did such a great job at

758
00:38:39,440 --> 00:38:43,879
Speaker 1: stopping Aaron Rodgers and stopping the Green Bay Packers from

759
00:38:43,920 --> 00:38:47,480
Speaker 1: scoring off of Tom Brady's three interceptions last game. I

760
00:38:47,520 --> 00:38:50,280
Speaker 1: think that was the key to them winning that game.

761
00:38:50,320 --> 00:38:52,640
Speaker 1: So what do you expect from this defense as they

762
00:38:52,640 --> 00:38:55,520
Speaker 1: try to combat the offense that we were talking about

763
00:38:55,920 --> 00:38:58,799
Speaker 1: from the Kansas City Chiefs. Yeah. To me, the Buccaneer

764
00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:02,080
Speaker 1: defensive line is my key matchup and that's against the

765
00:39:02,160 --> 00:39:05,359
Speaker 1: Chiefs offensive line, and not really for what Tampa Bay does.

766
00:39:05,520 --> 00:39:07,160
Speaker 1: We all know that they're good, but kind of on

767
00:39:07,200 --> 00:39:11,080
Speaker 1: the flip side, the Chiefs offensive tackles are beat up

768
00:39:11,120 --> 00:39:15,200
Speaker 1: and injured, and starting left tackle Eric Fisher, I think

769
00:39:15,200 --> 00:39:18,759
Speaker 1: he tore his achilles. He's out Mitchell Schwartz on the

770
00:39:18,840 --> 00:39:21,279
Speaker 1: right side, who's an All Pro. He hasn't played for

771
00:39:21,760 --> 00:39:24,840
Speaker 1: most of the season. He's had a back issue. So

772
00:39:25,160 --> 00:39:29,440
Speaker 1: I believe that former Vikings guard and tackle Mike Rimmers

773
00:39:29,560 --> 00:39:31,760
Speaker 1: is going to be the starting left tackle on Sunday

774
00:39:31,840 --> 00:39:34,560
Speaker 1: against Jason Pierre Paul or whoever they line up over there.

775
00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:36,520
Speaker 1: You know, they like to rotate guys in and out

776
00:39:36,560 --> 00:39:39,560
Speaker 1: and move guys all around on the line, so I

777
00:39:39,640 --> 00:39:41,280
Speaker 1: know the eyes are going to be on the quarterback,

778
00:39:41,440 --> 00:39:43,279
Speaker 1: but I'm gonna be kind of be watching in the

779
00:39:43,280 --> 00:39:46,000
Speaker 1: trenches to see if the Chiefs offensive line can hold up,

780
00:39:46,040 --> 00:39:49,760
Speaker 1: because if they can't and the pressure gets the Homes early,

781
00:39:50,440 --> 00:39:53,120
Speaker 1: then it's going to be tough for the Chiefs offense

782
00:39:53,120 --> 00:39:54,879
Speaker 1: to go. I'm not saying they're going to shut him out,

783
00:39:54,880 --> 00:39:56,880
Speaker 1: but kind of what Jay said earlier, I think the

784
00:39:56,960 --> 00:39:59,000
Speaker 1: chief need to get off to a fast start and

785
00:39:59,120 --> 00:40:02,200
Speaker 1: score some early points so that it kind of gives

786
00:40:02,239 --> 00:40:04,080
Speaker 1: them a little bit of breathing room early on because

787
00:40:04,080 --> 00:40:07,200
Speaker 1: if they get behind, and you know, we all hear

788
00:40:07,239 --> 00:40:10,200
Speaker 1: that phrase, if the Buck defense can pen their ears back,

789
00:40:10,680 --> 00:40:13,000
Speaker 1: knowing at the passing down all the time, and they

790
00:40:13,040 --> 00:40:16,080
Speaker 1: can really try to get after Mahome with that array

791
00:40:16,160 --> 00:40:18,279
Speaker 1: of pass rushers, it's going to be tough for the

792
00:40:18,360 --> 00:40:21,960
Speaker 1: chief offense and Mahome. So the Buccaneers have a good defense.

793
00:40:22,280 --> 00:40:25,560
Speaker 1: There's no doubt the Vikings saw that obviously earlier this season.

794
00:40:25,640 --> 00:40:29,440
Speaker 1: But to me, I'm watching the Buccaneers defensive line against

795
00:40:29,440 --> 00:40:33,040
Speaker 1: the banged up chief offensive line. That's a good point, Eric,

796
00:40:33,160 --> 00:40:38,560
Speaker 1: because the Buccaneers defensive line has been absolutely outstanding this year.

