WEBVTT - MVP: DJ WONNUM & THE VIKINGS-PANTHERS MATCHUP 0:00:06.559 --> 0:00:08.680 Throughout this game and just being able to come up 0:00:08.680 --> 0:00:11.080 in this system, especially being a rookie and then now 0:00:11.240 --> 0:00:13.480 my second year of planning under him and learning different 0:00:13.520 --> 0:00:15.560 things under him is a great thing because I can 0:00:15.560 --> 0:00:17.880 see the future from myself and just getting better each 0:00:17.920 --> 0:00:21.800 day as I'm planning, they're telling me what they're seeing 0:00:22.400 --> 0:00:24.360 based off of their past experience. So just having them 0:00:24.360 --> 0:00:27.880 in the room and meetings was a big change for 0:00:27.960 --> 0:00:31.840 us and something great for me. We're listening to the 0:00:31.880 --> 0:00:35.720 Minnesota Vikings podcast, or as we lovingly refer to it 0:00:35.800 --> 0:00:40.360 around here, MVP. This is episode one fifteen, and can 0:00:40.720 --> 0:00:43.760 we say victory Wednesday? Still? Are we allowed to do that? Guys? 0:00:43.920 --> 0:00:45.760 It's always the turning point for the week to go 0:00:45.800 --> 0:00:47.720 to the next week. But yes, we can rebel in 0:00:47.760 --> 0:00:49.480 the fact that we did get a win this past week. 0:00:49.520 --> 0:00:53.320 It was just the manner that it happened. People are 0:00:53.320 --> 0:00:55.840 a little angsty about it, but I think the nice 0:00:55.880 --> 0:00:58.440 thing is you gotta win. You're going to Carolina right 0:00:58.480 --> 0:01:01.080 before the bye keep the train rolland at this point, 0:01:01.400 --> 0:01:04.200 and that is why we have the Positivity Power minute, 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:08.280 because we can't dwell on the negative. And speaking of 0:01:08.520 --> 0:01:12.120 positive things, we have a special co host today on 0:01:12.160 --> 0:01:14.800 the podcast. You just heard Jay Nelson, who's here with 0:01:14.880 --> 0:01:17.640 us every week, but this week we have Vikings team 0:01:17.680 --> 0:01:21.399 reporter Eric Smith. He is all over Vikings dot com 0:01:21.400 --> 0:01:24.520 with his incredible writing. He's a great follow on Twitter 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:27.720 at Eric Underscore l Underscore Smith. I wanted to make 0:01:27.760 --> 0:01:30.720 sure I got that correct. He's also on Viking Entertainment 0:01:30.760 --> 0:01:34.720 Network's latest show, Opposing Viewpoints. Hi, Eric, Well, hello guys, 0:01:34.840 --> 0:01:36.959 thank you for having me and man out to a 0:01:37.040 --> 0:01:40.280 great introduction. I feel all warm and special inside there 0:01:40.319 --> 0:01:42.160 you go. I know when I start, when I was 0:01:42.160 --> 0:01:44.039 writing it, I was like, wow, I'm like writing a 0:01:44.120 --> 0:01:47.840 proper introduction, the official official welcome to the show. Well, 0:01:47.880 --> 0:01:49.960 thank you this happy to be here. Yeah, I know 0:01:50.000 --> 0:01:51.720 you've been here before, but we're excited to have you 0:01:51.800 --> 0:01:56.360 around again. And kind of continue talking about this Vikings 0:01:56.360 --> 0:01:59.040 team who were walk off winners against the Lions. It's 0:01:59.080 --> 0:02:02.280 now two and three on the season, with one more 0:02:02.360 --> 0:02:05.000 game before we hit the buy and it's a big 0:02:05.040 --> 0:02:07.880 game on the road at the Panthers, and so Eric, 0:02:07.920 --> 0:02:10.520 we usually do this whole event session when we lose. 0:02:11.120 --> 0:02:13.839 Luckily we don't have to do that this week. I'm 0:02:13.840 --> 0:02:17.120 glad for that. Let's let's be positive. Yes it was ugly, 0:02:17.280 --> 0:02:19.440 but we gotta win. So yeah, let's let's focus on 0:02:19.480 --> 0:02:22.200 the w and that is what matters. So we call 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:26.720 it the Power Minute of Positivity. And Eric, because you 0:02:26.760 --> 0:02:29.760 are it's a guest co host this week. I'm gonna 0:02:29.760 --> 