Speaker 1: Mike Us, the eldest member of the quarterback group. I
Speaker 1: want to see if he can become a player who
Speaker 1: plays in the slot or if he's gonna play on
Speaker 1: the outside. If and when Pat Alpline has the year
Speaker 1: that I think he's capable of this year, something like
Speaker 1: that could could completely transform what we do. Hey, guys,
Speaker 1: welcome to the Minnesota Vikings Podcast. This is episode fifty two.
Speaker 1: I'm Siam, it's in your host. I'm joined by Chris
Speaker 1: Corso and Jay Nelson from Vikings dot Com and boys,
Speaker 1: we are nearly all systems a go. As the start
Speaker 1: of the twenty twenty Verizon Vikings training camp is underway.
Speaker 1: Rookies and quarterbacks have officially started hoarding today. Veterans start
Speaker 1: reporting on Monday. And this thing is going to be interesting.
Speaker 1: Chris cors So, tell me a little bit about we're
Speaker 1: talking before the show, the process. What it takes just
Speaker 1: for these guys to get in the building and be
Speaker 1: allowed to start working out. Yes, it's gonna be an
Speaker 1: interesting process. Each player that comes into the building has
Speaker 1: to have two negative tests for coronavirus that are seventy
Speaker 1: two hours apart. So if one player comes in on Monday,
Speaker 1: they're gonna have to test negative and then they will
Speaker 1: have to test negative again on Thursday. To be able
Speaker 1: to do anything in the building. Every employee, front office member,
Speaker 1: coach staff will have to do a survey as they
Speaker 1: enter the building every single day to talk about their symptoms,
Speaker 1: their temperature, a variety of things to make sure that
Speaker 1: they get that approval to come into the building. And
Speaker 1: the last thing is that everyone in the building is
Speaker 1: going to have to wear a mask covering when they
Speaker 1: walk around the TCO Performance Center. So and that includes
Speaker 1: the players as well. So it's gonna be interesting, it's
Speaker 1: gonna be different. There's going to be these contact tracer
Speaker 1: devices that are on the staff and players to show
Speaker 1: who has come into contact with whom. So if you're
Speaker 1: in contact with someone who someday has a positive test,
Speaker 1: the Vikings head athletic trainer Eric Sugerman will know exactly
Speaker 1: who came close to that positive test person in the
Speaker 1: MA makes it really easy for them to find people.
Speaker 1: And isn't there in terms of because for those of
Speaker 1: you haven't known, there's tiers. There's Tier one, Tier two,
Speaker 1: and Tier three in terms of who can you know
Speaker 1: report and when they can report and when they can
Speaker 1: be in the building. And I believe I heard Tier
Speaker 1: one and two are allowed to intermingle and Tier three
Speaker 1: is not allowed to intermingle and on those same systems.
Speaker 1: Was this a joke or did I hear that? Literally
Speaker 1: a buzzer will go off if they're within a certain
Speaker 1: amount of feet of T two or T one. Yeah,
Speaker 1: that is that device that I was talking about. So me,
Speaker 1: it's amazing a Tier three employee. If I go near
Speaker 1: anywhere near somebody like Kirk Cousins, my buzzers going off
Speaker 1: and it's going to start ringing. So I will definitely
Speaker 1: make sure that myself being one of the Tier three
Speaker 1: would be a great name for Chris Corso's book, Chris Corso,
Speaker 1: Tier Three, Tier Three, Chris Corso, Jay, it sounds like
Speaker 1: there's not going to be any preseason games happening this year.
Speaker 1: I mean, it's not set in stone, but it feels
Speaker 1: slim to none at this point. There will officially be
Speaker 1: no fans at any NFL training camps. Do you see
Speaker 1: that hindering their preparedness for the season or are you
Speaker 1: confident that the things are in place to get guys
Speaker 1: ready to play? For me, The biggest bummer of it
Speaker 1: is the preseason being eliminated. That is where in the
Speaker 1: past you've been able to find your diamonds in the rough,
Speaker 1: like you're Adam Feelins, who were more of your undrafted players.
Speaker 1: I think with between that and the fact that they're
Speaker 1: going to be it sounds like paring down the rosters
Speaker 1: to eight instead of ninety during camp as would be
Speaker 1: normal during a normal year. Those kind of opportunities for
Speaker 1: some of those guys are going to be fewer and
Speaker 1: far between. It's going to be very slim for some
Speaker 1: of them to be able to make that happen. But
Speaker 1: in general, for me, I think given the fact there
Speaker 1: was no offseason for these guys as far as being
Speaker 1: on the field and being able to work together the camaraderie,
Speaker 1: I think this buffer zone at the beginning of camp
Speaker 1: is going to be something that they can use to
Speaker 1: gel as a team and then finally just be able
Speaker 1: to concentrate on football on the field. Yeah, it's going
Speaker 1: to be way different. You're not going to have the
Speaker 1: roar of the crowd and the excitement and the kind
Speaker 1: of the buzz at camp. But in general, I think
Speaker 1: once those guys are able to just focus on football
Speaker 1: that might actually be a little beneficial to the team
Speaker 1: since they've missed out on so much this past offseason. Yeah,
Speaker 1: and let me hammer a couple of those things home. One,
Speaker 1: you know, I think one of the negatives is, you know,
Speaker 1: just the mass amount of draft capital spent in the
Speaker 1: second half of the draft this year, which we were
Speaker 1: all really enthused about. Those are the types of guys
Speaker 1: I think you really would have liked to see get
Speaker 1: run in preseason, and like you said, see a few
Speaker 1: of them separate themselves. So in a year when the
Speaker 1: Vikings had an abnormal amount of light round draft picks,
Speaker 1: that that definitely is a source of frustration. But to
Speaker 1: the other side, I love training camp and I love
Speaker 1: the fan aspect of training camp. I think you know,
Speaker 1: I used to go on man Cato all the time.
Speaker 1: I was at the one last year up and Egan.