797
00:40:38,960 --> 00:40:41,640
Speaker 1: They are the first in the NFL and rushing yards

798
00:40:41,640 --> 00:40:45,160
Speaker 1: allowed only twelve hundred on the season, first and rushing

799
00:40:45,239 --> 00:40:49,040
Speaker 1: touchdowns allowed only ten on the season, So they clearly

800
00:40:49,320 --> 00:40:51,600
Speaker 1: are doing something right. And when you talk about all

801
00:40:51,640 --> 00:40:53,719
Speaker 1: those injuries on the Chief's offensive line, I mean that

802
00:40:53,800 --> 00:40:56,560
Speaker 1: has to benefit a guy like Jason Pierre Paul, who

803
00:40:56,600 --> 00:41:00,840
Speaker 1: was an absolute monster last game against Aaron Rodgers. I

804
00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:04,160
Speaker 1: am also keying in on that matchup because I think

805
00:41:04,239 --> 00:41:07,239
Speaker 1: Jason Pierre Paul is a game changer. We know he

806
00:41:07,239 --> 00:41:09,520
Speaker 1: gets up for the big game. Tom Brady knows he

807
00:41:09,560 --> 00:41:12,480
Speaker 1: gets up for the big game. He's got those Super

808
00:41:12,480 --> 00:41:16,000
Speaker 1: Bowl rings with the New York Giants, and the way

809
00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:18,560
Speaker 1: he's able to step up at this age, it's it's

810
00:41:18,560 --> 00:41:23,280
Speaker 1: pretty amazing to watch him at his Super Bowl media

811
00:41:23,280 --> 00:41:26,680
Speaker 1: availability and oc hu Manor is just calling him up

812
00:41:27,280 --> 00:41:29,960
Speaker 1: to see that those guys connect there. That was one

813
00:41:30,000 --> 00:41:33,640
Speaker 1: of the viral moments of the radio row that went

814
00:41:33,680 --> 00:41:36,160
Speaker 1: on this past week. A few other connections to the

815
00:41:36,160 --> 00:41:41,000
Speaker 1: state of Minnesota. Anton Winfield Junior, it seems like he's

816
00:41:41,000 --> 00:41:43,440
Speaker 1: going to be active and able to play after missing

817
00:41:43,440 --> 00:41:46,400
Speaker 1: the game last week. He plays in a super Bowl

818
00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:49,239
Speaker 1: in his first year in the NFL. His dad, the

819
00:41:49,280 --> 00:41:53,319
Speaker 1: longtime Viking and legend Antoine Winfield Senior, play in the

820
00:41:53,400 --> 00:41:56,480
Speaker 1: NFL for over a decade and never got to the

821
00:41:56,520 --> 00:41:59,719
Speaker 1: Super Bowl. So pretty cool storyline there for you Minnesota

822
00:41:59,719 --> 00:42:02,439
Speaker 1: Go for fans. And then of course Tyler Johnson, who

823
00:42:02,440 --> 00:42:05,319
Speaker 1: had quite the season for the Minnesota Gophers last year

824
00:42:05,719 --> 00:42:09,120
Speaker 1: on offense. He caught a few big balls last game

825
00:42:09,440 --> 00:42:13,200
Speaker 1: and throughout the playoffs with Tom Brady. We'll see what

826
00:42:13,280 --> 00:42:16,640
Speaker 1: he's able to do in this big game. But obviously,

827
00:42:16,880 --> 00:42:19,600
Speaker 1: the Buccaneers are the first team to host a Super

828
00:42:19,600 --> 00:42:22,880
Speaker 1: Bowl in their own stadium. Pretty amazing that that is

829
00:42:22,920 --> 00:42:26,879
Speaker 1: able to happen. And twenty two thousand plus tickets are

830
00:42:26,920 --> 00:42:30,000
Speaker 1: being sold for the game, which will definitely provide a

831
00:42:30,080 --> 00:42:33,399
Speaker 1: different type of environment than some of these players are

832
00:42:33,719 --> 00:42:37,160
Speaker 1: used to with stadiums that were almost completely empty throughout

833
00:42:37,160 --> 00:42:40,959
Speaker 1: the season. And you have a little stat from Vivid seats, Jay,