0:02:31.800 have you go first, Okay, So I'm gonna put you 0:02:31.800 --> 0:02:34.400 on a timer. We're gonna count down from sixty seconds 0:02:35.000 --> 0:02:38.839 and I as much positivity as you can. Okay, I'll 0:02:38.880 --> 0:02:43.360 bad lead off. There you go, all right, and three, two, one, okay, 0:02:43.560 --> 0:02:46.840 I'm gonna start with Greg Joseph. And you know, a 0:02:46.840 --> 0:02:50.040 lot of people wanted to get rid of him, honestly 0:02:50.080 --> 0:02:52.680 after Week two when he missed against Arizona fan who're 0:02:52.760 --> 0:02:56.880 upset with the long history of kicker struggles with this franchise. 0:02:57.680 --> 0:02:59.239 I think a lot of fans who were just like, whatever, 0:02:59.320 --> 0:03:01.440 let's move on to the next guy. And Mike Zimmer 0:03:01.600 --> 0:03:03.760 was like, wait a minute, let's give him another chance, 0:03:04.200 --> 0:03:08.760 and he delivered. Came through on Sunday again, Detroit set 0:03:08.800 --> 0:03:11.399 his career best with fifty five and then obviously none 0:03:11.680 --> 0:03:14.040 none of his four field goal were bigger than the 0:03:14.120 --> 0:03:16.480 fifty four yarder. To end it, so happy for Greg. 0:03:17.240 --> 0:03:21.040 The other thing is the Vikings pass rush is much 0:03:21.120 --> 0:03:23.680 much better than it was a year ago, and probably 0:03:23.720 --> 0:03:26.080 that has to do with Daniel Hunter being back and 0:03:26.200 --> 0:03:28.960 Everson Griffin being back as well. Both of those players 0:03:29.040 --> 0:03:32.080 did not play for the Vikings last year, but they 0:03:32.120 --> 0:03:34.079 are probably two of the of the ten or so 0:03:34.160 --> 0:03:37.440 best pass rushers the team has ever had, and so 0:03:37.520 --> 0:03:39.360 it's good to have those two guys back in the fold. 0:03:39.880 --> 0:03:41.520 And then the last thing is, you know, I know 0:03:41.600 --> 0:03:44.560 it was ugly, but I'm glad they gotta win. Oh 0:03:44.840 --> 0:03:48.520 where the money? Glad to know I win? That works too. Okay, 0:03:48.600 --> 0:03:50.480 what else were you gonna say? I was just gonna 0:03:50.480 --> 0:03:53.720 say as we go into Carolina, you know it hasn't 0:03:53.760 --> 0:03:56.800 been the prettiest season so far. Yeah, and just a 0:03:56.920 --> 0:03:59.440 chance to get to three and three, to give yourself 0:03:59.760 --> 0:04:02.600 a chance to be competitive after the buye. I think 0:04:02.600 --> 0:04:05.560 that needs to be harped upon. Comparative to last season 0:04:05.600 --> 0:04:07.560 where you kind of tripped coming out of the gate, 0:04:08.040 --> 0:04:10.080 You're at a point now where you're better than you 0:04:10.120 --> 0:04:12.840 were last year. Kind of the same situation, but you 0:04:12.840 --> 0:04:16.640 have a chance to write the ship sooner than last season, 0:04:16.720 --> 0:04:18.880 and so that that is the positive spin on that. 0:04:18.960 --> 0:04:21.880 For sure. If you win Sunday and you're three and three, 0:04:21.880 --> 0:04:24.040 you kind of reaf that and say, okay, let's take 0:04:24.040 --> 0:04:26.840 a deep breath. You know, the schedule is very tough 0:04:26.880 --> 0:04:29.200 after the bye, but at least you have a chance 0:04:29.680 --> 0:04:33.520 to be competitive. If you fall to under five hundred 0:04:33.520 --> 0:04:35.760 and you lose in Carolina, it's just really tough flooding 0:04:35.800 --> 0:04:37.480 the reft of the way. And Carolina right now is 0:04:37.480 --> 0:04:39.640 feeling the same way too for them. You know, they've 0:04:39.680 --> 0:04:41.800 they've played a bunch of games at home so far 0:04:41.920 --> 0:04:44.640 this season. They see us walking in the door and saying, 0:04:44.640 --> 0:04:46.359 you know, we need to get right as well, because 0:04:46.360 --> 0:04:47.800 they are going to play a ton of games on 0:04:47.839 --> 0:04:49.680 the road coming up here for the rest of their schedules. 