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Speaker 1: Himself. I'm gonna stood out to me. You know, it's

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Speaker 1: just his his reputation speech for it self. I'm excited

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Speaker 1: to be here and I'm excited to get rolled up

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Speaker 1: Michael Pierce. I'm super excited to get to play this

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Speaker 1: side of him. I talking to him earlier. Super excited

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Speaker 1: to get back in the building with those guys. If

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Speaker 1: y'all get to work, learn each other's chemistry, and just

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Speaker 1: build from there to getting more effective than the pass

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Speaker 1: rush as well as run Yet. Hello, what is going on,

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Speaker 1: Vikings fans? It's episode number eighty five of the Minnesota

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Speaker 1: Vikings Podcast. I am joined by Vikings dot COM's Gabe

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Speaker 1: Henderson as well as producer Jay Nelson, and we will

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Speaker 1: be joined by Vikings dot Com team reporter Eric Smith

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Speaker 1: later on in the show. He has an NFC North

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Speaker 1: team reporter roundtable this week. He's talking to all the

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Speaker 1: team reporters from all three other teams in the divisions,

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Speaker 1: rivals on the field, rivals. As reporters. They have all

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Speaker 1: the up to date information on all of the free

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Speaker 1: agency moves made by every team in the division. Looking

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Speaker 1: at what has been going on in this division. Gabe,

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Speaker 1: it is unbelievable, the amount of quarterbacks that have left

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Speaker 1: the division and the talent that has left the NFC North. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: I mean, speaking of Kenny Galladay in particularly, he's probably

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Speaker 1: the latest big news coming out of the division wide

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Speaker 1: receivers signed a four year, seventy two million dollar contract

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Speaker 1: with the New York Giants. And we'll probably talk a

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Speaker 1: little bit more with Eric about it, but you know,

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Speaker 1: when you see it, guy like Matt Stafford leave, you know,

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Speaker 1: changes on the horizon. So it made sense that they

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Speaker 1: got rid of, well, they didn't resign Kenny Galladay, but

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Speaker 1: that is just one of many moves that have been made.

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Speaker 1: I mean, this is I mean, I've been covering the

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Speaker 1: NFL for the past four years, and this is by

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Speaker 1: far the wildest free agency I've been a part of.

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Speaker 1: As far as like moves and you know, one year

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Speaker 1: deals and people or people getting franchise tack not getting

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Speaker 1: franchise tack. Has been unique, man. But it's been exciting

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Speaker 1: to be a part of, and I know there's going

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Speaker 1: to be more excitement going forward. I am personally thrilled

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Speaker 1: that quarterback Matthew Stafford has finally left the division after

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Speaker 1: his career starting with the Detroit Lions for so long ago.

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Speaker 1: I mean, he's been haunting us in games that they

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Speaker 1: have no business winning, games that you think are layups.

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Speaker 1: He just comes and pulls a performance out of nowhere.

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Speaker 1: I know that's happened a few times in my time

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Speaker 1: here with the Vikings starting in twenty fifteen. So I

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Speaker 1: am personally thrilled Kenny Golladay is leaving the division, but

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Speaker 1: also the fact that Matthew Stafford is leaving the division.

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Speaker 1: I don't know how I feel about Mitch Rubisky signing

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Speaker 1: with the Buffalo Bills yet, that is one that I

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Speaker 1: flop back and fourth game, because he's had some games

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Speaker 1: on Monday Night Football where he just finds a way

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Speaker 1: to beat the Vikings. But also Jay, I just I

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Speaker 1: think he kind of had them them just staying I

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Speaker 1: don't know all they weren't they weren't improving with him

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Speaker 1: at quarterback. I think the way that you're waffling right

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Speaker 1: now shows exactly why Chicago didn't him, because I'm just

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Speaker 1: saying because there was such a such a roller coaster

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Speaker 1: ride with him. I think the hardest part for him

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Speaker 1: was going into a place like Chicago that was you know, say,

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Speaker 1: what you want had come off of a Jay Cutler

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Speaker 1: led team where you kind of knew what you were

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Speaker 1: going to get. You were going to get some feast

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Speaker 1: and famine out of out of that guy. But when

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Speaker 1: Mitch got drafted as high as he did, the expectations

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Speaker 1: in Chicago were, we have a great defense. This guy is,

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Speaker 1: you know, I think it was the top two or

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Speaker 1: top three pick at that point, and he just came

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Speaker 1: in with all the expectations on the world. And I

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Speaker 1: think the thing that that's been so hard has been

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Speaker 1: the guys behind him that got drafted close to where

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Speaker 1: the Bears originally were have just gone bananas and are

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Speaker 1: now in the face of the league itself. So, I mean,

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Speaker 1: so many things in Chicago were disappointing in the way

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Speaker 1: that things have happened there with metch and I think

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Speaker 1: it's a good parting for both of them just to

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Speaker 1: get a fresh start. But for Chicago it means they

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Speaker 1: have to basically hit the reset button again and everything

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Speaker 1: that's old is new again, and that they went and

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Speaker 1: picked up Andy Dalton. So I think Chicago has got

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Speaker 1: some questions that they definitely have to answer on offense,

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Speaker 1: and we'll see if the defense can hold it together

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Speaker 1: long enough for them to figure out their identity. We'll

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Speaker 1: definitely stay tuned for later in the show because all

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Speaker 1: things are covered from all three teams, including the Packers

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Speaker 1: who resigned Aaron Jones to an extension, but they also

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Speaker 1: lost their center Corey Lindsley, who signed with the Los

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Speaker 1: Angeles Chargers, So all three reporters joined Eric as well

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Speaker 1: as Eric joining the show to talk about his conversation,

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Speaker 1: so that will be really interesting later on. Also, Jay

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Speaker 1: has a Higher and Lower game which he has told

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Speaker 1: us literally nothing about. He hasn't told us the questions

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Speaker 1: that he's prepared. He also hasn't told us anything about

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Speaker 1: that show, so stay tuned for that. That'll be a

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Speaker 1: segment later on in the show. I'm really looking forward

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Speaker 1: to that one. Jay. I'm just trying to melt your

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Speaker 1: brains a little bit here in a free agency periods,

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Speaker 1: as if it couldn't already be that way with how

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Speaker 1: crazy it has been thus far, that's for sure. I mean,

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Speaker 1: this has definitely been one of the craziest free agencies

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Speaker 1: that I can remember to date, all of the NFL

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Speaker 1: teams having to work under this one hundred and eighty

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Speaker 1: million dollar cap, which they expected to be much higher

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Speaker 1: heading into this offseason. It's really been unbelievable to see

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Speaker 1: the amount of players released, the amount of players that

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Speaker 1: are switching teams, the talent that's left the NFC North,

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Speaker 1: which we are thrilled about, and all the things that

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Speaker 1: are happening at the quarterback position. But now let's get

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Speaker 1: into the show and we start with a great roster

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Speaker 1: move to report. It's not one of the Patrick Peterson

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Speaker 1: or Dalvin Tomlinson acquisition level to say the least, but

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Speaker 1: the Vikings have announced on Wednesday that they will bring

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Speaker 1: back running back a Mere Abdullah. He's a player that

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Speaker 1: does a lot for this organization, Gabe, I know on

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Speaker 1: off the field special teams at the running back position,

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Speaker 1: and obviously when you when you lose a player like

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Speaker 1: Mike Boone to the Denver Broncos, it's always good to

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Speaker 1: having a Mir Abdula for depth in the backfield. I think,

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Speaker 1: not only does is this move great for the running

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Speaker 1: back room, but like you said, for the special teams unit.

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Speaker 1: I mean, he's pretty much on every single special teams

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Speaker 1: force other than Phil gold Block and for a guy

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Speaker 1: like a Mira Abdullah, a guy who scored two touchdowns

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Speaker 1: last year, and both of those touchdowns came against his

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Speaker 1: former team against the Detroit Lions. You gotta think he's

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Speaker 1: gonna pick up a piggyback up off of that last

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Speaker 1: year and try to have a bigger year when it

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Speaker 1: comes to trying to make plays when the ball is

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Speaker 1: in his hand. I really I'm a huge fan of

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Speaker 1: this move. This is I think a Merabdulah is an

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Speaker 1: invaluable piece to this Vikings roster. Doesn't show up in

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Speaker 1: the stat sheet, but the plays that he makes some

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Speaker 1: special teams and when his number is called, you can't

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Speaker 1: overlook a guy like that. And hats off to Rick

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Speaker 1: Spielman and those guys bringing him back. Yeah, he's a

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Speaker 1: savvy veteran. At the point, he had three years in

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Speaker 1: Detroit and then he came over to us in twenty

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Speaker 1: eighteen and since then, like you said, on the fields,

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Speaker 1: he's reliable. For the most part. You don't have to

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Speaker 1: worry about if you give them the ball, there's going

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Speaker 1: to be a lot of mistakes or mental mistakes. Especially,

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Speaker 1: He's definitely got the talent to be out there and

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Speaker 1: for a running back like Delvin who's more of your quick,

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Speaker 1: shifty type. A Mirror has some of that to him

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Speaker 1: as well, So, like you said, it doesn't feel like

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Speaker 1: there's a lot of drop off there when he comes in.

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Speaker 1: It's a similar style. And the fact that he's been

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Speaker 1: around now in the league for six years going on seven,

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Speaker 1: it just means that he at this point understands and

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Speaker 1: not only does he have the trust of the players,

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Speaker 1: but he's got the trust of the coaches and the

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Speaker 1: front office, which is why they keep bringing him back.

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Speaker 1: So I I like the move. I think it's great

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Speaker 1: to have him back here, some more continuity in that

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Speaker 1: running backfield. I'll be curious to see if they go

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Speaker 1: ahead and try to replace Mike Boone coming up here

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Speaker 1: in the draft, or if there's gonna be some other

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Speaker 1: kind of freegent move that's gonna be made as well.

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Speaker 1: But they always like having a platoon of guys in

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Speaker 1: the backfield there, and I think having a Mirror in

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Speaker 1: this backfield is going to be great again. So I

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Speaker 1: look forward to having him back in the locker room.

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Speaker 1: It'll be great to see what he has to say

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Speaker 1: when he gets a chance to speak. And he's just

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Speaker 1: one of my favorite guys to have in there that

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Speaker 1: you feel like you can trust. Not too much more

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Speaker 1: to report this week for the Vikings acquisitions. I know

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Speaker 1: there are a ton of players that have signed with

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Speaker 1: other teams that were unrestricted or restricted free agents for

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Speaker 1: the Vikings. I touched on running back Mike Boone. He

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Speaker 1: signed with the Denver Broncos. That's George Peyton, the Vikings

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Speaker 1: former assistant personnel manager for the team. He's now the

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Speaker 1: general manager for the Denver Broncos. He stole Mike Boon

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Speaker 1: away from this roster, and so there are players that

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Speaker 1: are departing, as every team has seen with what is

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Speaker 1: going on with the salary cap this year. So what

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Speaker 1: we have decided to do to open up this show

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Speaker 1: is throw to a few soundbites from all the press

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Speaker 1: conferences that happened in the past few weeks. Patrick Peterson,

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Speaker 1: Dalvin Tomlinson, Stephen Weatherly. There's just so many players that

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Speaker 1: have joined this roster that had really exciting press conferences.

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Speaker 1: So first we're gonna start off with the biggest name

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Speaker 1: and acquisition for the Vikings. It's Patrick Peterson. Let's take

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Speaker 1: a listen to what he had to say when he

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Speaker 1: was introduced as a member of the Minnesota Vikings. Um,

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Speaker 1: you know, just looking at a couple of teams. UM,

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Speaker 1: you know, I thought, you know, coach Zim just coaches

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Speaker 1: Zim himself, you know stood out to me. You know,

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Speaker 1: just his reputation speaks for itself. The things that he's

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Speaker 1: able to do with the defense, not only with the defense,

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Speaker 1: but with defensive backs, you know, speaking of Dion Sanders,

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Speaker 1: Leon Hall, Jonathan Newman, not Jonathan Newman, Tanas Newman, Jonathan Joseph,

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Speaker 1: the list goes on, and he's he's able to you know,

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Speaker 1: help further those guys career. And if you look at

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Speaker 1: all of those guys career, those guys played you know,

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Speaker 1: thirteen fourteen plus years. So coach Zim definitely have something

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Speaker 1: something that he's given those guys to not only help

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Speaker 1: you know, prepare their career into into new heights, but

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Speaker 1: also you know, help their career be a longevity career

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Speaker 1: as well. So, UM, I just thought, you know, the

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Speaker 1: culture around here, the atmosphere around here, UM was everything

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Speaker 1: for me. I believe if it definitely checked off all

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Speaker 1: the boxes. I'm excited to be here and I'm excited

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Speaker 1: to get rolled. I'm glad you picked that by Jay,

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Speaker 1: because that really stands out to me, knowing the type

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Speaker 1: of player that a Terrence Newman was later in his career,

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Speaker 1: and just Coach Zimmer having all of these guys to

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Speaker 1: turn to, or Dion Sanders, who's one of the biggest

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Speaker 1: voices in the NFL media, being able to comment and say, yeah,

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Speaker 1: you probably want to go and play with Coach Zimmer

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Speaker 1: at this point in your career. It raises It raised

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Speaker 1: my eyebrow gay because I mean, he's on a one

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Speaker 1: year contract with the team, and from what I've heard

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Speaker 1: from general manager Rick Spielman, it was Patrick Peterson who

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Speaker 1: wanted to come to this organization who made sure to

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Speaker 1: tell Rick Spielman. His agent told Rick Spielman, find a

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Speaker 1: way to get this guy on your roster. And now

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Speaker 1: it sounds like he wants to be there for longer

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Speaker 1: than just one year. Patrick Peterson's that his initial goal

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Speaker 1: when coming to the NFL is to play sixteen seasons

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Speaker 1: and he's going into year eleven and he wants to

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Speaker 1: play for the Minnesota Vikings. That says a lot first

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Speaker 1: and foremost about coach Zimmer. And you know his tutelage

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Speaker 1: and you know his resume and the things that he's

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Speaker 1: been able to do with his you know, in his

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Speaker 1: coaching career. So Patrick Peterson to come here and make plays,

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Speaker 1: I think that's an expectation. I mean, he already said

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Speaker 1: Minnesota Vikings fans are getting the Pro Bowl, the All

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Speaker 1: Pro Patrick Peterson this year and beyond. So it's saying

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Speaker 1: a lot right there that we are getting a gym.

