WEBVTT - Minnesota Vikings Podcast: 5 Surprising Vikings So Far + WR Dan Chisena Joins | Episode 57 0:00:06.320 --> 0:00:09.160 Rain track for self years of pencil Bad and it's 0:00:09.560 --> 0:00:12.200 a great outset of mine. I put earth you, running rouletes, 0:00:12.240 --> 0:00:15.480 running guys off, trying to use that to my advantage. 0:00:17.400 --> 0:00:18.800 You know. For me, it's just been about taking it 0:00:18.880 --> 0:00:20.680 one day at a time, controlling what I can control 0:00:20.800 --> 0:00:23.320 and just going out and competing every day and let 0:00:23.320 --> 0:00:25.639 all that other stuff to your itself out and sort 0:00:25.680 --> 0:00:37.600 it out. Hey, everybody, Welcome to the Minnesota Vikings Podcast, 0:00:37.920 --> 0:00:41.560 Episode fifty seven. I'm your hosts. I Amindson, joined by 0:00:41.800 --> 0:00:47.800 Chris Corso and Jay Nelson from Vikings dot Com. Today's 0:00:47.800 --> 0:00:51.160 podcast is brought to you by Verizon, the network more 0:00:51.240 --> 0:00:55.880 people rely on, gives you more and Jay and Chris. 0:00:56.040 --> 0:00:59.320 Verizon Vikings training camp is coming up on its final 0:00:59.440 --> 0:01:04.039 weeks year. We're about to get reacclimated to our downtown home, 0:01:04.240 --> 0:01:07.720 US Bank Stadium. We got a few things to go over. Obviously, 0:01:07.760 --> 0:01:09.920 the news has come down about fans for the first 0:01:09.959 --> 0:01:12.840 two weeks at US Bank Stadium. Let's get into that 0:01:12.920 --> 0:01:16.600 a little bit. Corso has an interview with Vikings Undrafted 0:01:16.600 --> 0:01:21.920 wide Out Dan Cesena and ESPN's first NFL Power Rankings 0:01:21.959 --> 0:01:24.279 list is out, so we'll show you where the Vikings 0:01:24.319 --> 0:01:26.520 are at. And I will complain about that a bunch 0:01:26.520 --> 0:01:29.560 because I think it's garbage where they got ranked. But 0:01:29.720 --> 0:01:32.160 that is what we in the business call a teaser. 0:01:32.319 --> 0:01:36.080 Let's start with the news that everybody's talking about. Guys, 0:01:36.120 --> 0:01:38.679 the Vikings have officially announced that there will be no 0:01:38.760 --> 0:01:43.080 fans in attendance at least our first two home games 0:01:43.600 --> 0:01:46.839 during the month of September. And before we kind of 0:01:47.160 --> 0:01:49.800 go about breaking that down, what I want to do 0:01:49.840 --> 0:01:52.639 is I'd like to read the official statement from the team, 0:01:53.160 --> 0:01:57.720 just so everybody knows where this is coming from. This 0:01:57.840 --> 0:02:01.800 is the official team statement. Over the past several months, 0:02:01.920 --> 0:02:05.560 we have collaborated with US Bank Stadium Partners, the NFL, 0:02:05.920 --> 0:02:08.600 the State of Minnesota, and the City of Minneapolis to 0:02:08.639 --> 0:02:13.200 determine the best way to safely and responsibly host a 0:02:13.320 --> 0:02:16.560 limited number of fans at Viking home games. We have 0:02:16.600 --> 0:02:19.760 sought to balance the opportunity to provide fan access with 0:02:19.840 --> 0:02:23.520 the responsibility to adhere to public health and medical guidance 0:02:23.520 --> 0:02:27.480 in order to maintain the health and safety of fans, players, 0:02:27.840 --> 0:02:32.720 staff members, and the broader community. Ultimately, public health is 0:02:32.760 --> 0:02:36.560 our top priority. Based on our conversations and the current 0:02:36.600 --> 0:02:40.680 Minnesota Department of Health guidelines that specify an indoor venue 0:02:40.720 --> 0:02:44.200 capacity of two hundred and fifty. We have determined it 0:02:44.280 --> 0:02:46.600 is not the right time to welcome fans back to 0:02:46.720 --> 0:02:49.680 US Bank Stadium. As a result, the first two Viking 0:02:49.720 --> 0:02:54.480 home games, Sunday September thirteenth and Sunday September twenty seventh, 0:02:54.680 --> 0:02:57.960 will be closed to the public. We will continue to 0:02:58.000 --> 0:03:00.720 work with the appropriate officials on our plans with the 0:03:00.760 --> 0:03:05.000 hope of bringing fans back in a safe manner later 0:03:05.200 --> 0:03:08.519 this season. So there it is. That's the official team statement. 