0:04:49.680 --> 0:04:51.760 So this this game Sunday, I think is gonna be 0:04:51.800 --> 0:04:53.320 a bit of a dog fight for both teams trying 0:04:53.360 --> 0:04:54.600 to make sure that they're on the right side of 0:04:54.640 --> 0:04:57.480 that win. I can honestly see, whoever wins the game, 0:04:58.040 --> 0:04:59.800 it may be in contention at the end of the 0:05:00.040 --> 0:05:03.640 year for a wildcard spot, and whoever loses it's maybe not. 0:05:03.720 --> 0:05:05.719 It's funny how you can kind of you try and 0:05:05.800 --> 0:05:09.479 make those like predictions and see down the line and 0:05:09.520 --> 0:05:12.839 how things are shaping up already. But only time will tell, 0:05:13.080 --> 0:05:17.200 all right, Jay three two one. I think the most 0:05:17.200 --> 0:05:20.080 positive thing that I can say about this past weekend's 0:05:20.120 --> 0:05:22.200 win was the fact that you did get to win. 0:05:22.640 --> 0:05:25.000 We've just been talking here about the fact that you're 0:05:25.360 --> 0:05:27.679 on the doorstep of being five hundred here before the bye, 0:05:27.720 --> 0:05:30.400 which I think is something that fans will definitely take. 0:05:30.440 --> 0:05:33.200 I know inside here, I'm sure the players and coaches 0:05:33.240 --> 0:05:35.159 are also looking at it saying this is the only 0:05:35.200 --> 0:05:39.240 option moving forward for us. For me as a fan 0:05:39.400 --> 0:05:41.520 watching that game on Sunday, like I said before, there 0:05:41.520 --> 0:05:42.880 was a little bit of ankst that came to it, 0:05:42.920 --> 0:05:45.599 But the fact was you saw Greg Joseph hit two 0:05:45.680 --> 0:05:49.200 fifty plus yard kicks in order to bury that game, 0:05:49.279 --> 0:05:52.040 in order to seal the victory, even when it looked 0:05:52.080 --> 0:05:54.279 kind of dire there right at the end. But for me, 0:05:54.360 --> 0:05:57.200 the fact that Greg Joseph hit both of those kicks, 0:05:57.600 --> 0:06:00.200 there is a kind of a hurdle there that you 0:06:00.200 --> 0:06:02.000 have now for the future. You know that if it 0:06:02.040 --> 0:06:05.040 comes down to needing a thirty seven second drive at 0:06:05.040 --> 0:06:06.560 the end of a game to try to bury a 0:06:06.560 --> 0:06:09.240 long kick to give yourself a chance to win the game. 0:06:09.640 --> 0:06:11.640 We have the ability in the capability to do that. 0:06:11.960 --> 0:06:14.040 On top of that, Justin Jefferson in the first half 0:06:14.120 --> 0:06:18.240 was on fire in that game. Hopefully he can do 0:06:18.240 --> 0:06:20.599 that again. This way you go, there, you go. Yeah. 0:06:20.720 --> 0:06:22.479 I know this is the powerment of positivity, but it 0:06:22.520 --> 0:06:24.920 is frustrated and to not see him as dominant in 0:06:24.960 --> 0:06:28.760 the second half of the game, knowing that that was 0:06:28.839 --> 0:06:32.320 something that works so well, and I don't particularly think 0:06:32.400 --> 0:06:35.160 the Lions made all these crazy adjustments to keep him 0:06:35.160 --> 0:06:37.760 out of things. So hopefully we'll be able to see 0:06:37.800 --> 0:06:41.280 more of jjcase clearly. And something I think we've talked 0:06:41.279 --> 0:06:44.440 about previously on this podcast is that teams have to 0:06:44.520 --> 0:06:47.320 choose between Theeland and JJ and the past two weeks 0:06:47.600 --> 0:06:50.400 they've really negated Theeland, which has made Justin come alive, 0:06:50.440 --> 0:06:52.520 and so it's kind of like this like back and 0:06:52.560 --> 0:06:54.640 forth pull between the two. I've gotten a lot of 0:06:54.640 --> 0:06:59.039 fan email this week being harsh again the Viking the 0:06:59.080 --> 0:07:01.720 offense of philosophy, and Clint Kubiak and Mike them are 0:07:01.720 --> 0:07:03.320 in saying, you know, why don't why aren't we throwing 0:07:03.360 --> 0:07:05.840 the ball more you know, and I see their point 0:07:05.880 --> 0:07:09.640 because you know, Justin Jefferson is a special talent and 0:07:10.400 --> 0:07:12.480 sometimes you just got to throw him the ball. And 0:07:13.320 --> 0:07:15.440 you know, if it's third and