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Speaker 1: Don't say on dirt and rocks and pimples. You know,

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Speaker 1: that's where the toughness in me comes from. And and

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Speaker 1: I think my peers around me like the way that

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Speaker 1: I thought about myself. Trey is a guy that you know,

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Speaker 1: really believed in me. You know, anything he says, you know,

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Speaker 1: I'm going to go out there and try to do

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Speaker 1: it the best way I can. Hey, they're Viking fans.

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Speaker 1: Welcome to episode fifty six of the Minnesota Vikings Podcast.

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Speaker 1: This episode, and this entire podcast is brought to you

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Speaker 1: by Verizon, the network more people rely on, gives you more.

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Speaker 1: I am joined by Chris course So, Jay Nelson from

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Speaker 1: Vikings dot Com and boys. Verizon Vikings training camp has

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Speaker 1: shifted into full gear. Monday, pads went on and practice

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Speaker 1: got real. We're gonna take a look at a few

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Speaker 1: of the things that are transpiring and a few of

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Speaker 1: the names that are really being talked about. Kirk Cousins

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Speaker 1: had a press conference. We're gonna get into that a

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Speaker 1: little bit. We have some quarterback news from around the league,

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Speaker 1: and then our young Chris Corso will interview Hercules Mataafa,

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Speaker 1: Vikings defensive lineman and great name have her at the

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Speaker 1: end of the show. So buckle up, ladies and gentlemen,

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Speaker 1: and let's get into it. Cam Danceler, guys, that's all

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Speaker 1: I'm hearing. I saw a pa Charge Nordo, everybody, Vikings, Decca,

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Speaker 1: Everybody is losing their damn mind about Cam Danceler. And

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Speaker 1: we kind of knew that there was that that narrative

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Speaker 1: might exist because I think a lot of us felt

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Speaker 1: like we got to steal with him where we drafted him.

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Speaker 1: I think he personally felt like he underperformed and got

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Speaker 1: underranked via his you know, his forty time and some

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Speaker 1: other things. I think he's got a little bit of

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Speaker 1: a chip on his shoulder, and so we all knew

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Speaker 1: there was a possibility that he would come in and pop.

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Speaker 1: But people are really going nuts about this. Chris Carso,

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Speaker 1: as somebody who pays an incredible amount of close attention

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Speaker 1: to every single thing that's happening right now at our facility,

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Speaker 1: why is this hype booming so hard? And should I

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Speaker 1: be buying into it? Well, Sie, he's had a few

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Speaker 1: interceptions so far Verisen Vikings training camp, so those definitely

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Speaker 1: stood out. But there was a play against Adam Thelan

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Speaker 1: where he chased him all the way down the field

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Speaker 1: and made a diving deflection which stood out big time.

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Speaker 1: Coach Zimmer was asked about that today and noted that

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Speaker 1: play rather than the interceptions. Coach Zimmer also talked about

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Speaker 1: how Adam theland number nineteen stopped him at practice and said, Hey,

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Speaker 1: that number twenty seven is going to be a really

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Speaker 1: good player. Yeah, Chris, I think anytime you're a young

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Speaker 1: cornerback who's immediately getting praise from the best cornerbacks coach

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Speaker 1: of the last few decades is that is probably a

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Speaker 1: good reason for people to get enthusiastic and get hyped up. Jay.

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Speaker 1: When a player's name booms like this, there's always a

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Speaker 1: little bit of potential for them to buy into their

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Speaker 1: own hype. It doesn't see Dancer doesn't seem like that

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Speaker 1: sort of guy. He seems like the sort of guy

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Speaker 1: who will have a continuous chip on his shoulder no

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Speaker 1: matter what anybody's saying about it. I think the thing

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Speaker 1: for him is the chip for sure is not going

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Speaker 1: away just because of some training camp buzz that he's receiving,

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Speaker 1: whether it's on social media or whatever. Yeah, he's got

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Speaker 1: to be liking the way that things are starting so

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Speaker 1: far during camp. But the biggest thing for me that

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Speaker 1: I keep thinking about is you hear Zimmer and other

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Speaker 1: coaches on the staff for the last how many years

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Speaker 1: when they get to the big moments and everyone's talking

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Speaker 1: them up and talking about how great they are, saying,

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Speaker 1: don't take the cheese. And so for myself, I'm just

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Speaker 1: sitting there saying, I think he's got the right people

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Speaker 1: around him, the right coaches, the right players around him

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Speaker 1: to help make sure that he keeps a level head.

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Speaker 1: But if he can keep progressing like he is at

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Speaker 1: this point as a rookie and making more of these

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Speaker 1: highlight type plays, there's no doubt he's going to be

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Speaker 1: playing on Sundays this season. Also, don't take the cheese.

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Speaker 1: As the poster in every Wisconsin doctor's office in that state,

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Speaker 1: Chris Carso, let's bounce from danceller to who you know.

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Speaker 1: I think people were psyched when we drafted him, but

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Speaker 1: he's a little bit of a surprise that he's popping

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Speaker 1: so early to a guy everybody thought would be popping early.

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Speaker 1: Justin Jefferson is continuing to impress as things get going here.

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Speaker 1: He was on the COVID list right away and came

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Speaker 1: back like he hardly missed a beat. Chris, Yeah, the

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Speaker 1: Vikings put him in a hotel room and he decided

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Speaker 1: not to leave at all for at least a week,

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Speaker 1: and reporters asked him, what did you do to stay busy,

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Speaker 1: and he said, I have a few friends at home

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Speaker 1: that I made them video games online with me because

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Speaker 1: I needed some sort of interaction. He noted his PlayStation

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Speaker 1: four as being what got him through that time. So,

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Speaker 1: but the coaches and players this week, they were all like, man,

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Speaker 1: this guy is the one of the funniest players in

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Speaker 1: the locker room. BC Johnson said, he's one of the

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Speaker 1: he's just fit in Nash like, he's just fit in

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Speaker 1: with the veterans. Not many rookie first round picks can

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Speaker 1: do that. And then you have Gary Kubiak saying, man,

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Speaker 1: this is the first round talent that we drafted. He's

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Speaker 1: picking up the plays right away. Gary Kubiak has a

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Speaker 1: connection with the LSU quarterbacks coach last year, so there's

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Speaker 1: a little bit of a similarity in the offense. I

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Speaker 1: think it's all helping Justin Jefferson belong with the Vikings

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Speaker 1: at training camp. Yeah, I think that's any time, especially

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Speaker 1: with the rules in place due to COVID and the pandemic.

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Speaker 1: The fact that you know a lot of the system

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Speaker 1: is very similar, just with different terminology. That's really really

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Speaker 1: good news for Vikings fans and Jay. It seems from

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Speaker 1: everything I've heard people say and the things we hear

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Speaker 1: coming out of the building, I think people are maybe

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Speaker 1: not surprised, but genuinely impressed with how versatile he seems

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Speaker 1: thus far. Yeah, that was one of the things that

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Speaker 1: even Kirk Cousins mentioned and his press conference was talking

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Speaker 1: about Justin being that first round talent and part of

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Speaker 1: the reason why he is is because he can play

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Speaker 1: multiple positions. So they're saying because he can play in

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Speaker 1: the slaughter, he can play outside. It's something as a

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Speaker 1: rookie that is a nice luxury to have. And like

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Speaker 1: you had said as well, corso, the fact that it's

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Speaker 1: a similar system to LSU that is helping expedite his

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Speaker 1: ability as a rookie to get up to speed, especially

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Speaker 1: when he didn't have the offseason like most normal seasons

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Speaker 1: would be for rookies. So somebody like Justin Jefferson with

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Speaker 1: his god given ability is catch radius and the fact

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Speaker 1: that he is as versatile as he is. I think

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Speaker 1: as the season goes along and they give him more

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Speaker 1: and more of the playbook, you'll see Justin Jefferson continue

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Speaker 1: to grow as a top talent for the Vikings offense.

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Speaker 1: You know, it's interesting. He almost has that vibe that

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Speaker 1: if we found out they were going to hand the

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Speaker 1: ball off to him a few times a game, you're like, oh,

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Speaker 1: it's Percy Harvin. Obviously, obviously he's a very different player,

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Speaker 1: but outside of handoffs, everybody seems impressed with the multitude

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Speaker 1: of things he can do. This wide receiver situation is

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Speaker 1: going to be interesting. I was having a conversation with

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Speaker 1: somebody the other day and all they wanted to talk

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Speaker 1: about was that I may have mentioned this on the

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Speaker 1: podcast before, so I apologize if I am repeating myself,

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Speaker 1: But a lot of people are so interested in who's

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Speaker 1: going to be the number three? How does this fall together?

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Speaker 1: Who's the number three? And even assuming Jefferson is the two,

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Speaker 1: and if Jefferson's not in, sharp is who it is it?