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Speaker 1: I don't think you hear stories like this every day

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Speaker 1: when the player reaches out to the organization. So in

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Speaker 1: that case, I think Vikings fans should be excited, and

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Speaker 1: more importantly, this defensive back unit should be excited to

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Speaker 1: have a guy like Pat Peterson want to come in

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Speaker 1: and make plays and be able to coach those young guys. Also, Yeah,

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Speaker 1: that's amazing. It's always fun when if I have a

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Speaker 1: little gem like that fall into your lap. And I

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Speaker 1: think that the one thing that he sited there especially

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Speaker 1: was just the reputation. So if he's coming from a

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Speaker 1: system where there's been a little bit more of you

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Speaker 1: out on an island playing man coverage, and you're coming

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Speaker 1: to a scheme that's a little bit more covered too,

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Speaker 1: where you know, maybe it's something he's seen older players,

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Speaker 1: especially guys like your Dion's and your Terence Newman's, come

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Speaker 1: into this league, play in this system, have a lot

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Speaker 1: of success and feel like you can extend your career

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Speaker 1: playing on a defense that you feel like is reloading.

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Speaker 1: I think that is a win win win across the board.

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Speaker 1: It's a win for the front office, it's a win

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Speaker 1: for Pat Peterson, and it's a win for the fans

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Speaker 1: being able to have somebody like that come in on

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Speaker 1: this roster and be able to watch him every Sunday.

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Speaker 1: So for me, I think it's a great move and

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Speaker 1: that's just awesome that he's willing to do this, and

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Speaker 1: I hope it is more than just a one year contract.

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Speaker 1: I hope they are able to find a way to

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Speaker 1: extend him if he has a great season coming up.

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Speaker 1: I think more than anything, you're getting a motivated Patrick Peterson,

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Speaker 1: and that is a dangerous, dangerous thing to have. And

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Speaker 1: I think it's awesome that he's playing on I roster.

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Speaker 1: When he references Terrence Newman, who they literally couldn't kick

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Speaker 1: out of the building and had to make him a

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Speaker 1: coach for an extra year for him to stay around

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Speaker 1: in the organization, I think it's safe to say game

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Speaker 1: that Patrick wants to stay around and he wants to

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Speaker 1: be here longer than that one year deal. I know

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Speaker 1: you had the chance to literally speak with him and

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Speaker 1: get literally be the only person to get on one

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Speaker 1: on one interview with him in his day at the

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Speaker 1: TCO Performance Center, Like, what was his takeaways from seeing

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Speaker 1: the TCO Performance Center, walking in the field house, seeing

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Speaker 1: the v N studios. I know he was pretty impressed

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Speaker 1: by what he was able to see. Yeah, I mean

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Speaker 1: he kept saying, the Vikings do it right. They put

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Speaker 1: their money where their mouth is. They say they want

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Speaker 1: to be the best. They put the resources there, the

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Speaker 1: recovery is there, the acupuncts of the miss eyes, the

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Speaker 1: weight room, everything you need from an organization. The Vikings

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Speaker 1: do the best with what they can do. And Patrick

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Speaker 1: Peterson saw that. I mean, he had a lot of

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Speaker 1: respect for the Arizona Cardinals organization. But at the same time,

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Speaker 1: you can tell he was a bit excited when he

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Speaker 1: walked on walked here and egan to inside the TCO

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Speaker 1: Performance Center and just being able to talk to him

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Speaker 1: and just see his vibe, his energy and you know,

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Speaker 1: his eyes light up when he's walking into certain rooms

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Speaker 1: or certain buildings. That says a lot about the organization

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Speaker 1: that you can still wow and eleven year future Hall

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Speaker 1: of Famer veteran, So it was a great, great opportunity

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Speaker 1: talking to him. But you can just tell like he's

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Speaker 1: ready to get going. Um, he loves interviews, like he

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Speaker 1: I mean, he likes talking, but at the same time,

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Speaker 1: like this is like, man, he kept saying like I'm

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Speaker 1: ready to put the pas on, like I'm ready to

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Speaker 1: start playing. And that's the mindset that you want if

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Speaker 1: you're a head coach, or if you're a general manager,

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Speaker 1: or if you're the team owner. I know he has

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Speaker 1: like his own podcast where he talks and he's able

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Speaker 1: to interview players around league. But man, that guy is

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Speaker 1: well spoken, he's intelligent, and obviously he's been able to

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Speaker 1: do it on the field. Eight time All Pro. That

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Speaker 1: just speaks for itself. So let's go from one free

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Speaker 1: agent acquisition to another. This one is Dalvin Tomlinson, the

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Speaker 1: Vikings new defensive tackle. Yeah, I'm super excited to play

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Speaker 1: next to those guys. Michael Pierce actually went to school

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Speaker 1: of high school with some of the Alabama teammates and

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Speaker 1: stuff like that, So I'm super excited to get to

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Speaker 1: play beside of him. I'll talk to him earlier and

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Speaker 1: we both just excited to play with next to each other.

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Speaker 1: There's gonna be some good energy up front, and yeah,

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Speaker 1: they like I'm just super excited to get back in

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Speaker 1: the building with those guys. So if y'all get to work,

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Speaker 1: learn each other's chemistry, and just build from there to

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Speaker 1: get more effective in the pass rush as well as

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Speaker 1: the wrong game. I love to hear that from Dalvin Tomlinson.

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Speaker 1: I know, I personally put together a Vikings defensive depth

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Speaker 1: chart this weekend because I just can't believe the amount

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Speaker 1: of additions that will be made to this Vikings defense

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Speaker 1: just a week into free agency. You know Michael Pierce,

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Speaker 1: who didn't play all last season, He's added in the

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Speaker 1: middle of this defense. Dalvin Tomlinson is added, Stephen Weatherly,

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Speaker 1: who will hear from in a little bit. He's added

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Speaker 1: as a defensive end. And I'm considering all the players

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Speaker 1: who were injured last year as additions to this defense.

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Speaker 1: Because I haven't seen Daniel Hunter, number ninety nine Russia

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Speaker 1: quarterback in a very long time. I can't wait for

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Speaker 1: him to be back, Jay and I can't wait for

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Speaker 1: Anthony Barr to be back at that linebacker position. It's

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Speaker 1: literally like you're getting five players who you just didn't

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Speaker 1: have last year back on this roster. Yeah, that's the thing.

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Speaker 1: You know, we all saw the way it started and

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Speaker 1: the way it ended last year and having those two

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Speaker 1: big time injuries at the front end, with Anthony barrn

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Speaker 1: de Neil Hunter getting injured when and where they did,

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Speaker 1: that was a killer, and you know, we were holding

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Speaker 1: on by a thread. We had Eric Kendricks basically carrying

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Speaker 1: the load, especially in the middle, and then when he

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Speaker 1: went out, we saw for those last basically the last month,

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Speaker 1: how big of a struggle it was just to try

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Speaker 1: to you know, finish a boy five hundred, which we

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Speaker 1: weren't able to do. So there's a reason why they've

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Speaker 1: been going through and trying to pluck some of these

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Speaker 1: different specific positions out of free agency their needs for

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Speaker 1: this roster. But they're also some of these are areas

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Speaker 1: that the scuttle butt coming out of the draft is

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Speaker 1: that some of these are a little bit thinner than

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Speaker 1: previous years. Last year there was so much defensive line

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Speaker 1: play that was picked up in the draft. This upcoming year,

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Speaker 1: it sounds like it's going to shift a little bit

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Speaker 1: more to offensive line, so being able to pull a

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Speaker 1: Dalvin Tomlinson and then as we all know, try to

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Speaker 1: get back to Neil Hunter here and just to see

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Speaker 1: how that all plays out. But to have basically a

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Speaker 1: revamped defensive line where there was so much consternation last

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Speaker 1: season of the amount of push that offensive lines were

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Speaker 1: getting against the defense. Not only does this potentially help

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Speaker 1: your defensive line, it also helps your secondary and your

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Speaker 1: linebacking crew. So if we can get all of these

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Speaker 1: players back, plus with some of these additions, I think

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Speaker 1: you're going to see a drastically different Minnesota Vikings defensive

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Speaker 1: play at least execution versus what we saw last year.

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Speaker 1: And like you said, course so I'm excited too, because

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Speaker 1: I just want to see how long it takes for

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Speaker 1: these guys to gel and just how well they can

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Speaker 1: work together given a bunch of the talent that they've

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Speaker 1: brought in for this season. I mentioned five players I know.

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Speaker 1: Eric Kendricks played eleven games. He also missed the last

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Speaker 1: month of the season, so you're returning him at the

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Speaker 1: middle linebacker position, and Mike Hughes, one of the veteran

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Speaker 1: cornerbacks on the roster also missed just about the entire

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Speaker 1: season with a neck injury. He's had injuries throughout his

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Speaker 1: entire career with the Vikings. We'll see what he's able

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Speaker 1: to offer at that position right behind Patrick Peterson. Moving on,

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Speaker 1: we will listen to a quote from Vikings new defensive

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Speaker 1: ends Stephen Weatherly, who returns to the organization after one

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Speaker 1: year with the Carolina Panthers. Now that you're back, coach

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Speaker 1: Patterson and Adam Zimmer co defensive coordinators, which is a

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Speaker 1: little different than when you are here last. Just what

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Speaker 1: are you looking forward to working under those two guys

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Speaker 1: as coordinators? To see how they put their spin on it.

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Speaker 1: I already know how the overall defense works, but to

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Speaker 1: see how each one of those two coaches put their

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Speaker 1: own little flare on how we play, like blitzes or

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Speaker 1: anything like that. I'm really looking forward to that because

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Speaker 1: when I was here, Drey has some really good ways

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Speaker 1: to pull out the defensive aidence and help out everyone

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Speaker 1: on defense. So super excited to see how that's gonna

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Speaker 1: look and how that plays out. Well. That was Vikings

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Speaker 1: dot COM's Lindsay Young with the very insightful question. Jay.

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Speaker 1: I think that that was a really good question because

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Speaker 1: things have changed since since Stephen left. I mean, obviously

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Speaker 1: Andre Patterson and Adam Zimmer are now at the defensive

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Speaker 1: coordinator position rather than a George Edwards. Definitely a different

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Speaker 1: defense to say the least, and there's a ton of

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Speaker 1: different players around Weatherly. So Weatherly comes back after spending

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Speaker 1: a few years in the organization, and we've talked about

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Speaker 1: numerous times what he brings to the locker room, the

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Speaker 1: relationships that he has in the building, and I think

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Speaker 1: that's only going to benefit a lot of the young

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Speaker 1: players on this roster, especially at DJ Wanham, who I

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Speaker 1: believe he might be splitting some snaps with at that position. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: one of the things that he cited, a lot of

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Speaker 1: people said, you know, what did you learn while you

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Speaker 1: were gone in Carolina for that season, and he cited

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Speaker 1: basically almost a growth and maturity. He talked about how

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Speaker 1: he got his contract there in Carolina and he felt

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Speaker 1: kind of happy about his contract and getting the money,

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Speaker 1: and he kind of got a little complacent, and he said,

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Speaker 1: you know, after the way it ended last season and

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Speaker 1: being able to be as as open as he was

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Speaker 1: he realized that he needs that hunger in order to

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Speaker 1: really stay on the ball, in order to perform. And

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Speaker 1: one of the things that he really talked about was

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Speaker 1: just being a leader doesn't necessarily mean, you know, getting

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Speaker 1: a contract or being anointed a captain or a starter.

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Speaker 1: What it really means is being able to figure out

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Speaker 1: where do you fit in that puzzle? How do you

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Speaker 1: speak out when you need to, just given that you

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Speaker 1: understand the situation, and finding those situations where every single

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00:21:03,040 --> 00:21:05,400
Speaker 1: person on this team can be a leader when called upon.

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Speaker 1: You just have to find where your fit is. And

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Speaker 1: it was really refreshing. We know he's a super smart guy.

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Speaker 1: He's got all these different passions and ideas and things

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Speaker 1: that he he loves, but to hear him talk about

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Speaker 1: football in a way that he realized, you know, maybe

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Speaker 1: I was taking a little bit of this for granted,

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Speaker 1: and that's not the way it's going to be anymore.

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Speaker 1: It's time to step up and really kick it in.

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Speaker 1: I think it's great to see him back on this

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Speaker 1: team because it just feels like he's coming back more mature,

432
00:21:34,000 --> 00:21:37,119
Speaker 1: more motivated, and if he is splitting time here with

433
00:21:37,160 --> 00:21:39,320
Speaker 1: a guy like a DJ want him then he can

434
00:21:39,359 --> 00:21:42,639
Speaker 1: also help, like we're looking at Patrick Peterson potentially helping

435
00:21:42,680 --> 00:21:44,879
Speaker 1: coach some of these younger guys playing these positions on

436
00:21:45,000 --> 00:21:47,199
Speaker 1: d line, and I just think he's going to be

437
00:21:47,200 --> 00:21:49,880
Speaker 1: a great asset to have back here on this roster. Again, Yeah,

438
00:21:49,920 --> 00:21:52,119
Speaker 1: I absolutely agree. J I love what he brings on

439
00:21:52,160 --> 00:21:54,119
Speaker 1: the field, I love what he brings off the field,

440
00:21:54,359 --> 00:21:56,879
Speaker 1: and I really love what he brings as a player

441
00:21:56,920 --> 00:21:59,399
Speaker 1: who doesn't have to play every down, doesn't have to

442
00:21:59,400 --> 00:22:02,960
Speaker 1: be a starter. He's more of a supplemental type player

443
00:22:03,000 --> 00:22:06,800
Speaker 1: who you can really plan his strengths in certain situations,

444
00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:09,160
Speaker 1: whether it's dropping back in coverage, which we've seen him

445
00:22:09,359 --> 00:22:12,720
Speaker 1: be able to do as that sort of hybrid defensive

446
00:22:12,840 --> 00:22:15,560
Speaker 1: end and pass rusher, but also make athletic plays in

447
00:22:15,600 --> 00:22:18,320
Speaker 1: the backfield, on the running backs and on the quarterbacks.

448
00:22:18,520 --> 00:22:22,199
Speaker 1: Very very happy that Stephen Weatherly is back with the

449
00:22:22,200 --> 00:22:26,200
Speaker 1: Minnesota Vikings. With that, we will go to our segment

450
00:22:26,480 --> 00:22:29,960
Speaker 1: and bring in Vikings dot COM's Eric Smith, who has

451
00:22:30,080 --> 00:22:34,080
Speaker 1: a special NFC North roundtable. It was a fun little

452
00:22:34,160 --> 00:22:37,320
Speaker 1: chat that he had this week. He's set up an

453
00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:42,560
Speaker 1: NFC North roundtable with all the team reporters across the division.

