1
00:00:03,880 --> 00:00:06,680
Speaker 1: Week eleven of the NFL season is a pun us

2
00:00:06,680 --> 00:00:09,560
Speaker 1: as we welcome you inside the TCO Radio studio for

3
00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:12,920
Speaker 1: the eight and one edition of the Minnesota Vikings Podcast.

4
00:00:13,039 --> 00:00:15,800
Speaker 1: My name is Gabe Henderson. Tatum Everett is in studio

5
00:00:15,840 --> 00:00:19,160
Speaker 1: with me alongside producer Eric Davison from the Vikings Entertainment

6
00:00:19,160 --> 00:00:22,599
Speaker 1: Network and helping us break down Sunday's NFL Game of

7
00:00:22,640 --> 00:00:26,040
Speaker 1: the Week. Has been guest link from The Star Tribune

8
00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:28,480
Speaker 1: and Ben What a week it has been following last

9
00:00:28,520 --> 00:00:30,639
Speaker 1: week's win in Buffalo. Yeah, I mean, I think that

10
00:00:30,880 --> 00:00:32,560
Speaker 1: is one of the big questions of the week, and

11
00:00:32,840 --> 00:00:35,239
Speaker 1: we've heard Kevin O'Connell talk about, you know, we need

12
00:00:35,280 --> 00:00:38,239
Speaker 1: to get guys turned over pretty quickly this week, in

13
00:00:38,360 --> 00:00:41,600
Speaker 1: part because there is that physical demand of so many

14
00:00:41,640 --> 00:00:43,479
Speaker 1: games in such a short amount of time, but also

15
00:00:43,800 --> 00:00:45,760
Speaker 1: these are tough opponents. I mean, you have another one

16
00:00:45,800 --> 00:00:49,440
Speaker 1: on Sunday against another NFC contender again that's on national TV,

17
00:00:49,600 --> 00:00:53,160
Speaker 1: and then Thursday night it's Thanksgiving Night, another nationally televised

18
00:00:53,200 --> 00:00:56,400
Speaker 1: game and a coach that I would guess is not

19
00:00:56,640 --> 00:00:59,000
Speaker 1: the easiest to prepare for in a short week. I

20
00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:02,560
Speaker 1: don't know that if you are given four days to

21
00:01:02,600 --> 00:01:04,679
Speaker 1: prepare for a game that the guy you want to

22
00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:06,479
Speaker 1: see on the other sideline, if you had your pick,

23
00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:09,480
Speaker 1: would be Bill Belichick. So there is a lot to

24
00:01:09,520 --> 00:01:11,760
Speaker 1: get through here for this team, and I think they're

25
00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:15,000
Speaker 1: aware of the challenge. You know, certainly, Sunday was one

26
00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:17,679
Speaker 1: of the greater games I've seen in eleven years on

27
00:01:17,720 --> 00:01:21,120
Speaker 1: this beat. I think the only one from an emotional standpoint.

28
00:01:21,160 --> 00:01:23,959
Speaker 1: Being in a locker room talking to players afterwards, the

29
00:01:24,040 --> 00:01:27,280
Speaker 1: emotional high of it felt somewhat like the Minneapolis Miracles,

30
00:01:27,360 --> 00:01:29,280
Speaker 1: just in the sense that it was this we can't

31
00:01:29,319 --> 00:01:31,480
Speaker 1: believe we won in this fashion. I mean, it was

32
00:01:31,480 --> 00:01:33,920
Speaker 1: such an unusual way to win a game and such

33
00:01:33,920 --> 00:01:37,000
Speaker 1: a dramatic way to do it. Obviously, stakes are not

34
00:01:37,040 --> 00:01:38,840
Speaker 1: as high as they are on a playoff game, but

35
00:01:38,959 --> 00:01:41,240
Speaker 1: there is an element of that that you're on this

36
00:01:41,480 --> 00:01:44,399
Speaker 1: roller coaster, you're on this cloud nine kind of experience,

37
00:01:44,440 --> 00:01:46,080
Speaker 1: and then you have to come back down from that

38
00:01:46,319 --> 00:01:48,800
Speaker 1: to play another tough game the next Sunday. So, you know,

39
00:01:49,000 --> 00:01:50,760
Speaker 1: maybe a good thing for this team to kind of

40
00:01:50,760 --> 00:01:52,880
Speaker 1: experience it in the event that they end up in

41
00:01:52,920 --> 00:01:55,080
Speaker 1: that spot in the playoffs where we win a dramatic

42
00:01:55,080 --> 00:01:56,800
Speaker 1: playoff game, and then we've got to put that out

43
00:01:56,800 --> 00:01:58,760
Speaker 1: of our minds to get back to it and go

44
00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:00,920
Speaker 1: try to do it again the next week. Yeah, Ben,

45
00:02:00,920 --> 00:02:02,960
Speaker 1: I mean, you're in the locker room. You've been this

46
00:02:03,000 --> 00:02:05,720
Speaker 1: locker room for years now. I'm just wondering when you're

47
00:02:05,720 --> 00:02:08,399
Speaker 1: around these guys, do you talk about their emotions. What

48
00:02:08,520 --> 00:02:11,959
Speaker 1: has been different to you about the way that this team,

49
00:02:12,320 --> 00:02:14,480
Speaker 1: like the makeup of this team and the way that

50
00:02:14,560 --> 00:02:17,480
Speaker 1: they are able to pull these games off. Well, I

51
00:02:17,960 --> 00:02:21,160
Speaker 1: think there's a little bit of a I think the

52
00:02:21,200 --> 00:02:22,880
Speaker 1: baseline of it is a little bit different in the

53
00:02:22,919 --> 00:02:25,600
Speaker 1: sense that there's sort of just this belief that we

54
00:02:25,639 --> 00:02:27,920
Speaker 1: will find a way to pull it off. It's just

55
00:02:27,960 --> 00:02:30,440
Speaker 1: a matter of how you what I mean. You heard

56
00:02:30,800 --> 00:02:32,800
Speaker 1: Matt Daniels talk about that a little bit today in

57
00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:35,640
Speaker 1: terms of, hey, we know we're gonna get it done,

58
00:02:35,800 --> 00:02:37,760
Speaker 1: he said. Patrick Peterson was saying that on someday, we

59
00:02:37,760 --> 00:02:39,240
Speaker 1: know we're gonna get it done. We're gonna come back

60
00:02:39,240 --> 00:02:42,359
Speaker 1: and win this game. And you heard Kevin O'Connell talk

61
00:02:42,360 --> 00:02:44,480
Speaker 1: about it after the Washington team. He's telling players on

62
00:02:44,520 --> 00:02:47,000
Speaker 1: the sidelines when they're down ten points in the fourth quarter,