0:03:09.320 --> 0:03:13.399 Not unexpected, you know. I think to this point, sixteen 0:03:13.480 --> 0:03:17.040 teams have announced that they won't have fans in attendance 0:03:17.080 --> 0:03:20.040 at least at the beginning of the season. Six teams 0:03:20.639 --> 0:03:23.200 have announced that there will be fans week one. I 0:03:23.240 --> 0:03:26.480 know there's also six teams that have announced there won't 0:03:26.480 --> 0:03:29.360 be fans at all all season. So everybody's kind of 0:03:29.400 --> 0:03:32.760 all over the map here. But the Vikings, I think 0:03:32.800 --> 0:03:36.800 doing the responsible thing, adhering to state guidelines and playing 0:03:36.800 --> 0:03:39.280 it by ear. It sounds like Chris, you know, the 0:03:39.320 --> 0:03:42.240 first two games, let's do what's right and then let's 0:03:42.280 --> 0:03:46.560 reassess the situation. Yes, I think watching other sports and 0:03:46.640 --> 0:03:49.119 what's going on in the world today, you wouldn't at 0:03:49.120 --> 0:03:52.000 all expect the fact that the Vikings would have fans 0:03:52.040 --> 0:03:54.680 on Opening Night when they take on the Packers at 0:03:54.760 --> 0:03:57.120 US Bank Stadiums. So I think this is the way 0:03:57.160 --> 0:03:59.840 to go. It keeps it open for the future, which 0:03:59.880 --> 0:04:02.400 is probably a little sense of hope, which is awesome. 0:04:02.440 --> 0:04:05.920 But yeah, definitely upsetting to see that there will be 0:04:05.960 --> 0:04:09.760 no fans Week one. Mike Zimmer is not happy about 0:04:09.760 --> 0:04:13.800 it because he knows the home field advantage. Each Friday 0:04:13.880 --> 0:04:16.120 during the regular season, he'll be like, well, it's here 0:04:16.160 --> 0:04:20.000 that skull chant going on at the stadium. So Mike 0:04:20.080 --> 0:04:22.799 Zimmer made it clear this week he's not happy about 0:04:22.839 --> 0:04:26.360 the no fans at the stadium. Now I should clarify. 0:04:26.600 --> 0:04:29.359 I think he understands the gravity of the situation. I 0:04:29.440 --> 0:04:32.479 think what he was saying was, we have such a 0:04:32.480 --> 0:04:36.240 tremendous home field advantage, it's a disappointment. I'll go on 0:04:36.360 --> 0:04:38.880 other podcasts and I was on a podcast with an 0:04:38.880 --> 0:04:41.120 Eagles fan and a Giants fan, and we were breaking 0:04:41.160 --> 0:04:44.040 down the Vikings schedule, and just listening to those guys, 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:49.680 you forget that this is the pinnacle of stadiums currently 0:04:49.800 --> 0:04:51.919 in the NFL. We are number one with a bullet 0:04:51.960 --> 0:04:54.720 It's like US Bank Stadium is like a space ship 0:04:54.839 --> 0:04:57.640 from the future that people play football and the energy 0:04:57.960 --> 0:05:02.400 and the environment is incredible and whatever it takes to 0:05:02.440 --> 0:05:04.839 have football, That's where I'm at. I want to see 0:05:04.920 --> 0:05:07.080 week one and two. So if this is how it goes, 0:05:07.200 --> 0:05:10.520 this is how it goes, but it will be different. 0:05:10.600 --> 0:05:15.200 It will be odd to see that giant, beautiful building 0:05:15.279 --> 0:05:18.640 without the fans energy. Jay. I think the biggest bummer 0:05:18.680 --> 0:05:20.960 for me is the fact not only that there won't 0:05:20.960 --> 0:05:24.680 be fans, but who it's against, because the environment at 0:05:24.800 --> 0:05:28.080 Viking Packer games are always off the charts, and I 0:05:28.120 --> 0:05:30.960 think what Zimmer is really alluding to here is just 0:05:31.040 --> 0:05:34.799 the disappointment knowing that when you have that many fans 0:05:34.800 --> 0:05:38.040 in attendance, you have them that loud, that boisterous, especially 0:05:38.080 --> 0:05:41.400 on defense against a guy like Aaron Rodgers, who you know, 0:05:41.440 --> 0:05:44.080 we can take all the help we can get at 0:05:44.080 --> 0:05:47.680 this point, I think not