454
00:22:42,960 --> 00:22:47,359
Speaker 1: I believe it's Tory Petrie from the Detroit Lions, Larry Mayer,

455
00:22:47,840 --> 00:22:52,560
Speaker 1: longtime writer for the Chicago Bears, and Wes Hodkowitz who

456
00:22:52,600 --> 00:22:55,560
Speaker 1: works for the Green Bay Packers, the big time rival

457
00:22:55,680 --> 00:22:59,639
Speaker 1: in Wisconsin. So with that, I bring in Eric Smith

458
00:22:59,720 --> 00:23:01,960
Speaker 1: from Vikings dot Com. What's going on, man ay course,

459
00:23:02,000 --> 00:23:04,000
Speaker 1: so good to see you and thanks all you guys

460
00:23:04,000 --> 00:23:06,119
Speaker 1: for having me on today. So really good idea you

461
00:23:06,200 --> 00:23:10,280
Speaker 1: had for bringing all the NFC North reporters together getting

462
00:23:10,280 --> 00:23:14,000
Speaker 1: some information on what has gone on throughout free agency. Obviously,

463
00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:16,119
Speaker 1: all the moves that the Vikings have made we've been

464
00:23:16,119 --> 00:23:19,120
Speaker 1: covering every single week on this podcast. But I want

465
00:23:19,119 --> 00:23:22,040
Speaker 1: to throw this to you with my first question, what

466
00:23:22,240 --> 00:23:24,960
Speaker 1: is the biggest thing you learned from talking to all

467
00:23:25,000 --> 00:23:27,439
Speaker 1: three reporters. Yeah, I think the big move has to

468
00:23:27,440 --> 00:23:30,560
Speaker 1: be the trade that the Lion made for Jared Goff.

469
00:23:30,640 --> 00:23:33,320
Speaker 1: They have the shipped Matt Dafford away and they got

470
00:23:33,359 --> 00:23:35,160
Speaker 1: Goff and then a couple of first round picks back

471
00:23:35,200 --> 00:23:40,560
Speaker 1: in return. To me, that's a franchise altering trade for

472
00:23:40,600 --> 00:23:43,280
Speaker 1: the Lions and kind of as Tory said in our roundtable,

473
00:23:43,400 --> 00:23:46,760
Speaker 1: it's a new era for the Lions. I mean he's

474
00:23:46,800 --> 00:23:48,920
Speaker 1: been the face of the franchise. So for them to

475
00:23:49,000 --> 00:23:50,680
Speaker 1: kind of move in a different direction and bring in

476
00:23:50,760 --> 00:23:53,399
Speaker 1: Jared Goff, it just signaled the whole chain, and that

477
00:23:53,400 --> 00:23:55,760
Speaker 1: obviously starts at the top. They have a new general

478
00:23:55,800 --> 00:23:58,159
Speaker 1: manager in Brad Home than a new head coach in

479
00:23:58,240 --> 00:24:01,480
Speaker 1: Dan Campbell. So I really enjoyed asking Tory about that.

480
00:24:01,640 --> 00:24:03,880
Speaker 1: You know, we knew that was the trade was gonna

481
00:24:03,920 --> 00:24:06,480
Speaker 1: go down, you know, um over a month ago, but

482
00:24:06,600 --> 00:24:09,159
Speaker 1: had to wait obviously tell he was official by the

483
00:24:09,280 --> 00:24:11,359
Speaker 1: NFL league here. So it was just great to hear

484
00:24:11,400 --> 00:24:14,760
Speaker 1: her insight on that. I figured you would say Kenny Gallada. Yeah,

485
00:24:14,800 --> 00:24:18,720
Speaker 1: so Kenny Golladay. Obviously his name didn't come up, you know, so, um,

486
00:24:19,080 --> 00:24:22,760
Speaker 1: I didn't ask about him. I asked Tory about the

487
00:24:22,800 --> 00:24:25,199
Speaker 1: golf trade and then kind of what the vision is

488
00:24:25,240 --> 00:24:29,280
Speaker 1: from Campbell and Home at the top and her main message,

489
00:24:29,400 --> 00:24:31,479
Speaker 1: you know, which just did at the fresh start. Um.

490
00:24:31,560 --> 00:24:34,280
Speaker 1: You know, it kind of sounded like what Mike Zimmer

491
00:24:34,400 --> 00:24:37,040
Speaker 1: said eight years ago now when he was hired in

492
00:24:37,080 --> 00:24:40,560
Speaker 1: the with the Vikings. Uh, he wanted a tough, physical

493
00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:43,720
Speaker 1: football team. That's what Tori said that the Campbell wants

494
00:24:43,760 --> 00:24:46,919
Speaker 1: in Detroit and obviously when the Zimmer got here, the

495
00:24:47,000 --> 00:24:50,440
Speaker 1: Viking drafted Teddy and you know it's a different scenario.

496
00:24:50,560 --> 00:24:52,760
Speaker 1: But you know, in campbell first season, the Lions are

497
00:24:52,760 --> 00:24:55,040
Speaker 1: gonna have a new quarterback though, you know, a new

498
00:24:55,119 --> 00:24:57,919
Speaker 1: quarterback kind of wanting to put a fresh, you know,

499
00:24:58,480 --> 00:25:01,199
Speaker 1: spin on the franchise. And and that's the direction that

500
00:25:01,240 --> 00:25:04,040
Speaker 1: the Lions are going. A lot of talent has left

501
00:25:04,119 --> 00:25:06,919
Speaker 1: the division, as Gabe said, Kenny Galladay goes to the

502
00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:09,800
Speaker 1: New York Giants. The number one wide receiver for the Lions,

503
00:25:10,200 --> 00:25:13,400
Speaker 1: Matthew Stafford. I am thrilled that he's out of this division.

504
00:25:13,440 --> 00:25:15,240
Speaker 1: I mean, I've been talking about it for years. I

505
00:25:15,280 --> 00:25:18,040
Speaker 1: think he's killed us more than Aaron Rodgers in the

506
00:25:18,080 --> 00:25:20,840
Speaker 1: past five years that I've been here. The first win

507
00:25:20,920 --> 00:25:23,520
Speaker 1: at us Bank Stadium, all the times we've had to

508
00:25:23,520 --> 00:25:26,920
Speaker 1: go there and over to Detroit and plant Thanksgiving Day. Yeah,

509
00:25:26,960 --> 00:25:29,760
Speaker 1: I'm very happy he is out of the division. And

510
00:25:29,880 --> 00:25:34,800
Speaker 1: obviously the Chicago Bears lose Mitch Dubisky. I guess, probably

511
00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:37,280
Speaker 1: not of the same caliber as the past two players,

512
00:25:37,320 --> 00:25:41,520
Speaker 1: but another substantial move that of a player that leaves

513
00:25:41,520 --> 00:25:45,040
Speaker 1: the division. So let's go to Eric's chat with all

514
00:25:45,119 --> 00:25:48,080
Speaker 1: three team reporters from the NFC North. Let's take a listen.

515
00:25:48,960 --> 00:25:51,800
Speaker 1: Hey Vikings fans, I'm team reporter Eric Smith. I'd like

516
00:25:51,880 --> 00:25:55,399
Speaker 1: to welcome you into a special NFT North roundtable chat

517
00:25:55,960 --> 00:25:58,040
Speaker 1: free agency of the week old and the Vikings that

518
00:25:58,200 --> 00:26:01,000
Speaker 1: made them big moved on defense with the signings of

519
00:26:01,040 --> 00:26:06,720
Speaker 1: cornerback Patrick Peterson and defensive tackle Dalvin Tomlinson. Minnesota also

520
00:26:06,800 --> 00:26:10,440
Speaker 1: brought back defensive in Stephen Weatherly plus Chad Beebe and

521
00:26:10,560 --> 00:26:14,560
Speaker 1: Rashad Hill on offense. But the Viking division pods have

522
00:26:14,720 --> 00:26:17,879
Speaker 1: also been busy trying to upgrade their own rockters. So

523
00:26:18,000 --> 00:26:20,640
Speaker 1: let's take a trip around the NFC North to see

524
00:26:20,640 --> 00:26:23,159
Speaker 1: what the Lions, Packers, and Bears have been up to

525
00:26:23,280 --> 00:26:27,240
Speaker 1: this offseason. To do that, let's welcome in Tory Petrie

526
00:26:27,320 --> 00:26:31,480
Speaker 1: of the Detroit Lions, Larry Mayer of the Chicago Bears,

527
00:26:31,480 --> 00:26:35,360
Speaker 1: and West Hodkowitz of the Green Bay Packers. Tory, We'll

528
00:26:35,400 --> 00:26:38,280
Speaker 1: start with you and perhaps the most eye opening move

529
00:26:38,359 --> 00:26:41,320
Speaker 1: that any team made this offseason, and that's the Lions

530
00:26:41,480 --> 00:26:46,199
Speaker 1: big time trade with the Rams Detroit longtime quarterback Matthew

531
00:26:46,240 --> 00:26:50,840
Speaker 1: Stafford out West while acquiring quarterback Jared Goff and multiple

532
00:26:50,920 --> 00:26:54,639
Speaker 1: first round picks. So, Tori, what's the excitement level like

533
00:26:54,680 --> 00:26:58,800
Speaker 1: in Detroit after that big trade. Yeah, it's kind of

534
00:26:58,800 --> 00:27:01,240
Speaker 1: the start of a new era here in Detroit. First

535
00:27:01,240 --> 00:27:03,639
Speaker 1: of all, it's great to be with all three of

536
00:27:03,680 --> 00:27:05,679
Speaker 1: you guys. It's fun to kind of look around the

537
00:27:05,720 --> 00:27:08,200
Speaker 1: division and be reunited since we don't get to see

538
00:27:08,200 --> 00:27:10,679
Speaker 1: each other at the combine. But yeah, I mean, it

539
00:27:10,760 --> 00:27:12,639
Speaker 1: was kind of the first of a lot of really

540
00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:15,480
Speaker 1: big moves that happened this offseason. A lot of big

541
00:27:15,560 --> 00:27:18,879
Speaker 1: names moving around the league, and Matthew Stafford and Jared

542
00:27:18,920 --> 00:27:21,480
Speaker 1: Goff are two of them. So this is kind of

543
00:27:21,480 --> 00:27:24,800
Speaker 1: a new start for Lions fans because they're kind of

544
00:27:25,000 --> 00:27:28,040
Speaker 1: coming in here knowing nothing but Matthew Stafford for the

545
00:27:28,119 --> 00:27:31,439
Speaker 1: last twelve years. So they're really starting things over and

546
00:27:31,920 --> 00:27:34,640
Speaker 1: you know, having to kind of look to a new

547
00:27:34,680 --> 00:27:38,119
Speaker 1: air of Lions football under Dan Campbell and Brad Holmes,

548
00:27:38,160 --> 00:27:40,800
Speaker 1: those two new hires that the Lions brought in this year.

549
00:27:40,840 --> 00:27:43,320
Speaker 1: I think that it'll be a little bit different four

550
00:27:43,400 --> 00:27:46,040
Speaker 1: Lions fans, but we're looking forward to seeing how it

551
00:27:46,080 --> 00:27:49,520
Speaker 1: plays out. And speaking of new faces, a quarterback Larry

552
00:27:49,640 --> 00:27:52,720
Speaker 1: the Bears also brought in veteran Andy Dalton, who spent

553
00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:55,400
Speaker 1: the twenty twenty season with the Cowboy. You know, what

554
00:27:55,480 --> 00:27:57,760
Speaker 1: does Chicago like about Dalton and what do you kind

555
00:27:57,760 --> 00:28:02,119
Speaker 1: of envision the role hill play this then? Well, addressing

556
00:28:02,160 --> 00:28:04,720
Speaker 1: the quarterback position was the number one priority for the

557
00:28:04,720 --> 00:28:07,800
Speaker 1: Bears this offseason, and Andy Dalton was a free agent

558
00:28:07,840 --> 00:28:09,880
Speaker 1: that they had their eyes on. What they like about

559
00:28:09,920 --> 00:28:12,000
Speaker 1: him is that he's a veteran with a lot of experience,

560
00:28:12,000 --> 00:28:14,639
Speaker 1: a season pro who's gone to three Pro Bowls, and

561
00:28:14,680 --> 00:28:16,920
Speaker 1: he took the Cincinnati Bengals to the playoffs in each

562
00:28:16,920 --> 00:28:18,840
Speaker 1: of his first five seasons, which I don't think it's

563
00:28:18,840 --> 00:28:21,639
Speaker 1: been repeated by a quarterback. So that's what they like

564
00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:24,119
Speaker 1: about him. Also, what they like is his familiarity when

565
00:28:24,160 --> 00:28:27,960
Speaker 1: their offensive coordinator, Bill Laser. Bill Laser was his position

566
00:28:28,000 --> 00:28:30,520
Speaker 1: coach and offensive coordinator with the Bengals for a couple

567
00:28:30,520 --> 00:28:33,320
Speaker 1: of years. They had a lot of success together. And

568
00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:36,080
Speaker 1: in terms of the role, Andy Dalton has been told

569
00:28:36,080 --> 00:28:38,240
Speaker 1: that he will be the Bears starting quarterback this season.

570
00:28:38,320 --> 00:28:41,200
Speaker 1: So unlike last year when Mitchell Trubisky and Nick Foles

571
00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:44,640
Speaker 1: had a competition during the abbreviated training camp, that's not

572
00:28:44,680 --> 00:28:46,560
Speaker 1: going to happen this year, and it's going to be

573
00:28:47,120 --> 00:28:50,960
Speaker 1: It's gonna be Andy Dalton's job with I know Viking

574
00:28:51,000 --> 00:28:53,440
Speaker 1: Ted coach had a lot of respect for both quarterbacks

575
00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:56,400
Speaker 1: that we've talked about. But one player that Minnesota is

576
00:28:56,440 --> 00:28:58,320
Speaker 1: still are gonna have to worry about in twenty twenty

577
00:28:58,360 --> 00:29:00,520
Speaker 1: one who's not new to the NFE North, and that's

578
00:29:00,520 --> 00:29:04,040
Speaker 1: Packers running back Aaron Jones. Why did Green Bay refine

579
00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:06,600
Speaker 1: him to a multi year deal and what did that

580
00:29:06,640 --> 00:29:09,600
Speaker 1: mean for the Packers offense? Yeah, Eric, I mean we're

581
00:29:09,600 --> 00:29:12,200
Speaker 1: talking about the most dynamic guy that I think the

582
00:29:12,240 --> 00:29:14,320
Speaker 1: Packers have had in their backfield, at least during my

583
00:29:14,440 --> 00:29:17,239
Speaker 1: time on the Packers beat. I mean, he obviously has

584
00:29:17,240 --> 00:29:20,680
Speaker 1: always been a really productive running back in this league,

585
00:29:20,960 --> 00:29:23,160
Speaker 1: even going back to his days at Utah, the amount

586
00:29:23,160 --> 00:29:25,560
Speaker 1: of rushing yards that he put together. But people always

587
00:29:25,640 --> 00:29:27,840
Speaker 1: question if Aaron Jones could be a three down back.

588
00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:30,240
Speaker 1: I think the last two years in Matt Lafleur's system,

589
00:29:30,440 --> 00:29:34,080
Speaker 1: he's answered those questions. In last year, they really expanded

590
00:29:34,120 --> 00:29:37,400
Speaker 1: his repertoire. I mean they started using two back formations

591
00:29:37,400 --> 00:29:40,120
Speaker 1: with him or Jamal Williams or A. J. Dillon. They

592
00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:43,440
Speaker 1: motioned him more, he had more receptions in receiving yards.