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Speaker 1: Because you got Sharp Jefferson BB and old ABC Johnson

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Speaker 1: fighting for those kind of two spots right there. To me,

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Speaker 1: the more interesting topic isn't who's going to be the

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Speaker 1: number three? It should be. You lost Stefan Diggs, you

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Speaker 1: lost a dynamic duo. But somehow, I can't remember the

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Speaker 1: last time I felt like we had three viable candidates

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Speaker 1: for a third wide receiver spot. I mean, is this

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Speaker 1: depth at this position, at this point in camp, Is this,

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Speaker 1: in your guys's opinion, greater than anything you've seen in

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Speaker 1: recent years. I mean, I know we can go all

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Speaker 1: the way back to three deep with Moss, Carter and

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Speaker 1: Jake Reid. Let's not get silly here, But since then,

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Speaker 1: I can't remember the last time I felt good about

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Speaker 1: four or five guys on the roster. Chris, Yeah, I

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Speaker 1: had a conversation with old BC Johnson recently and I

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Speaker 1: asked him what the ceiling is for this Vikings group,

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Speaker 1: and he said, you know what, we're young, but we

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Speaker 1: don't have a ceiling, like there is no ceiling because

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Speaker 1: we're gonna shock people this year. We have a lot

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Speaker 1: of young players. One we're gonna touch on here pretty

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Speaker 1: shortly in the draft. kJ Osborne out of the University

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Speaker 1: of Miami was we haven't even gotten him. We're talking

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Speaker 1: to talking about these other guys and there's all this

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Speaker 1: hype about Osbourne keep going. But that's what I'm saying.

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Speaker 1: That's that's somebody that everybody is talking about and he's

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Speaker 1: not even in the one through five conversation necessarily. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: that's what I'm saying. Like, we have Taj Sharp who

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Speaker 1: is editing free agency. OBC Johnson coming back for year

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Speaker 1: two after having three touchdown catches last year. He's he's

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Speaker 1: kind of the veteran of the crew. He was talking

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Speaker 1: about kJ Osbourne and some of these younger guys asking

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Speaker 1: him for some advice and OLBC Johnson's twenty three years old.

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Speaker 1: So it's just amazing the depth and the young talent

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Speaker 1: that we have in this room. It's very unknown and

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Speaker 1: very unexpected. But they think the ceiling's high. Yeah, and

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Speaker 1: I think, you know, just off the top of my head,

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Speaker 1: you know. And I'm not gonna sit here and say

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Speaker 1: that this is gonna be some big booming like I

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Speaker 1: know for sure that these receivers are gonna crush. I'm

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Speaker 1: just excited about the depth. I think you probably and

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Speaker 1: somebody will will twitter a Twitter at me and tell

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Speaker 1: me how wrong I am. But you know, I we've

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Speaker 1: always strugg you know, Laquon Treadwell never quite lived up

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Speaker 1: to what we hoped he would and didn't fill that

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Speaker 1: third spot and really solidify the Feeling and Diggs core.

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Speaker 1: And so you have to go back and back and back,

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Speaker 1: and maybe you know, just off the top of my head,

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Speaker 1: you're talking Sydney Rice, Percy Harvin, and Bernard Burying. That

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Speaker 1: was a hell of a receiving corps right there. But

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Speaker 1: my hope is despite losing Stefan Diggs, we might be

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Speaker 1: jay in a position to have one of the deeper

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Speaker 1: receiving cores we've had in a long time. That was

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Speaker 1: exactly what I was going to bring up, was that

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Speaker 1: two thousand nineteen because you know, we grabbed Percy Harvin,

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Speaker 1: who was a top tier talent, but the Sydney Rice,

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Speaker 1: Bernard Burying and then the speed of Percy Harvin during

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Speaker 1: that two thousand ninth season, when Brett Favre was able

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Speaker 1: to play with those weapons, that offense just went nuts.

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Speaker 1: And so we all we know what kind of offense

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Speaker 1: we had in that two thousand and ninth season, And

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Speaker 1: when you go back and look at some of the

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Speaker 1: numbers that we did a week or two ago, we're

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Speaker 1: talking about the Vikings offense scoring more points and being

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Speaker 1: more prolific and doing more within the top five in

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Speaker 1: the league. That was that crop of wide receivers. So

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Speaker 1: if we can replicate that this year with a bunch

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Speaker 1: of young new talent coming in and we get everybody

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Speaker 1: on the same page with Kirk, that potentially could be

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Speaker 1: lethal for this offense. And let me put my homerism

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Speaker 1: away just for a second. There's no part of me

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Speaker 1: that expects this core out the gate to live up

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Speaker 1: to Harvin Berrian and Sydney Rice. That was a magical year.

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Speaker 1: I'm just saying, I think I think you can be

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Speaker 1: rather than focusing on who the number three is going

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Speaker 1: to be, I think you can be excited that it

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Speaker 1: feels like we have one through five in a season

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Speaker 1: where depth is going to be monumentally important. And then

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Speaker 1: let's get to the guy you mentioned, Chris kJ Osborne.

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Speaker 1: He's becoming a hot topic and making a case for

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Speaker 1: the Vikings keeping six wide receivers because he's very shifty

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Speaker 1: and really could make a difference on the kick and

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Speaker 1: return teams. Is it bad to say that he kind

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Speaker 1: of reminds me a little bit of Cordarrel Patterson like,

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Speaker 1: I see the big body type, I see the I mean,

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Speaker 1: he's very in there on the punt and kick returns.

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Speaker 1: He's been taking a ton of those Vikings fans can

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Speaker 1: go check that out. On the Training Camp live broadcast

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Speaker 1: the other day, Pa and those guys were talking about

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Speaker 1: how he's the number one right now to be a

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Speaker 1: punt and kick returner for the Vikings in the upcoming season.

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Speaker 1: So I see a little Cordaryl Patterson. I'm going with

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Speaker 1: the comparison. I'm throwing it out there. I don't care.

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Speaker 1: We're gonna have to call this episode ridiculous expectations. I'm

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Speaker 1: sitting here like a bobo gone Yeah, one of the

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Speaker 1: better receiver cords of all time, and Chris is calling

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Speaker 1: kJ Osborne one of the best kick and punt returners

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Speaker 1: of the last twenty years in the NFL. I love it, Chris.

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Speaker 1: For the first time, I feel like you. I know

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Speaker 1: I'm gonna take that back. I don't feel like you

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Speaker 1: because the audience can't see this right now, but Chris

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Speaker 1: Corso is wearing a Peloton T shirt, like a like

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Speaker 1: a T shirt that just I didn't even know that

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Speaker 1: you could get a Peloton shirt. Christie what did you

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Speaker 1: buy that at the caviar store? Where the hell do

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Speaker 1: you get a Peloton brand T shirt? You have to

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Speaker 1: get to one hundred grides and throwing it out there

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Speaker 1: and you get the free shirts. Oh so you woren't

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Speaker 1: so you could boast This is not only not only

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Speaker 1: did you want the audience to know that you could

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Speaker 1: afford a Peloton, but that you're actually one of the

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Speaker 1: five people who rides it after they buy it. You

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Speaker 1: gotta get through quarantine. That was the only way I

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Speaker 1: could do it, Man, other than talking to you, I

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Speaker 1: don't know how I also would get through it. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: and I honestly, I don't think talking to each other

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Speaker 1: has helped either of us at all get through corn,

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Speaker 1: not remotely. Speaking of the things that Chris loves, Kirk

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Speaker 1: Cousins had his press conference on Wednesday, and yeah, he

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Speaker 1: talked to the media about a whole host of topics. Chris,

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Speaker 1: your boy, we already touched on this. He went into

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Speaker 1: Justin Jefferson a little bit and him playing multiple spots.

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Speaker 1: You know, it was interesting to hear his perspective Jay

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Speaker 1: on the cornerback play because he's seen it from the

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Speaker 1: other side. He's going at them, So it was interesting

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Speaker 1: to hear him talk about that. That's the discussion similar

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Speaker 1: to the danceller side. They said, just as a whole,

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Speaker 1: you know, how are you feeling? And he's seeing those

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Speaker 1: guys make plays, and that includes not only the cornerbacks,

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Speaker 1: but your safeties and Harrison Smith, who's been having a

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Speaker 1: pretty dang good short run here in camp. But like

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Speaker 1: as as a whole, they kind of asked them, they're

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Speaker 1: a very young group and how do you think that

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Speaker 1: they're doing at this point? And he just said, you know,

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Speaker 1: they're handling it really well, and there's a lot being

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Speaker 1: thrown at them in a very finite and and I

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Speaker 1: guess short amount of time. And they're going to be

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Speaker 1: coached well because you've got one of the best secondary

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Speaker 1: coaches period for them. It bodes well if if Zimmer

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Speaker 1: and the coaching staff are able to get everybody up

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Speaker 1: to speed as quickly as possible, I think this young

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Speaker 1: cornerback crew could solidify as a as a group behind

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Speaker 1: all of the senior leadership that's also in the secondary

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Speaker 1: at the safety position. And course, so he touched on

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Speaker 1: he got into Alexander Madison a little bit, and you

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Speaker 1: know that was interesting to hear because I think whenever

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Speaker 1: we hear Kirk talk about the running game, it's not

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Speaker 1: that he doesn't dive deep on Alexander Madison, but everybody

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Speaker 1: wants to talk about Dalvin Cook. Yeah, the big thing

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Speaker 1: was he was like, the only weakness that Alexander Madison

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Speaker 1: has is that Dalvin Cook is on this roster. He

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Speaker 1: touched on the fact that Madison has been making crazy

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Speaker 1: catches out of the backfield so far in training camp.