having fans for those first 0:05:47.720 --> 0:05:51.560 two games will potentially be a detriment, especially defensively, but 0:05:51.640 --> 0:05:54.760 that just means, as Zimmer likes to say, they'll figure 0:05:54.800 --> 0:05:57.040 it out. They just have to play. Nobody's gonna feel 0:05:57.040 --> 0:06:00.240 sorry for them, and I really wish they could be 0:06:00.320 --> 0:06:03.160 there in attendance and to feel that energy. But you're 0:06:03.200 --> 0:06:04.960 going to do whatever you can to get these games 0:06:05.080 --> 0:06:07.080 come hell a high water. I mean, the truth is, 0:06:07.279 --> 0:06:09.960 eight times a year you have to prepare to play 0:06:09.960 --> 0:06:13.640 a team well at a crowd noise disadvantage. So these 0:06:13.680 --> 0:06:15.600 guys know how to do it. It's a bummer that 0:06:15.640 --> 0:06:18.560 they don't get to have that in their in their 0:06:18.560 --> 0:06:21.200 back pocket. You still get to sleep in your home bed, 0:06:21.320 --> 0:06:23.560 you still get to not travel, you still get to 0:06:23.560 --> 0:06:26.279 have some of the advantages of being the home team. 0:06:26.320 --> 0:06:28.480 But you know, like you said, it's nice to have 0:06:28.520 --> 0:06:31.720 people screaming when Aaron Rodgers is making mistakes. That's that's 0:06:31.760 --> 0:06:34.200 what you want. I get why it's going this way, 0:06:34.200 --> 0:06:36.240 but it's a little hard to come to terms with 0:06:36.400 --> 0:06:39.839 as a fan. Is leaving it up to communities and teams. 0:06:40.360 --> 0:06:43.320 That's that's where you go. Okay, so six teams, I 0:06:43.360 --> 0:06:46.240 think it's Kansas City is at twenty five percent capacity, 0:06:46.360 --> 0:06:52.800 Miami twenty percent, Indianapolis twenty five, Jacksonville twenty five, and 0:06:53.120 --> 0:06:58.599 the Cowboys fifty percent, which has been permitted by their governor. 0:06:58.680 --> 0:07:01.560 I believe right, Jay, it's basically the Yeah, it's it's 0:07:01.600 --> 0:07:04.920 the maximum amount allowed by the governor's edict down in Texas. 0:07:05.200 --> 0:07:10.240 I'm curious. It's it can become an interesting and this 0:07:10.280 --> 0:07:12.200 is a one time season, it's a once in a 0:07:12.280 --> 0:07:15.520 century pandemic. It's all these things. But there's there's the aspect. 0:07:15.600 --> 0:07:17.040 I think you have a lot of fans. I saw 0:07:17.080 --> 0:07:18.840 a lot of pieces written today. I'm seeing a lot 0:07:18.920 --> 0:07:22.360 of comments online. One of my good friends who's on 0:07:22.360 --> 0:07:26.280 one of my shows constantly is harping on the competitive balance. 0:07:26.360 --> 0:07:28.520 You know, how do you suss out the fact that 0:07:28.960 --> 0:07:31.040 each team in each state if you happen to be 0:07:31.080 --> 0:07:32.840 a team in a state that has different rules and 0:07:32.920 --> 0:07:36.840 another team in a state, Uh, it's it's an interesting factor, 0:07:36.880 --> 0:07:39.960 and it's it just gets tacked onto the long line 0:07:40.000 --> 0:07:42.880 of interesting things about this season where I've I've said 0:07:42.920 --> 0:07:45.640 this before. I think the team that takes health the 0:07:45.680 --> 0:07:50.760 most serious, whoever seriously approaches that aspect the most. That 0:07:50.840 --> 0:07:53.960 was not a great sentence, whoever does hail the hardest 0:07:54.040 --> 0:07:56.760 with the biggest smart brain. But you guys know what 0:07:56.800 --> 0:07:59.840 I'm saying, Like, whoever approaches that the best you know 0:08:00.120 --> 0:08:01.720 is going to be in an advantage. So it just 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:07.880 throws another piece into this pile of interesting aspects of 0:08:08.480 --> 0:08:12.000 the twenty twenty NFL season. The biggest thing for the 0:08:12.120 --> 0:08:15.360 Vikings is that this is being harped on from the 0:08:15.400 --> 0:08:17.920 top down, and it seems like the players are actually 0:08:18.640 --> 0:08:20.920 sticking to it. And it's not just the players, it's 0:08:20.920 --> 0:08:23.720 not just the