593
00:29:43,480 --> 00:29:45,400
Speaker 1: I think the last two years is their second leading

594
00:29:45,400 --> 00:29:48,880
Speaker 1: receiver on this team right now. So once free agency began,

595
00:29:48,960 --> 00:29:51,200
Speaker 1: you understood what the cap constraints were going to be

596
00:29:51,240 --> 00:29:53,480
Speaker 1: for Green Bay, but there was no doubt about it.

597
00:29:53,560 --> 00:29:55,400
Speaker 1: They had to find a way to keep Aaron Jones

598
00:29:55,400 --> 00:29:57,400
Speaker 1: in the fold, and they did that. Now, they did

599
00:29:57,480 --> 00:30:00,000
Speaker 1: lose Jamal Williams, so the second round pick from last year,

600
00:30:00,040 --> 00:30:02,120
Speaker 1: aj Dillon is going to have to step up as

601
00:30:02,160 --> 00:30:05,120
Speaker 1: that complimentary piece. But you got to take the position

602
00:30:05,120 --> 00:30:06,440
Speaker 1: out of it. You got to take all that stuff

603
00:30:06,440 --> 00:30:09,240
Speaker 1: away from it. Aaron Jones is such a pivotal playmaker

604
00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:11,600
Speaker 1: in this offense. With DeVante Adams and some of the

605
00:30:11,680 --> 00:30:13,760
Speaker 1: other players they have coming back, the Packers feel like

606
00:30:13,760 --> 00:30:16,080
Speaker 1: they're close and being able to keep Jones in the

607
00:30:16,080 --> 00:30:18,120
Speaker 1: fold was a big part of putting together that picture

608
00:30:18,360 --> 00:30:21,360
Speaker 1: for twenty and twenty one. Tory, let's go back to

609
00:30:21,400 --> 00:30:23,840
Speaker 1: you for a minute. You earlier mentioned Brat Holmes than

610
00:30:23,920 --> 00:30:25,840
Speaker 1: Dan campbof with the home of the new GM and

611
00:30:25,920 --> 00:30:28,240
Speaker 1: Campbell of the new head coach. What have you learned

612
00:30:28,240 --> 00:30:30,680
Speaker 1: about those two over the past two months about what

613
00:30:30,720 --> 00:30:34,600
Speaker 1: they want their vision of the team to look like. Yeah,

614
00:30:34,640 --> 00:30:37,240
Speaker 1: I think they want to build a very tough football

615
00:30:37,280 --> 00:30:41,040
Speaker 1: team here in Detroit. They bring in Anthony Lynn, who

616
00:30:41,120 --> 00:30:43,880
Speaker 1: was a former head coach over at the Chargers, and

617
00:30:43,920 --> 00:30:45,840
Speaker 1: we know that he likes to run the football, and

618
00:30:45,880 --> 00:30:47,640
Speaker 1: I think that that's kind of one of the things

619
00:30:47,640 --> 00:30:49,560
Speaker 1: that they want to do. I mean, they've got DeAndre

620
00:30:49,640 --> 00:30:51,960
Speaker 1: Swift who did a lot of really great things for

621
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:55,120
Speaker 1: them last year despite his injuries. They bring in another

622
00:30:55,160 --> 00:30:59,200
Speaker 1: guy from the Packers backfield, Jamal Williams. They signed him

623
00:30:59,200 --> 00:31:02,920
Speaker 1: to join DeAndre Swift in that backfield, so it'll be

624
00:31:02,960 --> 00:31:05,360
Speaker 1: interesting to see what this offense looks like. But I

625
00:31:05,400 --> 00:31:07,920
Speaker 1: think as a whole, they want to build a team

626
00:31:07,920 --> 00:31:11,280
Speaker 1: with grit. We've heard use that word over and over again,

627
00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:15,040
Speaker 1: so they're looking for toughness. They want guys who come

628
00:31:15,080 --> 00:31:17,840
Speaker 1: in and work hard but can have fun doing it,

629
00:31:17,880 --> 00:31:20,320
Speaker 1: which is a little bit different than you know, how

630
00:31:20,360 --> 00:31:24,040
Speaker 1: this team operated before. But I think that it's a

631
00:31:24,160 --> 00:31:27,160
Speaker 1: fresh start here in Detroit and definitely something that a

632
00:31:27,160 --> 00:31:29,120
Speaker 1: lot of fans are looking forward to, and something that

633
00:31:29,200 --> 00:31:31,360
Speaker 1: all of the free agents have pointed out as they

634
00:31:31,400 --> 00:31:33,840
Speaker 1: have signed here is we're looking forward to working with

635
00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:36,440
Speaker 1: this staff of former coaches because they get it. It's

636
00:31:36,480 --> 00:31:39,520
Speaker 1: so I'm sorry, former players. It's so many coaches that

637
00:31:39,560 --> 00:31:42,320
Speaker 1: are former players on this coaching staff, and I think

638
00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:44,920
Speaker 1: that that really adds a different dynamic to this team

639
00:31:44,920 --> 00:31:47,640
Speaker 1: this year. Larry, let's go back for you for a second.

640
00:31:47,680 --> 00:31:50,680
Speaker 1: We talked about Andy Dalton earlier, and it's no secret

641
00:31:50,680 --> 00:31:52,640
Speaker 1: that his top option in the path and game is

642
00:31:52,680 --> 00:31:55,320
Speaker 1: going to be wider thiever Allan Robinson, who was given

643
00:31:55,360 --> 00:31:57,920
Speaker 1: the franchise tag by Chicago earlier. They thought, to you

644
00:31:58,000 --> 00:32:01,000
Speaker 1: than the safe to say that that Romathon is the

645
00:32:01,000 --> 00:32:04,880
Speaker 1: Bears best offensive player right now. I think there's no

646
00:32:04,920 --> 00:32:07,720
Speaker 1: doubt that he's the best offensive player right now. He's

647
00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:10,680
Speaker 1: performed that way since he came here from signing in

648
00:32:10,760 --> 00:32:12,960
Speaker 1: terms of after his career with Jacksonvilli came out with

649
00:32:13,040 --> 00:32:15,680
Speaker 1: torn a STL joined the Bears three years ago, and

650
00:32:15,720 --> 00:32:18,560
Speaker 1: he's performed exceptionally well. This is a guy that routinely

651
00:32:18,600 --> 00:32:23,440
Speaker 1: puts up a ton of passing, a ton of receiving yards, touchdowns, catches,

652
00:32:24,480 --> 00:32:26,480
Speaker 1: and he's done so without the best foot when we

653
00:32:26,520 --> 00:32:28,400
Speaker 1: just put it this way, without the greatest play at

654
00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:31,000
Speaker 1: the quarterback position. So if he gets better play out

655
00:32:31,040 --> 00:32:32,920
Speaker 1: of the quarterback position. And this is a guy that's

656
00:32:32,920 --> 00:32:35,880
Speaker 1: been the number one threat all along. Every team that

657
00:32:35,880 --> 00:32:38,160
Speaker 1: we play knows that the Bears are going to him,

658
00:32:38,160 --> 00:32:41,600
Speaker 1: and he's still excelled. It was a no brainer for

659
00:32:41,640 --> 00:32:43,400
Speaker 1: the Bears to put the franchise tag on him and

660
00:32:43,600 --> 00:32:46,240
Speaker 1: expecting another huge year from him and what he can

661
00:32:46,240 --> 00:32:48,000
Speaker 1: do with the offense. And it's gonna be interesting to

662
00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:50,600
Speaker 1: see what happens at the other wide receiver position with

663
00:32:50,640 --> 00:32:53,560
Speaker 1: the Bears and also some of the other spots on offense.

664
00:32:53,640 --> 00:32:56,200
Speaker 1: You have col come at the tight end. David Montgomery

665
00:32:56,200 --> 00:32:57,760
Speaker 1: did a better job of catching the ball out of

666
00:32:57,760 --> 00:32:59,479
Speaker 1: the backfield. So the Bears are going to have some

667
00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:02,640
Speaker 1: weapon and they found a real gem in the draft

668
00:33:02,680 --> 00:33:04,680
Speaker 1: of the fifth round of Darnell Mooney as speed through

669
00:33:04,720 --> 00:33:08,120
Speaker 1: from Tulane last year with I feel bad man, we're

670
00:33:08,120 --> 00:33:10,600
Speaker 1: talking about all this move and the and the Packers

671
00:33:10,760 --> 00:33:13,200
Speaker 1: with me, I've kind of just good pat. You know,

672
00:33:13,640 --> 00:33:15,200
Speaker 1: I guess what's the next step for them? You know,

673
00:33:15,440 --> 00:33:17,600
Speaker 1: the first wave of free agency of Dover, we're kind

674
00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:20,440
Speaker 1: of heading into the second wave now. Any big move

675
00:33:20,480 --> 00:33:23,520
Speaker 1: that could be on the horizon for Green Bay, well,

676
00:33:23,560 --> 00:33:25,480
Speaker 1: it's gonna be interesting to see how they can balance

677
00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:27,400
Speaker 1: right the cap situation. They've had to do a lot

678
00:33:27,400 --> 00:33:30,640
Speaker 1: of restructuring. They haven't really extended anybody yet. Davante Adams,

679
00:33:30,640 --> 00:33:33,440
Speaker 1: I would expect that's probably the next big move for

680
00:33:33,480 --> 00:33:36,120
Speaker 1: them is you know, he's entering the last year his contract.

681
00:33:36,400 --> 00:33:39,240
Speaker 1: You can probably actually lower his cap number for this

682
00:33:39,320 --> 00:33:41,440
Speaker 1: season if you'd work something out. So I think that's

683
00:33:41,440 --> 00:33:45,160
Speaker 1: probably the big move there. But figuring out exactly these

684
00:33:45,160 --> 00:33:47,280
Speaker 1: pieces that they had in terms of like the free

685
00:33:47,320 --> 00:33:50,080
Speaker 1: agents that potentially could come back. Maybe you're Mercedes Lewis

686
00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:52,160
Speaker 1: is Obviously the report is out there now that Kevin

687
00:33:52,240 --> 00:33:54,480
Speaker 1: King is going to be back in the fold. They

688
00:33:54,480 --> 00:33:56,360
Speaker 1: have ten draft picks this year. For a couple of

689
00:33:56,440 --> 00:33:58,880
Speaker 1: years here, unlike the Ted Thompson era, they didn't have

690
00:33:58,880 --> 00:34:02,400
Speaker 1: any compensatory picks. They let a couple guys walk last year,

691
00:34:02,400 --> 00:34:04,880
Speaker 1: so they're getting the benefit of that this season. So

692
00:34:05,360 --> 00:34:07,720
Speaker 1: there are some big players they lost. You talked about

693
00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:09,839
Speaker 1: Jamal Williams, a guy that didn't fumble during his four

694
00:34:09,880 --> 00:34:12,400
Speaker 1: seasons in Green Bay. They lost the roll Pro center

695
00:34:12,440 --> 00:34:15,359
Speaker 1: and Corey Linsley signing with the Los Angeles Chargers. So

696
00:34:15,560 --> 00:34:17,640
Speaker 1: they're gonna need guys to step up, But I really

697
00:34:17,680 --> 00:34:20,279
Speaker 1: do think the draft and being able to extend some

698
00:34:20,280 --> 00:34:22,080
Speaker 1: of these guys currently on the roster, that's going to

699
00:34:22,160 --> 00:34:24,040
Speaker 1: be the way for them because they feel like they're clothes.

700
00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:26,600
Speaker 1: Even though it was a demoralizing end of the season

701
00:34:26,600 --> 00:34:29,080
Speaker 1: with that loss here at home to Tampa Bay, they

702
00:34:29,120 --> 00:34:30,799
Speaker 1: look at what happened in the Super Bowl and where

703
00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:33,000
Speaker 1: this team is positioned, and how things that jump they

704
00:34:33,080 --> 00:34:35,439
Speaker 1: made in the second year under Matt Lafloor. They feel

705
00:34:35,480 --> 00:34:37,640
Speaker 1: good that they're not that far away from being the

706
00:34:37,680 --> 00:34:40,280
Speaker 1: team that they think can bring that next Lombardi Trophy

707
00:34:40,320 --> 00:34:43,000
Speaker 1: back to Green Bay. You mentioned in the draft, and

708
00:34:43,000 --> 00:34:44,880
Speaker 1: we'll close it out with that. You know, the twenty

709
00:34:44,960 --> 00:34:47,560
Speaker 1: twenty one NFL drafted a little bit over a month away,

710
00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:50,279
Speaker 1: and every team in the division had the first round pick.

711
00:34:50,320 --> 00:34:51,680
Speaker 1: I think that the pert time that has happened in

712
00:34:51,680 --> 00:34:53,600
Speaker 1: a few years. You know, the lion Er at number seven,

713
00:34:54,360 --> 00:34:56,200
Speaker 1: the Bears are at number twenty, and the Packers have

714
00:34:56,239 --> 00:34:58,239
Speaker 1: the twenty ninth pick out the after losing in the

715
00:34:58,320 --> 00:35:01,040
Speaker 1: NFC title Game. So we'll just go with some quick

716
00:35:01,080 --> 00:35:03,200
Speaker 1: answers on this one. I'll go around to each of

717
00:35:03,239 --> 00:35:05,560
Speaker 1: you give me a position to watch for in the

718
00:35:05,560 --> 00:35:09,919
Speaker 1: first round for your team, Vic Toria, we'll start with you. Well,

719
00:35:09,960 --> 00:35:12,160
Speaker 1: a top ten pick is always fun. You really can't

720
00:35:12,200 --> 00:35:15,400
Speaker 1: take any position off the table. I don't think quarterback

721
00:35:15,480 --> 00:35:19,120
Speaker 1: is out of the conversation, although you do have Jared Goff,

722
00:35:19,160 --> 00:35:21,480
Speaker 1: so you're not in a rush to take a quarterback.

723
00:35:21,600 --> 00:35:24,279
Speaker 1: If it's me, I think I'm going defense in that

724
00:35:24,320 --> 00:35:29,320
Speaker 1: first round, whether it's a playmaking linebacker or defensive lineman. Larry,

725
00:35:29,320 --> 00:35:32,319
Speaker 1: how about the Bear at number twenty. I think if

726
00:35:32,360 --> 00:35:34,480
Speaker 1: you look at every mock draft, they have us either

727
00:35:34,560 --> 00:35:36,920
Speaker 1: taking a quarterback or an offensive tackle. So I think

728
00:35:36,960 --> 00:35:39,879
Speaker 1: that pretty much says a lot. It's going to be difficult, though,

729
00:35:39,920 --> 00:35:41,640
Speaker 1: because a lot of these pundits are saying that the

730
00:35:41,680 --> 00:35:44,200
Speaker 1: top five quarterbacks, all the ones that are worthy of

731
00:35:44,239 --> 00:35:46,480
Speaker 1: first round picks, are all going to be gone by

732
00:35:46,480 --> 00:35:49,560
Speaker 1: pick twelve or so, so they're they're expecting the Bears

733
00:35:49,600 --> 00:35:51,399
Speaker 1: having to trade up in the first round. So we'll

734
00:35:51,400 --> 00:35:53,480
Speaker 1: have to see what happens there, but it'll be really

735
00:35:53,480 --> 00:35:55,440
Speaker 1: interesting to see. It seems like it's a really heavy

736
00:35:55,440 --> 00:35:57,520
Speaker 1: offensive draft this year, so it's going to be exciting.