Speaker 1: It's just a wonderful experience. But I think you're right.
Speaker 1: I think it gives the team and all the units
Speaker 1: that compose the team, coaching, training, all of it. It
Speaker 1: just gives them this focus that'll allow it to be
Speaker 1: strictly about football on every single level, at every single moment,
Speaker 1: and that might end up being a benefit for the team. Yeah,
Speaker 1: And ultimately, I think having that ability to focus, like
Speaker 1: you said, because of the amount of rookies and young
Speaker 1: people we have on this team, is the critical component
Speaker 1: that we've all been kind of raising an eyebrow at
Speaker 1: this past offseason. Is just saying they're missing out on
Speaker 1: this critical time. Yes, they're doing zoom classrooms or you know,
Speaker 1: some sort of online learning, but that is going to
Speaker 1: be the critical piece. And so now it sounds like,
Speaker 1: at least for a chunk of time, they're going to
Speaker 1: get that to start. Well, let's go through a couple
Speaker 1: of training camp talkers here, and we'll be doing this
Speaker 1: every week. But I think the one that everyone is
Speaker 1: most interested in, or nearly most interested in, is the
Speaker 1: wide receiver situation. Anytime you trade a superstar, that position
Speaker 1: group comes underneath a microscope in the next season, So
Speaker 1: Digs is out, you got Jefferson and Taj Sharpe in.
Speaker 1: You know a lot of people forget Chad Bbe is back.
Speaker 1: Chad Beebe had to sit out. A lot of people
Speaker 1: were excited about him going into last year. He's now year.
Speaker 1: So I think there's gonna be a lot of comparative analysis.
Speaker 1: But I want to put you guys on the spot
Speaker 1: with a fun question, and uh I was I was
Speaker 1: talking with a writer you guys familiar with, Chris Shaddy.
Speaker 1: Chris had Chris had a really interesting piece where he
Speaker 1: pointed out that this is the third Superstar wide receiver
Speaker 1: trade for the Vikings in the last fifteen years or so.
Speaker 1: Moss gooes to Oakland, Percy Harvin goes to Seattle, and
Speaker 1: now Stefan Diggs and they were all kind of you
Speaker 1: all with a little bit of drama, all with a
Speaker 1: little bit of like interesting pieces. And you know, the
Speaker 1: Moss trade for most fans, that is still a thorn
Speaker 1: in their side. They are very they feel like they
Speaker 1: got the raw end of that. Now the Harvin one,
Speaker 1: uh Spielman spun that into Xavier Roads and that Xavier became,
Speaker 1: amongst other things, became a cornerstone to one of the
Speaker 1: best defenses in the leagues for a lot of years.
Speaker 1: So it's it's almost as if this Superstar wide receiver
Speaker 1: trade is the tie breaker. And that was the crux
Speaker 1: of his article that I thought was so interesting. So
Speaker 1: my question to YouTube is when it's when this year
Speaker 1: is said and done. Do you think fans are going
Speaker 1: to be looking at the Diggs trade more on the
Speaker 1: Harvin side or more on the Moss side. I think
Speaker 1: it's going to be something like Justin Jefferson is always
Speaker 1: going to be linked to Stefan Diggs, especially for Vikings fans.
Speaker 1: I mean, when you pull a trade like that and
Speaker 1: you're able to get a first round pick from the
Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills, which many did not expect after that DeAndre
Speaker 1: Hopkins trade. I think Jefferson coming in, he's shown the confidence.
Speaker 1: He already said he can't wait to be tackled by
Speaker 1: Eric Kendricks in practice. Once they start tackling each other,
Speaker 1: he's ready to go against the top players on the
Speaker 1: Vikings defense, and I think he's ready to go. I mean,
Speaker 1: it's going to be exciting to see what he can
Speaker 1: do because he not only has the skill in the
Speaker 1: talent and college, but he has the opportunity like it's
Speaker 1: there for him, it's waiting for him. It's up to
Speaker 1: him what he's gonna do with it. Eighteen touchdowns in
Speaker 1: college last year. I think there's gonna be a lot
Speaker 1: of chances for him to make big plays for the
Speaker 1: Vikings this year. Jay, let me let me just say
Speaker 1: that I would like to be the first to donate
Speaker 1: to Chris Corso's political career because he did not remotely
Speaker 1: answer that question, you weak little boy. It is because
Speaker 1: that's the interesting thing. Much like the moss trade, it's
Speaker 1: receiver for receiver. I think the difference between the moss
Speaker 1: trade and the digs trade is Troy Williamson was kind
Speaker 1: of a little bit unexpected at that pick, and you know,
Speaker 1: it was a little bit of a surprise, whereas I
Speaker 1: think Justin Jefferson, the common opinion on him, I would say,
Speaker 1: is higher at the time than what I think the
Speaker 1: common opinion was on Troy Williamson. Jay, why don't you
Speaker 1: go ahead and dodge the question gladly? To be honest
Speaker 1: with you, that was your point that you just made
Speaker 1: is actually what I was going to bring up to
Speaker 1: given what Chris said, I'm super smart. Thank you the
Speaker 1: linking of this piece with Justin Jefferson because of the
Speaker 1: Troy Williamson situation that happened after Randy left. That is
Speaker 1: the thing that I think has always kind of made
Speaker 1: Vikings fans gunshy just in general, just saying like, listen,
Speaker 1: you can say that yes, this trade happened, and are
Speaker 1: you going to feel one way or the other. But
Speaker 1: what it turns into is what happened the following year
Speaker 1: and who was the person that possibly came in to
Speaker 1: replace them? And since Williamson did not live up to
Speaker 1: the expectations of what he was drafted at, and Jefferson
Speaker 1: by all accounts at this point, seems like he's going
Speaker 1: to be an absolute stud on this team. Having Diggs
Speaker 1: produced the way that he did, having it be the
Speaker 1: Diggs and Feeling combo, and now having a guy like
Speaker 1: Justin Jefferson step into those kind of shoes. That is
Speaker 1: the thing that on a local and national level everyone's
Speaker 1: looking at to say, will the Vikings miss a step
Speaker 1: or not? And I think for guys like Kubiak and
Speaker 1: everyone within the Vikings wide receiver room, they're going to
Speaker 1: be looking at a guy like Jefferson to be able
Speaker 1: to step up and fit that production. Since the Vikings
Speaker 1: offense was pretty dang solid last season, I'll answer it.