coaches, it's everybody in the entire organization, 0:08:24.200 --> 0:08:28.400 because that is exactly what we've been told is if 0:08:28.440 --> 0:08:32.400 we take this serious and we at here to these 0:08:32.480 --> 0:08:35.680 rules and these standards, it's something that we're all willing 0:08:35.720 --> 0:08:37.240 to do if it means it's going to give the 0:08:37.280 --> 0:08:39.040 team an edge and it means that we might have 0:08:39.320 --> 0:08:41.880 a little bit more success than other people. It's just 0:08:42.040 --> 0:08:44.960 frustrating not to have fans and everybody else get to 0:08:45.040 --> 0:08:47.520 enjoy it that way. But listen, at this point, it's 0:08:47.520 --> 0:08:51.040 turned into, however, we can get football done on a 0:08:51.160 --> 0:08:53.960 field and make it happen for the entire season and 0:08:54.000 --> 0:08:56.439 get to an end of a season. People are willing 0:08:56.440 --> 0:08:58.720 to do it, and I think that's what's most encouraging 0:08:59.160 --> 0:09:01.680 working with this team and seeing how it's being handled. 0:09:01.679 --> 0:09:03.679 Behind the scenes at this point, absolutely, and I'm not 0:09:03.679 --> 0:09:06.040 going to get you know, there's enough arguing on Facebook 0:09:06.080 --> 0:09:08.800 to fill a thousand a thousand worlds. You know, I 0:09:08.960 --> 0:09:11.240 don't want to sit here and have a discussion about 0:09:11.240 --> 0:09:14.200 whether or not you know about the mandates and different 0:09:14.240 --> 0:09:16.920 governments and the health you know, and how all these 0:09:16.960 --> 0:09:19.320 things are laid out. I'm not interested in that. The 0:09:19.400 --> 0:09:22.280 only thing that I'm interested in is one what you said, Jay, 0:09:22.360 --> 0:09:25.760 I think the major advantage that the Vikings have going 0:09:25.800 --> 0:09:29.120 into this very strange season is consistency from the top down. 0:09:29.480 --> 0:09:31.720 The Wills have owned the team this long. Their staff 0:09:31.760 --> 0:09:34.480 has been in place this long. Spielman has been in 0:09:34.480 --> 0:09:36.600 place this long, Zimmer has been in place this long. 0:09:36.679 --> 0:09:39.720 So many assistance a shug has been in place this long. 0:09:39.800 --> 0:09:43.199 You have such cohesion, You have veteran leaders all over 0:09:43.240 --> 0:09:45.160 the team that have been in their positions for so long. 0:09:45.320 --> 0:09:48.120 And when you have that, it's easy to get people 0:09:48.160 --> 0:09:52.040 to buy in down the ladder and get everybody focused 0:09:52.040 --> 0:09:54.760 on a mission, a singular mission that we know could 0:09:54.760 --> 0:09:58.160 be beneficial for us. And to go back to what 0:09:58.160 --> 0:10:00.760 I was saying about arguments, I just I'm not going 0:10:00.800 --> 0:10:03.040 to sit here and say whether or not I think 0:10:03.240 --> 0:10:05.880 fans and stadiums are going to affect the ability for 0:10:05.880 --> 0:10:08.480 there to be games in week seven and eight and nine. 0:10:08.880 --> 0:10:11.000 But if these are the decisions that are made, these 0:10:11.000 --> 0:10:13.559 are the decisions that are made. What I want to do. 0:10:13.600 --> 0:10:16.040 I love this football team and I want to watch 0:10:16.080 --> 0:10:18.800 them on Sunday, and guys like us, we get to 0:10:18.960 --> 0:10:21.960 we get to go down on the field. So you know, 0:10:22.040 --> 0:10:24.440 that is a big part of our lives and something 0:10:24.480 --> 0:10:27.800 we really love, and I think we definitely can empathize 0:10:27.800 --> 0:10:30.120 with fans who want to be in that stadium. You know, 0:10:30.160 --> 0:10:33.959 I remember I remember my growing up. My cousin Al 0:10:34.160 --> 0:10:38.400 and his friends bought one of those shorter school buses 0:10:38.800 --> 0:10:41.840 and they painted it into a Vikings bus and every 0:10:41.960 --> 0:10:45.800 Sunday for years, he and his idiot friends would roll 0:10:45.920 --> 0:10:48.880 up to the stadium, tailgate and fly back down. And 0:10:49.400 --> 0:10:54.280 you know, that's part of the