eight, you know, I'd 0:07:15.560 --> 0:07:17.920 rather throw him the ball than than maybe anyone else 0:07:17.920 --> 0:07:20.560 on the team. Honestly. The thing that was crazy on 0:07:20.720 --> 0:07:22.840 Sunday was watching some of those throws that Kirk was 0:07:23.240 --> 0:07:25.560 hitting him with on the sidelines especially. I mean he 0:07:25.640 --> 0:07:29.040 was bracketed, double even triple covered sometimes and Kirk was 0:07:29.120 --> 0:07:30.680 dropping in the bucket. And the nice thing with with 0:07:30.800 --> 0:07:34.320 JJ and Feeling and those guys, they are savvy enough 0:07:34.320 --> 0:07:36.440 at this point as receivers they don't show their hands 0:07:36.480 --> 0:07:38.880 until the very last second to prove that the ball 0:07:38.960 --> 0:07:41.680 is going to be right there. And there were multiple 0:07:41.720 --> 0:07:43.640 times in that game as I was, you know, running 0:07:43.640 --> 0:07:45.400 stuff up in the control room watching it, and I'm 0:07:45.400 --> 0:07:48.400 just like, that was an incredible throw. And so there's 0:07:48.400 --> 0:07:50.600 another positive piece there for me is just the fact 0:07:50.600 --> 0:07:53.680 that Kirk was dealing, and you know, it just kind 0:07:53.680 --> 0:07:57.000 of again proves give him some time, he will slice 0:07:57.000 --> 0:07:59.640 and dice you. And when you have a team that 0:07:59.760 --> 0:08:02.760 was without Delvin Cook again on Sunday and you're looking 0:08:02.760 --> 0:08:04.560 for a big time playmaker to step up and make 0:08:04.640 --> 0:08:06.800 some plays. Having Justin do that in the first half 0:08:06.920 --> 0:08:08.280 really gave you a shot in the arm and just 0:08:08.360 --> 0:08:12.120 proves this team can have multiple weapons on offense. And 0:08:12.440 --> 0:08:15.080 I'm looking forward to seeing what happens again here coming 0:08:15.160 --> 0:08:17.800 up on Sunday, hopefully they can unleash the Beast again. Well, 0:08:17.840 --> 0:08:20.040 I'm going to put myself on the timer now, Eric, 0:08:20.160 --> 0:08:21.960 if you want to do the honors and just press 0:08:22.040 --> 0:08:25.560 start three two line go. I kind of want to 0:08:25.560 --> 0:08:28.200 piggyback off of what you're talking about with Kirk Cousins 0:08:28.280 --> 0:08:30.640 because I think everyone saw the moment at the end 0:08:30.680 --> 0:08:33.920 of the game where he was shoving Mike Zimmer and 0:08:33.960 --> 0:08:36.959 I know it's like kind of went viral and little 0:08:36.960 --> 0:08:38.839 did we know he was miked up for NFL films, 0:08:38.840 --> 0:08:41.640 So then everyone got to hear exactly what the exchange was, 0:08:41.760 --> 0:08:43.880 which if you haven't gone on Twitter and taken a 0:08:43.920 --> 0:08:47.120 look at it, it's definitely worth seeing. But I think 0:08:47.200 --> 0:08:50.680 it's so important that they were able to complete a 0:08:50.720 --> 0:08:54.239 game winning drive because you saw it against the Cardinals, 0:08:54.280 --> 0:08:58.240 you saw it against the Bengals. They can drive the 0:08:58.240 --> 0:09:01.240 ball down when they need to. They can get into 0:09:01.280 --> 0:09:03.240 scoring position when they need to, and they haven't been 0:09:03.240 --> 0:09:06.040 able to capitalize on it. And so for me, that 0:09:06.160 --> 0:09:08.640 was a huge vote of confidence, not only for your 0:09:08.760 --> 0:09:11.840 positive note on Greg Joseph getting that kind of like 0:09:13.400 --> 0:09:16.120 just confidence, straight confidence back in himself, not that I 0:09:16.200 --> 0:09:18.480 think he lacked any but that he was able to 0:09:18.559 --> 0:09:21.679 do that in front of the home crowd really convinced them. 0:09:21.679 --> 0:09:23.680 And then also that they were able to capitalize on 0:09:23.760 --> 0:09:28.240 a game winning drive boom. I love being right on time. 0:09:28.360 --> 0:09:30.559 Nicely done, Thank you. I don't know if any of 0:09:30.600 --> 0:09:33.760 you've seen Good Morning Football's Peter Shreger, but Peter Shreger 