834
00:42:41,320 --> 00:42:43,920
Speaker 1: why don't you throw that out there. Yeah, they're basically

835
00:42:43,920 --> 00:42:46,240
Speaker 1: saying that their algorithm is pointing out that they believe

836
00:42:46,280 --> 00:42:48,000
Speaker 1: seventy eight percent of the ticket sales are going to

837
00:42:48,040 --> 00:42:50,319
Speaker 1: be for Bucks fans, which isn't surprising that it's in

838
00:42:50,360 --> 00:42:53,520
Speaker 1: their home home state, their home stadium. There was the

839
00:42:53,640 --> 00:42:56,200
Speaker 1: story that came out with the Bucks letting the fans know,

840
00:42:56,920 --> 00:42:59,200
Speaker 1: due to competitive advantage and trying to be as equal

841
00:42:59,200 --> 00:43:01,520
Speaker 1: as possible, they're not gonna be able to fire off

842
00:43:01,560 --> 00:43:04,200
Speaker 1: the ship and everything within the stadium. Um. And then

843
00:43:04,200 --> 00:43:07,200
Speaker 1: on top of that, the average ticket price this year

844
00:43:07,440 --> 00:43:10,200
Speaker 1: is close to twelve thousand dollars a ticket, which is

845
00:43:10,239 --> 00:43:14,440
Speaker 1: just insane in years like last year's average ticket was

846
00:43:14,480 --> 00:43:17,680
Speaker 1: around fifty six hundred dollars. But the fact that you

847
00:43:17,760 --> 00:43:19,719
Speaker 1: have to buy them in pairs and in quads this

848
00:43:19,800 --> 00:43:21,640
Speaker 1: year in order to try to get these things. So

849
00:43:22,000 --> 00:43:25,879
Speaker 1: like in that situation, you were talking about, um like

850
00:43:25,960 --> 00:43:28,520
Speaker 1: twenty eight thousand dollars for a set of quad seats

851
00:43:28,520 --> 00:43:30,560
Speaker 1: that were up in the three hundred level, which is nuts.

852
00:43:30,880 --> 00:43:34,520
Speaker 1: But the craziest number I saw Vivid had was lower

853
00:43:34,640 --> 00:43:36,520
Speaker 1: end zone. There was a pair of tickets that were

854
00:43:36,560 --> 00:43:38,920
Speaker 1: going for one hundred and forty seven thousand dollars for

855
00:43:38,960 --> 00:43:42,920
Speaker 1: the pair. Why it was like, good Lord, I would

856
00:43:43,000 --> 00:43:45,960
Speaker 1: rather say, I would rather go to the Bahamas or

857
00:43:46,000 --> 00:43:51,560
Speaker 1: a Disney World. Yeah, exactly. You could buy a residence

858
00:43:52,280 --> 00:43:55,240
Speaker 1: at a vacation spot rather than sit in the corner

859
00:43:55,360 --> 00:43:58,000
Speaker 1: end zone, um to watch this game. I think it's

860
00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:01,960
Speaker 1: also pretty interesting being that my fiance's family is all

861
00:44:02,000 --> 00:44:05,200
Speaker 1: from the Boston, New England area. Boston is one of

862
00:44:05,200 --> 00:44:08,919
Speaker 1: the top sales markets for tickets. It seems like those

863
00:44:08,960 --> 00:44:14,560
Speaker 1: Patriots fans are jumping ship and rooting for their former quarterback,

864
00:44:15,600 --> 00:44:17,400
Speaker 1: don't I wouldn't be able to do that if I

865
00:44:17,440 --> 00:44:19,520
Speaker 1: was a fan of that team. But just throwing that

866
00:44:19,560 --> 00:44:24,520
Speaker 1: out there before we go and let's finish up. Obviously,

867
00:44:24,520 --> 00:44:27,640
Speaker 1: continue to check out all social media platforms for breaking

868
00:44:27,640 --> 00:44:30,960
Speaker 1: news of this offseason, whether it's free agency, the draft,

869
00:44:31,400 --> 00:44:34,040
Speaker 1: team news. We have it all covered on Vikings dot Com.

870
00:44:34,360 --> 00:44:37,520
Speaker 1: Also make sure to check out Eric's peace on Justin Jefferson.