wonderful, you know, reality 0:10:54.280 --> 0:10:56.160 of being a sports fan. You get to be involved 0:10:56.200 --> 0:11:00.440 in that environment, but just to sit down and watched 0:11:00.480 --> 0:11:03.360 the games on TV. Given how these past six months 0:11:03.400 --> 0:11:06.440 have gone, I'm very much looking forward to that. So 0:11:06.559 --> 0:11:10.200 whatever it takes. Chris absolutely and the Vikings were hit 0:11:10.240 --> 0:11:13.679 with an obstacle this week. A few players were given 0:11:13.679 --> 0:11:18.240 the positive test, and we don't know if it's a 0:11:18.280 --> 0:11:21.760 false positive or not, and a bunch of we don't know. 0:11:21.840 --> 0:11:24.120 I thought we did know. It's it's it's a false positive, 0:11:24.160 --> 0:11:28.240 isn't it Wasn't it a lab lab issue? Right? So 0:11:28.320 --> 0:11:31.320 the lab in New Jersey had some sort of issue 0:11:31.320 --> 0:11:37.360 where famous home of Chris Corso, New Jersey native Chris Corso. 0:11:37.640 --> 0:11:40.560 Keep going with your point in New York. Chris is 0:11:40.679 --> 0:11:44.320 from New Jersey. He might as well be from New Jersey. 0:11:44.480 --> 0:11:47.960 There's I need to let listeners of this podcast understand 0:11:48.440 --> 0:11:52.000 that it is not uncommon for Chris Corso to finish 0:11:52.000 --> 0:11:54.200 an episode of this show and then look me in 0:11:54.240 --> 0:11:57.040 the eyes like it's a normal thing to say and go, 0:11:57.320 --> 0:12:00.280 I've got some sauce on the stove that i gotta 0:12:00.320 --> 0:12:04.280 go work on. There is a nice Corso is Chris 0:12:04.360 --> 0:12:08.800 Corso is New Jersey. So you can stay long island. 0:12:09.040 --> 0:12:11.640 You are New Jersey, Chris. But keep going, keep going 0:12:11.800 --> 0:12:14.440 with your with your lab talk. There's a nice there's 0:12:14.440 --> 0:12:16.760 a nice body of ra there's a nice river that 0:12:16.920 --> 0:12:20.760 separates uh New Jersey from where I'm from. But it's 0:12:20.800 --> 0:12:23.480 just the sauce you spilled. That's for another that's for 0:12:23.559 --> 0:12:26.480 another time. But uh, yeah, the Vicers were hit with 0:12:26.559 --> 0:12:31.240 this big time. I guess fluke of false tests that 0:12:31.240 --> 0:12:33.000 that a lot of teams had to deal with. And 0:12:33.000 --> 0:12:35.560 and you heard it from Andre Patterson this week like 0:12:35.679 --> 0:12:37.840 he's like, you know what, a couple guys are gonna 0:12:37.840 --> 0:12:40.440 set out of practice today maybe the next few days, 0:12:40.480 --> 0:12:43.720 but we have ten guys behind him that I cannot 0:12:43.760 --> 0:12:47.080 wait to see compete every day in practice. And and 0:12:47.200 --> 0:12:49.920 for him it's a DJ one them or uh some 0:12:49.960 --> 0:12:51.920 of these draft picks that the Vikings have on the 0:12:51.960 --> 0:12:55.560 defensive line, Hercules Mataafa, who you got to see being 0:12:55.800 --> 0:12:58.800 put in these bigger spots this week. So uh, just 0:12:58.840 --> 0:13:02.040 an example of what you were talking about, the cohesion 0:13:02.080 --> 0:13:05.960 and everyone being ready to go. That was that was 0:13:06.160 --> 0:13:10.120 shown in the press conference from Andre Patterson this week. Absolutely, 0:13:10.160 --> 0:13:12.719 and you know, to go back to those tests, I 0:13:12.760 --> 0:13:14.920 think a to have something like that happened in the 0:13:14.920 --> 0:13:17.880 preseason and give the league a chance to react to it. 0:13:18.080 --> 0:13:20.840 I would rather it happened there than Week eight, you know, 0:13:20.920 --> 0:13:24.600 So I and I also you know, I'm fortunate my 0:13:24.679 --> 0:13:28.079 dad is a biology professor. My brother and my nephew 0:13:28.080 --> 0:13:33.280 are pharmacists, and you know, I listening to them talk, 0:13:33.400 --> 0:13:36.480 you know, there's no world where this sort of testing, 0:13:37.000 --> 0:13:40.800 regardless of which version of a test you're using, is 0:13:40.840 --> 0:13:43.600 going to be one hundred percent on the nose. You know, 0:13:43.600 --> 0:13:47.199 if you talk to somebody who works in like, for example, 0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:51.280 large animal veterinary work, like like population, like with cattle 0:13:51.520 --> 0:13:53.520 and stuff like that, you know you're always going to 0:13:53.600 --> 0:13:57.160 run into situations like this when you're testing large populations. 