63
00:02:47,320 --> 00:02:49,639
Speaker 1: we're gonna win this game by three. So I think

64
00:02:49,639 --> 00:02:52,240
Speaker 1: there is a level of confidence, a level of we

65
00:02:52,360 --> 00:02:55,880
Speaker 1: don't need to panic, we don't need to kind of

66
00:02:55,880 --> 00:02:59,480
Speaker 1: approach the moment any differently when we get down that

67
00:02:59,600 --> 00:03:02,840
Speaker 1: allow you'd probably play a little bit slower. You're not

68
00:03:02,880 --> 00:03:05,600
Speaker 1: playing slower on the field, but you're thinking, probably not

69
00:03:05,760 --> 00:03:08,880
Speaker 1: in as rushed of a fashion. You're able to kind

70
00:03:08,919 --> 00:03:11,639
Speaker 1: of not panic, not kind of change your normal process

71
00:03:11,720 --> 00:03:14,120
Speaker 1: when you are operating from that belief of we're going

72
00:03:14,160 --> 00:03:16,440
Speaker 1: to pull this off. So I think a lot of

73
00:03:16,440 --> 00:03:18,760
Speaker 1: that is reflected by Kevin O'Connell and just kind of

74
00:03:18,760 --> 00:03:21,600
Speaker 1: the way he talks, the messages players get from him.

75
00:03:21,800 --> 00:03:24,760
Speaker 1: But you also have guys that I think have been

76
00:03:24,800 --> 00:03:28,440
Speaker 1: given a little more of a run way to speak

77
00:03:28,440 --> 00:03:30,760
Speaker 1: into that process. You have a guy like Patrick Peterson,

78
00:03:31,160 --> 00:03:33,320
Speaker 1: you know, a guy like Harrison Smith that has been

79
00:03:33,360 --> 00:03:35,520
Speaker 1: around for as long as those two guys have that

80
00:03:35,640 --> 00:03:38,720
Speaker 1: can speak into those moments and be a little bit

81
00:03:38,760 --> 00:03:40,800
Speaker 1: more of a conduit to the rest of a younger

82
00:03:40,840 --> 00:03:43,160
Speaker 1: team than maybe they would have been in the past. So,

83
00:03:43,520 --> 00:03:45,760
Speaker 1: you know, there's a lot to it. But I think

84
00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:48,600
Speaker 1: just having that sense of let's keep this thing even

85
00:03:48,720 --> 00:03:51,240
Speaker 1: and let's let players have a little more of us say,

86
00:03:51,360 --> 00:03:54,640
Speaker 1: in shaping how the rest of the team responds. Those

87
00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:56,720
Speaker 1: have been the big difference as I've seen it so far. Yeah,

88
00:03:56,720 --> 00:03:58,600
Speaker 1: we've got been guessling from the stars are view and

89
00:03:58,640 --> 00:04:01,040
Speaker 1: joining us right here in the Minnesota Vikings podcast on

90
00:04:01,080 --> 00:04:03,840
Speaker 1: the Vikings Radio Network Cafe in one hundred point three

91
00:04:03,840 --> 00:04:07,640
Speaker 1: and Ben, you just talked about Patrick Peterson. His last

92
00:04:07,640 --> 00:04:12,160
Speaker 1: four games. He's had three interceptions, eight PBUs multitude of tackles.

93
00:04:12,360 --> 00:04:15,000
Speaker 1: In my opinion, I think this is the best four

94
00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:18,200
Speaker 1: game stretch that Patrick Peterson has played since being in Purple.

95
00:04:18,560 --> 00:04:20,360
Speaker 1: Why do you think that's the case and what has

96
00:04:20,360 --> 00:04:23,120
Speaker 1: he brought to this team? Yeah, I completely agree with you.

97
00:04:23,160 --> 00:04:24,920
Speaker 1: This has been the best stretch he's had. I mean,

98
00:04:24,960 --> 00:04:27,480
Speaker 1: I think some of it has been you know, he's

99
00:04:27,520 --> 00:04:29,960
Speaker 1: kind of finding this point where I think he's getting

100
00:04:29,960 --> 00:04:31,760
Speaker 1: more comfortable in this system, which has been a big

101
00:04:31,839 --> 00:04:34,960
Speaker 1: change for him in terms of playing zone more often.

102
00:04:35,000 --> 00:04:37,000
Speaker 1: I mean, he's been a guy that has made his

103
00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:39,520
Speaker 1: mark in this league as a press corner I think

104
00:04:39,560 --> 00:04:41,640
Speaker 1: figuring out how to do that and also kind of

105
00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:44,800
Speaker 1: figuring out where he can take some liberties and be

106
00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,160
Speaker 1: a little bit more physical in the way he plays receivers.

107
00:04:48,200 --> 00:04:49,520
Speaker 1: You know, I think there's been kind of a happy

108
00:04:49,560 --> 00:04:51,599
Speaker 1: medium you've seen there in the last few weeks. But

109
00:04:51,800 --> 00:04:53,440
Speaker 1: you know, some of it, I think too, is just

110
00:04:53,560 --> 00:04:55,680
Speaker 1: he's playing. You see it every Sunday, he's playing with

111
00:04:55,680 --> 00:04:58,400
Speaker 1: a lot of emotion on the field. Whether it's certainly

112
00:04:58,400 --> 00:05:00,680
Speaker 1: in that Arizona game. You know, we we all saw

113
00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:02,720
Speaker 1: that and leading into it, and we saw it afterwards,

114
00:05:02,760 --> 00:05:04,800
Speaker 1: and that whole thing played into a big part of it.

115
00:05:04,839 --> 00:05:06,920
Speaker 1: But I think about games like Miami where he gets

116
00:05:06,920 --> 00:05:09,200
Speaker 1: the interception at the end and he's blown kisses to

117
00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:12,560
Speaker 1: the fans. Even on Sunday in Buffalo, there was, you know,

118
00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:14,560
Speaker 1: a lot of that stuff on the field as well.

119
00:05:14,920 --> 00:05:16,920
Speaker 1: He's been a guy for all of his Pro Bowls.