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Speaker 1: He talked about his blocking ability as the pads have

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Speaker 1: gone on the past couple of days, and he really

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Speaker 1: still like he doesn't lose a beat. He doesn't miss

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Speaker 1: a beat when number thirty three comes out of the

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Speaker 1: game and Madison comes in. So that was the biggest

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Speaker 1: thing for Kirk. And can I tell you what all

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Speaker 1: of this, everything we've talked about so far leads me

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Speaker 1: to the place this is my number one takeaway. It's

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Speaker 1: something I thought in the off season, but now it's

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Speaker 1: just being cemented. I you know, we've talked about Kirk

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Speaker 1: a lot on this show. I'm obviously a big Kirk fan,

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Speaker 1: But I think the interesting thing here is it feels

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Speaker 1: so apparent to me that everything is in place for him.

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Speaker 1: When every topic we talk about, we can all it's

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Speaker 1: almost six degrees of something that fits Kirk Cousins. When

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Speaker 1: you talk about the wide receiver corps and its depth

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Speaker 1: and the style of players they are, you easily go

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Speaker 1: and they're the exact sort of players Kirk Cousins likes.

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Speaker 1: When you talk about the running game, you know you

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Speaker 1: have one of the best running games, but you just

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Speaker 1: hit it. You also have another back, a third downback

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Speaker 1: who can both block and catch out of the backfield.

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Speaker 1: I mean, it's just absolutely perfect. Assuming that our offensive

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Speaker 1: line takes the step that we hope they take this

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Speaker 1: year and progress enough to protect him in the way

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Speaker 1: he needs to be protected. I just think, and I'm

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Speaker 1: excited for this. I've said this on this podcast before.

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Speaker 1: I will say it again and again and again. You

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Speaker 1: should be excited that he is in a place to

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Speaker 1: answer the question that everybody has about him. Now. Now,

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Speaker 1: I personally think that Saint's moment last year, throwing that

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Speaker 1: ball in the most high pressure, high pressure moment of

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Speaker 1: his entire career, I think that's going to be a snowball.

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Speaker 1: I think you're going to see a lot of that

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Speaker 1: aura come off him. And just see him playing football

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Speaker 1: and I think every step this year is going to

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Speaker 1: be a step forward. But we are exactly where we

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Speaker 1: need to be. You Kirk gets to do. He gets

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Speaker 1: to walk out there and do it, and for those

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Speaker 1: of us who believe in him, he gets to show

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Speaker 1: there's no there's really no excuses right now, there's no

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Speaker 1: excuses and there's no you know, there's no need to

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Speaker 1: be negative. We believe in the guy. We gave him

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Speaker 1: the money, and now he gets to go out there

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Speaker 1: and prove it. And that just keeps being the running

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Speaker 1: theme in my brain throughout the offseason, and now it's

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Speaker 1: being cemented in camp and I'm I'm excited about that.

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Speaker 1: I think some people look at that with negative expectations

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Speaker 1: and think, you know, here's how I'm going to be

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Speaker 1: right about Kirk Cousins and what he's not good at.

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Speaker 1: If that's the way you're going to live your life,

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Speaker 1: fine to me. Here, I am ready to go the

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Speaker 1: opposite side of it. This has finally built the way

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Speaker 1: he wants. Everybody's behind him. Let's go go do the

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Speaker 1: thing we all think you can do, Kirk, And I'm

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Speaker 1: really really enthusiastic about that. Jay One of the things

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Speaker 1: about Kirk is that he's, you know, turning thirty two.

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Speaker 1: He's now one of the elder statesmen on this team

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Speaker 1: with a bunch of the older veterans who are now gone.

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Speaker 1: One of the things that was brought up to him

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Speaker 1: was that fran Tarkington didn't make his first Super Bowl

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Speaker 1: until after the age of thirty two, and so he

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Speaker 1: was kind of joking saying, well, at least you're telling

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Speaker 1: me that he did it after the age of thirty

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Speaker 1: two instead of before. But at this point, for him,

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Speaker 1: like you said, he's got all the pieces around him,

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Speaker 1: and if the rest of the team solidifies in gels

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Speaker 1: that way, that's when this team with a veteran leader

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Speaker 1: at quarterback can make a deep run deep into the playoffs.

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Speaker 1: Well it just it just keeps peaking in my brain.

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Speaker 1: I was on a friend's friends podcast the other night

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Speaker 1: and they're diehard Eagle and Giant fans, and they're huge

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Speaker 1: Zimmer fans. So we were talking Zimmer, we were talking

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Speaker 1: to changes on defense, and then we got to Kirk,

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Speaker 1: and just like all over this country, one of them

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Speaker 1: was a Kirk guy, and one of them wasn't a

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Speaker 1: Kirk guy. And it just it just rattled and solidified

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Speaker 1: into my brain. As they were going back and forth,

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Speaker 1: I was like, guys, you don't need to go back

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Speaker 1: and forth. We're gonna get the answer. You know. He

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Speaker 1: everything is right there. We are going to see it

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Speaker 1: this season. Chris. Yeah, for every Kirk guy, I think

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Speaker 1: you have two non Kirk guys. I think that's more

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Speaker 1: of what it's like in this world. But I just

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Speaker 1: want to touch on you talked about all the weapons

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Speaker 1: he had. Did you see the picture of the Vikings

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Speaker 1: running backs si at training camp the other day? No?

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Speaker 1: I didn't. They look like they've been working out with

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Speaker 1: Danielle Hunter, Like, oh, oh, yes, they like they're on

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Speaker 1: the Monstars squad in Space jam Mike Boone might be

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Speaker 1: like as as big as either of those guys in

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Speaker 1: Dalvin Cook and Alexander Madison. So talk about weapons. I

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Speaker 1: think that that room is going to be a big

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Speaker 1: deal for him this year. All right, Well, let's transition

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Speaker 1: from our quarterback out into the rest of the NFL

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Speaker 1: and all the quarterbacks out there. Well, a couple quick questions.

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Speaker 1: Alex Smith has somehow returned to practice for the first

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Speaker 1: time in twenty one months. Unbelievable. He suffered a compound

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Speaker 1: and spiral fracture of his tibia and fibia that became infected.

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Speaker 1: You know, he ended up doing his rehab at the

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Speaker 1: Center for the Intrepid down in San Antonio, Texas Jay

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Speaker 1: where they rehab a lot of wounded military veterans dealing

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Speaker 1: with injuries like amputated limbs and war wounds. And his

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Speaker 1: doctor actually he said his broken leg looked more like

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Speaker 1: a war injury than a sports injury. That's incredible. It's

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Speaker 1: incredible that he's stepping back on the field. To see

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Speaker 1: Alex Smith, let alone walking normally, but now on a

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Speaker 1: football field, is incredible, like you said, And the main

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Speaker 1: reason why is because he was basically on death's door.

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Speaker 1: He was at the point where it not only he

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Speaker 1: had necrotic infection and his leg. They're talking about having

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Speaker 1: to amputate his leg. They're talking about him losing his

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Speaker 1: life because of the septic shock that he was in.

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Speaker 1: And for him to go through a twenty one month

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Speaker 1: process not only a fighting for his life, but now

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Speaker 1: coming back and having skin grafts and muscle transfers and

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Speaker 1: everything else to try and repair the damage, it truly

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Speaker 1: is incredible that it took over six hundred days and

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Speaker 1: double digit surgeries for him to heal those injuries. It's

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Speaker 1: unbelievable the amount of fortitude that he had. And one

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Speaker 1: of the things that they talked about was the doctor

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Speaker 1: for the Washington football team worked with that Center for

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Speaker 1: the Intrepid and was able to get him in there,

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Speaker 1: and he said once he was able to talk to

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Speaker 1: the different wounded warriors, that actually helped give him some

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Speaker 1: motivation for kind of going, like they're dealing with this,

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Speaker 1: I can try and handle my business on my end

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Speaker 1: and see where I can get to And it just

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Speaker 1: kind of lit a fire for him to fight as

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Speaker 1: hard as he could to make a change for himself.

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Speaker 1: So it truly is incredible to see him get on

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Speaker 1: the field at this point six hundred forty days, seventeen surgeries,

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Speaker 1: and Jay, I think you're exactly right with your last

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Speaker 1: point there. I've been fortunate enough to do a couple

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Speaker 1: of things with the wounded warriors here in Minnesota, and

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Speaker 1: that group of men and women is so just I

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Speaker 1: mean inspiring basically when you when you see, when you

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Speaker 1: see the things that they have had to deal with

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Speaker 1: to continue to try to get back to the to

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Speaker 1: their lives and their families and their things. Being around

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00:22:55,760 --> 00:23:00,800
Speaker 1: people like that has got to be nothing more than monumental,

431
00:23:01,080 --> 00:23:04,440
Speaker 1: you know, in terms, especially if you're dealing with a

432
00:23:04,560 --> 00:23:11,400
Speaker 1: very different backstory but a very similar physical situation. Chris,

433
00:23:12,080 --> 00:23:16,040
Speaker 1: if he steps foot, I mean this Viking fans know this.