0:13:57.679 --> 0:14:00.600 So it wasn't a huge surprise to me that happened. 0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:02.760 That the positives that I took out of it are 0:14:02.880 --> 0:14:05.280 I think it gives the league a chance to react 0:14:05.280 --> 0:14:07.320 to it when there aren't real games on the line, 0:14:07.480 --> 0:14:09.360 And I think exactly what you said, I mean, the 0:14:09.440 --> 0:14:11.120 Vikings were one of the harder hit teams. Was it 0:14:11.200 --> 0:14:14.600 eleven players, Chris, that's eacent amount. It was like eight 0:14:14.640 --> 0:14:18.240 to ten players. We don't have the specific exact number, 0:14:18.280 --> 0:14:21.000 but right in that area. And so look at and 0:14:21.000 --> 0:14:23.600 then like you said, they reacted to it, they dealt 0:14:23.600 --> 0:14:25.840 with it. Young guys got a chance to step up, 0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:28.840 and that keeps feeding into my set of beliefs for 0:14:28.880 --> 0:14:31.560 the season. One, Depth is going to be very important. 0:14:31.600 --> 0:14:35.080 In depth is going to be challenged, and this team 0:14:35.160 --> 0:14:39.120 having that cohesion and leadership will be an important thing. 0:14:39.480 --> 0:14:42.200 Jay well, as we've talked about for the last what 0:14:42.440 --> 0:14:45.720 three to four weeks, especially the depth question that this 0:14:46.200 --> 0:14:49.920 roster has is going to be tested not only from 0:14:49.960 --> 0:14:52.440 the fact internally and trying to figure out what cuts 0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:54.800 and who you're going to have on this roster, but 0:14:55.280 --> 0:14:57.800 like you just said, you know, given these kind of tests, 0:14:57.880 --> 0:15:00.160 you know what happens during the season if all of 0:15:00.160 --> 0:15:02.560 a sudden a guy test positive. I think they're carrying 0:15:02.560 --> 0:15:05.720 extra guys in the roster for potential fill ins when 0:15:05.760 --> 0:15:09.560 it comes to traveling and even home. But it means 0:15:09.560 --> 0:15:12.280 that from the top down, you're going to have to 0:15:12.320 --> 0:15:15.360 have everybody in all of these different groups, in all 0:15:15.400 --> 0:15:18.760 of these different positions working together. And you heard that 0:15:18.840 --> 0:15:21.440 from guys like you know, Dan Chasena coming up here 0:15:21.480 --> 0:15:24.120 saying the wide receiver group and the wide receiver room 0:15:24.200 --> 0:15:27.200 is working really well together. Same thing, but the secondary 0:15:27.240 --> 0:15:28.960 guys with a lot of the young guys are saying 0:15:29.160 --> 0:15:33.280 talking to Harrison Smith and Anthony Harris are helping get 0:15:33.320 --> 0:15:35.360 these young guys up to speed and it's going to 0:15:35.400 --> 0:15:38.240 be more crucial than ever this season, given everything else 0:15:38.240 --> 0:15:39.880 they're going to have to face, let alone, what's on 0:15:39.880 --> 0:15:42.200 a football field. Well, you know, I want to talk 0:15:42.240 --> 0:15:45.120 about They're they're going to conduct a practice at US 0:15:45.160 --> 0:15:49.040 Bank Stadium and try to get acclimated to the unique situation, 0:15:49.080 --> 0:15:53.480 which I think is a really, really, really smart move. 0:15:53.880 --> 0:15:56.120 But you know, before we do that, since we kind 0:15:56.120 --> 0:15:59.600 of stumbled our way into the depth question, you know, 0:15:59.720 --> 0:16:02.720 one thing I wanted to talk about. We're now we're 0:16:02.760 --> 0:16:05.760 over a week of full padded practices, right, guys are 0:16:05.800 --> 0:16:09.160 really getting into it, and storylines are starting to emerge, 