120
00:05:17,000 --> 00:05:18,960
Speaker 1: He's only played in like three or four playoff games

121
00:05:18,960 --> 00:05:21,440
Speaker 1: in his life. So I think you've heard him say this,

122
00:05:21,480 --> 00:05:24,520
Speaker 1: and I think he's telling himself this that hey, these

123
00:05:24,520 --> 00:05:27,479
Speaker 1: things don't come around that often, and I want to

124
00:05:27,480 --> 00:05:28,960
Speaker 1: make the most of it. May you know, both he

125
00:05:29,080 --> 00:05:31,200
Speaker 1: and Harrison Smith. Harrison Smith, I think he's played in

126
00:05:31,279 --> 00:05:33,479
Speaker 1: the same number of Pro Bowls as playoff games, and

127
00:05:33,520 --> 00:05:35,560
Speaker 1: I think for Peterson it's I don't think it's even

128
00:05:35,640 --> 00:05:37,720
Speaker 1: close in terms of the number of Pro Bowl teams

129
00:05:37,720 --> 00:05:39,720
Speaker 1: he's made to the number of Playoff games he's played. So,

130
00:05:39,920 --> 00:05:42,960
Speaker 1: you know, I think for him especially, it's I'm trying

131
00:05:42,960 --> 00:05:44,720
Speaker 1: to soak everything I can out of the moment. As

132
00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:46,800
Speaker 1: you talk about that, it really makes me think back

133
00:05:46,839 --> 00:05:49,600
Speaker 1: to your previous answer about what these players feel like

134
00:05:49,680 --> 00:05:54,240
Speaker 1: they can do. Right, So when you say Patrick Peterson's

135
00:05:54,279 --> 00:05:56,919
Speaker 1: playing with all this emotion, do you think that's something

136
00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:01,240
Speaker 1: that maybe he feels finally free to be able to do. Yeah,

137
00:06:01,320 --> 00:06:04,239
Speaker 1: I think there's certainly more of that. I don't think

138
00:06:04,480 --> 00:06:07,359
Speaker 1: that if he had done all of the talking that

139
00:06:07,440 --> 00:06:10,599
Speaker 1: he did towards the Arizona's sideline in that game, I

140
00:06:10,640 --> 00:06:13,719
Speaker 1: think the reaction if Mike zimmer is your head coach

141
00:06:13,800 --> 00:06:16,520
Speaker 1: is probably a little bit different. I don't know that

142
00:06:16,520 --> 00:06:19,200
Speaker 1: that would have flown in the same way. And yeah,

143
00:06:19,240 --> 00:06:21,200
Speaker 1: you know, he may have been told Kevin O'Connell may

144
00:06:21,200 --> 00:06:23,240
Speaker 1: have said at some point, hey, let's Dinyle this down

145
00:06:23,279 --> 00:06:25,440
Speaker 1: a little bit. But I think there's a little bit

146
00:06:25,480 --> 00:06:28,640
Speaker 1: more of a if guys are gonna, you know, talk

147
00:06:28,680 --> 00:06:30,440
Speaker 1: a little bit on the field and be a little

148
00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:34,080
Speaker 1: bit more demonstrative I doesn't seem like that is sort

149
00:06:34,120 --> 00:06:37,240
Speaker 1: of frowned upon maybe, and you saw some of that

150
00:06:37,320 --> 00:06:39,559
Speaker 1: with Zimmer too, but I think that it's a little

151
00:06:39,600 --> 00:06:43,600
Speaker 1: bit more allowed, a little bit more encouraged. Maybe a

152
00:06:43,600 --> 00:06:47,640
Speaker 1: little bit strong, but yeah, yeah, it's just accommodated in

153
00:06:47,640 --> 00:06:50,640
Speaker 1: that regard. So I think there's probably a little bit

154
00:06:50,680 --> 00:06:53,520
Speaker 1: of a reflection of a leadership and how they respond

155
00:06:53,520 --> 00:06:55,400
Speaker 1: to those sorts of things that there's there's a permission

156
00:06:55,440 --> 00:06:57,040
Speaker 1: structure to do it, I guess probably the best way

157
00:06:57,080 --> 00:07:00,240
Speaker 1: to put it. Yeah, I feel like permission struck sure

158
00:07:00,279 --> 00:07:03,240
Speaker 1: to do it kind of explains Kirk's success thus far.

159
00:07:03,440 --> 00:07:07,039
Speaker 1: Having a coach that pretty much lets Kirk do what

160
00:07:07,080 --> 00:07:09,600
Speaker 1: he does. He understands what Kirk is, being a former

161
00:07:09,680 --> 00:07:12,960
Speaker 1: quarterback and Kevin O'Connell. When you look at kirk stats,

162
00:07:13,600 --> 00:07:15,800
Speaker 1: it's not the most glaring thing, but when you look

163
00:07:15,840 --> 00:07:18,040
Speaker 1: at the record, it's eight and one. A lot of

164
00:07:18,040 --> 00:07:21,520
Speaker 1: people are saying that Kirk's trust is the reason why

165
00:07:21,520 --> 00:07:24,280
Speaker 1: this Vikings team is the way it is. How has

166
00:07:24,320 --> 00:07:27,480
Speaker 1: his trust evolved over his time here as a Viking. Yeah,

167
00:07:27,480 --> 00:07:30,720
Speaker 1: I mean that's been a big noticeable difference. And you know,

168
00:07:30,800 --> 00:07:33,440
Speaker 1: the numbers, like you said are not as good as

169
00:07:33,480 --> 00:07:35,560
Speaker 1: the ones he's put up. But I think you look

170
00:07:35,600 --> 00:07:37,840
Speaker 1: at the way he's played the position just you know,

171
00:07:37,880 --> 00:07:41,000
Speaker 1: from an eye test standpoint, there's an awfully big difference,

172
00:07:41,040 --> 00:07:43,680
Speaker 1: and there I think asking him to read things a

173
00:07:43,720 --> 00:07:47,280
Speaker 1: little bit differently and probably make some more contested throws,

174
00:07:47,360 --> 00:07:49,640
Speaker 1: which that's not going to help your completion percentage. You

175
00:07:49,680 --> 00:07:51,880
Speaker 1: may throw an interception here and there, but there's also

176
00:07:51,920 --> 00:07:54,480
Speaker 1: been a lot more big time plays and I think

177
00:07:54,640 --> 00:07:57,360
Speaker 1: there is some of that trust. It's him having I

178
00:07:57,400 --> 00:07:59,600
Speaker 1: think a bigger voice than the game plan. It's him

179
00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:01,840
Speaker 1: having a lot more control of the line of scrimmage.

180
00:08:01,840 --> 00:08:04,360
Speaker 1: I mean that has been noticeable for me all year

181
00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:07,840
Speaker 1: in just even going back and watching TV copies and games.

182
00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:09,760
Speaker 1: You know, we don't always hear in the press box

183
00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:11,960
Speaker 1: and you may not hear it Sunday with all of

184
00:08:12,000 --> 00:08:14,120
Speaker 1: the noise in the stadium, but those on field microphones,

185
00:08:14,200 --> 00:08:16,840
Speaker 1: the number of times he's hard counting and then either

186
00:08:16,920 --> 00:08:19,600
Speaker 1: canning plays or checking something in the line of scrimmage.