737
00:35:58,120 --> 00:36:01,439
Speaker 1: And what how about you a Packer then twenty nine. Yeah,

738
00:36:01,480 --> 00:36:03,600
Speaker 1: I think offensive line is probably what makes the most

739
00:36:03,640 --> 00:36:06,280
Speaker 1: sense for them right now, not only because they lost Lindsley,

740
00:36:06,360 --> 00:36:09,560
Speaker 1: but also David Baktiar tearing his ACL four time All

741
00:36:09,600 --> 00:36:12,400
Speaker 1: Pro left tackle for Green Bay. They lost him and

742
00:36:12,440 --> 00:36:14,000
Speaker 1: they actually did a pretty good job of being able

743
00:36:14,040 --> 00:36:16,799
Speaker 1: to fill that spot, but with not having Lindsley and

744
00:36:16,800 --> 00:36:18,680
Speaker 1: then also kind of having to wait to see what

745
00:36:18,719 --> 00:36:21,879
Speaker 1: happens with baktr this offseason, I think they just got

746
00:36:21,880 --> 00:36:24,080
Speaker 1: to get somebody in the pipeline, whether that is a

747
00:36:24,120 --> 00:36:26,440
Speaker 1: new center, a guy that can step in at right tackle.

748
00:36:26,760 --> 00:36:29,759
Speaker 1: They have a great chess piece in Elton Jenkins who

749
00:36:29,760 --> 00:36:32,480
Speaker 1: played at all these positions Pro Bowl guard last year,

750
00:36:32,520 --> 00:36:35,040
Speaker 1: but he also started for them at center, he filled

751
00:36:35,040 --> 00:36:38,080
Speaker 1: in at left tackle, so they have some flexibility with

752
00:36:38,080 --> 00:36:39,759
Speaker 1: how they want to move their offensive line. But I

753
00:36:39,800 --> 00:36:42,239
Speaker 1: just think they need to add another guy there in

754
00:36:42,320 --> 00:36:44,560
Speaker 1: first round. If you look historically, that's been a spot

755
00:36:44,560 --> 00:36:46,680
Speaker 1: that Green Bay has really like to use that pick

756
00:36:47,320 --> 00:36:50,800
Speaker 1: to address, you know, the starting offensive line. The vikings

757
00:36:50,800 --> 00:36:53,160
Speaker 1: of course of the fourteenth overall picking the draft, and

758
00:36:53,200 --> 00:36:55,560
Speaker 1: that you know they're tied with the Ego for a

759
00:36:55,680 --> 00:36:59,279
Speaker 1: league high eleven overall elections. Thank you the tor Wack

760
00:36:59,360 --> 00:37:01,200
Speaker 1: and Larry for joining me today and for you a

761
00:37:01,200 --> 00:37:04,200
Speaker 1: great insight. The fun begins next month with the draft,

762
00:37:04,520 --> 00:37:07,040
Speaker 1: but day tuned to Viking dot com until then for

763
00:37:07,080 --> 00:37:10,640
Speaker 1: your latest news and updates. I'm Viking team reporter Eric Smith,

764
00:37:10,840 --> 00:37:15,000
Speaker 1: and thanks for watching goal. All right, Eric, Well we

765
00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:18,280
Speaker 1: talked a little bit about the Detroit Lions. I'm going

766
00:37:18,320 --> 00:37:21,560
Speaker 1: to the team right next store, and that's the Green

767
00:37:21,600 --> 00:37:25,320
Speaker 1: Bay Packers Wes Hodkuwitz. He is a friend of the show.

768
00:37:25,360 --> 00:37:28,440
Speaker 1: He's a friend of the program, even though our teams

769
00:37:28,440 --> 00:37:32,120
Speaker 1: are not too friendly at all. I think that a

770
00:37:32,160 --> 00:37:35,480
Speaker 1: lot of moves that the Green Bay Packers have made, Like,

771
00:37:35,840 --> 00:37:39,440
Speaker 1: I haven't seen anything crazy other than the Aaron Jones contract.

772
00:37:39,640 --> 00:37:43,520
Speaker 1: I'm very happy that center Corey Linsley signed with the

773
00:37:43,960 --> 00:37:46,839
Speaker 1: Los Angeles Chargers, so he will no longer be under

774
00:37:46,880 --> 00:37:49,040
Speaker 1: center with Aaron Rodgers on that side of the ball.

775
00:37:49,360 --> 00:37:52,400
Speaker 1: What really stood out to you from west Hodkowitz in

776
00:37:52,400 --> 00:37:54,759
Speaker 1: this conversation, Yeah, kind of what you just tucked on,

777
00:37:54,840 --> 00:37:58,120
Speaker 1: and that you know, every NFL team had to battle

778
00:37:58,560 --> 00:38:01,120
Speaker 1: lowered salary cap that year, the cap drop by almost

779
00:38:01,160 --> 00:38:04,400
Speaker 1: sixteen million dollars from a season ago, and the Packers

780
00:38:04,400 --> 00:38:07,439
Speaker 1: had to navigate that, you know, closely more than most

781
00:38:07,440 --> 00:38:09,279
Speaker 1: teams because they were they were over the cap. So

782
00:38:09,719 --> 00:38:11,800
Speaker 1: you know, talking to West, he always has great insight.

783
00:38:11,920 --> 00:38:13,799
Speaker 1: He said, you know, the team has had to restructure

784
00:38:13,840 --> 00:38:16,840
Speaker 1: some deals to get under the cap, and really the

785
00:38:16,840 --> 00:38:19,880
Speaker 1: biggest move that they made, you know, keeping someone, and

786
00:38:19,920 --> 00:38:23,440
Speaker 1: that's Aaron Jones. Everyone else is pretty much left, you know,

787
00:38:23,520 --> 00:38:27,799
Speaker 1: Corey Lindsley's gone. You know. His big takeaway was that

788
00:38:27,800 --> 00:38:31,040
Speaker 1: they're trying to figure out what to do with players

789
00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:33,359
Speaker 1: that are currently free agents. So maybe they haven't made

790
00:38:33,480 --> 00:38:37,520
Speaker 1: a decision on them yet, but someone like Mercedes Lewis

791
00:38:37,719 --> 00:38:39,440
Speaker 1: tight end, is he going to be back and where

792
00:38:39,480 --> 00:38:41,680
Speaker 1: does he kind of fit in. West did say that

793
00:38:41,920 --> 00:38:44,200
Speaker 1: he feels like the Packers are close, and that's, you know,

794
00:38:44,280 --> 00:38:48,479
Speaker 1: not a surprise considering they've been the NFC North champ

795
00:38:48,560 --> 00:38:50,640
Speaker 1: the last two seasons. They've gone thirteen and three the

796
00:38:50,680 --> 00:38:52,680
Speaker 1: last two seasons. They went to the NFC Saddle Game

797
00:38:52,920 --> 00:38:55,759
Speaker 1: a season ago. So yeah, they are close to get

798
00:38:55,760 --> 00:38:57,360
Speaker 1: into the super Bowl. It's just can they kind of

799
00:38:57,440 --> 00:38:59,680
Speaker 1: keep the core and placed and then bring in maybe

800
00:38:59,680 --> 00:39:01,920
Speaker 1: some peta to get them over the hump and get

801
00:39:01,920 --> 00:39:04,640
Speaker 1: them playing in February. So what are the chances that

802
00:39:04,719 --> 00:39:06,960
Speaker 1: Jordan Loves the starting quarterback next year? You know, we

803
00:39:06,960 --> 00:39:08,799
Speaker 1: didn't talk about Jordan Love at all, and we didn't

804
00:39:08,800 --> 00:39:11,160
Speaker 1: talk about Aaron Rodgers. I think it's pretty safe to

805
00:39:11,160 --> 00:39:13,879
Speaker 1: a thing that Rodgers is staying there. I mean, an

806
00:39:13,960 --> 00:39:17,640
Speaker 1: MVP in twenty twenty, he was life out. Chris, like

807
00:39:17,680 --> 00:39:19,920
Speaker 1: you said, you'll be you're happy that Stafford's gone. I'm

808
00:39:19,960 --> 00:39:21,959
Speaker 1: sure we're all be glad when when Rodgers is gone

809
00:39:22,400 --> 00:39:24,759
Speaker 1: at some point too. Recapping some of the moves that

810
00:39:24,760 --> 00:39:28,879
Speaker 1: were made. Cornerback Kevin King is resigned with the team

811
00:39:28,880 --> 00:39:31,879
Speaker 1: on a one year deal. I know of Vikings fans

812
00:39:31,880 --> 00:39:35,239
Speaker 1: are very familiar with Adam Thilan absolutely torching Kevin King,

813
00:39:35,360 --> 00:39:39,200
Speaker 1: So that is not huge news for the team. As

814
00:39:39,239 --> 00:39:41,680
Speaker 1: we touched on, Aaron Jones comes back on a four

815
00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:45,640
Speaker 1: year deal. That's a big time move for the organization.

816
00:39:46,120 --> 00:39:48,839
Speaker 1: Robert Tanyan the tight end who had a really big

817
00:39:48,880 --> 00:39:51,440
Speaker 1: time year in the red zone for the team, second

818
00:39:51,520 --> 00:39:55,800
Speaker 1: round tendered for one year, and wide receiver Alan Lazard

819
00:39:55,840 --> 00:39:58,879
Speaker 1: and exclusive rights tender. Those are kind of the big

820
00:39:58,920 --> 00:40:00,560
Speaker 1: moves that we have on the out line. He or

821
00:40:00,600 --> 00:40:03,880
Speaker 1: was there anything else from a roster move standpoint or

822
00:40:03,920 --> 00:40:07,799
Speaker 1: anything notable that Wes was able to share. Yeah, we

823
00:40:07,880 --> 00:40:10,400
Speaker 1: talked about the offensive line a little bit, and he

824
00:40:10,480 --> 00:40:13,600
Speaker 1: mentioned that obviously Corey Linsley signed with the Chargers, but

825
00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:16,360
Speaker 1: the other area to watch for them is that they're

826
00:40:16,400 --> 00:40:19,919
Speaker 1: all pro Left tackle David box Her suffered a torn

827
00:40:20,320 --> 00:40:22,400
Speaker 1: acl I think in the final month of the season,

828
00:40:22,480 --> 00:40:26,520
Speaker 1: so they're kind of just monitoring him this offseason, the

829
00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:28,799
Speaker 1: kind of thing where he is, you know, with his

830
00:40:29,080 --> 00:40:32,279
Speaker 1: rehab and his progress, and you know, I asked West,

831
00:40:32,800 --> 00:40:35,240
Speaker 1: give me a position to watch for in the first round,

832
00:40:35,360 --> 00:40:39,440
Speaker 1: and he said, offensive line, because they have Elkin Jenkins

833
00:40:39,440 --> 00:40:41,320
Speaker 1: who can then kind of move around put him in

834
00:40:41,360 --> 00:40:44,120
Speaker 1: a few spots. But with a loss of Linsley and

835
00:40:44,120 --> 00:40:47,040
Speaker 1: then kind of box Hers, Ahl kind of up in

836
00:40:47,080 --> 00:40:50,520
Speaker 1: the air. He kind of suspects that offensive line is

837
00:40:50,520 --> 00:40:52,760
Speaker 1: going to be maybe the top priority for the Packer

838
00:40:52,840 --> 00:40:54,880
Speaker 1: that I think they're at pick number twenty nine, and

839
00:40:54,920 --> 00:40:56,840
Speaker 1: that's part of the reason why I've been so surprised

840
00:40:56,960 --> 00:40:59,880
Speaker 1: that they haven't done literally anything in free agency besides

841
00:41:00,080 --> 00:41:02,040
Speaker 1: signed their own you know, they haven't made any moves.

842
00:41:02,280 --> 00:41:05,000
Speaker 1: They haven't gone after some of these these better offensive

843
00:41:05,040 --> 00:41:07,719
Speaker 1: line guys. And I know that cap wise, they're they're

844
00:41:07,880 --> 00:41:10,840
Speaker 1: like everybody else, they're in a precarious position. But the

845
00:41:10,920 --> 00:41:13,359
Speaker 1: fact that they haven't made any free agent moves, and

846
00:41:13,600 --> 00:41:16,800
Speaker 1: let alone the box tr and now the Lensley piece,

847
00:41:16,840 --> 00:41:19,440
Speaker 1: I just it surprised me that the Packers haven't done

848
00:41:19,480 --> 00:41:21,960
Speaker 1: anything so far. You know, it's just the chicken or

849
00:41:22,000 --> 00:41:23,279
Speaker 1: the egg, right, do you want to approach it in

850
00:41:23,320 --> 00:41:24,920
Speaker 1: free agency or do you want to approach it in

851
00:41:24,920 --> 00:41:27,880
Speaker 1: the draft. And I think at this point it seemed

852
00:41:27,920 --> 00:41:29,600
Speaker 1: like the Packers are going to do it in the draft.

853
00:41:30,239 --> 00:41:32,440
Speaker 1: You could probably put us in the same boat too, right, Like,

854
00:41:32,480 --> 00:41:35,960
Speaker 1: we other than bringing back Rashad at this point, haven't

855
00:41:35,960 --> 00:41:38,799
Speaker 1: signed any other offensive lineman. And that leads me to

856
00:41:38,840 --> 00:41:41,400
Speaker 1: believe that the old line will be a priority in

857
00:41:41,440 --> 00:41:43,480
Speaker 1: the first round, or especially the first few rounds of

858
00:41:44,320 --> 00:41:46,359
Speaker 1: the draft at the end of April. All right, well,

859
00:41:46,400 --> 00:41:49,880
Speaker 1: we covered the Green Bay Packers, we covered the Detroit Lions.