Speaker 1: I think it's going to be more Harvin. I think
Speaker 1: Randy Moss was a transcendent athlete for this team, and
Speaker 1: he left with a return that was very questionable and
Speaker 1: I think I just I'm with you, guys. I think
Speaker 1: I think the return and and that's and we're just
Speaker 1: talking about the one pick. We're just we're strictly talking
Speaker 1: about Justin Jefferson. Here. It doesn't start and end there.
Speaker 1: You have to look at the whole docket. But you know,
Speaker 1: there wasn't this sort of steam heading into camp with
Speaker 1: Troy Williamson like there is Justin Jefferson. Next question that
Speaker 1: you guys won't want to answer, this is fun for me.
Speaker 1: Now grow up, Chris Corso and handle this question. Gary
Speaker 1: Kubiak's taken over play calling. Are we going to Stefanski?
Speaker 1: Could be? Stefanski was? It was All of us were
Speaker 1: huge fans of him, and he's was interestingly wide open
Speaker 1: at times and then very conservative at times. Will we
Speaker 1: see with Gary Kubiak, Chris, will he fall more conservative
Speaker 1: then Stefanski or will he fall on a more aggressive
Speaker 1: side than Stefanski? Well, we all know Gary Kubiak has
Speaker 1: been linked to the running backs throughout his career and
Speaker 1: having one of the top running offenses every single year
Speaker 1: he's been in this league as an offensive play caller,
Speaker 1: so I expect him to do more of the running
Speaker 1: Dalvin Cook as many times as he can a game
Speaker 1: and be able to use that to set up the
Speaker 1: play action for Kirk Cousins. So I think we're gonna
Speaker 1: go conservative in that aspect. Cousins through ten interceptions the
Speaker 1: year before and had just six this previous year with
Speaker 1: Gary Kubiak on staff kind of directing Stefanski, so I
Speaker 1: think you'll continue to see him try to limit the
Speaker 1: mistakes for Cousins. But I definitely yeah, I'd say it
Speaker 1: will be a little more conservative than last year. Well,
Speaker 1: let me just point out that too often people you know,
Speaker 1: conservative in terms of offensive play call and is connected
Speaker 1: to maybe maybe as a negative connotation, And that's not
Speaker 1: the way the question was posed because to me, I
Speaker 1: think you look at your pieces and your assets around
Speaker 1: your entire football team and you decide what the proper
Speaker 1: approach is, and so that this is more of a
Speaker 1: question of how do you think he'll use our pieces
Speaker 1: than naming either of the approaches as right or wrong. So, Jay,
Speaker 1: I've now allowed you to answer that question with free conscience.
Speaker 1: Go ahead, you want to see somebody sit on a fence, right,
Speaker 1: watch this one here. Yeah, I think the conservative side
Speaker 1: of it is going to be the running back side
Speaker 1: of it, and that they're going to try to move
Speaker 1: the ball, especially if you get a guy like Dalvin
Speaker 1: on the field consistently and he can stay healthy. I
Speaker 1: think that will be viewed as conservative. But what that does,
Speaker 1: like you said, Corso, was set up the play action pass.
Speaker 1: And I think given the confidence that Kirk had even
Speaker 1: in that final or in the news playoff game where
Speaker 1: he was hitting the deep shot in overtime going for
Speaker 1: the throat to try to win the game, that is
Speaker 1: what I think will happen within this Kubiak offense. I
Speaker 1: think you went from essentially the student to the teacher
Speaker 1: now doing the play calls. And I think as a
Speaker 1: guy like Kubiak when he was in Denver, they would
Speaker 1: pound the rock, but then they would take those shots
Speaker 1: downfield and they would connect. And if you have some
Speaker 1: of your speed burner guys, you have a feeling healthy
Speaker 1: back and if, like we said before, if Justin Jefferson
Speaker 1: steps up, you have some serious weapons, including the tight
Speaker 1: ends in order to take some deep shots here and
Speaker 1: pound the rock and then take those shots when necessary.
Speaker 1: Next question for the two of you in this new
Speaker 1: game that I've just slowly slid into as the show
Speaker 1: has developed, What exactly and when will it get done?
Speaker 1: Dalvin's contract? Tell me the money amount. I'm just kidding, Chris,
Speaker 1: Chris almost dropped in his pants. That was a joke.
Speaker 1: We are not going to dive into that. We're just
Speaker 1: gonna sit and hope that our favorite running back has
Speaker 1: a great season. I do want to talk about the
Speaker 1: offensive line. I think a big thing for the offensive
Speaker 1: line this year is we have stacked it over the
Speaker 1: last number of years with youthful potential is what I'll
Speaker 1: call it. There's youthful potential all over this line. In
Speaker 1: order for this team to take a giant step forward,
Speaker 1: I think some of that youthful potential needs to turn
Speaker 1: into on the field high level productivity. So, and I
Speaker 1: know we on this show, I think, are a lot
Speaker 1: higher on the offensive line than some other people. So
Speaker 1: I'm curious to hear what you guys think if you
Speaker 1: had to pick a spot to see that potential turn
Speaker 1: into production on the old line, where do you see
Speaker 1: that most likely coming from? Chris? Yeah, I mean you
Speaker 1: have Brian O'Neill. I think he's pretty much become one
Speaker 1: of the anchors of this offensive line, probably the best
Speaker 1: player at such a young age, and I expect him
Speaker 1: to take a big step this year, whether it's at
Speaker 1: that right tackle position where he's played, or if or
Speaker 1: if we push him over to the left side and
Speaker 1: Riley Reef goes into the interior part of the offensive line.