187
00:08:19,640 --> 00:08:22,560
Speaker 1: He's got a lot more to do I think, at

188
00:08:22,600 --> 00:08:24,440
Speaker 1: the line than he's had in the past, and that

189
00:08:24,480 --> 00:08:27,360
Speaker 1: probably leads to a little bit more freedom of this

190
00:08:27,480 --> 00:08:30,200
Speaker 1: is the call that I feel comfortable executing, or that

191
00:08:30,360 --> 00:08:31,800
Speaker 1: this is the play that I think puts us in

192
00:08:31,840 --> 00:08:34,280
Speaker 1: the best situation. So I think some of those things

193
00:08:34,360 --> 00:08:36,959
Speaker 1: play into it. And you've also seen I think, probably

194
00:08:37,000 --> 00:08:39,480
Speaker 1: a little bit more encouragement to say, hey, give your

195
00:08:39,520 --> 00:08:41,640
Speaker 1: guys a chance, give Justin Jefferson a shot at a

196
00:08:41,679 --> 00:08:44,800
Speaker 1: fifty fifty ball, or trust yourself that you can extend

197
00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:47,520
Speaker 1: to play and make something happen. The ball doesn't have

198
00:08:47,600 --> 00:08:50,160
Speaker 1: to come out all the time right away if you

199
00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:52,520
Speaker 1: feel like you can ride it and still find a

200
00:08:52,520 --> 00:08:54,679
Speaker 1: way to make a play. I think the pocket present

201
00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:56,880
Speaker 1: stuff making plays outside of the pocket. We've seen a

202
00:08:56,880 --> 00:08:58,839
Speaker 1: lot of differences. I mean some of the throws he

203
00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:01,120
Speaker 1: made on Sunday too. Just We've talked about the number

204
00:09:01,120 --> 00:09:04,040
Speaker 1: of contested catches for Justin Jefferson, But the one he

205
00:09:04,080 --> 00:09:06,439
Speaker 1: threw toward I think it was an overtime on the

206
00:09:06,559 --> 00:09:09,120
Speaker 1: right hash and it throws it back almost blind to

207
00:09:09,200 --> 00:09:11,320
Speaker 1: the left sideline of the field. And I asked him

208
00:09:11,320 --> 00:09:12,760
Speaker 1: about that earlier in the week. He said that was

209
00:09:12,800 --> 00:09:15,439
Speaker 1: a protection thing, where a protection broke down. I threw

210
00:09:15,440 --> 00:09:17,040
Speaker 1: it to a spot trust and Justin's going to be

211
00:09:17,080 --> 00:09:18,959
Speaker 1: there or it's going to go out of pounds, but

212
00:09:19,320 --> 00:09:21,480
Speaker 1: that was a heck of a throw, just the arm

213
00:09:21,520 --> 00:09:23,640
Speaker 1: strength to make that throw. And that's also a trust

214
00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:26,560
Speaker 1: that I trust myself to do it and I trust

215
00:09:26,600 --> 00:09:29,400
Speaker 1: Justin Jefferson to get there. Yeah, you asked coach O'Connell

216
00:09:29,480 --> 00:09:33,000
Speaker 1: about Kirk and his confidence. What did you read from

217
00:09:33,040 --> 00:09:35,840
Speaker 1: his answer? What did you get out of coach O'Connell's answer. Yeah,

218
00:09:35,920 --> 00:09:39,600
Speaker 1: I mean, I think there's certainly been a I mean

219
00:09:39,720 --> 00:09:42,080
Speaker 1: some of it with O'Connell, I think has been He's

220
00:09:42,280 --> 00:09:46,880
Speaker 1: very consistent about communicating his own confidence in Kirk, and

221
00:09:46,920 --> 00:09:48,679
Speaker 1: I think Kirk feeds off of some of those things,

222
00:09:48,800 --> 00:09:51,480
Speaker 1: and just Kirk is able to, I think, kind of

223
00:09:51,520 --> 00:09:53,920
Speaker 1: build off of what he reads from coaches. He's always

224
00:09:53,920 --> 00:09:55,840
Speaker 1: been a guy I think that takes a lot of

225
00:09:55,920 --> 00:09:59,280
Speaker 1: cues from coaches. He's talked about wanting to play the

226
00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:01,840
Speaker 1: position in way that the coach wants it done. That's

227
00:10:01,880 --> 00:10:03,560
Speaker 1: an important thing to him. So I think when you

228
00:10:03,640 --> 00:10:06,760
Speaker 1: have some of that reinforcement from the head coach as

229
00:10:06,800 --> 00:10:09,520
Speaker 1: consistently as he's been getting it, I think that's a

230
00:10:09,559 --> 00:10:12,560
Speaker 1: big piece of it. And you know, there's there's just

231
00:10:12,600 --> 00:10:14,920
Speaker 1: a lot of it with him that I think has

232
00:10:15,280 --> 00:10:18,240
Speaker 1: just been a different thing. I mean, you've seen I

233
00:10:18,280 --> 00:10:20,640
Speaker 1: think a relationship between the two of them just lead

234
00:10:20,679 --> 00:10:23,360
Speaker 1: to more competence and cousins on the field, trusting what

235
00:10:23,440 --> 00:10:25,280
Speaker 1: he can do on the field, knowing that he makes

236
00:10:25,280 --> 00:10:27,240
Speaker 1: a mistake, it's not going to be the end of

237
00:10:27,240 --> 00:10:31,000
Speaker 1: the world. It just it seems like a different type

238
00:10:31,000 --> 00:10:33,080
Speaker 1: of relationship and you kind of have a lot of

239
00:10:33,080 --> 00:10:35,840
Speaker 1: it just feeding off of that. I understand that Ben,

240
00:10:35,880 --> 00:10:37,400
Speaker 1: We're going to go to break how but when we

241
00:10:37,440 --> 00:10:40,440
Speaker 1: get back, I want to talk about this this buzz.

242
00:10:40,600 --> 00:10:44,400
Speaker 1: There's a unique buzz around the Twin Cities right now,

243
00:10:44,440 --> 00:10:46,000
Speaker 1: and I think the Vikings have a lot to do

244
00:10:46,040 --> 00:10:48,199
Speaker 1: with that. So Vikings fans, don't turn it down. Will

245
00:10:48,280 --> 00:10:51,600
Speaker 1: be right back with more on the Minnesota Vikings Podcast.

246
00:10:51,720 --> 00:10:54,000
Speaker 1: Hey Vikings fans, right now, you can pick up a

247
00:10:54,040 --> 00:10:57,400
Speaker 1: commemorative Vikings Cup at us Bank Stadium. Fill it with

248
00:10:57,400 --> 00:10:59,800
Speaker 1: a nice code PEPSI and you'll be ready for football.