0:09:33.880 --> 0:09:36.920 was actually talking about our season so far this year. Yeah, 0:09:37.480 --> 0:09:40.120 I welcome to the fold. As a Vikings fan, you know, 0:09:40.400 --> 0:09:42.400 there's always a time in the season. There's always been 0:09:42.480 --> 0:09:45.120 multiple games where you're like, man, we were that close, 0:09:45.160 --> 0:09:47.679 and yeah, that's happened multiple times here and that that's 0:09:47.720 --> 0:09:49.920 where I think a lot of this angst as well 0:09:50.000 --> 0:09:52.360 from Sunday came from as just people saying like, man, 0:09:52.440 --> 0:09:56.840 we haven't fully put a full game together this season. 0:09:56.960 --> 0:09:59.480 We had a really good game against Seattle, but we 0:09:59.559 --> 0:10:02.560 haven't seeing the ability to just take an opponent that 0:10:02.640 --> 0:10:05.360 you should handle and just finish it completely across the 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:08.200 board offense, defense, and special teams, and I think everyone 0:10:08.240 --> 0:10:10.040 felt like Sunday should have been one of those games 0:10:10.559 --> 0:10:13.120 because it kind of you were stuck in the mud 0:10:13.160 --> 0:10:14.920 and it went the way that it did on Sunday. 0:10:14.960 --> 0:10:17.000 I really feel like this team is going to be 0:10:17.000 --> 0:10:19.079 motivated on Sunday to come out in Carolina and really 0:10:19.120 --> 0:10:22.240 put their best foot forward. And even in the Seahawks game, 0:10:22.320 --> 0:10:24.880 though as good of a win as that looked, it 0:10:24.960 --> 0:10:28.520 was good defense in the second half, the offense was 0:10:28.640 --> 0:10:30.480 you know, not there. So it's still not like that 0:10:30.559 --> 0:10:35.880 complete game performance that we're looking for, which is kind 0:10:35.880 --> 0:10:38.559 of exciting because you know the potential is there, but 0:10:38.600 --> 0:10:40.960 at the same time you're like, all right, when is 0:10:40.960 --> 0:10:44.240 that moment going to happen. Yeah. So we're obviously five 0:10:44.280 --> 0:10:47.200 games in and four of those games have been decided 0:10:47.200 --> 0:10:50.200 by a touchdown or less. I think the potential is there. 0:10:50.520 --> 0:10:53.200 I think there's also maybe you know, the games go 0:10:53.240 --> 0:10:55.280 along and you're in more and more of these close games, 0:10:55.720 --> 0:10:58.120 I think I'm starting to realize that maybe this it's 0:10:58.160 --> 0:11:01.880 just who the Vikings are and that you know, we're 0:11:01.920 --> 0:11:04.040 not a bad team. You know, I know we have 0:11:04.080 --> 0:11:06.160 a sub five hundred record, but we're not a bad team. 0:11:06.679 --> 0:11:09.160 But we're probably not in the upper echelon, you know, 0:11:09.240 --> 0:11:12.720 with Arizona and Buffalo with only having one loss or 0:11:12.720 --> 0:11:15.240 no losses. We're probably right around in the middle with 0:11:15.280 --> 0:11:17.640 a potential to be good, you know, but a thing 0:11:17.720 --> 0:11:20.080 don't break our way, then maybe we slide down a little. 0:11:20.080 --> 0:11:22.280 So that just kind of who the team is right now. 0:11:22.280 --> 0:11:25.000 We're just kind of right there in the middle with 0:11:25.520 --> 0:11:28.640 a bunch of other teams. And that's probably what the 0:11:28.720 --> 0:11:31.120 NFL is. That's just a bunch of parody and it's 0:11:31.120 --> 0:11:33.120 who can make plays each week. If you if you 0:11:33.200 --> 0:11:35.080 make the plays like we did on Sunday and have 0:11:35.280 --> 0:11:38.560 a final drive, then you win. If you don't make 0:11:38.600 --> 0:11:41.280 the plays against like we did against Cleveland, and you lose. 0:11:42.120 --> 0:11:43.839 That's that's how it works. The NFL tends to be 0:11:43.880 --> 0:11:46.280 a battle of attrition, right and it usually is one 0:11:46.280 --> 0:11:50.240 of those things where every team has issues with injuries, 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:52.800 every team has as hurdles that they have to overcome. 