860
00:41:50,000 --> 00:41:53,440
Speaker 1: Let's move over to our old friend Larry Mayer. I

861
00:41:53,480 --> 00:41:55,880
Speaker 1: believe he's been with the Chicago Bears. Eric for like

862
00:41:56,160 --> 00:41:58,160
Speaker 1: I don't even know how long, probably longer than you

863
00:41:58,200 --> 00:42:02,200
Speaker 1: and I have are an age on this plane. But

864
00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:06,040
Speaker 1: looking at Chicago, I mean, the biggest thing that stands

865
00:42:06,080 --> 00:42:09,799
Speaker 1: out to me is obviously Mitch Trubisky signing with the

866
00:42:09,840 --> 00:42:13,320
Speaker 1: Buffalo Bills. He's the quarterback who has played a majority

867
00:42:13,360 --> 00:42:15,759
Speaker 1: of the games in the past couple of years, obviously

868
00:42:15,800 --> 00:42:19,000
Speaker 1: limited to injuries and things of that nature over the

869
00:42:19,000 --> 00:42:21,560
Speaker 1: past couple of years and never really became what he

870
00:42:21,640 --> 00:42:24,279
Speaker 1: was expected to become when he was a top five

871
00:42:24,320 --> 00:42:27,319
Speaker 1: overall draft picks. So what does that mean for the

872
00:42:27,440 --> 00:42:30,680
Speaker 1: organization for him to finally depart from the team. And

873
00:42:30,680 --> 00:42:34,440
Speaker 1: Andy Dalton has been signed by the team, and he

874
00:42:34,520 --> 00:42:37,080
Speaker 1: was pretty much came out and said that he was

875
00:42:37,080 --> 00:42:39,480
Speaker 1: going to be the starter going forward with Nick Foles

876
00:42:39,480 --> 00:42:42,600
Speaker 1: still on the roster, So quarterback carousel to say the

877
00:42:42,719 --> 00:42:45,880
Speaker 1: least in the NFC North this year. Yeah, it's expected

878
00:42:45,920 --> 00:42:48,239
Speaker 1: that Dalton's going to start in twenty twenty one. I mean,

879
00:42:48,280 --> 00:42:50,520
Speaker 1: when I talked with Larry, he came out and said

880
00:42:50,560 --> 00:42:52,640
Speaker 1: it too. You know that Dalton's been told he's going

881
00:42:52,680 --> 00:42:55,200
Speaker 1: to be the starter. Unike last year, when they're a

882
00:42:55,280 --> 00:42:59,479
Speaker 1: quarterback competition between Trubisky and Nick fold They're not gonna

883
00:42:59,480 --> 00:43:01,200
Speaker 1: be any of that this year. So a Dalton team.

884
00:43:01,880 --> 00:43:05,319
Speaker 1: The Vikings know Dalton well. Obviously, he played in Cincinnati

885
00:43:05,640 --> 00:43:08,560
Speaker 1: when Zimmer was there with the Bengals, and the Vikings

886
00:43:08,560 --> 00:43:10,160
Speaker 1: saw him this last year when he was with the

887
00:43:10,160 --> 00:43:12,720
Speaker 1: Cowboys and he beat the Vikings at us Bank Stadium.

888
00:43:13,400 --> 00:43:16,960
Speaker 1: You know, I know the Dalton signing has generated a

889
00:43:16,960 --> 00:43:19,400
Speaker 1: lot of buzzing on the league, but it's a veteran quarterback.

890
00:43:19,440 --> 00:43:22,839
Speaker 1: He's competent. You know. He maybe he's not gonna have

891
00:43:22,960 --> 00:43:25,839
Speaker 1: the highs, but he's probably not gonna have the lows either.

892
00:43:25,960 --> 00:43:28,560
Speaker 1: He's just a steady vet and I think the Bears

893
00:43:28,600 --> 00:43:30,680
Speaker 1: kind of need that because you know, we all know

894
00:43:30,840 --> 00:43:36,279
Speaker 1: quarterback is always a position of focus in Chicago. You know,

895
00:43:36,360 --> 00:43:38,440
Speaker 1: one thing that Larry did mention that I thought was

896
00:43:38,480 --> 00:43:43,560
Speaker 1: a good point that Dalton is really close with Bill Laser,

897
00:43:43,680 --> 00:43:48,080
Speaker 1: the Bears offensive coordinator, and he was the offensive coordinator

898
00:43:48,080 --> 00:43:50,359
Speaker 1: in Cincinnati when when Dalton was there, and with also

899
00:43:50,440 --> 00:43:53,560
Speaker 1: the quarterbacks coach. So they have coaches on staff that

900
00:43:53,640 --> 00:43:55,600
Speaker 1: know Dalton well and they expect him to come in

901
00:43:55,640 --> 00:43:57,960
Speaker 1: and play well. And that's kind of been the story

902
00:43:58,000 --> 00:44:01,600
Speaker 1: with the Bears forever, right Like if they could just

903
00:44:01,640 --> 00:44:05,439
Speaker 1: figure out the quarterback situation, they can make a deep run,

904
00:44:05,480 --> 00:44:08,319
Speaker 1: but that's always the position that it seems like they're

905
00:44:08,400 --> 00:44:11,919
Speaker 1: they're trying to find. I mean, it seems like they're

906
00:44:11,920 --> 00:44:14,280
Speaker 1: going to try to address that in the draft too, also,

907
00:44:14,440 --> 00:44:17,400
Speaker 1: right because you know, Andy Dalton's an improved year. We

908
00:44:17,440 --> 00:44:20,400
Speaker 1: don't know the Nick Foles situation, so I mean, maybe

909
00:44:20,400 --> 00:44:23,280
Speaker 1: they bring in a quarterback develop him, unlike Mitchell Trubisky,

910
00:44:23,360 --> 00:44:25,759
Speaker 1: who was required to be a starter right away. Like,

911
00:44:26,320 --> 00:44:28,759
Speaker 1: is that what the thought process you think is? Yeah?

912
00:44:28,760 --> 00:44:30,680
Speaker 1: And I asked Larry that very question, you know, I

913
00:44:30,680 --> 00:44:33,600
Speaker 1: asked him, Okay, tell me about the Bears at number twenty,

914
00:44:33,960 --> 00:44:36,400
Speaker 1: what's the focus right there? And he said, you know,

915
00:44:36,440 --> 00:44:39,520
Speaker 1: pretty much every mock draft had either had a quarterback

916
00:44:39,760 --> 00:44:43,359
Speaker 1: or an offensive lineman. Certainly, you know, with Dalton being

917
00:44:43,400 --> 00:44:45,680
Speaker 1: on a one year deal, there's still a lot of

918
00:44:45,680 --> 00:44:48,399
Speaker 1: focus on the quarterback. But Larry made a good point

919
00:44:48,520 --> 00:44:51,279
Speaker 1: as well that are you going to be able to

920
00:44:51,280 --> 00:44:54,760
Speaker 1: get a first round talent at quarterback at number twenty?

921
00:44:55,440 --> 00:44:57,719
Speaker 1: Probably not. So if the Bears do want one of

922
00:44:57,760 --> 00:44:59,920
Speaker 1: the top five quarterbacks, you know, they're probably not gon

923
00:45:00,040 --> 00:45:04,640
Speaker 1: to get Lawrence, but you know, Wilson Fields, Mac Jone,

924
00:45:04,840 --> 00:45:07,520
Speaker 1: Trey Lant one of those other four guys. They're probably

925
00:45:07,560 --> 00:45:09,920
Speaker 1: gonna have to trade up from number twenty to get it.

926
00:45:10,280 --> 00:45:15,359
Speaker 1: And do they have the assets to do though, So yeah,

927
00:45:15,400 --> 00:45:19,200
Speaker 1: I mean, you think that quarterback is a first round priority,

928
00:45:19,280 --> 00:45:21,560
Speaker 1: but they're probably gonna have to move up to do it,

929
00:45:22,080 --> 00:45:24,880
Speaker 1: and it might be tough to do it. So it

930
00:45:24,960 --> 00:45:28,839
Speaker 1: could be another year of you know, another another year

931
00:45:28,920 --> 00:45:31,680
Speaker 1: for Larry to bang his head on the wall for

932
00:45:31,840 --> 00:45:34,919
Speaker 1: trying to find that franchise quarterback because, like course I said,

933
00:45:34,920 --> 00:45:38,000
Speaker 1: he's been there forever and he does a great job

934
00:45:38,000 --> 00:45:42,359
Speaker 1: covering the team and he's he's continually searching for that

935
00:45:42,400 --> 00:45:46,520
Speaker 1: franchise QB. It's unbelievable how the trade on Draft night

936
00:45:46,600 --> 00:45:49,160
Speaker 1: just a few years ago, when they were looking to

937
00:45:49,160 --> 00:45:51,359
Speaker 1: get Mitch Rubisky and move up on the draft, how

938
00:45:51,360 --> 00:45:55,160
Speaker 1: it is pretty much set them back a decent amount

939
00:45:55,200 --> 00:45:57,759
Speaker 1: of years. Now now that they officially went on and

940
00:45:57,840 --> 00:46:01,360
Speaker 1: moved on to another veteran in Andy Dalton. Me personally,

941
00:46:01,480 --> 00:46:03,799
Speaker 1: I don't think Andy Dalton has too much left to

942
00:46:03,880 --> 00:46:06,239
Speaker 1: offer at this point in his career. I know he's

943
00:46:06,560 --> 00:46:09,719
Speaker 1: a capable quarterback, as you said, Eric, but I am

944
00:46:09,920 --> 00:46:13,520
Speaker 1: very much happier with them having a quarterback that doesn't

945
00:46:13,560 --> 00:46:16,799
Speaker 1: have an arc left in his career, one that's been

946
00:46:16,800 --> 00:46:19,600
Speaker 1: around for a long time, and Andy Dalton. Then I mean,

947
00:46:19,680 --> 00:46:23,560
Speaker 1: as long as they're staying horizontal as you can put it, Eric,

948
00:46:23,600 --> 00:46:26,880
Speaker 1: I think it's it's a better situation for the Vikings,

949
00:46:26,960 --> 00:46:29,719
Speaker 1: especially with that defense. It's still very good. Yeah, the

950
00:46:30,000 --> 00:46:33,320
Speaker 1: defense is good, and like I said, it's it's almost

951
00:46:33,360 --> 00:46:35,160
Speaker 1: like they've been trying to put two and two together

952
00:46:35,280 --> 00:46:38,200
Speaker 1: for such a long time. Their defense is always really good.

953
00:46:38,560 --> 00:46:40,520
Speaker 1: It's just trying to get the offense on the same page.

954
00:46:41,040 --> 00:46:42,840
Speaker 1: Similar to what the Vikings had to try to do

955
00:46:42,880 --> 00:46:44,279
Speaker 1: a few years ago. You know, they have such a

956
00:46:44,280 --> 00:46:46,800
Speaker 1: good defense and they kept trying to find answers on offense.

957
00:46:47,280 --> 00:46:50,440
Speaker 1: Now it maybe the script has been flipped where now

958
00:46:50,480 --> 00:46:52,239
Speaker 1: the offense to the head of the defense and they're

959
00:46:52,239 --> 00:46:54,560
Speaker 1: trying to get the defense back on track. We've seen

960
00:46:54,600 --> 00:46:59,040
Speaker 1: that with the signing of Peterson and Dalvin Tomlinson. But overall,

961
00:46:59,200 --> 00:47:02,200
Speaker 1: it was a great chat. I mean, I like, you know, personally,

962
00:47:02,480 --> 00:47:04,800
Speaker 1: I'm friends with without three, you know, even though we

963
00:47:04,880 --> 00:47:07,600
Speaker 1: all work for rival teams, and it was just good

964
00:47:07,600 --> 00:47:09,840
Speaker 1: to chat with him because we all missed out on

965
00:47:10,600 --> 00:47:12,560
Speaker 1: seeing each other at the combine this year. We didn't

966
00:47:12,560 --> 00:47:14,960
Speaker 1: see each other on the road in twenty twenty, so

967
00:47:15,239 --> 00:47:17,160
Speaker 1: which is good to catch up and it kind of

968
00:47:17,320 --> 00:47:19,680
Speaker 1: brought a little excitement. You know, we've been living in

969
00:47:19,800 --> 00:47:23,200
Speaker 1: such a virtual world for so it feels like so long,

970
00:47:23,280 --> 00:47:24,680
Speaker 1: you know, a year, and it kind of got me

971
00:47:24,760 --> 00:47:27,239
Speaker 1: excited for the twenty twenty season and you know, have

972
00:47:27,320 --> 00:47:30,320
Speaker 1: to see how the pecking order shakes out well. Overall,

973
00:47:30,360 --> 00:47:32,759
Speaker 1: the makeup of the NFC North is definitely going to

974
00:47:32,880 --> 00:47:36,440
Speaker 1: look different, especially at the quarterback position. So, Eric, do

975
00:47:36,440 --> 00:47:38,799
Speaker 1: you have any final thoughts before we before we head

976
00:47:38,800 --> 00:47:40,960
Speaker 1: out of this this segment here. Yeah, I think you

977
00:47:41,080 --> 00:47:44,320
Speaker 1: said it that just having two new quarterbacks in the division,

978
00:47:44,320 --> 00:47:46,600
Speaker 1: it's gonna bring a lot of buzz to the North,

979
00:47:47,160 --> 00:47:50,239
Speaker 1: especially in Detroit. You know, it seems like Stafford had

980
00:47:50,239 --> 00:47:52,760
Speaker 1: been there forever, and you know, he played through injuries,

981
00:47:52,960 --> 00:47:55,080
Speaker 1: you know, he played through bad teams. He always showed up,

982
00:47:55,120 --> 00:47:58,000
Speaker 1: he always came through, and it's just going to be

983
00:47:58,120 --> 00:48:00,640
Speaker 1: very weird to see a different quarterback, you know, at

984
00:48:00,680 --> 00:48:04,560
Speaker 1: the full time starter for the Lions the Bears. You know,

985
00:48:04,760 --> 00:48:07,160
Speaker 1: I think the Bears are kind of trying to figure

986
00:48:07,200 --> 00:48:09,040
Speaker 1: it out. If they can, I think they can be good.

987
00:48:09,680 --> 00:48:12,480
Speaker 1: If they can't, they're probably gonna continue the cycle they've

988
00:48:12,520 --> 00:48:16,080
Speaker 1: had for a few decades. That feels like, and the Packers,

989
00:48:16,680 --> 00:48:18,680
Speaker 1: you know, can't. Can they stay on top? Because I

990
00:48:18,760 --> 00:48:22,879
Speaker 1: know the Vikings are gunning for him? You know, it's

991
00:48:22,880 --> 00:48:26,160
Speaker 1: just can the Vikings kind of erase the taste of

992
00:48:26,239 --> 00:48:28,520
Speaker 1: a of a disappointing seven and nine season and kind

993
00:48:28,520 --> 00:48:30,200
Speaker 1: of get onto the package level where they've been the

994
00:48:30,280 --> 00:48:33,200
Speaker 1: last two seasons. All right, Well, before we let Eric go,

995
00:48:33,800 --> 00:48:36,680
Speaker 1: we have a new addition to the Minnesota Vikings Podcast,

996
00:48:36,840 --> 00:48:40,560
Speaker 1: brought to you by producer Jay Nelson. It's the Higher

997
00:48:41,000 --> 00:48:44,560
Speaker 1: Lower Game, which I app I literally have no idea

998
00:48:44,640 --> 00:48:46,759
Speaker 1: what it is. I have no idea what questions are

999
00:48:46,760 --> 00:48:50,520
Speaker 1: going to be asked because Jays has them all tied up.

1000
00:48:50,880 --> 00:48:53,160
Speaker 1: He hasn't put them on the outline. We're not able

1001
00:48:53,200 --> 00:48:55,560
Speaker 1: to see them. Gabe can't see him, Eric can't see him.