249
00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:09,120
Speaker 1: Salon Montage is the Twin Cities premier salon and spa

250
00:11:09,320 --> 00:11:13,840
Speaker 1: destination and proud official hair sponsor of the Minnesota Vikings cheerleaders,

251
00:11:14,120 --> 00:11:18,520
Speaker 1: with three convenient locations an Dinah Woodberry and Chanhassan. There's

252
00:11:18,520 --> 00:11:22,840
Speaker 1: a splan close to you. Visit online at splan dot com.

253
00:11:23,040 --> 00:11:26,679
Speaker 1: Welcome back to the Minnesota Vikings Podcast, presented by Pepsim

254
00:11:26,720 --> 00:11:30,240
Speaker 1: Gabe Henderson alongside Vikings dot Com statum Evert and producer

255
00:11:30,400 --> 00:11:34,520
Speaker 1: Eric Davidson. On the line right now is Ben Guestling

256
00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:37,480
Speaker 1: from the Star Tribune at Ben Guestling on Twitter and Ben,

257
00:11:37,960 --> 00:11:40,320
Speaker 1: right before we went to break, I wanted to get

258
00:11:40,360 --> 00:11:42,720
Speaker 1: your thoughts on this buzz right now. Right you know,

259
00:11:42,760 --> 00:11:45,079
Speaker 1: this is a Minnesota Vikings team that is eight and one.

260
00:11:45,720 --> 00:11:49,120
Speaker 1: You got the Dallas Cowboys, America's team coming to town,

261
00:11:49,240 --> 00:11:52,120
Speaker 1: then you have a Thanksgiving game at home. What does

262
00:11:52,600 --> 00:11:55,480
Speaker 1: this week of Vikings football mean for this team on

263
00:11:55,520 --> 00:11:58,480
Speaker 1: a national level. I think it means a lot. I

264
00:11:58,480 --> 00:12:00,960
Speaker 1: mean you've seen it this week. Just coming out of

265
00:12:00,960 --> 00:12:05,120
Speaker 1: that Buffalo game, the level of attention to the Vikings

266
00:12:05,280 --> 00:12:08,160
Speaker 1: nationally has gone up quite a bit. And some of

267
00:12:08,160 --> 00:12:09,840
Speaker 1: that is, you know, everybody kind of said they need

268
00:12:09,880 --> 00:12:12,240
Speaker 1: a signature win, they need to kind of prove themselves

269
00:12:12,240 --> 00:12:14,920
Speaker 1: a little bit, and I think the Buffalo games really

270
00:12:14,920 --> 00:12:17,679
Speaker 1: did that. But the manner in which that game was played,

271
00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:20,120
Speaker 1: obviously is that was the game of the year in

272
00:12:20,160 --> 00:12:22,800
Speaker 1: the NFL. It's it's hard not to draw attention to that.

273
00:12:23,040 --> 00:12:25,720
Speaker 1: When the Vikings become the first team in the history

274
00:12:25,720 --> 00:12:28,480
Speaker 1: of high Mark Stadium to win as a visitor after

275
00:12:28,520 --> 00:12:30,679
Speaker 1: trailing by fourteen points or more at halftime, I mean,

276
00:12:31,000 --> 00:12:33,520
Speaker 1: you know that, and then the overtime stuff at the

277
00:12:33,559 --> 00:12:36,120
Speaker 1: end of the fourth quarter, stuff, just the dramatic back

278
00:12:36,160 --> 00:12:38,320
Speaker 1: and forth of it. It's hard not to take notice

279
00:12:38,320 --> 00:12:41,120
Speaker 1: of that. So if you go beat the Cowboys, if

280
00:12:41,120 --> 00:12:44,080
Speaker 1: you go beat the Patriots on Thanksgiving Night, or maybe

281
00:12:44,120 --> 00:12:46,320
Speaker 1: even just split those two, I mean, it's it's a

282
00:12:46,400 --> 00:12:48,600
Speaker 1: tall order to assume they're going to win every one

283
00:12:48,600 --> 00:12:50,480
Speaker 1: of these things. Certainly possible to do it at home,

284
00:12:50,559 --> 00:12:53,840
Speaker 1: right either way. I think in these types of games,

285
00:12:53,880 --> 00:12:57,560
Speaker 1: these are high level brands nationally, even if they're not

286
00:12:57,720 --> 00:13:00,319
Speaker 1: at the top of their game. In terms of the Patriots,

287
00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:03,319
Speaker 1: this is not Tom Brady's Patriots at this point. But

288
00:13:03,679 --> 00:13:06,200
Speaker 1: these are teams that you see on national TV all

289
00:13:06,240 --> 00:13:09,720
Speaker 1: the time, and there's a level of pedigree just in

290
00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:12,280
Speaker 1: terms of a brand on a national level that is

291
00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:14,520
Speaker 1: a different thing than most teams in the NFL. I

292
00:13:14,520 --> 00:13:17,240
Speaker 1: can remember when I was at ESPN. You'd see that

293
00:13:17,360 --> 00:13:20,400
Speaker 1: the traffic reports every day for all thirty two teams

294
00:13:20,400 --> 00:13:23,800
Speaker 1: in the league, with the NFL Nation thing and the Patriots,

295
00:13:23,800 --> 00:13:26,520
Speaker 1: the Cowboys, and I think the Packers generally were and

296
00:13:26,600 --> 00:13:29,640
Speaker 1: the Vikings were up there, but those three were. You know,

297
00:13:29,800 --> 00:13:32,440
Speaker 1: it's just a little bit of a different thing because

298
00:13:32,480 --> 00:13:35,120
Speaker 1: of the national nature of those fan bases and some

299
00:13:35,160 --> 00:13:36,719
Speaker 1: of the players they've had and that sort of thing.

300
00:13:36,840 --> 00:13:39,240
Speaker 1: So if you're going to win these types of games

301
00:13:39,360 --> 00:13:41,600
Speaker 1: and you get to nine and one, ten and one,

302
00:13:41,679 --> 00:13:44,120
Speaker 1: whatever it would happen to be, that's gonna It's hard

303
00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:46,319
Speaker 1: to ignore that even if you are, you know, in

304
00:13:46,440 --> 00:13:48,520
Speaker 1: fly over country or people think, god, I don't know

305
00:13:48,559 --> 00:13:50,640
Speaker 1: about Kirk Cousins, or you know, whatever it might happen

306
00:13:50,640 --> 00:13:52,880
Speaker 1: to be. This gets to a point, as Kevin O'Connell

307
00:13:52,880 --> 00:13:55,280
Speaker 1: talked about, that the teams that deserved to be talked

308
00:13:55,320 --> 00:13:57,680
Speaker 1: about will end up being being talked about. If you

309
00:13:57,760 --> 00:14:01,000
Speaker 1: win enough to get yourself there might be getting talked about,

310
00:14:01,040 --> 00:14:02,800
Speaker 1: and there might be a buzz around the Twin Cities,

311
00:14:02,840 --> 00:14:07,400
Speaker 1: but the national oddsmakers are not listening. Yeah, they need

312
00:14:07,440 --> 00:14:11,040
Speaker 1: to get on board. As of today, currently they are

313
00:14:11,600 --> 00:14:14,960
Speaker 1: one and a half point underdogs at home, and per

314
00:14:15,240 --> 00:14:18,200
Speaker 1: ESPN stats infos, the first time since nineteen seventy six

315
00:14:18,240 --> 00:14:20,160
Speaker 1: that a team eight and one or better was a

316
00:14:20,200 --> 00:14:25,080
Speaker 1: home underdog that started disc respect. I'm just kidding, No, Ben,

317
00:14:25,120 --> 00:14:26,920
Speaker 1: what do you think about that? Like, what do you think?