Speaker 1: But I really expect him to be the most consistent
Speaker 1: player on the offensive line. But I want to see
Speaker 1: Garrett Bradbury, last year's first round pick, really grow in
Speaker 1: this offense and become more of a leader out there.
Speaker 1: Obviously last year was just his rookie year. So those
Speaker 1: two players are the ones that bet are going to
Speaker 1: be anchors of this offensive line for years to come.
Speaker 1: And I really want to see those two guys take
Speaker 1: a big step here, Jay, I agree with that. I
Speaker 1: also think that not only having Bradbury back for another year,
Speaker 1: and like you said, I think O'Neill being an anchor
Speaker 1: on the one side, I want to see what's going
Speaker 1: to happen with that other tackle and ken a guy
Speaker 1: like an Ezra Cleveland who just got drafted here, can
Speaker 1: he step into that role. Because if you're telling me
Speaker 1: that essentially the outside tackles and the center are solidified
Speaker 1: and now we've we've had some you know, solid work,
Speaker 1: but we've also had some questions. Yet'm know what's going
Speaker 1: to happen with the guards. If you're telling me that
Speaker 1: the corners and the middle are solidified, and then we
Speaker 1: can work out what's going to happen with the guards.
Speaker 1: You are looking at a young core for a team
Speaker 1: that has a Delvin Cook type running back playing for them,
Speaker 1: that can produce for many, many years to come. And
Speaker 1: I think that would be huge for this team to
Speaker 1: finally answer the question of what's going to happen with
Speaker 1: the offensive line. The fans are gonna of this podcast,
Speaker 1: are gonna get sick of hearing it. I am dying
Speaker 1: on the Pat elf line hill this year. I think
Speaker 1: he I think I've said it a bunch of times.
Speaker 1: He's had a lot of He's had a lot of
Speaker 1: position coaches, a lot of coordinators, a lot of position switches.
Speaker 1: And this year is the year that I think you
Speaker 1: see Pat rise up against that criticism and have a
Speaker 1: really really strong year. Check in with me on Twitter
Speaker 1: in about three and a half months and see how
Speaker 1: people are reacting to that consistent thought process of mine.
Speaker 1: But I'm really I'm really looking for a good year
Speaker 1: from pat elf Line for a couple of reasons. I
Speaker 1: just think he's in line for it, and two, if
Speaker 1: it happens, I think it could be transformative for the
Speaker 1: offensive line. If and when pad alf Line has the
Speaker 1: year that I think he's capable of this year, I
Speaker 1: think people could look at this line and go, oh wow,
Speaker 1: look look at this now, look look at as something
Speaker 1: like that could could completely transform what we do. And
Speaker 1: I'm a believer that that's that's in the realm of
Speaker 1: possibility this year. Let's do Uh, since we're on position groups,
Speaker 1: let's do what as as training camp is about to start,
Speaker 1: what position group battle are you looking forward to the most?
Speaker 1: For me, it's obviously the cornerback position. It's the position
Speaker 1: where we lost two of the starters for the past
Speaker 1: three to four years, and Trey Wayne's and Xavier Rhodes
Speaker 1: there they are both gone now. So it's Mike Hughes,
Speaker 1: who is the eldest member of the cornerback group, so
Speaker 1: he's he's gonna have to step up this year. I
Speaker 1: want to see if he can become a player who
Speaker 1: plays in the slot or if he's gonna play on
Speaker 1: the outside. We've seen him do a little bit of both.
Speaker 1: Um when he's healthy. But you look, you go down
Speaker 1: this list and the top seven guys I think are
Speaker 1: the ones that are really gonna have a chance to
Speaker 1: get reps with the starters, and that's Mike Hughes Uh,
Speaker 1: Jeff Gladney, Holton Hill, and Chris Boyd, the two young
Speaker 1: cornerbacks out of Texas. And then Cameron Danzler, Harrison Hand
Speaker 1: and Novelle clark U the UDFA from Central Florida. That's
Speaker 1: my group of seven that I really want to see
Speaker 1: battle it out. Chris Boyd and Holton Hill had some
Speaker 1: games last year where they really stepped up and looked
Speaker 1: like they could do it. But they also had moments
Speaker 1: where they they showed their their youth out there and
Speaker 1: they were beat on big plays. Um. I can remember
Speaker 1: the Cowboys game was a game where these these guys
Speaker 1: really struggled. So, um, let's see who rises to the
Speaker 1: cream of the crop. Jeff Gladney the first pick for
Speaker 1: the Vikings. There's gonna be a lot asked of him
Speaker 1: this year, So I don't know what's gonna happen. They're
Speaker 1: all it's a bunch of young guys, Chris, let me
Speaker 1: tell you a couple of things. One great, great answer,
Speaker 1: great pick and anytime somebody combines two common phrases into
Speaker 1: one common phrase. You just said, rise to the cream
Speaker 1: of the crop, and it's maybe the funniest damn thing
Speaker 1: I've heard in a hundred years. I too, am very
Speaker 1: curious to see who will rise to the cream of
Speaker 1: the crop with the cornerbacks, and I love it. Another
Speaker 1: thing I keep hammering home on this show is I
Speaker 1: love that we have two stud all pro level capable
Speaker 1: safeties and now we can just let these guys fight,
Speaker 1: these young guys fight, and just cycle them out there
Speaker 1: and see who are the guys that want it the
Speaker 1: most and who are going to produce the best. I'm
Speaker 1: really excited about that, Jay, Who in what group are
Speaker 1: you curious to see who rises to the top of
Speaker 1: the cream of the crop. That should be a new
Speaker 1: TV show title, that'd be that'd be fun to watch.
Speaker 1: One A and one B for me are the secondary,
Speaker 1: but the one B for me is the wide receiver group.