434
00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:20,000
Speaker 1: When Teddy Bridgewater walked onto that field for the very

435
00:23:20,040 --> 00:23:25,240
Speaker 1: first time, it was it was. It was as loud

436
00:23:25,400 --> 00:23:28,159
Speaker 1: as almost any moment that I've been a part of

437
00:23:28,240 --> 00:23:31,560
Speaker 1: as a fan for that team. If this guy even

438
00:23:31,760 --> 00:23:36,320
Speaker 1: sets foot on a football field this year, he should

439
00:23:36,400 --> 00:23:38,320
Speaker 1: be a shoe in for Comeback Player of the Year

440
00:23:38,359 --> 00:23:41,480
Speaker 1: if he if he snaps a single football, I think

441
00:23:41,680 --> 00:23:44,400
Speaker 1: he deserves it. And then a guy who I never

442
00:23:44,440 --> 00:23:47,440
Speaker 1: really cared about one way or another, I'm just an

443
00:23:47,440 --> 00:23:50,520
Speaker 1: immediate fan of hoping we get to see that moment

444
00:23:50,560 --> 00:23:53,240
Speaker 1: where he returns to his life in this way. Yeah,

445
00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:58,399
Speaker 1: I mean I watched the sixty on ESPN. Incredible, It's incredible,

446
00:23:58,720 --> 00:24:01,440
Speaker 1: probably one of the most Like I was like almost

447
00:24:01,480 --> 00:24:04,720
Speaker 1: in tears, Like, yeah, I mean, how could you not

448
00:24:04,840 --> 00:24:07,199
Speaker 1: root for this guy? I mean, it's unbelievable that he

449
00:24:07,240 --> 00:24:10,480
Speaker 1: even wants to play football Like most people would say,

450
00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:12,520
Speaker 1: made a lot of money in my career. I was

451
00:24:12,560 --> 00:24:15,760
Speaker 1: a first overall draft pick. I played in big games,

452
00:24:16,160 --> 00:24:18,480
Speaker 1: never won the big one. But man, a lot of

453
00:24:18,520 --> 00:24:21,080
Speaker 1: people would say that, let's hang it up at this point.

454
00:24:21,119 --> 00:24:23,960
Speaker 1: He's got a nice family. You see the video of

455
00:24:24,040 --> 00:24:28,159
Speaker 1: them all like shooting champagne as he's been cleared to

456
00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:32,800
Speaker 1: finally participate in football activities. So it's an amazing story.

457
00:24:32,880 --> 00:24:35,240
Speaker 1: We're all gonna track it, that's for sure, because it's

458
00:24:35,240 --> 00:24:40,480
Speaker 1: more of a story about perseverance and human just perseverance

459
00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:43,320
Speaker 1: to not give up and keep on going. I probably

460
00:24:43,359 --> 00:24:46,040
Speaker 1: would have called it quits and never played again at

461
00:24:46,080 --> 00:24:48,719
Speaker 1: that point and had a couple of beers on the weekends.

462
00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:53,280
Speaker 1: I was gonna say, I am an insanely competitive guy,

463
00:24:53,640 --> 00:24:58,600
Speaker 1: like ruin my relationship with a family member for a while.

464
00:24:58,880 --> 00:25:02,439
Speaker 1: Competitive sort of, And even I was like, you know what,

465
00:25:02,640 --> 00:25:04,640
Speaker 1: I think I'd probably hang it up. So I can't

466
00:25:04,720 --> 00:25:09,719
Speaker 1: imagine the drive inside Alex Smith's brain to that that

467
00:25:10,000 --> 00:25:14,840
Speaker 1: sort of you know, competitive. I'm gonna say ego egos

468
00:25:14,880 --> 00:25:17,919
Speaker 1: off in a word that we put negative connotations on.

469
00:25:18,000 --> 00:25:20,760
Speaker 1: I don't mean it that way. The impressive amount of

470
00:25:20,800 --> 00:25:24,880
Speaker 1: competitiveness that must exist within him. Is that the correct

471
00:25:25,080 --> 00:25:27,520
Speaker 1: way to say it. It exists within him, the way

472
00:25:27,560 --> 00:25:31,600
Speaker 1: the spirit of the peloton bicycle exists within Christopher. Course

473
00:25:32,320 --> 00:25:35,480
Speaker 1: about to say, I need that spirit when I'm riding.

474
00:25:35,520 --> 00:25:40,359
Speaker 1: I don't want to give up every ten seconds. Totally, totally, totally, guys,

475
00:25:40,440 --> 00:25:43,720
Speaker 1: Let's do a couple of quick hitters here with quarterbacks.

476
00:25:43,760 --> 00:25:46,640
Speaker 1: I'm gonna throw you a quarterback battle. Some of them

477
00:25:46,640 --> 00:25:48,240
Speaker 1: are gonna be obvious, some of them are gonna be

478
00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:52,439
Speaker 1: non obvious. Give me a quick response to any thoughts

479
00:25:52,480 --> 00:25:54,280
Speaker 1: you have about it as we walk through camp. The

480
00:25:54,359 --> 00:25:59,080
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears Mitch Rabitski versus Nick Foles, Chris, I mean,

481
00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:02,760
Speaker 1: I think it's Strubisky's job to lose. Nick Foles is

482
00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:05,520
Speaker 1: coming in there as the new player, But I think

483
00:26:05,640 --> 00:26:08,720
Speaker 1: Nick Foles is the better quarterback right now. And if

484
00:26:08,760 --> 00:26:11,520
Speaker 1: I'm a Vikings fan, I'm rooting for Miss Trubisky to

485
00:26:11,640 --> 00:26:14,840
Speaker 1: win that battle. The amount of people that are hyping

486
00:26:14,920 --> 00:26:17,920
Speaker 1: up the new Mitch Trubisky makes me lean towards Nick

487
00:26:17,960 --> 00:26:20,840
Speaker 1: Foles at this point. Anytime in the media they say

488
00:26:21,000 --> 00:26:23,280
Speaker 1: everybody's doing the right thing and go with that guy,

489
00:26:23,680 --> 00:26:26,080
Speaker 1: the other guy usually jumps in so I'm going Nick Foles,

490
00:26:26,359 --> 00:26:29,480
Speaker 1: listen to me. I am wrong all the time, but

491
00:26:29,560 --> 00:26:33,440
Speaker 1: I have thought, I still think, and I will continue

492
00:26:33,480 --> 00:26:37,160
Speaker 1: to think that Mitch Trubinsky is not good enough at

493
00:26:37,160 --> 00:26:40,760
Speaker 1: football to be the starting quarterback of the Chicago Bears.

494
00:26:40,960 --> 00:26:45,639
Speaker 1: That first season, he got an insane That defense is

495
00:26:45,680 --> 00:26:48,080
Speaker 1: one of the best defenses I've ever seen in my life.

496
00:26:48,080 --> 00:26:51,119
Speaker 1: He played on a short field with no fear of

497
00:26:51,160 --> 00:26:54,199
Speaker 1: having to catch up. Ever, this is Nick Foles. The

498
00:26:54,200 --> 00:26:57,480
Speaker 1: only thing that's really interesting here about this conversation is

499
00:26:57,520 --> 00:27:00,439
Speaker 1: will Nick Foles finally go from a one hit underdo

500
00:27:00,440 --> 00:27:04,520
Speaker 1: a franchise quarterback. That's my talker for the Chicago Bears.

501
00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:09,120
Speaker 1: Next up, Las Vegas Raiders. Derek I haven't been as

502
00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:12,679
Speaker 1: good as I used to be car versus Marcus. I

503
00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:17,280
Speaker 1: haven't been able to stay on the field. Mariota Chris, Yeah.

504
00:27:17,320 --> 00:27:20,040
Speaker 1: I think it's a great move by Gruden bringing in

505
00:27:20,080 --> 00:27:23,639
Speaker 1: Mariota because you kind of car has been the starter

506
00:27:23,760 --> 00:27:25,960
Speaker 1: there for so many years, and he's kind of become

507
00:27:26,000 --> 00:27:29,600
Speaker 1: a mediocre quarterback in this league, so it's gonna be

508
00:27:29,680 --> 00:27:32,760
Speaker 1: a battle. I think Mariota this is like his last chance.