318
00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:30,160
Speaker 1: You know? Obviously maybe you know Vegas doesn't know everything either,

319
00:14:30,280 --> 00:14:33,960
Speaker 1: So what do we think about that? Like narrative going

320
00:14:33,960 --> 00:14:37,440
Speaker 1: into this? Yeah, it's interesting and I'm certainly not like

321
00:14:37,800 --> 00:14:39,880
Speaker 1: oddsmaker guide to the point where I could tell you

322
00:14:39,960 --> 00:14:42,520
Speaker 1: exactly what thinking goes into that. But I mean, Vegas

323
00:14:42,600 --> 00:14:45,920
Speaker 1: tends to be pretty good getting a lot of these things.

324
00:14:45,960 --> 00:14:48,280
Speaker 1: But I also think there's it seems like some of

325
00:14:48,280 --> 00:14:50,960
Speaker 1: these early lines sometimes are meant to tease out some

326
00:14:51,040 --> 00:14:53,720
Speaker 1: money from somebody trying to bet the other side of

327
00:14:53,720 --> 00:14:55,960
Speaker 1: her fan bases that may get a little bit riled

328
00:14:56,040 --> 00:14:58,400
Speaker 1: up and say what, No, I'm not I'm betting on

329
00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:01,640
Speaker 1: my team or you know whatever we have to Well,

330
00:15:02,840 --> 00:15:06,000
Speaker 1: I mean I've seen that at times, I think with

331
00:15:06,080 --> 00:15:08,400
Speaker 1: some of these lines, probably more so I feel like

332
00:15:08,440 --> 00:15:11,240
Speaker 1: that has happened with Packers games, some where you see

333
00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:13,720
Speaker 1: a line come out that it's kind of people kind

334
00:15:13,760 --> 00:15:15,440
Speaker 1: of the theory is are you trying to tease some

335
00:15:15,480 --> 00:15:17,000
Speaker 1: money out of the fan base to get them to

336
00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:19,680
Speaker 1: bed on it? But yeah, I think some of it

337
00:15:19,800 --> 00:15:22,880
Speaker 1: may be a little bit of the well, all of

338
00:15:22,880 --> 00:15:26,480
Speaker 1: these close games, that the total margin for the year

339
00:15:26,480 --> 00:15:29,040
Speaker 1: in terms of points score versus points allowed is not

340
00:15:29,160 --> 00:15:31,880
Speaker 1: as impressive as you would think for eight and one,

341
00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:34,040
Speaker 1: And I think the Cowboys probably actually have a higher

342
00:15:34,160 --> 00:15:36,880
Speaker 1: scoring margins for the year, I believe than the Vikings do.

343
00:15:37,200 --> 00:15:39,560
Speaker 1: So that may be playing into it a little bit.

344
00:15:39,600 --> 00:15:43,440
Speaker 1: And you may be saying National TV, Kirk Cousins, you

345
00:15:43,440 --> 00:15:45,680
Speaker 1: know some I would bet some of those things are

346
00:15:45,680 --> 00:15:47,440
Speaker 1: still baked into it. I'll be very curious to see

347
00:15:47,480 --> 00:15:50,560
Speaker 1: what the line is for the Patriots game next Thursday, too.

348
00:15:50,600 --> 00:15:53,640
Speaker 1: But yeah, I think there's there's probably still a little

349
00:15:53,640 --> 00:15:57,320
Speaker 1: bit of that go win a game comfortably and go

350
00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:01,520
Speaker 1: beat a team of this nature consistently before those spreads

351
00:16:01,520 --> 00:16:04,040
Speaker 1: start to change. That's kind of my armchair theory on it.

352
00:16:04,120 --> 00:16:06,240
Speaker 1: But I have a feeling some of those things are

353
00:16:06,240 --> 00:16:08,520
Speaker 1: picked into that. Yeah, I think to that point. I

354
00:16:08,520 --> 00:16:10,400
Speaker 1: mean it's kind of been a trend for the NFL

355
00:16:10,480 --> 00:16:12,560
Speaker 1: this year was kind of these one score games. I

356
00:16:12,560 --> 00:16:16,000
Speaker 1: think we have a record sixty eight games decide to

357
00:16:16,000 --> 00:16:18,400
Speaker 1: buy a touchdown or less, which is like a record

358
00:16:18,400 --> 00:16:20,720
Speaker 1: through the first ten weeks of the season. And when

359
00:16:20,720 --> 00:16:23,080
Speaker 1: you look at this Vikings team, like, we've played twenty

360
00:16:23,120 --> 00:16:26,480
Speaker 1: seven games through the past two seasons, and twenty one

361
00:16:26,520 --> 00:16:28,280
Speaker 1: of those games have been decided to buy a score

362
00:16:28,320 --> 00:16:30,880
Speaker 1: or less, Like, do you think this trend is what

363
00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:33,360
Speaker 1: the NFL wants? Or like how it is going to

364
00:16:33,400 --> 00:16:36,560
Speaker 1: continue to go? Or I guess I guess my questions

365
00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:39,440
Speaker 1: like where does style points fit in this mode of

366
00:16:39,720 --> 00:16:42,520
Speaker 1: where the NFL is going. Yeah, I wondered this because

367
00:16:42,600 --> 00:16:44,600
Speaker 1: I wrote about this a little bit this week too,

368
00:16:44,680 --> 00:16:47,320
Speaker 1: just after seeing the NFL put out that stat I mean,

369
00:16:47,400 --> 00:16:49,720
Speaker 1: there's no doubt they want this. I mean they like

370
00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:52,640
Speaker 1: the fact that these things are exciting, and the system

371
00:16:52,680 --> 00:16:54,920
Speaker 1: is set up for that, right. I mean it's set

372
00:16:55,000 --> 00:16:57,840
Speaker 1: up to kind of equalize teams in the sense that

373
00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:02,240
Speaker 1: the salary cap is not negotiable, the draft status, there's

374
00:17:02,240 --> 00:17:04,280
Speaker 1: no lottery. I mean, if you have the worst record