0:16:09.400 --> 0:16:12.560 and some players are starting to surprise us. And some 0:16:12.640 --> 0:16:14.800 of those guys have been talked about a little bit 0:16:14.840 --> 0:16:18.720 more on v N and on our programs and on 0:16:18.880 --> 0:16:22.400 k Fan, and some of them, you know, haven't really 0:16:22.440 --> 0:16:26.640 gotten the discussion publicly yet that you know, the first 0:16:26.640 --> 0:16:29.120 guy we're going to talk about, Cameron Dancler. Everybody's talking 0:16:29.160 --> 0:16:32.560 about him. But I kind of identified five guys here 0:16:32.600 --> 0:16:37.080 that I think have stepped into stepped out of the 0:16:37.120 --> 0:16:40.200 shadows into the forefront in a surprising way, and I 0:16:40.240 --> 0:16:42.640 want to just bounce them off of you guys and 0:16:43.320 --> 0:16:45.120 have you tell me what you think about that, and 0:16:45.520 --> 0:16:48.960 tell me where you think our expectations should be with 0:16:49.040 --> 0:16:54.000 these individuals as as they, you know, surprise people here 0:16:54.000 --> 0:16:56.760 in camp. Let's start with the one that everybody's talking about, 0:16:56.800 --> 0:16:59.920 Cameron Danceler. You know we've talked about him before on 0:17:00.040 --> 0:17:04.240 the podcast. Everyone everyone who owns anything the color purple 0:17:04.320 --> 0:17:07.720 seems to be talking about Cameron Danceler. But Chris will 0:17:07.760 --> 0:17:10.600 start with you. I think the most unique thing about 0:17:10.680 --> 0:17:15.679 Cameron Danceler is his size and length. And while he 0:17:15.760 --> 0:17:21.840 ran a short, slower combine forty than you would expect 0:17:21.880 --> 0:17:24.960 at four or five or whatever it might be, he 0:17:25.000 --> 0:17:27.760 makes up for it with these long arms and this 0:17:28.080 --> 0:17:31.000 tall body frame that that is pretty much the reason 0:17:31.080 --> 0:17:33.639 why we drafted him. So I think that is the 0:17:33.840 --> 0:17:36.440 thing that's has stood out so far in practice. It 0:17:36.560 --> 0:17:39.440 stood out when he's guarding at him feeling every day 0:17:39.520 --> 0:17:42.680 in and out, and he stands out over the first 0:17:42.800 --> 0:17:47.240 round draft pick cornerback and Jeff Gladney for this exact reason. 0:17:47.880 --> 0:17:49.920 One of the things that you just brought up there 0:17:50.000 --> 0:17:53.200 is the thing that I was encouraged by, especially looking 0:17:53.280 --> 0:17:58.000 through social media Vikings dot com and our social platforms 0:17:58.280 --> 0:18:03.400 had posted yesterday Adam Feeland making a great catch around 0:18:03.480 --> 0:18:07.639 Cameron Danceler, but Danceler's reaction to it was essentially, you know, 0:18:07.720 --> 0:18:10.120 I'm working with the best and he's going to make 0:18:10.160 --> 0:18:12.800 me better. And I think that is a great attitude 0:18:12.800 --> 0:18:15.639 to have, especially as a rookie where you're getting a 0:18:15.640 --> 0:18:17.639 lot of praise. At the same point, you're going up 0:18:17.680 --> 0:18:20.320 against some of the best in the NFL, let alone 0:18:20.359 --> 0:18:23.199 best in the world. And I think if guys like 0:18:23.359 --> 0:18:26.840 Adam Feeling and going against him every day, you're learning 0:18:26.880 --> 0:18:29.320 from him and trying to figure out what's this going 0:18:29.400 --> 0:18:31.359 to feel like, or what's it like to go against 0:18:31.359 --> 0:18:34.160 a guy of his caliber. When you start to face 0:18:34.440 --> 0:18:36.639 week one against the Packers and you're looking at some 0:18:37.160 --> 0:18:39.560 pretty top notch guys across from there and you have 0:18:39.600 --> 0:18:42.320 Aaron Rodgers thrown to him. He's one of those guys 0:18:42.320 --> 0:18:44.760 that I think is going to learn exponentially as the 0:18:44.840 --> 0:18:47.399 season continues, week by week by week, as long as 0:18:47.440 --> 0:18:49.760 he keeps an open mind like that, you know, and 0:18:49.840 --> 0:18:52.200 I had to hammer home on that Adam Feeling thing. 