1002
00:48:55,600 --> 00:48:58,759
Speaker 1: I can't see him. So Jay, Jay's keeping secrets. If

1003
00:48:58,800 --> 00:49:01,120
Speaker 1: there's one thing I'm good at, it's definitely keeping secrets.

1004
00:49:01,160 --> 00:49:03,800
Speaker 1: So yeah, here we go. Now, I know, I know

1005
00:49:03,960 --> 00:49:06,399
Speaker 1: years ago we had we had played somewhat a Higher

1006
00:49:06,480 --> 00:49:10,360
Speaker 1: Lower version or over under type game in the past,

1007
00:49:10,440 --> 00:49:12,759
Speaker 1: and so I figured I'd dusted off the shelves here

1008
00:49:12,800 --> 00:49:14,480
Speaker 1: and see if we could do a little free agency

1009
00:49:14,560 --> 00:49:17,040
Speaker 1: to see how everybody's been paying attention to what's been

1010
00:49:17,120 --> 00:49:20,080
Speaker 1: going on here. So basically the answer is, I'm going

1011
00:49:20,160 --> 00:49:22,560
Speaker 1: to give you a number, almost like a middle number,

1012
00:49:22,600 --> 00:49:24,200
Speaker 1: and you have to tell me is it higher or lower?

1013
00:49:24,760 --> 00:49:26,480
Speaker 1: From what the question is. So the first one that

1014
00:49:26,480 --> 00:49:29,279
Speaker 1: I pulled here, all this information I pulled was from

1015
00:49:29,360 --> 00:49:31,920
Speaker 1: sporttrack dot com. They tend to do a good job

1016
00:49:32,000 --> 00:49:34,080
Speaker 1: on keeping up on stuff, especially daily, but we all

1017
00:49:34,120 --> 00:49:37,080
Speaker 1: know that information changes daily. So if you go through

1018
00:49:37,160 --> 00:49:38,480
Speaker 1: and start digging through some of this stuff and it

1019
00:49:38,480 --> 00:49:40,760
Speaker 1: looks a little different, it's probably because it literally changes

1020
00:49:40,800 --> 00:49:43,719
Speaker 1: minute by minute. So the first question that I have

1021
00:49:43,840 --> 00:49:46,359
Speaker 1: for everybody here is related to the number of wide

1022
00:49:46,440 --> 00:49:50,040
Speaker 1: receivers who have changed teams in free agency so far.

1023
00:49:50,719 --> 00:49:53,160
Speaker 1: So has the number of wide receiver who have changed

1024
00:49:53,200 --> 00:49:55,879
Speaker 1: their teams this offseason? Is it higher or lower than

1025
00:49:55,960 --> 00:50:00,879
Speaker 1: twenty wide receivers? Lower games is lower I'm going and higher, Eric,

1026
00:50:01,880 --> 00:50:04,239
Speaker 1: I'm gonna, I'm gonna go to lower. The answer is

1027
00:50:04,280 --> 00:50:07,719
Speaker 1: actually higher. There have been twenty six wide receivers who

1028
00:50:07,760 --> 00:50:09,800
Speaker 1: have signed with new teams this year. That does not

1029
00:50:10,000 --> 00:50:13,640
Speaker 1: count resigning with your current team. Of the twenty six

1030
00:50:13,719 --> 00:50:17,080
Speaker 1: wide receivers that have signed in free agency, seventeen of

1031
00:50:17,160 --> 00:50:19,719
Speaker 1: those twenty six have signed with the AFC. So there's

1032
00:50:19,760 --> 00:50:22,400
Speaker 1: been a lot of wide receiver talent that's been flowing

1033
00:50:22,640 --> 00:50:26,759
Speaker 1: over to the AFC during this free agency period. All right,

1034
00:50:27,080 --> 00:50:30,440
Speaker 1: question number two. Earlier this offseason, there was a lot

1035
00:50:30,520 --> 00:50:34,120
Speaker 1: of discussion. You could potentially see up to eighteen quarterbacks

1036
00:50:34,200 --> 00:50:37,320
Speaker 1: mover or signed with different teams. How many quarterbacks have

1037
00:50:37,480 --> 00:50:39,840
Speaker 1: moved so far? So it has the amount of quarterbacks

1038
00:50:39,880 --> 00:50:42,960
Speaker 1: who have signed elsewhere with another team. Is it higher

1039
00:50:43,120 --> 00:50:46,200
Speaker 1: or lower than ten? I'm gonna go lower. Are you

1040
00:50:46,280 --> 00:50:50,080
Speaker 1: including retirements in here? No? This is signed with another team,

1041
00:50:50,160 --> 00:50:54,759
Speaker 1: so you have to sign with another team. Oh, man, lower,

1042
00:50:54,800 --> 00:50:57,560
Speaker 1: I'm still going lower, Gabs Wafflin here he goes back

1043
00:50:57,560 --> 00:51:00,560
Speaker 1: to lower. I'm gonna go lower as well. Okay, Corso

1044
00:51:00,960 --> 00:51:03,239
Speaker 1: I'm gonna have to agree with the crew here, I'll

1045
00:51:03,280 --> 00:51:06,040
Speaker 1: go lower. All right, everybody's going lower. You are correct.

1046
00:51:06,280 --> 00:51:10,160
Speaker 1: Eight quarterbacks have signed with new clubs this year. Andy

1047
00:51:10,239 --> 00:51:15,160
Speaker 1: Dalton to Chicago, Ryan Fitzpatrick to Washington, Jacoby Brissette to Miami,

1048
00:51:15,360 --> 00:51:19,280
Speaker 1: Mitch Drubisky to Buffalo, Tim Boyle to Detroit, Mike Glennon

1049
00:51:19,360 --> 00:51:22,280
Speaker 1: to the Giants, Joe Flacco to Philly, and Tyrod Taylor

1050
00:51:22,320 --> 00:51:26,359
Speaker 1: to Houston. Question number three. There have been some high

1051
00:51:26,440 --> 00:51:30,520
Speaker 1: profile offensive linemen who have signed big money deals this offseason,

1052
00:51:30,600 --> 00:51:34,120
Speaker 1: including guards Joe Thuney in Kansas City and then tackled

1053
00:51:34,120 --> 00:51:37,440
Speaker 1: Trent Williams signing with the forty nine Ers, which O

1054
00:51:37,600 --> 00:51:41,520
Speaker 1: line position group has had more people signed so far's

1055
00:51:41,600 --> 00:51:43,400
Speaker 1: this is going to be between the guards and the tackles.

1056
00:51:43,440 --> 00:51:45,120
Speaker 1: We're gonna leave out the centers and we'll talk about

1057
00:51:45,120 --> 00:51:48,480
Speaker 1: them after. So there have been ten guards so signed

1058
00:51:48,640 --> 00:51:51,320
Speaker 1: so far to a different team and free agency. Is

1059
00:51:51,360 --> 00:51:54,239
Speaker 1: the number of offensive tackles higher or lower than ten?

1060
00:51:55,040 --> 00:52:01,720
Speaker 1: I think it's higher, Okay, Eric's is higher. I'm thinking

1061
00:52:01,880 --> 00:52:04,920
Speaker 1: right now, I'm going I'm gonna go lower because I

1062
00:52:05,040 --> 00:52:08,400
Speaker 1: believe the tackle position is just one that I don't know.

1063
00:52:08,480 --> 00:52:11,240
Speaker 1: I believe I think you kind of want to stick

1064
00:52:11,280 --> 00:52:14,480
Speaker 1: with your guys this this offseason. I'd say I'd say lower.

1065
00:52:15,480 --> 00:52:17,920
Speaker 1: I'm kind of leaning towards corso that's that's such a

1066
00:52:18,239 --> 00:52:21,680
Speaker 1: unique position. The most important position on the offensive side

1067
00:52:21,680 --> 00:52:25,000
Speaker 1: of the ball outside of the quarterback. So yeah, I'm

1068
00:52:25,040 --> 00:52:29,040
Speaker 1: going lower. The answer is higher than twelve offensive tackles

1069
00:52:29,080 --> 00:52:32,040
Speaker 1: have been signed so far. So that other position there

1070
00:52:32,080 --> 00:52:35,200
Speaker 1: at center, there's actually been eight centers signed elsewhere, including

1071
00:52:35,280 --> 00:52:38,040
Speaker 1: Corey Linsley who went to the Chargers on a sixty

1072
00:52:38,080 --> 00:52:41,480
Speaker 1: two point five million dollars deal. Wow. All right, So

1073
00:52:41,719 --> 00:52:44,799
Speaker 1: now we get into salary cap coverage. We've got three

1074
00:52:44,880 --> 00:52:48,080
Speaker 1: questions for salary cap. Let's do it. So, so the

1075
00:52:48,160 --> 00:52:50,279
Speaker 1: numbers that I'm using here are the top fifty one

1076
00:52:50,400 --> 00:52:53,560
Speaker 1: salary cap. That's the rule where it only counts against

1077
00:52:53,600 --> 00:52:56,160
Speaker 1: that your top fifty one contracts basically from the league

1078
00:52:56,200 --> 00:52:58,960
Speaker 1: new year until week one of the season. Then everything

1079
00:52:59,040 --> 00:53:00,960
Speaker 1: else kicks in after you cut down your rosters. So

1080
00:53:01,080 --> 00:53:04,440
Speaker 1: this is using the rule of fifty one salary cap figures.

1081
00:53:04,719 --> 00:53:09,960
Speaker 1: So across thirty two teams across the league, is the

1082
00:53:10,080 --> 00:53:14,160
Speaker 1: average available salary cap space higher or lower than ten

1083
00:53:14,239 --> 00:53:19,160
Speaker 1: million dollars? So the average current available salary cap space?

1084
00:53:19,280 --> 00:53:21,960
Speaker 1: Is it higher or lower than ten million dollars? I'll

1085
00:53:22,000 --> 00:53:24,799
Speaker 1: go first on that one. Okay, I think it's higher.

1086
00:53:24,960 --> 00:53:28,160
Speaker 1: I'm gonna put myself out there. I did some research

1087
00:53:28,239 --> 00:53:31,040
Speaker 1: on that this morning, and I think it's thirteen. I'm

1088
00:53:31,040 --> 00:53:33,680
Speaker 1: gonna like, actually, guess what it is. I think it's

1089
00:53:33,719 --> 00:53:36,400
Speaker 1: around thirteen, so that it's gonna be higher for me.

1090
00:53:36,520 --> 00:53:39,040
Speaker 1: If you were smart, you would let us both answer lower,

1091
00:53:39,640 --> 00:53:44,080
Speaker 1: because I was gonna say lower, but now I'm going higher. Yeah,

1092
00:53:44,400 --> 00:53:46,680
Speaker 1: trying to help you get it out. Yeah, Like, I'm

1093
00:53:46,680 --> 00:53:49,880
Speaker 1: just looking at some of those teams, like like the Panthers,

1094
00:53:50,360 --> 00:53:53,880
Speaker 1: Washington and a few other teams, like they still have

1095
00:53:54,000 --> 00:53:57,960
Speaker 1: an excess of cap space left, so I'm gonna go higher. Also, Eric,

1096
00:53:58,040 --> 00:54:00,200
Speaker 1: you were close, But the number that I had as

1097
00:54:00,239 --> 00:54:02,920
Speaker 1: of late late late last night was fourteen point one

1098
00:54:03,120 --> 00:54:06,520
Speaker 1: three nine million. Okay, that's the average cap number, So

1099
00:54:06,600 --> 00:54:09,360
Speaker 1: they actually the cap number is higher. That's the average

1100
00:54:09,440 --> 00:54:13,200
Speaker 1: number across the league of what is available for cap space. Wow.

1101
00:54:13,360 --> 00:54:16,279
Speaker 1: So is the number of teams that have more than

1102
00:54:16,400 --> 00:54:19,279
Speaker 1: fourteen point one three nine million dollars in positive cap

1103
00:54:19,360 --> 00:54:22,880
Speaker 1: space higher or lower than the teams below the average

1104
00:54:22,920 --> 00:54:25,920
Speaker 1: positive space? So basically, of all the teams that actually

1105
00:54:26,000 --> 00:54:29,880
Speaker 1: have money, is the number higher or lower above that

1106
00:54:30,520 --> 00:54:33,400
Speaker 1: fourteen point one three nine million dollars in cap space?

1107
00:54:34,360 --> 00:54:37,080
Speaker 1: I'm going lower you're saying there's there's more teams that

1108
00:54:37,200 --> 00:54:39,279
Speaker 1: have less than that available. I think there's more teams

1109
00:54:39,320 --> 00:54:40,719
Speaker 1: to have less than that. I mean, we see all

1110
00:54:40,719 --> 00:54:44,160
Speaker 1: these teams trying to squeeze in these deals. So I'm

1111
00:54:44,200 --> 00:54:46,160
Speaker 1: also going to go lower. I think, as Game mentioned,

1112
00:54:46,200 --> 00:54:48,880
Speaker 1: there's a few teams they just have a lot of

1113
00:54:48,960 --> 00:54:51,319
Speaker 1: cap spase and that kind of brings the average up.

1114
00:54:51,360 --> 00:54:54,120
Speaker 1: But most teams, like the Vikings, are probably under that

1115
00:54:54,480 --> 00:54:57,439
Speaker 1: that fourteen million dollars figure. Okay, of course I agree

1116
00:54:57,480 --> 00:54:59,719
Speaker 1: with the crowd here. I'm going lower just because of

1117
00:55:00,200 --> 00:55:03,640
Speaker 1: all the work that we've done to find out that

1118
00:55:03,840 --> 00:55:07,480
Speaker 1: it's like literally so much lower than they expected. I

1119
00:55:07,640 --> 00:55:10,720
Speaker 1: believe it is lower as well. So of the total

1120
00:55:10,800 --> 00:55:13,360
Speaker 1: amount of teams that are in the league with cap space,

1121
00:55:13,880 --> 00:55:17,080
Speaker 1: there are more teams below that fourteen point one three nine,

1122
00:55:17,480 --> 00:55:20,799
Speaker 1: but have teams with a positive cap space number. It's

1123
00:55:20,800 --> 00:55:24,640
Speaker 1: actually fourteen teams higher and thirteen teams lower. So it's

1124
00:55:24,760 --> 00:55:28,759
Speaker 1: right on that bubble for the positive teams. There's train

1125
00:55:28,840 --> 00:55:30,680
Speaker 1: of a gotcha question, but I figured that throw it

1126
00:55:30,719 --> 00:55:34,799
Speaker 1: out there, You're welcome. So the fourteen teams that are

1127
00:55:34,840 --> 00:55:37,799
Speaker 1: listed higher above that number have more than fourteen point

1128
00:55:37,840 --> 00:55:40,960
Speaker 1: six million available. Of the thirteen teams below it, it's

1129
00:55:41,040 --> 00:55:44,759
Speaker 1: fourteen point one, two six and less underneath there, the

1130
00:55:44,920 --> 00:55:48,080
Speaker 1: Colts have the most positive cap space available currently at

1131
00:55:48,120 --> 00:55:51,840
Speaker 1: forty three million dollars, and the Cardinals are twenty seventh

1132
00:55:52,480 --> 00:55:55,719
Speaker 1: and they have one point three six eight million dollars available.