Speaker 1: The fact that you essentially have a number one in
Speaker 1: what we assume is Adam feeling and then you literally
Speaker 1: have eleven more guys on the roster that are going
Speaker 1: to be duking it out not only for the wide
Speaker 1: receiver position but also skill positions for kick returner, put returner.
Speaker 1: These guys are where we found our diamonds in the
Speaker 1: rough for the last how many years on this team.
Speaker 1: I think your BC Johnson's, your BB's they have some
Speaker 1: established pieces to them. But justin Jefferson is we all
Speaker 1: assume we want him to step up and handle this.
Speaker 1: But what's going to happen with the Dylan Mitchell, What's
Speaker 1: going to happen with the kJ Osbourne Taj Sharpe being
Speaker 1: a guy that is a veteran that other people. There
Speaker 1: was an article that was written basically saying that the
Speaker 1: rest of the league was actually courting this guy pretty
Speaker 1: strongly in free agency, and so there are a lot
Speaker 1: of people who leave in him that given the right
Speaker 1: situation essentially getting out of Tennessee where they were so
Speaker 1: run heavy, he could step up in here as well
Speaker 1: and become a number two, number three wide receivers. So
Speaker 1: that that position for me, there are so many bodies
Speaker 1: in there that can fill so many holes within that
Speaker 1: this roster of the final roster, the wide receiver something
Speaker 1: is going to be something very very interesting to keep
Speaker 1: your eyes on. I'll throw an extra one in there,
Speaker 1: and it's the the opposite defensive end spot with the
Speaker 1: departure of Everson Griffin. A Foddy is a guy who
Speaker 1: you know played, is capable of playing that position and
Speaker 1: really quietly had a really great year last year and
Speaker 1: a year of big time improvement. So I want to
Speaker 1: see if he can take that jump. You know, you
Speaker 1: got the draft pick that Chris had on the show
Speaker 1: a couple of weeks ago, and in DJ Wantam, I'm
Speaker 1: really that's always been a strength for this team and
Speaker 1: the development of young guys has always been there, and
Speaker 1: it's it's been quite a while since one of those
Speaker 1: spots has been up for competition in the preseas season,
Speaker 1: So it'll be really interesting to see how that comes together. Chris,
Speaker 1: this is one that you've probably been waiting seven months for.
Speaker 1: What are your expectations for Daddy Kirk? How do you
Speaker 1: see this season? Because I think and those of us
Speaker 1: who are excited to see what he does this year,
Speaker 1: I think you can recognize that at this point this
Speaker 1: offense is built to support what Kirk Cousins does. It's
Speaker 1: like you know, you're six foot four and you're you're
Speaker 1: looking to buy a house and you walk into a
Speaker 1: house and all the counters are two foot tall, and
Speaker 1: you drill your head on the ceiling in the basement.
Speaker 1: You're like, I don't think this is for me. I
Speaker 1: need one of those tall guy houses. Well, the football
Speaker 1: house that's been built around Kirk. Everybody seems to be
Speaker 1: that's on in the team seems to be a supporter
Speaker 1: of him. He loves the play action. He's got one
Speaker 1: of the best running backs in the league. He's got
Speaker 1: wide receivers that fit his skill set. You heard Taj Sharpe.
Speaker 1: You know the type of routes at Taj to run
Speaker 1: and he likes to get behind people. And he said
Speaker 1: Kirk throws one of the best deep balls he's ever seen.
Speaker 1: It's like everything has been put and now you're coming
Speaker 1: off that monumental win for him. Given the narratives of
Speaker 1: the past and the playoffs last year, everything seems to
Speaker 1: be lining up. It reminds me, and this one went
Speaker 1: the other way. But the two thousand, I can't remember
Speaker 1: the exact year, but Dante the famous everything slowing down quote,
Speaker 1: and he wasn't the only one who felt that. I
Speaker 1: think everybody watched him walk into that season and thought
Speaker 1: everything was coming together. Now, I'm not saying that Kirk
Speaker 1: is gonna have a season like that. I'm just giving
Speaker 1: a comparative analysis. But everything is right there for him
Speaker 1: to have the season that we all think he's capable of.
Speaker 1: And Chris, he's your boy. What is Daddy Kirk going
Speaker 1: to do this year? Well, he threw for over four
Speaker 1: thousand yards in five seasons in a row, and last
Speaker 1: year was the first one where he didn't. He only
Speaker 1: threw for thirty six hundred yards in this Gary Kubiak
Speaker 1: molded Stefanski offense. I think it's gonna be another similar season.
Speaker 1: He had his career high total in only having six interceptions.
Speaker 1: All the years before that, he had ten or more
Speaker 1: in the NFL the past five seasons that I just mentioned,
Speaker 1: So I think it's gonna be trying to balance the
Speaker 1: mistakes work with a lot of young players as his receivers,
Speaker 1: and justin Jefferson, I think IRV Smith is gonna come
Speaker 1: along as one of the big players that he's gonna
Speaker 1: want to target. When I talked to Gary Kubiak in
Speaker 1: the offseason, I mean, he kept mentioning we're giving HERV
Speaker 1: a little more. We're giving HERV a little more. So
Speaker 1: I think that that two tight ends set is going
Speaker 1: to be really big for the offense this year and
Speaker 1: really big for Kirk. So I see him thrown for again.
Speaker 1: That thirty five hundred yard, twenty five touchdown, five interceptions
Speaker 1: is what I'm gonna go with. And if he's around
Speaker 1: that seventy percent completion percentage that he's been at the
Speaker 1: past two years, I think, I think that's what it's
Speaker 1: going to be. But yeah, keep keep going with the
Speaker 1: play action. I would like to see him get out
Speaker 1: of the pocket a little more on his own rather
Speaker 1: than needing the play action to do so. So if
Speaker 1: he can make some moves outside the pocket a little more,
Speaker 1: that will definitely help his cause, because we've seen what
Speaker 1: happens when he gets too comfortable just being in the pocket.