0:11:53.080 --> 0:11:55.320 If you think about it, so far this season we 0:11:56.000 --> 0:11:59.080 have had adversity and that you lost Delvin for multiple 0:11:59.120 --> 0:12:01.600 games here or at least hasn't been right for multiple games. 0:12:02.160 --> 0:12:04.440 Michael Pierce has now been injured. But then you're starting 0:12:04.440 --> 0:12:07.559 to see also kind of the glimmers of hope with 0:12:07.640 --> 0:12:10.520 Anthony Barr coming back this week, and then you know 0:12:10.960 --> 0:12:13.959 there's people that are pointing the finger that Deissau was 0:12:14.000 --> 0:12:16.440 getting some more run this week as well. Yeah, playing 0:12:16.559 --> 0:12:19.880 with my bullets, Like there are the the detriments of 0:12:20.240 --> 0:12:22.240 losing some of these players, but there's also you know, 0:12:22.280 --> 0:12:25.160 you're you're adding a lot of potential talent coming in 0:12:25.240 --> 0:12:28.000 here for what could be. So again, there are more 0:12:28.040 --> 0:12:31.880 places to sell hope here that your team is still 0:12:31.880 --> 0:12:33.240 trying to figure it out. And there are a lot 0:12:33.280 --> 0:12:35.200 of teams in the leagues that are that are that way. 0:12:35.200 --> 0:12:37.280 And how many times we've seen at a hot team 0:12:37.320 --> 0:12:39.280 that started at the beginning is the one that falls off. 0:12:39.360 --> 0:12:41.079 The team that's been trying to figure it out finally 0:12:41.080 --> 0:12:42.880 puts it together at the end of the year. Just 0:12:43.040 --> 0:12:45.000 what I was going to say, because you just never 0:12:45.200 --> 0:12:47.280 you need is to make a run towards the end 0:12:47.280 --> 0:12:49.080 of the season. What you did in the beginning matters 0:12:49.080 --> 0:12:51.360 as far as getting into the postseason, But as long 0:12:51.400 --> 0:12:54.360 as you're a team who's finally clicking towards the end, 0:12:54.440 --> 0:12:56.520 you might be hotter than a five and oh Arizona 0:12:56.559 --> 0:12:58.760 Cardinals team. And if you look right now at even 0:12:58.760 --> 0:13:01.080 a team like Carolina, they it off three. No, they 0:13:01.080 --> 0:13:03.240 were they looked right. I thought they would win the division. 0:13:03.240 --> 0:13:05.040 I thought they were world beaters at this point. Tom 0:13:05.080 --> 0:13:07.480 Brady now is kind of like, yeah, okay, I got 0:13:07.520 --> 0:13:10.320 something to sound like that. It's exactly right. But the 0:13:10.320 --> 0:13:13.520 thing for me with Carolina is that Shack Thompson going 0:13:13.520 --> 0:13:16.040 out and a couple of their other playmakers that they've 0:13:16.040 --> 0:13:19.800 had that have been on injuries as of now. That's 0:13:19.800 --> 0:13:21.920 why I think they've got a sense of desperation coming 0:13:21.960 --> 0:13:23.920 up here this week too, is that they've lost some 0:13:23.960 --> 0:13:26.560 of the the big playmakers on that defense that's been very, 0:13:26.640 --> 0:13:30.720 very good. And I think they're they're kind of potentially 0:13:30.760 --> 0:13:32.840 regressing a little bit where we're kind of ascending a 0:13:32.840 --> 0:13:36.120 little bit. But but even after this last weekend, everyone's 0:13:36.120 --> 0:13:37.960 going to say, you got to prove it yet. Yeah, 0:13:38.000 --> 0:13:42.600 speaking of great defensive playmakers, that is who our player 0:13:42.640 --> 0:13:46.160 guest this week is. It was quite a performance on Sunday, 0:13:46.160 --> 0:13:50.359 earning his first sack ever at US Bank Stadium defensive 0:13:50.400 --> 0:13:53.440 lineman DJ Wanam. So let's bring him in now on 0:13:53.480 --> 0:13:57.440 the Minnesota Vikings podcast and for the first time on 0:13:57.480 --> 0:14:02.720 the Minnesota Vikings podcast, We've got Kings defensive lineman DJ Wannam. 0:14:03.200 --> 0:14:06.520 You got your first sack in US Bank Stadium this weekend. 