509
00:27:32,800 --> 00:27:36,679
Speaker 1: He finally gets a fresh start with an awesome team

510
00:27:36,680 --> 00:27:39,800
Speaker 1: in Las Vegas. I might think Mariota can go in

511
00:27:39,840 --> 00:27:42,320
Speaker 1: there and win that job. For me, I think Derek

512
00:27:42,359 --> 00:27:44,040
Speaker 1: Carr because I think you still got that deep ball

513
00:27:44,040 --> 00:27:45,919
Speaker 1: and with the amount of speed I know the Raiders

514
00:27:46,000 --> 00:27:48,280
Speaker 1: always add speed. Like you said, there's a ton of

515
00:27:48,280 --> 00:27:50,359
Speaker 1: weapons there. I think for both of them, you touched

516
00:27:50,359 --> 00:27:52,680
Speaker 1: on something. Both of them are getting to the point

517
00:27:52,760 --> 00:27:55,439
Speaker 1: where they're fighting for their last chance to be a

518
00:27:55,440 --> 00:27:57,840
Speaker 1: starting quarterback. I think Derek car will step it up

519
00:27:57,840 --> 00:28:00,960
Speaker 1: here this year in Las Vegas. What's really interesting to

520
00:28:00,960 --> 00:28:03,800
Speaker 1: me about Derek CARRN What I really don't understand, you know,

521
00:28:03,800 --> 00:28:06,040
Speaker 1: and I try to pay close attention. I'm not in

522
00:28:06,160 --> 00:28:10,240
Speaker 1: deep with the Las Vegas Raiders. I'm surprised. I don't

523
00:28:10,280 --> 00:28:12,800
Speaker 1: quite get it because I still think I still have

524
00:28:12,880 --> 00:28:15,159
Speaker 1: it in my brain that if you handed me Derek Carr,

525
00:28:15,200 --> 00:28:18,000
Speaker 1: I would take him immediately. So Jay, I think you're right.

526
00:28:18,040 --> 00:28:19,639
Speaker 1: I think it's a crucial year for him that he

527
00:28:19,680 --> 00:28:23,400
Speaker 1: has to prove that he is still that guy. This

528
00:28:23,440 --> 00:28:27,399
Speaker 1: one seems like a foregone conclusion, but it'll be really

529
00:28:27,560 --> 00:28:31,160
Speaker 1: interesting if one of these guys played like they played

530
00:28:31,240 --> 00:28:34,280
Speaker 1: last year. One of my favorite quarterbacks the Indianapolis Colts.

531
00:28:34,320 --> 00:28:37,080
Speaker 1: One of my favorite quarterbacks in the league. Philip Rivers,

532
00:28:37,280 --> 00:28:41,040
Speaker 1: amazing two years ago, rough last year, gets a chance

533
00:28:41,080 --> 00:28:42,800
Speaker 1: to prove that that didn't have anything to do with

534
00:28:42,880 --> 00:28:47,560
Speaker 1: him in a new spot in Indianapolis, Versus Jacoby Brissette,

535
00:28:47,600 --> 00:28:50,840
Speaker 1: who has done nothing but prove himself adequate. If they

536
00:28:50,840 --> 00:28:54,000
Speaker 1: need somebody to step up Chris, I'm going with Philip Rivers.

537
00:28:54,000 --> 00:28:57,360
Speaker 1: They bring him in as the free Asian acquisition. I

538
00:28:57,400 --> 00:29:00,320
Speaker 1: think they almost look at him as the missing peewitch.

539
00:29:00,400 --> 00:29:02,640
Speaker 1: I don't know if that's true. They do have a

540
00:29:02,640 --> 00:29:04,880
Speaker 1: good team there in the Colts, but I don't know

541
00:29:04,920 --> 00:29:07,560
Speaker 1: if Philip Rivers is still that quality of a quarterback.

542
00:29:08,080 --> 00:29:10,440
Speaker 1: But I think he wins the job at least to start,

543
00:29:10,720 --> 00:29:13,280
Speaker 1: and we'll see what happens from there. I think Philip

544
00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:16,120
Speaker 1: Rivers had a little bit of PTSD going on last season,

545
00:29:16,120 --> 00:29:18,479
Speaker 1: where he just kept hearing footsteps every time he snapped

546
00:29:18,480 --> 00:29:20,920
Speaker 1: the ball. I think going into a place like Indi

547
00:29:21,080 --> 00:29:23,960
Speaker 1: that also has some serious weapons, I think a guy

548
00:29:23,960 --> 00:29:26,840
Speaker 1: like Philip is looking at it similar to Tom Brady

549
00:29:26,920 --> 00:29:29,120
Speaker 1: or like five did No. Nine, where it's like, this

550
00:29:29,200 --> 00:29:31,600
Speaker 1: is my chance to prove with another team that I'm

551
00:29:31,640 --> 00:29:35,440
Speaker 1: not washed up, And he even said online that he's

552
00:29:35,480 --> 00:29:37,920
Speaker 1: here in the scuttle butt from everybody, and he says,

553
00:29:37,960 --> 00:29:40,000
Speaker 1: I don't think I'm done. And I think he's another

554
00:29:40,000 --> 00:29:41,600
Speaker 1: guy that's got a huge chip on his shoulder, and

555
00:29:41,640 --> 00:29:43,520
Speaker 1: you know, he's a huge competitor. So I think Philip

556
00:29:43,560 --> 00:29:46,000
Speaker 1: Rivers is going to fight like crazy to take that

557
00:29:46,080 --> 00:29:49,520
Speaker 1: starting job in Indianapolis. Hot take alert. I think Philip

558
00:29:49,600 --> 00:29:51,880
Speaker 1: Rivers might be one of the best quarterbacks in the

559
00:29:51,920 --> 00:29:54,040
Speaker 1: league this year. And I don't think that based on

560
00:29:54,120 --> 00:29:57,280
Speaker 1: any evidence. I think that because last year in the

561
00:29:57,400 --> 00:30:01,760
Speaker 1: Vikings Entertainment control room, in an argument with pretty much

562
00:30:01,880 --> 00:30:05,320
Speaker 1: everyone who works at Vikings dot com about how good

563
00:30:05,360 --> 00:30:08,600
Speaker 1: I thought Philip Rivers was and they all drug me

564
00:30:08,640 --> 00:30:11,200
Speaker 1: through the mud. And so I need Philip Rivers to

565
00:30:11,360 --> 00:30:14,360
Speaker 1: lead this team to twelve to thirteen wins and an

566
00:30:14,360 --> 00:30:18,400
Speaker 1: incredible quarterback rating throughout the season so I can be

567
00:30:18,640 --> 00:30:23,600
Speaker 1: the most insufferable person at the TCO Performance Center. I

568
00:30:23,760 --> 00:30:26,840
Speaker 1: love Philip Rivers. I think he's a loyal guy. I

569
00:30:26,880 --> 00:30:28,800
Speaker 1: think he's a good dude. I think he's one of

570
00:30:28,840 --> 00:30:32,280
Speaker 1: the most underrated quarterbacks of the last twenty years, and

571
00:30:32,400 --> 00:30:35,040
Speaker 1: I'm happy to see him in a place where if

572
00:30:35,080 --> 00:30:38,520
Speaker 1: he does play like he played two years ago, he's

573
00:30:38,600 --> 00:30:41,480
Speaker 1: competing in a pretty wide open conference for a chance

574
00:30:41,600 --> 00:30:44,120
Speaker 1: to go to the super Bowl outside since they're the

575
00:30:44,200 --> 00:30:46,720
Speaker 1: FC outside of the Vikings, I can't think of a

576
00:30:46,800 --> 00:30:49,320
Speaker 1: guy in the league right now that I would rather

577
00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:51,960
Speaker 1: see go to the super Bowl than Philip Rivers. You

578
00:30:52,000 --> 00:30:53,640
Speaker 1: just want to cheer for a guy who wears a

579
00:30:53,680 --> 00:30:56,840
Speaker 1: Bolo tie and basically swears like he's in church. So

580
00:30:56,920 --> 00:30:59,360
Speaker 1: he's one of those guys that he tries to do

581
00:30:59,400 --> 00:31:01,680
Speaker 1: everything right, but it's the Bolo tie that really puts

582
00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:03,920
Speaker 1: him over the top, right. So he would hate your

583
00:31:03,960 --> 00:31:07,520
Speaker 1: Peloton T shirt, Chris. You can never put a Bolo

584
00:31:07,640 --> 00:31:11,240
Speaker 1: tie on that, all right, Chris. I was able to

585
00:31:11,240 --> 00:31:16,840
Speaker 1: sit down with Hercules Mataafa, another player who is receiving

586
00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:21,760
Speaker 1: some praise during Verizon Vikings training camp. Chris, thank you

587
00:31:21,800 --> 00:31:24,040
Speaker 1: for doing this. Let's just pop right into it and

588
00:31:24,200 --> 00:31:27,400
Speaker 1: listen to him talk about everything that's happened with him

589
00:31:27,680 --> 00:31:29,920
Speaker 1: since he came to the team as a twenty eighteen

590
00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:34,160
Speaker 1: undrafted free agent. What is up, Vikings fans? Chris Corso

591
00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:39,400
Speaker 1: here on the Minnesota Vikings podcast with Hercules mata Afa.