Speaker 1: It doesn't It normally doesn't turn out good against a
Speaker 1: team like the San Francisco forty nine ers. Jaye Nelson,
Speaker 1: I think for Kirk, if he did what he did
Speaker 1: last season, given the questions that we had on the
Speaker 1: offensive line, I'm going to tie back the other question
Speaker 1: that we had from before. If you're telling me that
Speaker 1: that offensive line solidifies, there's no reason why he couldn't
Speaker 1: hit four thousand yards in a season. He has, like
Speaker 1: you said, all the weapons that he potentially needs. The
Speaker 1: front end of the season usually offense is a little
Speaker 1: bit slower to solidify if you have all these questions
Speaker 1: marks on what's going to happen with wide receivers, and
Speaker 1: then you've got some of your guys, like you said,
Speaker 1: Irv getting more run at this stuff and with Dalvin
Speaker 1: getting mixed back in. If every think goals right, I
Speaker 1: think that Kirk is poised to have a gigantic season
Speaker 1: if everything can solidify here in the short amount of time.
Speaker 1: They're going to have to get everybody on the same page. Yeah,
Speaker 1: I agree with you. I think he's in line to
Speaker 1: have a really good season. And it's the same thing.
Speaker 1: It's tied to my belief that I think we're going
Speaker 1: to see a jump up in offensive line production this year,
Speaker 1: and obviously those two things go hand in hand. The
Speaker 1: reason I did the long preamble before the question is
Speaker 1: because I Kirk is a guy that I view he
Speaker 1: has that ability to snowball, and I mean that in
Speaker 1: a good way, Like when he feels confidence and then
Speaker 1: he feels confidence around him, it just picks up and
Speaker 1: it just snowballs. I think about this moment a lot
Speaker 1: two years ago, right before the de Filippo season, right
Speaker 1: before everything started to kind of go the struggle direction.
Speaker 1: We had that early season aim against the Green Bay
Speaker 1: Packers and we were down by guy I don't even
Speaker 1: remember how many jay, but we were down by a
Speaker 1: bundle in the second half, and all of a sudden,
Speaker 1: Kurt came out and hit a couple throws. And this
Speaker 1: was before his production was even polarized by the fan base.
Speaker 1: I think at that point most fans were just psyched
Speaker 1: to have a productive quarterback. And I think he made
Speaker 1: a few throws early in that second half that you went,
Speaker 1: oh boy, and then you saw the team rallying, and
Speaker 1: then you saw him sticking some throws in there. And
Speaker 1: then remember late in that game, I think it was
Speaker 1: Thelanard Diggs I can't remember, but he put that ridiculous
Speaker 1: ass throw right near the corner down by the goal line,
Speaker 1: right there, and you're like, well, that's one of the
Speaker 1: best throws I've ever seen. And he has that ability
Speaker 1: when he's feeling it, and when those around him are
Speaker 1: really behind him and running with him, he really really
Speaker 1: snowballs and becomes one of these guys like this is
Speaker 1: one of the best quarterbacks in the league for sure.
Speaker 1: And the reason I did that preamble before the question
Speaker 1: is that's the place we're in. He's got a coordinator
Speaker 1: he likes. He's got a great running back in Alexander Madison,
Speaker 1: who we will talk about on this podcast at some point.
Speaker 1: That's another guy that I have immense expectations for. He's
Speaker 1: got wide receivers who fit him, were just the defense.
Speaker 1: Everything is right there. So I think this could be
Speaker 1: one of those things where I have regular positive expectations
Speaker 1: for him. Like I think, you get it, thirty five
Speaker 1: hundred four thousand yards low interceptions do really well. But
Speaker 1: I think there's this ceiling on it. I think there's
Speaker 1: this world where if he comes out and in the
Speaker 1: first two three games, things click and everybody is falling
Speaker 1: together in the right way and everything's landing, and like
Speaker 1: you said, IRV Smith steps up a little bit and
Speaker 1: takes on a role where you could go, there's a
Speaker 1: ceiling of, Oh, this guy's having a monster year, part
Speaker 1: of a two with Kirk, Like you said, you see
Speaker 1: the confidence kind of oozing from him, and you see
Speaker 1: him kind of get on a roll and he's just
Speaker 1: kind of, you know, directing traffic and telling here here, here,
Speaker 1: here here, and he's just clicking the best part for
Speaker 1: me what I love to see on that and he
Speaker 1: saw it last year, especially after the controversy happened, and
Speaker 1: then he just turned into a kind of a you know,
Speaker 1: screw this, I'm just going to go for it. When
Speaker 1: he bites down on his mouthpiece and just says, this
Speaker 1: is on me, let's make this happen. That is fun
Speaker 1: to watch because, like you said, you get those kind
Speaker 1: of throws where he's lacing in a shot to feeling
Speaker 1: on the pylon and you're just looking that going how
Speaker 1: is that possible? How did he lace that in there
Speaker 1: exactly where it needed to be. That is the Kirk
Speaker 1: that I think the fans are dying for, because that
Speaker 1: reminds you of seeing your gun slingers from the past,
Speaker 1: like your five types, where they just get into this
Speaker 1: mindset and they're going, I'm going to make this happen,
Speaker 1: come hell or high water. And if Kirk turns into
Speaker 1: that guy, all of the questions and the fans that
Speaker 1: are that are, you know, raising eyebrows saying is this
Speaker 1: going to be a thing? What is the ceiling? What's
Speaker 1: he going to be like? That kind of season will
Speaker 1: shut everybody up forever, and it is awesome to watch.
Speaker 1: So I am begging for that to happen this season
Speaker 1: just as a fan and as an employee. It is
Speaker 1: very fun to watch when you see a guy like
Speaker 1: Kirk go for it on that level. Last talker, Good
Speaker 1: Morning Football this week had a discussion with Maurice Jones, Drew,
Speaker 1: Peter Schreger, and Shaun O'Hara was on there about the
Speaker 1: Vikings possibly being a sleeper contender in the NFC this year.