0:14:06.559 --> 0:14:08.800 What was what was the crowd reaction like for you? 0:14:09.120 --> 0:14:12.240 It was amazing, man, just haven't being able to get 0:14:12.280 --> 0:14:14.960 my first second US back stadium this year. Just hearing 0:14:15.000 --> 0:14:17.880 the crowd and being on the big play manages made 0:14:17.880 --> 0:14:19.840 it even better. You got a big bear hug from 0:14:19.840 --> 0:14:22.400 your teammate to deal Hunter. What was that like? I mean, 0:14:22.440 --> 0:14:24.920 he probably was pretty stoked for you. Yeah, he was. Man, 0:14:25.040 --> 0:14:26.840 you know what I'm saying, I've been always you know 0:14:26.880 --> 0:14:28.640 what I'm saying, just following them, trying to walk into 0:14:28.640 --> 0:14:31.000 the footsteps and just him you know, being excited for me. 0:14:31.040 --> 0:14:32.720 You know what I'm saying. Just making that big play 0:14:32.800 --> 0:14:34.280 was a big thing for both of us. What is 0:14:34.280 --> 0:14:37.120 it like to you know, I know you probably don't 0:14:37.120 --> 0:14:39.680 look at it like you're playing in his shadow or anything, 0:14:39.880 --> 0:14:42.960 right right, No, of course not, But there are probably 0:14:43.000 --> 0:14:45.200 people out there that are, like, you know, it's got 0:14:45.200 --> 0:14:47.760 to be hard sometimes, Like it's great to learn on 0:14:47.760 --> 0:14:49.760 one hand, but on the other hand, hard to handle 0:14:49.840 --> 0:14:52.560 that pressure. Yeah. I don't really look at it this pressure. 0:14:52.600 --> 0:14:56.000 I mean, it's most like social media stuff, which I 0:14:56.000 --> 0:14:58.080 don't get on as much anyway. So I mean, I 0:14:58.160 --> 0:14:59.600 just I just taken a roll with you know what 0:14:59.600 --> 0:15:01.720 I'm saying, getting better each week, and I'm just gonna 0:15:01.760 --> 0:15:05.160 continue doing that. You know. For somebody who scrolls Instagram 0:15:05.160 --> 0:15:09.440 and online shops while watching TV, that's me, I find it. 0:15:09.480 --> 0:15:12.640 I think it's hard to turn that off and not 0:15:12.760 --> 0:15:15.160 do that because of this day and age of social media. 0:15:15.200 --> 0:15:16.960 Where and how what do you do in order to 0:15:17.040 --> 0:15:20.400 like not tempt yourself from looking at that stuff. I 0:15:20.440 --> 0:15:22.400 honestly don't know. It's just kind of a natural thing 0:15:22.400 --> 0:15:24.520 that I do. I don't. I just don't just don't 0:15:24.560 --> 0:15:25.640 get on it. Just don't go to it, you know 0:15:25.680 --> 0:15:27.800 what I'm saying. So don't know, it's pretty easy for me. Yeah. 0:15:28.000 --> 0:15:29.560 Do you do you have the apps on your phone though, 0:15:29.640 --> 0:15:30.920 or do you like get rid of them during the 0:15:30.960 --> 0:15:33.240 season and bring him back on. I get rid of 0:15:33.280 --> 0:15:36.360 Twitter because that's where most of the stuff is. But Instagram, 0:15:36.360 --> 0:15:37.720 you know, so I keep I look on there every 0:15:37.760 --> 0:15:40.240 now and then. But yeah, one of my one of 0:15:40.240 --> 0:15:42.320 my favorite people to run into in the hall here 0:15:42.360 --> 0:15:43.960 since I've been here. I've only been here since June, 0:15:44.000 --> 0:15:46.480 so I'm fairly new, just like you. My favorite people 0:15:46.520 --> 0:15:49.440 to run into the hallway with is Andre Patterson. Oh yeah, 0:15:49.480 --> 0:15:53.000 he's always in a good mood, yea. He is so 0:15:53.320 --> 0:15:55.280 nice and just chipper all the time. I know, you 0:15:55.320 --> 0:15:57.040 get to see both sides of him. Maybe when he's 0:15:57.040 --> 0:15:58.840 a little bit more fired for sure. But what is 0:15:58.880 --> 0:16:01.520 it like playing for somebody like coach pat Oh? Man, 0:16:01.560 --> 0:16:04.480 It's it's amazing, man, just the history that he has 0:16:04.520 --> 0:16:07.320 behind himself, him having no John Randall and all those 0:16:07.320 --> 0:16:09.520 great you know, saying defense Alama that he's developed or 0:16:09.600 --> 0:16:11.880 throughout this game, and just being able to know what 0:16:11.880 --> 