375
00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:05,920
Speaker 1: in the league, you will be the number one pick,

376
00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:08,560
Speaker 1: no questions asked. So the league has set up a

377
00:17:08,600 --> 00:17:12,600
Speaker 1: system that allows teams to rebuild quickly, and it means

378
00:17:12,600 --> 00:17:15,359
Speaker 1: for close competitive games. I mean, all of that is

379
00:17:15,400 --> 00:17:18,160
Speaker 1: why it is the product that it is. I'm talking

380
00:17:18,200 --> 00:17:20,600
Speaker 1: to people in London about this. They were saying, this

381
00:17:20,680 --> 00:17:23,119
Speaker 1: is why we have come to love the NFL is

382
00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:25,440
Speaker 1: that it's not like the English Premier League, where there's

383
00:17:25,440 --> 00:17:27,199
Speaker 1: five teams that have a chance because they buy all

384
00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:30,639
Speaker 1: the players. There's a level of hope and expectation that

385
00:17:30,680 --> 00:17:32,480
Speaker 1: these games are going to be close that just doesn't

386
00:17:32,480 --> 00:17:35,560
Speaker 1: exist in other things. So there's no doubt that this

387
00:17:35,680 --> 00:17:38,560
Speaker 1: is a feature, not a bug, of the whole thing.

388
00:17:38,600 --> 00:17:41,199
Speaker 1: The question I think becomes if these games are going

389
00:17:41,240 --> 00:17:44,320
Speaker 1: to be close every week? The common thought is that

390
00:17:44,560 --> 00:17:47,240
Speaker 1: there's some randomness that goes into close games. Are you

391
00:17:47,280 --> 00:17:50,160
Speaker 1: going to be able to win close games every single year?

392
00:17:50,200 --> 00:17:53,160
Speaker 1: And the vikings I think have, whether it's situational masters

393
00:17:53,240 --> 00:17:55,240
Speaker 1: or just kind of having a mindset of we're not

394
00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:57,879
Speaker 1: going to panic, there's sort of this experiment going on,

395
00:17:57,960 --> 00:18:00,280
Speaker 1: I think of can we hack these close games? Can

396
00:18:00,320 --> 00:18:02,760
Speaker 1: we make it so that we win these things consistently,

397
00:18:02,840 --> 00:18:05,280
Speaker 1: even if there may be a bounce of a ball

398
00:18:05,320 --> 00:18:06,800
Speaker 1: that we need to help us out every once in

399
00:18:06,800 --> 00:18:09,199
Speaker 1: a while. Can we win these things on balance? And

400
00:18:09,800 --> 00:18:12,760
Speaker 1: so far there's seven to no in those games, and

401
00:18:13,080 --> 00:18:14,720
Speaker 1: that's why they are where they are. It's going to

402
00:18:14,760 --> 00:18:17,120
Speaker 1: be really interesting to wats that year over a year

403
00:18:17,160 --> 00:18:19,840
Speaker 1: in the Kevin O'Connell regime, if there are this many

404
00:18:19,840 --> 00:18:21,880
Speaker 1: close games and everything seems to be pointing, if there's

405
00:18:21,880 --> 00:18:23,360
Speaker 1: going to be more of them than there have been

406
00:18:23,359 --> 00:18:25,920
Speaker 1: in the past, can the Vikings consistently be a team

407
00:18:26,040 --> 00:18:28,720
Speaker 1: that wins more than their fair share of those because

408
00:18:29,160 --> 00:18:32,040
Speaker 1: if you even do that, you're going to have a

409
00:18:32,119 --> 00:18:34,480
Speaker 1: leg up in the modern NFL. I think you talk

410
00:18:34,520 --> 00:18:36,520
Speaker 1: about these one score games and a lot of this

411
00:18:36,600 --> 00:18:40,160
Speaker 1: comes down to what coaches and players consistently talk about,

412
00:18:40,160 --> 00:18:43,800
Speaker 1: where it's the details, the small things. How much do

413
00:18:43,880 --> 00:18:46,840
Speaker 1: you think those details play into what they're doing? And

414
00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:50,200
Speaker 1: by that, I mean I'm kind of trending towards the

415
00:18:50,880 --> 00:18:54,879
Speaker 1: Vikings strength and their penalty differential where they are so

416
00:18:55,359 --> 00:18:57,520
Speaker 1: low on the list and penalties and then high on

417
00:18:57,520 --> 00:19:01,480
Speaker 1: the list and penalties against. Yeah, I mean it's been interesting.

418
00:19:01,680 --> 00:19:04,000
Speaker 1: I think I wondered about the penalty thing at the

419
00:19:04,040 --> 00:19:06,520
Speaker 1: beginning of the year with this young secondary because what

420
00:19:06,560 --> 00:19:10,080
Speaker 1: you typically see with young corners is they get grabby

421
00:19:10,119 --> 00:19:12,840
Speaker 1: and they get penalized a lot for pass interference or

422
00:19:12,880 --> 00:19:16,000
Speaker 1: illegal contact or the kinds of holding. We have not

423
00:19:16,119 --> 00:19:20,480
Speaker 1: seen those things become big problems for this group in

424
00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:23,199
Speaker 1: the way that you would maybe expect with the way

425
00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:25,480
Speaker 1: that we've even seen in the past with some of

426
00:19:25,480 --> 00:19:28,280
Speaker 1: the young corners around here. So that has been a

427
00:19:28,320 --> 00:19:30,800
Speaker 1: big deal. And I think it's especially a big deal

428
00:19:30,920 --> 00:19:32,440
Speaker 1: when you have a guy on the other side of

429
00:19:32,480 --> 00:19:36,240
Speaker 1: the ball in Justin Jefferson that sometimes people just say

430
00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:37,959
Speaker 1: we have to grab him to try to stop him,

431
00:19:38,040 --> 00:19:40,359
Speaker 1: and that he had a big pass interference penalty he

432
00:19:40,440 --> 00:19:42,879
Speaker 1: drew at the end of that game on Sunday, and

433
00:19:42,920 --> 00:19:45,280
Speaker 1: that's you know, when it's a spot foul in the NFL,

434
00:19:45,320 --> 00:19:48,200
Speaker 1: that's as good as a catch. And I think that

435
00:19:48,320 --> 00:19:50,679
Speaker 1: type of stuff plays into some of the penalty differential

436
00:19:50,880 --> 00:19:53,040
Speaker 1: that they've been able to draw some of those DPIs

437
00:19:52,840 --> 00:19:55,639
Speaker 1: that you haven't seen as many of those go against

438
00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:58,480
Speaker 1: the Vikings just because the technique has not been such

439
00:19:58,520 --> 00:20:00,760
Speaker 1: that they've been called for it much. And I think

440
00:20:00,840 --> 00:20:04,119
Speaker 1: you have that you have not as many offensive line

441
00:20:04,119 --> 00:20:06,119
Speaker 1: penalties as we saw last year. I mean at the

442
00:20:06,160 --> 00:20:07,720
Speaker 1: beginning of the year last year that was all that.