871
00:44:37,880 --> 00:44:40,160
Speaker 1: I know I've said it about three times in this episode,

872
00:44:40,200 --> 00:44:42,680
Speaker 1: but one of the best things that has been done

873
00:44:42,920 --> 00:44:45,840
Speaker 1: throughout the offseason so far, So we have to throw

874
00:44:45,880 --> 00:44:49,839
Speaker 1: that out there before we go. We have to make

875
00:44:49,880 --> 00:44:52,839
Speaker 1: our predictions for the Super Bowl. The Chiefs are a

876
00:44:53,040 --> 00:44:57,480
Speaker 1: three and a half point favorite over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers,

877
00:44:57,719 --> 00:44:59,840
Speaker 1: So I will start out on this one. I would

878
00:45:00,800 --> 00:45:02,680
Speaker 1: the Kansas City Chiefs to win this game. I just

879
00:45:02,760 --> 00:45:06,440
Speaker 1: think the firepower of this offense. I just have to

880
00:45:06,480 --> 00:45:10,080
Speaker 1: go with them. The thirty plus points per playoff game

881
00:45:10,400 --> 00:45:13,360
Speaker 1: for this Chiefs offense behind Patrick Mahomes and the playoffs,

882
00:45:13,800 --> 00:45:17,160
Speaker 1: I gotta go with them. I will go to you first, Eric,

883
00:45:17,160 --> 00:45:20,239
Speaker 1: who are you taking in what? I'm gonna agree with you?

884
00:45:20,320 --> 00:45:23,040
Speaker 1: And I'm also gonna go with Kansas City to win.

885
00:45:23,200 --> 00:45:26,720
Speaker 1: But it's tough because, like you said earlier, Tom Brady

886
00:45:26,760 --> 00:45:30,080
Speaker 1: has won six titles, and you get you have to

887
00:45:30,080 --> 00:45:32,600
Speaker 1: think long and hard about picking against Tom Brady, especially

888
00:45:32,640 --> 00:45:35,719
Speaker 1: in the Super Bowl. But I did you know, I

889
00:45:36,080 --> 00:45:38,680
Speaker 1: have to go with the Chiefs, and mostly because of

890
00:45:38,719 --> 00:45:41,800
Speaker 1: what you said too, with the offensive firepower, and because

891
00:45:41,800 --> 00:45:43,719
Speaker 1: the Chiefs have kind of been here before. I know

892
00:45:43,840 --> 00:45:46,160
Speaker 1: Brady have been here before, but a lot of guys

893
00:45:46,160 --> 00:45:48,759
Speaker 1: on the Buccaneers have not, And a lot of the

894
00:45:48,840 --> 00:45:50,680
Speaker 1: players who are on the Chiefs this year were their

895
00:45:50,760 --> 00:45:53,160
Speaker 1: last year even when they were down. You know, I

896
00:45:53,200 --> 00:45:55,200
Speaker 1: think almost ten points in the fourth quarter and they

897
00:45:55,280 --> 00:45:57,640
Speaker 1: rallied to win. And even if you think back about

898
00:45:57,640 --> 00:46:00,399
Speaker 1: the last two postseasons, they were down twenty four nothing

899
00:46:00,920 --> 00:46:03,279
Speaker 1: to Houston, they came back and won. They were down

900
00:46:03,400 --> 00:46:06,160
Speaker 1: against Tennesseee, they came back and won. Even a few

901
00:46:06,200 --> 00:46:08,480
Speaker 1: weeks ago, they were down nine nothing against Buffalo and

902
00:46:08,520 --> 00:46:11,160
Speaker 1: they rattled off twenty one straight points like it was nothing.

903
00:46:11,560 --> 00:46:16,400
Speaker 1: And you know, I just I'm leaning towards Mahomes. You know,

904
00:46:16,480 --> 00:46:20,279
Speaker 1: Mahomes is a magic man, and every time I watched

905
00:46:20,320 --> 00:46:23,160
Speaker 1: him play, I'm just impressed and amazed. And it tough

906
00:46:23,239 --> 00:46:26,360
Speaker 1: to pick against the goat Tom Brady. But like I

907
00:46:26,400 --> 00:46:28,759
Speaker 1: said earlier, if Mahome can win this one, he can

908
00:46:28,800 --> 00:46:31,200
Speaker 1: pull it within four of Brady, and I think it's

909
00:46:31,239 --> 00:46:36,000
Speaker 1: gonna be really motivated to do that. And yeah, I

910
00:46:36,080 --> 00:46:37,759
Speaker 1: was born in Kansas City, so I'll go with the

911
00:46:37,800 --> 00:46:39,919
Speaker 1: I'll be a Homer and I'll go with the Chief.