592
00:31:39,480 --> 00:31:44,040
Speaker 1: He has a big time opportunity this season in that

593
00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:47,120
Speaker 1: three technique spot. What's going on? Man, Hey, thanks for

594
00:31:47,200 --> 00:31:50,320
Speaker 1: having me on the show. Doing good. We're out here

595
00:31:50,320 --> 00:31:54,480
Speaker 1: for playing ball. So Coach Zimmer. Coach Zimmer came off

596
00:31:54,480 --> 00:31:57,040
Speaker 1: the practice field the other day and said very good

597
00:31:57,040 --> 00:32:00,440
Speaker 1: things about you, saying that there's an opportunity for you

598
00:32:00,520 --> 00:32:03,520
Speaker 1: to take a ton of snaps at the three technique

599
00:32:03,560 --> 00:32:06,719
Speaker 1: position this season. What is your feeling on that. I

600
00:32:06,760 --> 00:32:09,160
Speaker 1: saw you tweeted out that you feel blessed and you've

601
00:32:09,160 --> 00:32:13,040
Speaker 1: been waiting for this opportunity. Yeah. I just look look

602
00:32:13,080 --> 00:32:15,720
Speaker 1: back about at all the hard work I put it

603
00:32:15,800 --> 00:32:18,000
Speaker 1: in over the course of the years I've been here,

604
00:32:18,560 --> 00:32:20,920
Speaker 1: and uh, you know, I'm excited to be able to

605
00:32:20,920 --> 00:32:22,640
Speaker 1: have my opportunity this year and I know it's gonna

606
00:32:22,640 --> 00:32:25,080
Speaker 1: be a big year for me. We love it. We

607
00:32:25,240 --> 00:32:28,240
Speaker 1: had you listed on the website at two fifty four

608
00:32:28,400 --> 00:32:31,200
Speaker 1: last year and I saw a tweet where you're standing

609
00:32:31,240 --> 00:32:34,160
Speaker 1: on a scale and it says two eighty nine in weight.

610
00:32:34,640 --> 00:32:36,960
Speaker 1: How the heck did you put on that much weight

611
00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:40,680
Speaker 1: this offseason? H Man, It's hard, but it's hard to

612
00:32:40,720 --> 00:32:44,640
Speaker 1: maintain that weight and I'm slowly kind of just finding

613
00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:46,959
Speaker 1: my mid level where I'm like really supposed to be at.

614
00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:48,920
Speaker 1: So right now I'm winning around like two eighty three,

615
00:32:49,160 --> 00:32:51,600
Speaker 1: two eighty So I'm in that range right now, and

616
00:32:51,960 --> 00:32:55,080
Speaker 1: you know, it feels good. It's definitely helping me with

617
00:32:55,120 --> 00:32:59,280
Speaker 1: the double teams. This year shows a practiced and uh,

618
00:32:59,600 --> 00:33:01,920
Speaker 1: you know it's something I'm excited about, something that worked

619
00:33:01,960 --> 00:33:05,560
Speaker 1: really hard to get there, and uh, you know, just

620
00:33:06,000 --> 00:33:07,959
Speaker 1: put in the hard work and I'm just gonna continue

621
00:33:08,040 --> 00:33:10,720
Speaker 1: the grind. Did you eat like a bunch of cheeseburgers

622
00:33:10,800 --> 00:33:13,520
Speaker 1: during quarantine or were you like doing squats in the

623
00:33:13,600 --> 00:33:16,040
Speaker 1: gym or something like that. I had my mama's cooking.

624
00:33:16,600 --> 00:33:18,560
Speaker 1: What kind of cooking is that? You know? I come

625
00:33:18,600 --> 00:33:26,440
Speaker 1: home to a pizza, some steaks, pork ribs, some Hawaiian barbecue.

626
00:33:26,480 --> 00:33:28,280
Speaker 1: I don't know if you ever had some Hawaiian barbecue,

627
00:33:28,360 --> 00:33:32,480
Speaker 1: but sounds awesome. You haven't. I know, there's no Hawaiians

628
00:33:32,480 --> 00:33:35,760
Speaker 1: out here in Minnesota, Ore Polynesians out here, So maybe

629
00:33:35,760 --> 00:33:38,200
Speaker 1: you have to come over. I'll throw some stuff on

630
00:33:38,200 --> 00:33:40,120
Speaker 1: the grill for you. I'm a big foodie, so I

631
00:33:40,120 --> 00:33:43,720
Speaker 1: would love that. Look going back to your days in Hawaii,

632
00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:46,840
Speaker 1: that is very unique for an NFL player to grow

633
00:33:46,920 --> 00:33:50,120
Speaker 1: up in Hawaii and learn how to play football. What

634
00:33:50,200 --> 00:33:53,080
Speaker 1: was the football scene like over there, just growing up

635
00:33:53,400 --> 00:33:56,640
Speaker 1: in such a place where football isn't as as big

636
00:33:56,680 --> 00:34:00,520
Speaker 1: and prevalent. We don't play on the actual wall of field,

637
00:34:00,560 --> 00:34:03,120
Speaker 1: you know. We played on dirt and rocks and pibbles.

638
00:34:03,560 --> 00:34:08,200
Speaker 1: You know. It's really just like that gretty pretty backyard

639
00:34:08,200 --> 00:34:10,760
Speaker 1: football field and you put on the pads back in Hawaii.

640
00:34:10,800 --> 00:34:13,399
Speaker 1: So you know, that's where the toughness in me comes from.

641
00:34:13,440 --> 00:34:17,239
Speaker 1: And I think it shows, and I think it's kind

642
00:34:17,280 --> 00:34:21,760
Speaker 1: of contagious in a way, and I think my peers

643
00:34:21,800 --> 00:34:24,120
Speaker 1: around me like the way that I go out there

644
00:34:24,120 --> 00:34:27,040
Speaker 1: and go about myself. So you go from Hawaii to

645
00:34:27,200 --> 00:34:30,680
Speaker 1: Washington State, where you were just an absolute monster. The

646
00:34:31,120 --> 00:34:33,440
Speaker 1: thing was you were kind of undersized. But you go

647
00:34:33,480 --> 00:34:37,560
Speaker 1: in there and you have a career twenty one sacks

648
00:34:37,600 --> 00:34:40,160
Speaker 1: with the Cougars over there. How do you describe your

649
00:34:40,200 --> 00:34:42,799
Speaker 1: ability to get to the quarterback in college and now

650
00:34:42,920 --> 00:34:45,279
Speaker 1: translating to the NFL coming out the ball. It gets

651
00:34:45,320 --> 00:34:49,440
Speaker 1: me excited, It gets me juice, and you know, it

652
00:34:49,520 --> 00:34:51,000
Speaker 1: just gets me going in. I want to get to

653
00:34:51,000 --> 00:34:53,920
Speaker 1: the quarterback, and I want to hit them hard and

654
00:34:53,960 --> 00:34:56,239
Speaker 1: I want to get them to the ground. And there's

655
00:34:56,280 --> 00:34:59,080
Speaker 1: no better feeling in the world than doing that. Looking

656
00:34:59,120 --> 00:35:02,560
Speaker 1: back with the Vikings, you come here as an undrafted

657
00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:06,360
Speaker 1: free agent, you make the roster, the fifty three man roster.

658
00:35:06,480 --> 00:35:09,200
Speaker 1: What was that feeling like to not be drafted, get

659
00:35:09,200 --> 00:35:11,040
Speaker 1: the call from the Vikings and come here and make

660
00:35:11,040 --> 00:35:13,759
Speaker 1: the roster. You know, I got a big family, so

661
00:35:13,880 --> 00:35:16,560
Speaker 1: everybody's always on me saying, hey, Herbie, I go out

662
00:35:16,600 --> 00:35:18,759
Speaker 1: there and do your job. You know, they're really hard

663
00:35:18,760 --> 00:35:21,040
Speaker 1: on me when when it comes to that, So you know,

664
00:35:21,200 --> 00:35:23,239
Speaker 1: I take it with a bunch of seriousness, you know,

665
00:35:23,680 --> 00:35:26,759
Speaker 1: never backing down from any opponent and just going in there,

666
00:35:26,920 --> 00:35:30,239
Speaker 1: keeping my head down, be in my playbook, and you know,

667
00:35:30,320 --> 00:35:31,960
Speaker 1: just be a real student in the game and learn

668
00:35:32,000 --> 00:35:34,719
Speaker 1: how to play football for real, because once you get here,

669
00:35:34,920 --> 00:35:37,399
Speaker 1: I feel like a lot of people really don't know

670
00:35:37,440 --> 00:35:41,359
Speaker 1: how to read like offensive formations or things like that.

671
00:35:41,360 --> 00:35:43,359
Speaker 1: That's something I had to learn. That's something that's making

672
00:35:43,360 --> 00:35:46,399
Speaker 1: me a better football player. In twenty eighteen, you tear

673
00:35:46,440 --> 00:35:49,560
Speaker 1: your acl which is just has to be absolute heartbreaking.