Speaker 1: Shregger thinks it's whope. I love Peter Schreger. I think
Speaker 1: he is so great. On that show, he said he
Speaker 1: thinks the Vikings should be in the conversation given their
Speaker 1: ability to go down to New Orleans, New Orleans? Am
Speaker 1: I from there? For their ability to go to New Orleans?
Speaker 1: What happened to me right there? Did I have a
Speaker 1: Southern stroke in the middle of that? And when in
Speaker 1: the wild card round. His biggest concerns are obviously the
Speaker 1: changes on defense and digs being gone. Shawn O'Hara, He
Speaker 1: I think his confidence is in Zimmer on the defensive
Speaker 1: side of the ball. Is what I took from it
Speaker 1: is this. You know, he's got this young core. The
Speaker 1: offense is a little more established, and I paraphrasing, he's
Speaker 1: got this is what he does, he grows young guys.
Speaker 1: Drew's main concern is a lot of people's concern Delvin
Speaker 1: Cook being a hold out. I don't know why I
Speaker 1: just described an entire episode of Good Morning Football to you, guys,
Speaker 1: but I would say, when you hear people saying that
Speaker 1: your team, our team, the Vikings are a sleeper contender,
Speaker 1: what's your reaction. I love hearing the outside perspective and
Speaker 1: from these national reporters. And when the Vikings played the
Speaker 1: Saints and the change Chris's bio changed Chris's biography to
Speaker 1: third tier outside perspective Tier three. How the how the
Speaker 1: cream of the crop rose to the top of the
Speaker 1: crop by Chris Carso no forward normally normally Pete Schrager
Speaker 1: is the is the fan of the Vikings. He usually
Speaker 1: gives us some positivity, but um no, it's it's to
Speaker 1: hear them still character as I says, a sleeper is
Speaker 1: fine by me. I think that's where Zimmer likes to be.
Speaker 1: He likes when everyone says that we're not going to
Speaker 1: beat the Saints on the road in the playoffs. He
Speaker 1: likes when we're we're considered the third best team in
Speaker 1: the NFC North. I think that's when the Vikings play
Speaker 1: their best is when they are characterized as the sleeper.
Speaker 1: My biggest concern is a team like the San Francisco
Speaker 1: forty nine ers, who the team our season ended too
Speaker 1: on the road last year. Looking at some of the
Speaker 1: top teams in the NFC, we're gonna have to rise
Speaker 1: to that level, and I think the biggest area where
Speaker 1: we have to rise to their level to be on
Speaker 1: that level is the offensive line being able to protect
Speaker 1: Kirk Cousins. As we said in that previous segment, that
Speaker 1: is what broke down in the biggest game of the
Speaker 1: season where we lost at the end. I think if
Speaker 1: the offensive line can take that next step, we can
Speaker 1: be on the level all of those top teams in
Speaker 1: the NFC. Because our defense certainly is one thing that
Speaker 1: Shan O'Hara pointed out in that clip when they were
Speaker 1: discussing us was that the Vikings only won two division
Speaker 1: games last year. That is a huge point. We were
Speaker 1: ten and six at that point. So if you even
Speaker 1: get one more or two more, you're potentially hosting a
Speaker 1: playoff game at home. And just think if you're hosting
Speaker 1: a game versus being at New Orleans or what the
Speaker 1: implications would have been. Maybe we don't go to San
Speaker 1: Francisco and the playoffs. I think if you can take
Speaker 1: care of what you need to at home in your
Speaker 1: own division and you can have another season where you're
Speaker 1: getting into that double digit column. This team, like we
Speaker 1: just said, with the offense especially, is poised to do
Speaker 1: some damage like they did last year. So again, keep
Speaker 1: saying that you're not on the top, keep looking at
Speaker 1: us as a sleep or pick whatever you want to
Speaker 1: talk about. At the beginning. It doesn't matter at the
Speaker 1: beginning of the year. Depends at the end and when
Speaker 1: you start to make those runs late in the season,
Speaker 1: those are the things that count and that is what matters.
Speaker 1: So find by us. The Vikings have always liked it
Speaker 1: when especially Zimmer's always liked that when you're you're the
Speaker 1: underdog and in the end, it's great to prove them wrong. Well,
Speaker 1: so here's here's my counter hope. Because I think you
Speaker 1: guys are right. I think this team thrives as an underdog.
Speaker 1: I think Zimmer's a fantastic coach no matter what role
Speaker 1: they're playing. But I do think he I think your
Speaker 1: guys are right. I think he enjoys the underdog role.
Speaker 1: I think he revels in the criticism and being able
Speaker 1: to rally against it. But what I really want for
Speaker 1: this team is I want to see him succeed in
Speaker 1: the opposite role. I want to see them. I want
Speaker 1: to see them. I would, you know, selfishly, I would
Speaker 1: love to see us come out and run up four
Speaker 1: and oh five and oh six. I mean, no matter
Speaker 1: for what reason, I would love us to do that.
Speaker 1: But I'd like other teams to be coming into us
Speaker 1: and and everybody in the national media going, oh, this
Speaker 1: is a this is a super Bowl contender, This isn't
Speaker 1: a sleeper. These are the guys, these are a possible
Speaker 1: one seed. I'd like to host a home play off game.