912
00:46:40,640 --> 00:46:43,879
Speaker 1: I love it. Jay. So from the beginning when people

913
00:46:43,920 --> 00:46:45,920
Speaker 1: are asking going into the playoffs, I think it was

914
00:46:45,920 --> 00:46:49,640
Speaker 1: even week sixteen, I said, it's hard to go against

915
00:46:49,680 --> 00:46:51,600
Speaker 1: the truck on this one. With Kansas City and Green

916
00:46:51,640 --> 00:46:55,120
Speaker 1: Baby and the number one Seeds. Obviously, t Bone was

917
00:46:55,120 --> 00:46:56,880
Speaker 1: able to get it done over the Packers there at

918
00:46:56,960 --> 00:47:01,400
Speaker 1: Lambeau for the NFC Championship game. My head says the Chiefs,

919
00:47:01,480 --> 00:47:04,440
Speaker 1: my heart says the Bucks. I gotta go with the

920
00:47:04,520 --> 00:47:08,240
Speaker 1: Chiefs on this one. Earlier, somebody even asked for a number.

921
00:47:08,239 --> 00:47:10,919
Speaker 1: I said, thirty two to twenty seven. Part of that, too,

922
00:47:11,000 --> 00:47:13,160
Speaker 1: was even looking at one of the storylines in the

923
00:47:13,160 --> 00:47:16,000
Speaker 1: stats was that the last five Super Bowls have come

924
00:47:16,040 --> 00:47:20,600
Speaker 1: down to a final drive that essentially determined how the

925
00:47:20,640 --> 00:47:23,560
Speaker 1: outcome of the game hit. So whether they scored or

926
00:47:23,600 --> 00:47:27,160
Speaker 1: didn't score, that was the direct lineage to how the

927
00:47:27,160 --> 00:47:30,640
Speaker 1: game finished. So I'm going thirty two twenty seven Chiefs.

928
00:47:30,680 --> 00:47:32,240
Speaker 1: I think it's going to be a high scoring affair.

929
00:47:32,280 --> 00:47:34,279
Speaker 1: I think it'll be a lot of fun. Even if

930
00:47:34,280 --> 00:47:36,640
Speaker 1: Tom doesn't win on this one, he still is on

931
00:47:36,680 --> 00:47:39,879
Speaker 1: the mount rushmore of NFL players. If he gets another one,

932
00:47:40,160 --> 00:47:43,279
Speaker 1: they're basically going to bronze that thing because there's no

933
00:47:43,320 --> 00:47:45,600
Speaker 1: way that you're going to be able to touch him

934
00:47:45,640 --> 00:47:48,879
Speaker 1: moving forward with seven Super Bowl titles. So I'd love

935
00:47:48,920 --> 00:47:50,600
Speaker 1: to see Tom get another one, But I think those

936
00:47:50,680 --> 00:47:53,080
Speaker 1: Chiefs in that offense are way too good and so

937
00:47:53,120 --> 00:47:55,799
Speaker 1: I'm going thirty two twenty seven chiefs. You have to

938
00:47:55,840 --> 00:47:58,400
Speaker 1: think that it's on Patrick mahomes mind that if he

939
00:47:58,560 --> 00:48:01,760
Speaker 1: lets Tom Brady get number seven, it's gonna be pretty

940
00:48:01,800 --> 00:48:05,239
Speaker 1: hard for him to catch seven. I think six is

941
00:48:05,280 --> 00:48:07,920
Speaker 1: a little bit easier for a guy of his magnitude

942
00:48:07,920 --> 00:48:11,960
Speaker 1: who knows with what Patrick Mahomes can do. The sky's

943
00:48:12,000 --> 00:48:15,200
Speaker 1: the limit obviously for him. Uh, with what he's been

944
00:48:15,200 --> 00:48:17,759
Speaker 1: able to do so far. So um, that'll do it

945
00:48:17,800 --> 00:48:20,600
Speaker 1: for this episode of the Minnesota Vikings Podcast. Is Gabe

946
00:48:20,640 --> 00:48:23,439
Speaker 1: Henderson likes to say, will keep you up to date

947
00:48:23,480 --> 00:48:26,600
Speaker 1: with everything you need to know right here in the

948
00:48:26,640 --> 00:48:29,680
Speaker 1: Minnesota Vikings Podcast. Thank you guys, and have a great week.