674
00:35:49,840 --> 00:35:52,920
Speaker 1: After doing all you did to make the roster. What

675
00:35:53,080 --> 00:35:55,680
Speaker 1: was that feeling like and describe coming back from that

676
00:35:55,760 --> 00:35:57,440
Speaker 1: to where you are today. In a way, it was

677
00:35:57,560 --> 00:36:01,200
Speaker 1: kind of a double whammy because I left college early

678
00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:04,640
Speaker 1: as a red shirt junior, and I declared it to

679
00:36:04,680 --> 00:36:08,120
Speaker 1: the draft and I went undrafted, and then a weekend

680
00:36:08,160 --> 00:36:11,480
Speaker 1: to the OTAs I was playing linebacker and then they

681
00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:15,239
Speaker 1: finally moved me to a defensive line position, and then

682
00:36:15,280 --> 00:36:17,200
Speaker 1: a week after that, I tore my ACL. So I

683
00:36:17,280 --> 00:36:20,600
Speaker 1: was like, I thought I lost my opportunity. But you know,

684
00:36:21,239 --> 00:36:24,839
Speaker 1: Coach Dre really he brought me into his room and

685
00:36:24,920 --> 00:36:26,399
Speaker 1: you know, he really sat down with me and said

686
00:36:26,719 --> 00:36:28,440
Speaker 1: he think he thinks I could be a great player.

687
00:36:29,239 --> 00:36:31,160
Speaker 1: He just wants to be to put on the weight

688
00:36:31,560 --> 00:36:34,680
Speaker 1: and just continue to lift weights and do what I

689
00:36:34,680 --> 00:36:37,000
Speaker 1: need to do to be the player I need to be.

690
00:36:37,360 --> 00:36:39,399
Speaker 1: And uh, you know, I just took that head on him.

691
00:36:39,560 --> 00:36:43,280
Speaker 1: There's players, veterans, people all over the NFL that really

692
00:36:43,280 --> 00:36:46,279
Speaker 1: give coach Dre the credit for what they've done in

693
00:36:46,320 --> 00:36:48,920
Speaker 1: this league. What can you say about the relationship that

694
00:36:49,000 --> 00:36:51,040
Speaker 1: you guys have and when he comes to you and

695
00:36:51,080 --> 00:36:52,880
Speaker 1: says you're a good player, how does that make you feel?

696
00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:55,920
Speaker 1: Just to see the history of guys he coached in

697
00:36:55,960 --> 00:36:58,839
Speaker 1: the league and how long he's been doing it, there's

698
00:36:58,880 --> 00:37:02,480
Speaker 1: a certain just based off the criteria he's been able

699
00:37:02,520 --> 00:37:06,880
Speaker 1: to accumulate. And that goes for the respect of the

700
00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:10,279
Speaker 1: game too. You know, I respect all my coaches, and

701
00:37:10,360 --> 00:37:12,840
Speaker 1: Drey is a guy that you know, really believed in

702
00:37:12,920 --> 00:37:16,120
Speaker 1: me and my capabilities of what I can do. And

703
00:37:16,400 --> 00:37:18,960
Speaker 1: you know, he's a real players coach in that way.

704
00:37:19,360 --> 00:37:22,040
Speaker 1: And uh, you know, anything he says, you know, I'm

705
00:37:22,080 --> 00:37:23,759
Speaker 1: gonna go out there and try to do it the

706
00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:27,320
Speaker 1: best way I can. Looking, I was reading an article

707
00:37:27,760 --> 00:37:30,399
Speaker 1: that you do not wear gloves out on the field

708
00:37:30,400 --> 00:37:33,560
Speaker 1: when you're rushing the passer. Is that like a thing

709
00:37:33,640 --> 00:37:35,879
Speaker 1: that dates back to your days growing up in Why

710
00:37:35,920 --> 00:37:38,200
Speaker 1: are you being able to feel the dirt or why

711
00:37:38,200 --> 00:37:40,280
Speaker 1: do you not wear gloves when you're out on the field?

712
00:37:40,480 --> 00:37:43,240
Speaker 1: Really is just preference, you know. But I like getting

713
00:37:43,280 --> 00:37:45,680
Speaker 1: my hands on guys and out physically in my appointment,

714
00:37:45,840 --> 00:37:48,680
Speaker 1: everybody's out there wearing gloves and I'm not wearing any, So,

715
00:37:49,320 --> 00:37:53,360
Speaker 1: you know, just kind of my personal thing. Just be

716
00:37:53,440 --> 00:37:55,360
Speaker 1: tougher than the guy across from me. So when the

717
00:37:55,400 --> 00:38:00,000
Speaker 1: preseason last season, you sack Teddy Bridgewater on an awesome

718
00:38:00,080 --> 00:38:02,640
Speaker 1: play where you get to the quarterback. What was the

719
00:38:02,719 --> 00:38:05,080
Speaker 1: feeling like to get back in a game and have

720
00:38:05,160 --> 00:38:07,840
Speaker 1: a sack on a quarterback like that? It was really

721
00:38:07,920 --> 00:38:12,399
Speaker 1: like for coming for me because after all the work

722
00:38:12,440 --> 00:38:16,120
Speaker 1: I put in offseason to rehab my knee and get bigger,

723
00:38:16,239 --> 00:38:19,160
Speaker 1: get stronger. You know, that was the first game of

724
00:38:19,200 --> 00:38:21,160
Speaker 1: my NFL career and I was able to go out

725
00:38:21,200 --> 00:38:23,600
Speaker 1: there and get a sack, and it was relieving moment

726
00:38:23,680 --> 00:38:27,760
Speaker 1: for me. Dream comes true really, And you know, that's

727
00:38:27,800 --> 00:38:29,880
Speaker 1: the only thing I ever grew up thinking about, was

728
00:38:29,920 --> 00:38:34,440
Speaker 1: just sacking all time legends and you know, all the

729
00:38:34,480 --> 00:38:37,480
Speaker 1: greats in the game, and you know, just keeping me motivated.

730
00:38:38,120 --> 00:38:41,239
Speaker 1: So I can think of an undrafted defensive tackle who

731
00:38:41,320 --> 00:38:45,080
Speaker 1: was undersized and was a Hall of Famer for the Vikings,

732
00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:48,120
Speaker 1: and that's John Randall. Do you do you know a

733
00:38:48,120 --> 00:38:49,960
Speaker 1: lot about his game? Do you look at his game?

734
00:38:50,000 --> 00:38:53,000
Speaker 1: Do you kind of frame your game after his? Well

735
00:38:53,000 --> 00:38:56,200
Speaker 1: that's the thing. Drey kind of hit at me. He said,

736
00:38:57,120 --> 00:38:59,719
Speaker 1: I remember mind him a lot of Johnny, and you know,

737
00:38:59,800 --> 00:39:03,360
Speaker 1: I go in there. He puts some special film for

738
00:39:03,640 --> 00:39:06,200
Speaker 1: on my iPad for me to watch watch John Randall

739
00:39:06,280 --> 00:39:09,040
Speaker 1: rush to quarterback, and you know, he's just a He

740
00:39:09,160 --> 00:39:12,759
Speaker 1: was just a tenacious, vicious dude in there, and you know,

741
00:39:12,800 --> 00:39:14,239
Speaker 1: I just want to kind of imitate that in my

742
00:39:14,280 --> 00:39:17,719
Speaker 1: own way and make it my sort of deal. I

743
00:39:17,760 --> 00:39:19,520
Speaker 1: think you got to do some trash talking if you're

744
00:39:19,520 --> 00:39:22,120
Speaker 1: trying to do like John Randall. Yeah, I'll get that coming.

745
00:39:23,040 --> 00:39:25,400
Speaker 1: I love it when you see a guy like Michael

746
00:39:25,440 --> 00:39:28,680
Speaker 1: Pierce decided to opt out the big free agent acquisition

747
00:39:28,760 --> 00:39:32,360
Speaker 1: for the Vikings this offseason. He's no longer going to

748
00:39:32,400 --> 00:39:34,759
Speaker 1: be on this roster for the upcoming season. What does

749
00:39:34,760 --> 00:39:37,359
Speaker 1: that mean for you to have that opportunity to fill

750
00:39:37,360 --> 00:39:39,719
Speaker 1: in and be the starter on this team. Well, for

751
00:39:39,800 --> 00:39:42,919
Speaker 1: anybody that ever played football, they always know that one term,

752
00:39:42,920 --> 00:39:45,560
Speaker 1: it's always the next man up. And that's how I'm

753
00:39:45,560 --> 00:39:47,880
Speaker 1: feeling right now. He's like, I have my big opportunity

754
00:39:47,920 --> 00:39:50,200
Speaker 1: ahead of me, and you know I got to capitalize it,

755
00:39:50,320 --> 00:39:52,400
Speaker 1: and I'm the next man up, so I need to

756
00:39:52,400 --> 00:39:55,239
Speaker 1: go out there and execute what I can do. We

757
00:39:55,400 --> 00:39:57,200
Speaker 1: touched on a couple of veterans on this team that