Speaker 1: I'd like to host an you know, an NFC championship game,
Speaker 1: because that's that feels like the thing that you know,
Speaker 1: it would be nice to see us break through. It
Speaker 1: would be to get into those moments, to be the
Speaker 1: lead dog and to run away from people. And that's
Speaker 1: you know, that's a tough thing to that's a tough thing,
Speaker 1: especially given the the basically the large return of the
Speaker 1: three best teams in the conference, arguably outside of where
Speaker 1: we believe our team stands. The Packers, the Saints, you know,
Speaker 1: the Niners, and the Seahawks, the four best teams. They're
Speaker 1: all pretty you know, intact and returning, so they have
Speaker 1: a lot of the benefits that we have and keeping
Speaker 1: a lot of their staff and players together. So you know,
Speaker 1: it's going to be hard to necessarily rise and rise
Speaker 1: above those guys in any quick manner. But that that's
Speaker 1: where I want to see the team. I want to
Speaker 1: I don't want to be a sleeper. I want to
Speaker 1: be a lead dog. I want to be a contender,
Speaker 1: And I want this team to go through a season
Speaker 1: of getting the shot that contenders get. You know that
Speaker 1: that to me would wildly benefit this team. Now, of course,
Speaker 1: what a luxury. What you know, it's a dumb thing
Speaker 1: for me to sit here and go I want to
Speaker 1: be so good. Everybody wants to beat us. But I
Speaker 1: just wanted to throw that out there with the you know,
Speaker 1: comparatively to the underdog conversation. Let's let's close on something
Speaker 1: related to that, Mike Zimmer. The media this week has
Speaker 1: floated out that Mike is uh In is a there
Speaker 1: is a pending Mike Zimmer contract extension being finalized. It
Speaker 1: has not been finalized, announced, or formalized by us, so
Speaker 1: we're not going to speculate on that or the terms.
Speaker 1: But I will say that even the even the leak
Speaker 1: of the possibility of that information as a Viking fan
Speaker 1: got me going. I mean, I'm I grew up in
Speaker 1: I was fifteen years old in nineteen eight, so Denny
Speaker 1: Green is always I spent a long time thinking there
Speaker 1: would never be a Viking football coach that I would
Speaker 1: root for more than I rooted for Denny Green, and
Speaker 1: Zimmer has risen easily to that level. So the fact
Speaker 1: that we might be tacking him in here for a
Speaker 1: few more years is really really exciting. Like I said,
Speaker 1: when it becomes an actual piece of announced information, will
Speaker 1: really go through it on this podcast. But just given
Speaker 1: the leaked media information, I'm sure you guys are pretty
Speaker 1: through the roof as well. I mean, you have to
Speaker 1: be He's won sixty percent of his game since he's
Speaker 1: been here fifty seven, thirty eight and one, and he's
Speaker 1: had the defense finished top five multiple seasons, twenty fifteen
Speaker 1: and twenty nineteen two seasons where we went pretty far
Speaker 1: in the playoffs. It's just about getting over that hump,
Speaker 1: that next step. But he clearly has us a contender
Speaker 1: in the NFC year after year to year. So that's
Speaker 1: all you ask for as a fan, and he's clearly
Speaker 1: obviously has the impact on the defensive side of the ball.
Speaker 1: But we want to see it all come together. And
Speaker 1: I think with Gary Kubiak's staying and being the one
Speaker 1: to take over the offense and finally some to have
Speaker 1: someone who's been here the year before be on the
Speaker 1: offensive side of the ball, I think this could be
Speaker 1: the year where it happens. But yeah, you got you
Speaker 1: gotta appreciate what Mike Zimmer has done here as a fan.
Speaker 1: Having the defense to be a defensive first team is
Speaker 1: always exciting. Everyone has feared his defense, his double a
Speaker 1: gap blitz in every single game and we always have
Speaker 1: a chance to win every game. I think that's all
Speaker 1: you could ask for as a fan from your head coach,
Speaker 1: and clearly our players love him. A guy like Bud
Speaker 1: Grant set the tone. And what did fans love about
Speaker 1: Bud Grant. He was the tough, no nonsense, nobs kind
Speaker 1: of coach that would lead from the front. He's still
Speaker 1: running out there and his older age, you know, and
Speaker 1: the freezing call in a polo shirt and he's he's
Speaker 1: he is the personification of toughness. And I think the
Speaker 1: reason why people love Mike Zimmer at this point is
Speaker 1: he is essentially, in a way a Bud Grant two
Speaker 1: point zero. He leads from the front, nobs, he doesn't
Speaker 1: want any excuses. He constantly tells the players when something happens,
Speaker 1: he says, nobody's gonna feel sorry for us, and nobody's
Speaker 1: going to give us an inch. So guess what, you
Speaker 1: got to go out and earn it. And I think
Speaker 1: a guy like Zimmer not only can he, you know,
Speaker 1: talk tough, but he's backing it up with wins, going
Speaker 1: to playoff games, winning big games in the playoffs. I
Speaker 1: think Mike Zimmer being a part of this team, the
Speaker 1: fans and the players and the front office, everybody knows
Speaker 1: that they have a competent, successful leader and a guy
Speaker 1: like Mike, and I think it'll be great if they
Speaker 1: can lock him up for the long term. Well, thank
Speaker 1: you guys for for being willing to let me throw
Speaker 1: questions at your face throughout this episode. That's going to
Speaker 1: do it for us. I insist Viking fans that you
Speaker 1: stay tuned to Vikings dot com and all of our
Speaker 1: social media for the eist in Vikings News as Bison
Speaker 1: Vikings Training Camp twenty twenty gets kicked off. Here just
Speaker 1: some stuff that's up there that's really great. Right now,
Speaker 1: Craig Peters reviews how the new look safeties on the
Speaker 1: Vikings defense could help out during the twenty twenty season.
Speaker 1: During his Exes and O's article, Lindsay Young helps further
Speaker 1: the breakdown at TAJ Sharp and or Lunch Break article,
Speaker 1: and check out the continued coverage of Cameron and friends
Speaker 1: Bracelet Bunch charity fundraiser from this past week in Rosemont, Minnesota,
Speaker 1: with the help of her gracious host, the Family of
Speaker 1: Vikings fullback c J. Ham. It's just it's such a
Speaker 1: great thing that those families are out there doing. Follow
Speaker 1: us on all the social media platforms and just stay tuned,
Speaker 1: We are there. Football is coming and we're going to
Speaker 1: be covering training camp every single week and we will
Speaker 1: see you guys next week