443
00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:14,680
Speaker 1: Don't remind and you know there was the Cincinnati game

444
00:20:14,760 --> 00:20:17,320
Speaker 1: holding penalties, it was false starts, you know, all that

445
00:20:17,359 --> 00:20:19,880
Speaker 1: stuff right at the beginning. That has gotten cleaned up

446
00:20:19,960 --> 00:20:22,639
Speaker 1: quite a bit since then. And I think that's a

447
00:20:22,680 --> 00:20:25,560
Speaker 1: lot of where you've seen it is just those common penalties,

448
00:20:25,600 --> 00:20:28,479
Speaker 1: holding pass interference. They've been better at cleaning those up,

449
00:20:28,480 --> 00:20:30,920
Speaker 1: and they've been able to get some of those called

450
00:20:30,960 --> 00:20:33,439
Speaker 1: against other teams because of guys like Justin Jeffer Centers

451
00:20:33,440 --> 00:20:36,000
Speaker 1: and Aias Smith that we'll be able to draw those things. Yeah,

452
00:20:36,560 --> 00:20:38,159
Speaker 1: last question for you, I think we got about a

453
00:20:38,200 --> 00:20:40,600
Speaker 1: minute left here. Um, Penalties is going to be a

454
00:20:40,600 --> 00:20:42,840
Speaker 1: big thing in this game. This Dallas Cowboys team is

455
00:20:42,840 --> 00:20:47,280
Speaker 1: the fifth most penalized team in the NFL. Six offside penalties,

456
00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:50,240
Speaker 1: which is the most in the NFL. For this Vikings

457
00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:53,560
Speaker 1: offense playing against this Cowboys defense. What's one thing that

458
00:20:53,680 --> 00:20:55,600
Speaker 1: I guess what could be an X factory I guess

459
00:20:55,600 --> 00:20:58,080
Speaker 1: in determining the outcome of Sunday's game. Yeah, I mean,

460
00:20:58,119 --> 00:21:00,040
Speaker 1: we talked about the hardcount thing a little bit, and

461
00:21:00,600 --> 00:21:03,000
Speaker 1: I think that you could see that being a big deal,

462
00:21:03,080 --> 00:21:04,919
Speaker 1: especially at home when the crowd's going to be quiet.

463
00:21:04,920 --> 00:21:07,720
Speaker 1: Cousins has used that hard account a lot more. And

464
00:21:07,840 --> 00:21:09,760
Speaker 1: you have a group that has a lot of good

465
00:21:09,760 --> 00:21:11,920
Speaker 1: pass rushers and if some of that, some of those

466
00:21:11,920 --> 00:21:14,520
Speaker 1: penalties are coming because of the aggressiveness of that group,

467
00:21:14,600 --> 00:21:16,280
Speaker 1: you may be able to take advantage of that. And

468
00:21:16,320 --> 00:21:17,840
Speaker 1: then if you do, you can get some of those

469
00:21:17,880 --> 00:21:20,359
Speaker 1: free plays. And we you know, we've seen quarterbacks use that.

470
00:21:20,600 --> 00:21:23,080
Speaker 1: Aaron Rodgers is kind of the one that has used

471
00:21:23,080 --> 00:21:25,240
Speaker 1: at the most. But if Cousins can get some of

472
00:21:25,240 --> 00:21:27,960
Speaker 1: those and maybe a free player too, you know, in

473
00:21:28,000 --> 00:21:30,119
Speaker 1: a close game, that can make all the difference. So

474
00:21:30,160 --> 00:21:32,200
Speaker 1: I would keep an eye on that. As you mentioned

475
00:21:32,200 --> 00:21:34,960
Speaker 1: the offside staff for the Cowboys, certainly a spot where

476
00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:37,400
Speaker 1: in a close game we talk about all these little details,

477
00:21:37,440 --> 00:21:39,879
Speaker 1: that could be a spot where Cousins can use that

478
00:21:39,920 --> 00:21:42,639
Speaker 1: hardcount to an advantage and maybe create a play that

479
00:21:42,920 --> 00:21:46,160
Speaker 1: chips the game. Well, Ben, I appreciate your time today.

480
00:21:46,480 --> 00:21:47,920
Speaker 1: We could talk to you all day. I feel like

481
00:21:47,960 --> 00:21:50,480
Speaker 1: I said that all the time. But at the same time, Ben,

482
00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:52,760
Speaker 1: I'm looking forward to seeing you. Know this, I guess

483
00:21:52,840 --> 00:21:55,239
Speaker 1: just the outcome on Sunday's game, because this is going

484
00:21:55,280 --> 00:21:58,040
Speaker 1: to be an electric game. US Bank Stadium is going

485
00:21:58,080 --> 00:22:00,920
Speaker 1: to be packed. It means a lot for this Cowboys

486
00:22:00,920 --> 00:22:03,440
Speaker 1: team as well as this Vikings team, so looking forward

487
00:22:03,440 --> 00:22:05,639
Speaker 1: to seeing you at us Bank Stadium on Sunday. It

488
00:22:05,720 --> 00:22:09,240
Speaker 1: should be a fun one. National TV Vikings fans typically

489
00:22:09,280 --> 00:22:11,840
Speaker 1: are not big fans of the Cowboys. Should be an

490
00:22:11,840 --> 00:22:13,520
Speaker 1: electric habits for there. It should be a lot of fun,

491
00:22:13,720 --> 00:22:16,360
Speaker 1: all right. Big thanks to the Star Tribunes, Ben Guestling.

492
00:22:16,440 --> 00:22:19,600
Speaker 1: You can follow them online, follow us articles. Great stuff. Ben,

493
00:22:19,640 --> 00:22:21,439
Speaker 1: We thank you so much for your time. Thanks so

494
00:22:21,480 --> 00:22:24,280
Speaker 1: much for having me three twenty five pm Central kickoff

495
00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:27,960
Speaker 1: Vikings Cowboys at us Bank Stadium. Vikings fans, looking forward

496
00:22:28,000 --> 00:22:30,439
Speaker 1: to seeing you there. For Tatum Everett, Ben Guestling, and

497
00:22:30,560 --> 00:22:32,760
Speaker 1: Eric Davidson. My name is Gabe Henderson and thank you

498
00:22:32,800 --> 00:22:35,720
Speaker 1: again for tuning into another edition of the Minnesota Vikings

499
00:22:35,760 --> 00:22:37,440
Speaker 1: Podcast presented by Pepsinn