0:16:14.120 I'm saying, just come up in this system, especially being 0:16:14.120 --> 0:16:16.480 a rookie and then now my second year playing under 0:16:16.560 --> 0:16:18.840 him and learning know what I'm saying different things under him. 0:16:18.920 --> 0:16:20.280 Is it's a great thing, you know what I'm saying, 0:16:20.280 --> 0:16:22.320 because I can see the future from myself and just 0:16:22.360 --> 0:16:25.640 getting better each day. How would you rate your level 0:16:25.880 --> 0:16:32.080 of improvement from the first day you stepped the practice 0:16:33.360 --> 0:16:36.000 nine and day difference, man, you feel it. Yes, it's 0:16:36.000 --> 0:16:37.400 a night in day difference. You know. I'm but I'm 0:16:37.400 --> 0:16:40.440 still getting better each day. But compared to last year, 0:16:40.480 --> 0:16:43.720 I was like two forty five soaking with playing a 0:16:43.760 --> 0:16:46.320 fourth technique. It was it was. It was a long season. 0:16:46.360 --> 0:16:47.640 But you know what I'm saying, I definitely can see 0:16:47.640 --> 0:16:50.720 the improvement drastically. What are you at right now? Right now, 0:16:50.720 --> 0:16:54.080 I'm at two sixty Oh, okay, carrying the extra beats 0:16:54.080 --> 0:16:56.520 hopefully in those muscles, right. I mean you got to 0:16:56.560 --> 0:16:58.720 work hard for that. I don't think people realize how 0:16:58.800 --> 0:17:01.280 much you have to like, how much food you have 0:17:01.320 --> 0:17:04.120 to eat. Yeah, especially with the amount of work, the games, 0:17:04.200 --> 0:17:06.720 the practices. Nor I'm saying, if I missed one meal, 0:17:06.760 --> 0:17:08.800 that's like four pounds that I've lost just off of 0:17:08.840 --> 0:17:11.119 missing the meal. Yeah, so you gotta stay on it 0:17:11.240 --> 0:17:13.720 each day. I mean sometimes it feeling you have to 0:17:13.760 --> 0:17:16.960 kind of force features. That's what exactly what it is. Well, 0:17:16.960 --> 0:17:19.560 good thing the Vikings Cafeteria has good food. Can't complain 0:17:19.600 --> 0:17:22.760 about that part. You can't complain. Can't complain. Um. You 0:17:22.760 --> 0:17:25.159 know another thing that's different for you this season is 0:17:25.200 --> 0:17:28.439 that there are a lot of veteran faces, but newer 0:17:28.440 --> 0:17:31.600 faces for you. I know, last season there was it 0:17:31.640 --> 0:17:33.800 felt like a lot of new guys, first year, second 0:17:33.880 --> 0:17:36.359 year players, and now there's a little bit of age 0:17:36.359 --> 0:17:39.240 in the room, a little wisdom. I guess you can say, 0:17:39.320 --> 0:17:42.240 how has that dynamic changed from the past two seeds? 0:17:42.280 --> 0:17:44.320 Like from last season of this season, it changed a 0:17:44.320 --> 0:17:46.040 lot because you know, we gotta got a lot of 0:17:46.040 --> 0:17:47.840 guys that have seen different things, you know what I'm saying, 0:17:47.840 --> 0:17:50.280 that have experienced and being able to go out during 0:17:50.560 --> 0:17:52.720 you know what I'm saying, just as I'm playing, they're 0:17:52.720 --> 0:17:54.200 telling me. You know what I'm saying. What they're saying 0:17:54.800 --> 0:17:56.720 based off of you saying that past experience. So just 0:17:56.720 --> 0:18:00.320 having them in the room and meetings is a big 0:18:00.400 --> 0:18:02.840 change for us and something great for me. Yeah. I mean, 0:18:03.200 --> 0:18:05.720 you think the youngest guy on the line right now, right, 0:18:06.080 --> 0:18:08.760 I mean, that's got to be like you're just soaking 0:18:08.840 --> 0:18:11.639 up all the knowledge. Oh yeah, do you ask a 0:18:11.680 --> 0:18:16.800 lot of questions I learned based off with just like listening, observation, observation. 0:18:16.800 --> 0:18:19.000 They're listening, so I mean I asked the question here 0:18:19.000 --> 0:18:21.160 and there, but I'm mostly just listening to them while 0:18:21.160 --> 0:18:23.280 they're saying they're talking them, shotting it down, writing it 0:18:23.320 --> 0:18:25.119