0:18:52.200 --> 0:18:54.760 You know, Adam Feeling walking up to Zimmer and telling 0:18:54.840 --> 0:18:57.399 him number twenty seven is going to be good, you know, 0:18:57.600 --> 0:19:00.040 And that's my favorite part of camp. I remember it 0:19:00.080 --> 0:19:02.440 with Randy Moss, and there will never be an example 0:19:02.880 --> 0:19:06.880 like Randy Moss, but I remember just hearing them even 0:19:06.920 --> 0:19:10.240 as a kid, hearing the buzz like on the news 0:19:10.280 --> 0:19:14.000 and in player interviews, the way players reacted to the 0:19:14.000 --> 0:19:17.239 way Randy Moss looked in camp. So every year at 0:19:17.240 --> 0:19:19.760 training camp, I always listened to hear stuff like that, 0:19:19.800 --> 0:19:23.000 like Feeling going up to Zimmer and telling him he 0:19:23.040 --> 0:19:26.479 thinks Danceler is gonna be very good. And you know, 0:19:26.640 --> 0:19:29.560 it kind of looks like we don't know what the 0:19:29.640 --> 0:19:32.600 depth chart exactly is going to look like, but dancler 0:19:32.760 --> 0:19:37.399 clearly is playing nearer above guys like Chris Boyd, like 0:19:37.480 --> 0:19:42.400 you said, Corso Gladney and you know, and we don't 0:19:42.400 --> 0:19:45.560 know where Holton Hill. And if Hughes decides to play Nicol, 0:19:45.600 --> 0:19:47.560 there's gonna there might be an opportunity for him. And 0:19:47.600 --> 0:19:51.240 I'm just really, really really excited because the other thing 0:19:51.400 --> 0:19:55.119 is it's not he hasn't flashed on a day and 0:19:55.160 --> 0:19:57.520 then kind of been silent, and then flashed on a 0:19:57.600 --> 0:20:00.159 day and then kind of been silent. He's kind have 0:20:00.280 --> 0:20:04.080 made plays every single day I'm not saying he's had 0:20:04.200 --> 0:20:06.680 the best day every single day, but he's a guy 0:20:06.720 --> 0:20:09.879 that's getting talked about every single day because he seems 0:20:09.920 --> 0:20:13.960 to be making plays every single day. Let's go from Danceler, 0:20:14.080 --> 0:20:17.840 a guy everybody's talking about, to a guy that I 0:20:17.880 --> 0:20:23.760 think everybody should be talking about. Dakota Dozer is busting 0:20:23.960 --> 0:20:28.960 heads and making noise on the offensive line. Chris. Yeah. 0:20:29.000 --> 0:20:32.440 He has the connection with the Vikings run game coordinator 0:20:32.560 --> 0:20:35.920 Rico Dennison, who came from the Jets two years ago. 0:20:36.000 --> 0:20:40.000 He was with the Jets dacoded Dozer, and clearly mister 0:20:40.080 --> 0:20:43.520 Dennison has something for Dacoded Dozer to say. He needs 0:20:43.520 --> 0:20:47.000 to be taking the first team reps at the guard position. 0:20:47.040 --> 0:20:49.919 And the Vikings lose Josh Klein at that right guard 0:20:50.000 --> 0:20:53.800 spot in free agency this year, and Pat Elfine moves 0:20:53.840 --> 0:20:56.440 from left guard over to right guard, so that leaves 0:20:56.440 --> 0:20:58.880 a big spot in the middle of this Vikings offensive line. 0:20:58.880 --> 0:21:01.960 And it's been the veteran and Dakota Dozer who's been 0:21:01.960 --> 0:21:05.080 taking those first team reps. And you also hear a 0:21:05.119 --> 0:21:08.880 guy like Aviante Collins who is also taking the first 0:21:08.880 --> 0:21:11.399 team reps at that spot. So two guys you wouldn't 0:21:11.440 --> 0:21:15.600 really expect. I really have the backing of coach Kubiak 0:21:15.680 --> 0:21:18.080 in Dennison. I think the best part on my end 0:21:18.160 --> 0:21:20.000 is the fact, like you said, he is a veteran, 0:21:20.160 --> 0:21:22.720 he knows what he's getting into. You can trust a 0:21:22.760 --> 0:21:24.960 guy like that that's been around the league this long. 0:21:25.000 --> 0:21:27.639 He's in his seventh season coming out of Furman, and 0:21:27.680 --> 0:21:31.399 I think a guy like Dakota Dojer understands that he's 0:21:31.440 --> 0:21:33.960 getting to the point where he has to make a move, 0:21:34.119 --> 0:21:36.320 especially if he wants to be a starter on a 0:21:36.320 --> 0:21:38.879 weekend and week out basis. And for me, seeing a 0:21:38.880 --> 0:21:42.439