758
00:39:57,320 --> 00:39:59,840
Speaker 1: have been here for years, Limball, Joseph ever seen gri

759
00:40:00,560 --> 00:40:03,879
Speaker 1: Those guys are no longer here, but They definitely left

760
00:40:03,880 --> 00:40:06,239
Speaker 1: an impact on some of you younger players in the

761
00:40:06,360 --> 00:40:08,600
Speaker 1: in the locker room. So what kind of impact did

762
00:40:08,640 --> 00:40:10,920
Speaker 1: they leave on you? Oh, those guys were a big,

763
00:40:10,960 --> 00:40:13,440
Speaker 1: big part of what I am right now because just

764
00:40:13,480 --> 00:40:16,040
Speaker 1: because I was able to talk to them. You know,

765
00:40:16,120 --> 00:40:18,239
Speaker 1: if Drey doesn't really explain anything, I don't want to

766
00:40:18,239 --> 00:40:21,479
Speaker 1: ask stray the question, I'll go and ask ever since

767
00:40:21,520 --> 00:40:24,239
Speaker 1: our LJ and you know, there's just kind of that

768
00:40:24,320 --> 00:40:26,319
Speaker 1: big brother in the room. You know, they took care

769
00:40:26,360 --> 00:40:28,319
Speaker 1: of the younger guys in the room, always try to

770
00:40:28,320 --> 00:40:31,760
Speaker 1: coach them up when we feel like we weren't really

771
00:40:32,280 --> 00:40:35,440
Speaker 1: understanding what was being taught at the moment. And you know,

772
00:40:35,600 --> 00:40:38,040
Speaker 1: in that sense of the way, the bet way, that

773
00:40:38,680 --> 00:40:40,600
Speaker 1: it was a big brother a little brother type of deal.

774
00:40:41,160 --> 00:40:44,000
Speaker 1: Last question, I can't let this interview go by without

775
00:40:44,040 --> 00:40:47,319
Speaker 1: asking you about your first name, the name Hercules. It

776
00:40:47,440 --> 00:40:50,399
Speaker 1: is an amazing name and tell us what that means

777
00:40:50,400 --> 00:40:53,919
Speaker 1: to you and your family. Well, definitely not being good.

778
00:40:53,920 --> 00:40:56,359
Speaker 1: If I was five to three and one sixty, right,

779
00:40:57,160 --> 00:40:58,920
Speaker 1: you probably wouldn't be talking about my name if I

780
00:40:58,960 --> 00:41:03,280
Speaker 1: was five three one sixty. But when I was born,

781
00:41:03,880 --> 00:41:07,799
Speaker 1: I was the heaviest seven kids and I weighed ten

782
00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:12,080
Speaker 1: pounds ten point six, I think, and my name was

783
00:41:12,080 --> 00:41:15,120
Speaker 1: supposed to be Anthony, but my mom looked at me

784
00:41:15,200 --> 00:41:16,680
Speaker 1: and she's like, that's a big boy. We got a

785
00:41:16,760 --> 00:41:18,960
Speaker 1: name of Hercules, and I was the end of it.

786
00:41:19,560 --> 00:41:22,040
Speaker 1: All right, that's the story. I know. Well, that's certainly

787
00:41:22,120 --> 00:41:24,640
Speaker 1: a football name and the name of Minnesota Viking. I

788
00:41:24,760 --> 00:41:26,960
Speaker 1: love it. Thank you for joining us this week on

789
00:41:27,000 --> 00:41:29,719
Speaker 1: the Minnesota Vikings Podcast and I cannot wait to see

790
00:41:29,719 --> 00:41:32,000
Speaker 1: what you do in the middle of this Vikings defense

791
00:41:32,120 --> 00:41:36,720
Speaker 1: next year. Thanks many big all right, have it go on, Chris.

792
00:41:36,760 --> 00:41:39,680
Speaker 1: That was fantastic. Thank you as always forgetting these guys

793
00:41:39,680 --> 00:41:42,320
Speaker 1: and getting them to talk to us. Other things to

794
00:41:42,480 --> 00:41:45,839
Speaker 1: check out on Vikings dot com as we progressed through

795
00:41:45,840 --> 00:41:49,080
Speaker 1: training camp. Tom Pella Sorrow from the NFL Network was

796
00:41:49,080 --> 00:41:51,839
Speaker 1: in town for training camp on Tuesday, did a bunch

797
00:41:51,880 --> 00:41:54,040
Speaker 1: of live hits, did a one on one with Zimmer.

798
00:41:54,520 --> 00:41:57,880
Speaker 1: Check all of that stuff out from Tuesday on Vikings

799
00:41:57,920 --> 00:42:01,640
Speaker 1: dot com. Our team reporters Eric Smith, Lindsay Young, and

800
00:42:01,640 --> 00:42:05,600
Speaker 1: Craig Peters are ripping through content you can hardly keep

801
00:42:05,680 --> 00:42:08,399
Speaker 1: up as a fan. Keep tuned to Vikings dot com

802
00:42:08,440 --> 00:42:10,960
Speaker 1: for that and As always, check out all of our

803
00:42:11,000 --> 00:42:19,600
Speaker 1: social media platforms for the latest updates on everything Vikings Facebook, Instagram, snapchat, Twitter, YouTube, boys.

804
00:42:19,800 --> 00:42:22,920
Speaker 1: Any final thoughts, as we are now just three weeks

805
00:42:22,960 --> 00:42:28,120
Speaker 1: away from our official first official NFL games taking place,

806
00:42:29,040 --> 00:42:32,200
Speaker 1: any final thoughts on Verizon Vikings training camp or the

807
00:42:32,239 --> 00:42:34,320
Speaker 1: state of the team. Yeah, I'm keeping my eye on

808
00:42:34,360 --> 00:42:37,120
Speaker 1: a lot of these young players as they take every

809
00:42:37,160 --> 00:42:40,960
Speaker 1: rep with as much effort as possible. That's one thing

810
00:42:41,040 --> 00:42:44,440
Speaker 1: I've noticed, because you can tell these young guys realize

811
00:42:44,480 --> 00:42:47,840
Speaker 1: they do not have the preseason game reps to show

812
00:42:47,880 --> 00:42:50,680
Speaker 1: off what they can do for the Vikings, and we've

813
00:42:50,719 --> 00:42:54,279
Speaker 1: seen the Hercules Modafas of the world that make this

814
00:42:54,440 --> 00:42:57,359
Speaker 1: fifty three man roster as an undrafted free agent, So

815
00:42:57,719 --> 00:43:01,040
Speaker 1: continue to keep an eye on the young players rather

816
00:43:01,120 --> 00:43:04,239
Speaker 1: than the established players in the next three weeks. I

817
00:43:04,280 --> 00:43:06,360
Speaker 1: know the team is doing everything that they can to

818
00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:09,399
Speaker 1: prepare for whatever the state of the stadium is going

819
00:43:09,440 --> 00:43:11,719
Speaker 1: to be like. But I also know that there's going

820
00:43:11,719 --> 00:43:13,520
Speaker 1: to be some practices coming up. They're going to be

821
00:43:13,680 --> 00:43:17,399
Speaker 1: utilizing the different audio levels and trying to get used

822
00:43:17,440 --> 00:43:20,000
Speaker 1: to what simulated game day is going to be like.

823
00:43:20,440 --> 00:43:23,080
Speaker 1: And I truly am excited for the fact that in

824
00:43:23,160 --> 00:43:25,719
Speaker 1: three weeks, when it is going to be a live,

825
00:43:25,840 --> 00:43:28,600
Speaker 1: real NFL football game, we're going to get to see

826
00:43:28,640 --> 00:43:30,520
Speaker 1: what kind of bells and whistles the NFL has been

827
00:43:30,560 --> 00:43:33,719
Speaker 1: developing in the background, and so I'm just continuing to

828
00:43:33,719 --> 00:43:35,960
Speaker 1: pay attention to what kind of stuff is coming out,

829
00:43:36,040 --> 00:43:38,200
Speaker 1: not only from the team and from the state, but

830
00:43:38,280 --> 00:43:41,080
Speaker 1: even from the NFL. And as more and more teams

831
00:43:41,160 --> 00:43:44,160
Speaker 1: kind of pull the veil back on what their plans are,

832
00:43:44,800 --> 00:43:48,279
Speaker 1: we're finalizing ours in a similar fashion. So we've got

833
00:43:48,320 --> 00:43:50,120
Speaker 1: three weeks and it's all going to come to a head.

834
00:43:50,480 --> 00:43:52,839
Speaker 1: And as long as everybody stays healthy and the train

835
00:43:52,920 --> 00:43:55,920
Speaker 1: stays on the tracks, I'm looking forward to NFL football

836
00:43:56,000 --> 00:43:59,560
Speaker 1: come that second week of September. Absolutely. Thank you so much,

837
00:43:59,600 --> 00:44:02,280
Speaker 1: Chris are So, Jay Nelson, thank you guys for listening.

838
00:44:02,360 --> 00:44:04,600
Speaker 1: We will see you next week.