1133
00:55:55,840 --> 00:55:58,719
Speaker 1: So that is the range of teams currently that have

1134
00:55:58,880 --> 00:56:02,759
Speaker 1: salary cap space available. All right, last question, and we're

1135
00:56:02,800 --> 00:56:06,440
Speaker 1: gonna stick here on this final salary cap question. Of

1136
00:56:06,600 --> 00:56:11,320
Speaker 1: the five teams currently below zero dollars available in positive

1137
00:56:11,360 --> 00:56:14,800
Speaker 1: cap space aka in the red, is the number of

1138
00:56:14,920 --> 00:56:18,840
Speaker 1: teams in those five who made the playoffs in twenty

1139
00:56:18,920 --> 00:56:22,279
Speaker 1: twenty slash twenty twenty one higher or lower than two?

1140
00:56:24,360 --> 00:56:26,920
Speaker 1: So there's five teams available. Are there more teams or

1141
00:56:27,040 --> 00:56:30,719
Speaker 1: less teams than two who actually made the playoffs? Well,

1142
00:56:30,760 --> 00:56:33,160
Speaker 1: I know the Saints are one that's still in the red.

1143
00:56:35,120 --> 00:56:39,439
Speaker 1: Oh man, I'm going higher. I was gonna. I'm saying

1144
00:56:39,520 --> 00:56:42,480
Speaker 1: higher as well. Yep, I'll round it out all three

1145
00:56:42,480 --> 00:56:45,120
Speaker 1: of us. I'll go higher higher across the board. Of

1146
00:56:45,320 --> 00:56:48,759
Speaker 1: those five teams that are below in the red, the

1147
00:56:48,960 --> 00:56:52,759
Speaker 1: Saints at one point four or five million below, the

1148
00:56:52,960 --> 00:56:56,680
Speaker 1: Bears at two point three million below, the Bills at

1149
00:56:56,760 --> 00:57:00,600
Speaker 1: three point four million below, the Rams at five point

1150
00:57:00,640 --> 00:57:03,120
Speaker 1: two one eight million below, and then the Eagles at

1151
00:57:03,200 --> 00:57:06,040
Speaker 1: minus five million. You have four out of those five

1152
00:57:06,120 --> 00:57:08,319
Speaker 1: teams that are currently salary cap in the red all

1153
00:57:08,400 --> 00:57:10,759
Speaker 1: made the playoffs last year. So it's going to get

1154
00:57:10,800 --> 00:57:13,480
Speaker 1: interesting for some of these squads to really help fill

1155
00:57:13,520 --> 00:57:15,840
Speaker 1: out the rest of their rosters. I'm going to be

1156
00:57:15,880 --> 00:57:17,440
Speaker 1: curious to see what kind of moves they have to

1157
00:57:17,520 --> 00:57:20,040
Speaker 1: make to have to cut some salary or to restructure

1158
00:57:20,080 --> 00:57:22,640
Speaker 1: some players in order to make sure not only that

1159
00:57:22,720 --> 00:57:24,720
Speaker 1: they can sign the rest of their players, but also

1160
00:57:24,800 --> 00:57:27,240
Speaker 1: sign the draft picks coming up here with some of

1161
00:57:27,280 --> 00:57:30,560
Speaker 1: these teams having double digit draft picks available, So it'll

1162
00:57:30,560 --> 00:57:32,640
Speaker 1: be interesting to see how some more of this stuff

1163
00:57:32,680 --> 00:57:34,440
Speaker 1: shakes out and just how many moves have to be

1164
00:57:34,520 --> 00:57:36,560
Speaker 1: made across the league when it comes to the salary cap.

1165
00:57:36,640 --> 00:57:39,200
Speaker 1: So that's the Higher Lower Game this week. Thank you

1166
00:57:39,280 --> 00:57:41,600
Speaker 1: guys for playing, and hopefully we'll do it again in

1167
00:57:41,680 --> 00:57:44,920
Speaker 1: the future. That's fun, all right, Well, thanks again to

1168
00:57:45,120 --> 00:57:47,800
Speaker 1: Jay for a new segment. I think we're gonna have

1169
00:57:47,840 --> 00:57:49,960
Speaker 1: to do that more often on the show. The Higher

1170
00:57:50,040 --> 00:57:52,120
Speaker 1: and Lower Game. I know we used to do the

1171
00:57:52,240 --> 00:57:54,720
Speaker 1: under overs back in the day, So that's very similar,

1172
00:57:54,800 --> 00:57:57,560
Speaker 1: and I love the conversation and amount of things that

1173
00:57:57,640 --> 00:58:00,920
Speaker 1: we've all learned from that. I mean, it's believable what

1174
00:58:01,240 --> 00:58:03,280
Speaker 1: is going on with this salary cap this year and

1175
00:58:03,520 --> 00:58:07,640
Speaker 1: how many teams are in just absolutely awful situations when

1176
00:58:07,680 --> 00:58:10,680
Speaker 1: it comes to being in the positive negative and being

1177
00:58:10,800 --> 00:58:14,240
Speaker 1: literally under ten million in salary cap space just a

1178
00:58:14,480 --> 00:58:17,400
Speaker 1: week end of free agency. It is insane what has

1179
00:58:17,440 --> 00:58:21,680
Speaker 1: happened in the league this offseason. And that'll also do

1180
00:58:21,800 --> 00:58:25,640
Speaker 1: it for the entire show. An awesome eighty fifth show

1181
00:58:25,680 --> 00:58:29,000
Speaker 1: in the Minnesota Vikings podcast, we covered a ton from

1182
00:58:29,080 --> 00:58:33,360
Speaker 1: free agency to Eric's chat with the NFC North Roundtable

1183
00:58:33,400 --> 00:58:35,760
Speaker 1: with all the team reporters. So we're gonna wrap this

1184
00:58:35,880 --> 00:58:38,280
Speaker 1: thing up, but before we go, Gabe, do you have

1185
00:58:38,360 --> 00:58:42,000
Speaker 1: any final thoughts to share with the Vikings fans heading

1186
00:58:42,040 --> 00:58:45,280
Speaker 1: into this weekend. As of Thursday, March twenty fifth, we

1187
00:58:45,560 --> 00:58:49,240
Speaker 1: are five exactly five weeks away from day one of

1188
00:58:49,280 --> 00:58:52,360
Speaker 1: the NFL Draft free agency. I know there will be

1189
00:58:52,400 --> 00:58:54,480
Speaker 1: a few more moves made around free agency, but I

1190
00:58:54,520 --> 00:58:58,200
Speaker 1: don't think there'll be many big splashes. So the next

1191
00:58:58,280 --> 00:59:01,000
Speaker 1: big thing is the draft. So I'm excited about that.

1192
00:59:01,040 --> 00:59:03,120
Speaker 1: I'm sure if Vikings fans are excited about it, We'll

1193
00:59:03,160 --> 00:59:06,320
Speaker 1: have a lot of content coming on Vikings dot Com

1194
00:59:07,040 --> 00:59:10,520
Speaker 1: regarding some of those draft prospects. So stay tuned. I'm

1195
00:59:10,560 --> 00:59:13,640
Speaker 1: looking forward to it. Jake, Yeah, in a similar vein,

1196
00:59:13,720 --> 00:59:15,840
Speaker 1: we all know the Vikings have double digit draft picks

1197
00:59:15,920 --> 00:59:18,280
Speaker 1: this year. Once again, we all know what kind of

1198
00:59:18,400 --> 00:59:21,920
Speaker 1: a flurry that that turned into for everybody, especially on

1199
00:59:22,080 --> 00:59:25,880
Speaker 1: Day three. You know, we're all trying to get ready

1200
00:59:25,960 --> 00:59:28,000
Speaker 1: here for what the draft coverage is going to be.

1201
00:59:28,160 --> 00:59:30,520
Speaker 1: We were already starting to put out some of these videos,

1202
00:59:30,600 --> 00:59:33,080
Speaker 1: the position breakdowns that are gonna be coming with some

1203
00:59:33,200 --> 00:59:36,360
Speaker 1: of your your favorite special guests and Pete Bursich, Ben Lieber,

1204
00:59:36,880 --> 00:59:39,240
Speaker 1: Ron Johnson and more. And so stay tuned for that.

1205
00:59:39,400 --> 00:59:42,320
Speaker 1: And then on top of that, just remember Draft Night.

1206
00:59:42,520 --> 00:59:44,320
Speaker 1: At the end of every draft night, we'll have our

1207
00:59:44,360 --> 00:59:47,040
Speaker 1: recaps here with the Minnesota Vikings Podcast, and we'll be

1208
00:59:47,080 --> 00:59:48,800
Speaker 1: able to get you up to speed on what happened

1209
00:59:48,880 --> 00:59:50,560
Speaker 1: during that day and kind of what to look forward

1210
00:59:50,600 --> 00:59:53,680
Speaker 1: to the following day during the draft. We always love

1211
00:59:53,760 --> 00:59:55,920
Speaker 1: this time of year, and this year is no exception.

1212
00:59:56,000 --> 00:59:57,840
Speaker 1: It's going to be fun to see what other kind

1213
00:59:57,840 --> 00:59:59,720
Speaker 1: of puzzle pieces we can fit in here and get

1214
00:59:59,760 --> 01:00:03,200
Speaker 1: this right at the right direction in twenty twenty one,

1215
01:00:03,880 --> 01:00:06,640
Speaker 1: that is for sure. I know, I'm excited. The amount

1216
01:00:06,680 --> 01:00:08,880
Speaker 1: of additions that the Vikings were able to make through

1217
01:00:08,960 --> 01:00:11,919
Speaker 1: it just the first week of free agency was unbelievable.

1218
01:00:12,320 --> 01:00:14,840
Speaker 1: And when you look forward to a draft where we

1219
01:00:15,000 --> 01:00:19,520
Speaker 1: know Rix Bielman loves to add five plus picks through

1220
01:00:19,600 --> 01:00:22,840
Speaker 1: trades and we're able to stay up till twelve o'clock

1221
01:00:23,040 --> 01:00:26,520
Speaker 1: one o'clock am and talk about all the things that happened.

1222
01:00:27,120 --> 01:00:29,040
Speaker 1: We will do that just like we did last year.

1223
01:00:29,120 --> 01:00:31,440
Speaker 1: We will do that this year. It's always fun to

1224
01:00:31,560 --> 01:00:34,120
Speaker 1: be able to do that alongside the two of you.

1225
01:00:34,400 --> 01:00:37,360
Speaker 1: So thank you guys for listening to episode number eighty

1226
01:00:37,400 --> 01:00:40,920
Speaker 1: five of the Minnesota Vikings Podcast. Before we go, I

1227
01:00:41,120 --> 01:00:44,760
Speaker 1: forgot we have to do some promotions for our website

1228
01:00:44,800 --> 01:00:47,960
Speaker 1: and all the content that's being churned out this time

1229
01:00:48,000 --> 01:00:52,200
Speaker 1: of year. So we're starting off with a Vikings Vantage show,

1230
01:00:52,520 --> 01:00:55,080
Speaker 1: which I am really excited. We got a spot on

1231
01:00:55,400 --> 01:01:00,080
Speaker 1: Cafe n at six thirty pm tonight, right before the

1232
01:01:00,160 --> 01:01:04,360
Speaker 1: Minnesota Wild game. You'll you'll hear Gabe and myself we're

1233
01:01:04,520 --> 01:01:08,080
Speaker 1: joined by NFL insider Adam Kaplan, who has all the

1234
01:01:08,240 --> 01:01:13,240
Speaker 1: insight from a decades long relationship with Rick Spielman and

1235
01:01:13,320 --> 01:01:16,560
Speaker 1: Robert Zinski and Mike Zimmer. This guy's been covering the

1236
01:01:16,680 --> 01:01:19,120
Speaker 1: league for a really long time. He has all the

1237
01:01:19,200 --> 01:01:22,680
Speaker 1: insight on the Vikings free agency moves as well as

1238
01:01:22,800 --> 01:01:25,960
Speaker 1: sharing his opinion on who we will take at number

1239
01:01:26,040 --> 01:01:28,960
Speaker 1: fourteen in the draft. So you can catch that tonight

1240
01:01:29,240 --> 01:01:33,960
Speaker 1: Thursday night on Kfan at six thirty pm before the

1241
01:01:34,080 --> 01:01:38,560
Speaker 1: wild Game. And also, as always, check out Lindsay Young's

1242
01:01:38,640 --> 01:01:42,840
Speaker 1: getting Open series again. This week, rather than talking to

1243
01:01:42,960 --> 01:01:45,800
Speaker 1: a player, she went into the Vikings front office and

1244
01:01:45,920 --> 01:01:50,080
Speaker 1: talked to two leaders, Viking CEO Andrew Miller and general

1245
01:01:50,200 --> 01:01:52,920
Speaker 1: manager Rick Spielman, who shared their thoughts on dealing with

1246
01:01:53,280 --> 01:01:56,560
Speaker 1: the topic of mental illness. Obviously, this is something that

1247
01:01:56,640 --> 01:01:59,880
Speaker 1: affects you if you're a player, if you're a front office,

1248
01:02:00,040 --> 01:02:03,400
Speaker 1: if you're a human being, wherever people are going through

1249
01:02:03,520 --> 01:02:06,960
Speaker 1: challenges in their lives. It's really really important for Andrew

1250
01:02:07,040 --> 01:02:09,560
Speaker 1: Miller and Rick Spield to get involved in this series.

1251
01:02:09,640 --> 01:02:12,040
Speaker 1: So definitely go check that out. I believe there's a

1252
01:02:12,160 --> 01:02:16,280
Speaker 1: podcast on this very channel. There is also a long

1253
01:02:16,360 --> 01:02:18,880
Speaker 1: form article on Vikings dot com that Lindsay was able

1254
01:02:18,920 --> 01:02:21,640
Speaker 1: to put together really get imagery and things like that

1255
01:02:21,840 --> 01:02:25,600
Speaker 1: as well, So go check that out and obviously stay

1256
01:02:25,680 --> 01:02:28,600
Speaker 1: tuned to the Vikings social media platforms, the Vikings app.

1257
01:02:29,000 --> 01:02:33,080
Speaker 1: We have it all covered, from podcasts depending free agency moves,

1258
01:02:33,360 --> 01:02:36,440
Speaker 1: the Vikings Free Agent Tracker on Vikings dot com. I

1259
01:02:36,560 --> 01:02:39,880
Speaker 1: personally help Eric update that on the website that has

1260
01:02:39,960 --> 01:02:42,920
Speaker 1: all the moves that are going on throughout free agency.

1261
01:02:43,040 --> 01:02:45,520
Speaker 1: So thank you again for joining us on the Minnesota

1262
01:02:45,640 --> 01:02:47,960
Speaker 1: Vikings podcast. We will see you next week.