Speaker 1: Hello, and welcome to the forty nine Ers First and
Speaker 1: ten Podcast, ten minutes of the most up to date
Speaker 1: forty nine Ers news First Thing in the morning. I'm
Speaker 1: your host, Brionna McDonald, and I'm joined by a special
Speaker 1: guest on today's episode, Minnesota Vikings on air, talent Tatum Everett. Tatum,
Speaker 1: thanks for joining.
Speaker 2: Hey, brit thank you so much for having me. It's
Speaker 2: nice to hear you this morning. I'm getting really really
Speaker 2: excited about Monday. I can't believe if it's already like
Speaker 2: the Wednesday after games, so really just just a few
Speaker 2: days away.
Speaker 1: Yes, it's coming up, and the Vikings are coming off
Speaker 1: of a big win against a divisional opponent, defeating the
Speaker 1: Chicago Bears nineteen to thirteen in Week six. Tatum, what
Speaker 1: are some of your biggest takeaways from that game and
Speaker 1: how are the Vikings coming into the this week's contest
Speaker 1: against the forty nine Ers.
Speaker 2: The biggest takeaway for me is the defense. They were
Speaker 2: stand They stood out to me a lot in this
Speaker 2: last game. I think that they really won the game
Speaker 2: for this club because you know, you really felt the
Speaker 2: absence of Justin Jefferson. This defense stepped up. They had
Speaker 2: a turnover. They had pressured justin Fields the most of
Speaker 2: the NFL, which is pretty consistent for US. They blitzed
Speaker 2: justin field seventy one point nine percent of the time,
Speaker 2: and just to put out in perspective, the NFL average
Speaker 2: is twenty six point three percent, So there's a lot
Speaker 2: of different moving pieces in Brian Flores's defense. They really
Speaker 2: try to get to the quarterback and disrupt their rhythm,
Speaker 2: which was very successful. They were Fields was hit on
Speaker 2: seven of his fourteen passing plays in which he didn't scramble.
Speaker 2: So they liked to get the quarterback very very often.
Speaker 2: They blitzed forty eight percents their average, which is just
Speaker 2: kind of unheard of, I think a little bit. But
Speaker 2: that's kind of the thing to watch in this one.
Speaker 2: How much can the Vikings disrupt rock Party and the
Speaker 2: forty nine ers offense. I think that's definitely something to watch.
Speaker 2: As far as the offense, I think, as I mentioned earlier,
Speaker 2: I think that you can really feel the absence of
Speaker 2: Justin Jefferson, especially on early downs. You know, the Vikings
Speaker 2: have been We're in a lot of third and long
Speaker 2: situations and they weren't very good on third down. I
Speaker 2: think they were two of eight or something like that.
Speaker 2: So it was very evident that they could not keep
Speaker 2: drives going because justin Jefferson played, he caught eighty percent
Speaker 2: of his catches on first and second down this year,
Speaker 2: so he was targeted very often on first and second
Speaker 2: down and then uses a decoy on third down. And
Speaker 2: so that's why the Vikings were able to put together
Speaker 2: maybe a more consistent offensive performance. But without Jefferson they
Speaker 2: need to find a target or an offensive weapon to
Speaker 2: really step up in those early downs because they just
Speaker 2: haven't had the success offensively without their best weapon. I
Speaker 2: mean you could even argue they built and really Kevin
Speaker 2: O'Connell has said they built their offense around JJ. So
Speaker 2: without him, they really need people to step up and
Speaker 2: figure out what they can do.
Speaker 1: Yeah, definitely, And let's go back to that Vikings defense
Speaker 1: because the forty nine ers are going to go from
Speaker 1: the league's number one defense in Cleveland to another tough
Speaker 1: battle in Minnesota this Monday. The Vikings were able to
Speaker 1: get after the quarterback and attack the ball a total
Speaker 1: of five sacks against the Bears, two interceptions, two forced fumbles,
Speaker 1: and then two recoveries. Tell us about the Vikings philosophy
Speaker 1: on d and what the forty nine ers should expect
Speaker 1: this week.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think it's pretty interesting to see the changes
Speaker 2: over the last couple of years because or are the
Speaker 2: last two seasons when you had Kevin O'Connell's first defensive
Speaker 2: coordinator at Don Intel, they really weren't blitzing at all.
Speaker 2: It felt like they weren't getting any pressure on the quarterback.
Speaker 2: And now with this group, they have been able to
Speaker 2: give a little bit more pressure and blitz a lot more.
Speaker 2: Brian Flores, we knew he was going to be blitz happy,
Speaker 2: but he has definitely proven that and more. They use
Speaker 2: a lot of different people to attack the quarterback. Daneil
Speaker 2: Hunter said this week that or after the game against
Speaker 2: the Bears that teams are going to watch us on
Speaker 2: film and know that we can send multiple players in
Speaker 2: the backfield to try and stop the run game, try
Speaker 2: and disrupt the passing rhythm, and so it's just really
Speaker 2: interesting to see multiple players get in there. There are
Speaker 2: a lot of safeties. They rely on their safeties to
Speaker 2: play in multiple spots. Sometimes they look like they're playing linebacker,
Speaker 2: but they play in nickel and dime packages. The one
Speaker 2: thing of note though, is Marcus Davenport, one of the
Speaker 2: Vikings big defensive free agency hires this offseason. He has
Speaker 2: just got put on IR today, so he will be
Speaker 2: on IR for obviously minimum next four weeks, so he
Speaker 2: will not be in Monday's game. And that was a big,
Speaker 2: big thing because teams weren't keying as much on Daniel
Speaker 2: Hunter as they can when Marcus Davenport's in there. And
Speaker 2: so right now you're going to have some younger defensive
Speaker 2: ends that are going to try and step up. Obviously
Speaker 2: Daniel Hunters more of an outside linebacker, both of those,
Speaker 2: but the way that this team is built, it's not
Speaker 2: like a really true defensive line, so they rely on
Speaker 2: a lot of their linebackers and safety blitzes, cornerback blitzes
Speaker 2: and things like that. So I think you're going to
Speaker 2: see a lot of movement. They're going to try and
Speaker 2: confuse brock Party pretty often, knowing that he is more
Speaker 2: of a you know, in his second year. So I
Speaker 2: think that's what they're going to try and do as
Speaker 2: far as disguising their looks and sending a multitude of
Speaker 2: players his way.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and talking defensive player that San Francisco's offensive line
Speaker 1: will have to game plan for. Is Daniel Hunter currently
Speaker 1: tied for the NFL lead with eight sacks. What's his
Speaker 1: season been like and how does his presence really impact
Speaker 1: the game?
Speaker 2: Yeah, I mean, I think the defense, if we're talking
Speaker 2: about stars of the offense and JJ, I think Daniel's
Speaker 2: really the anchor for that defense. You know, he's been
Speaker 2: here for a long time. He is just so athletically
Speaker 2: gifted and can just get past I mean, he gets
Speaker 2: double team pretty often, and I'm sure that's what San
Speaker 2: Francisco will try to do. But he is just someone
Speaker 2: that the defense always or the offense has to always
Speaker 2: account for. He's had a great season. He had a
Speaker 2: good season last year, but honestly, like his sack total
Speaker 2: is up almost double by this time that this time
Speaker 2: last season. You know, I think he ended with double
Speaker 2: digit sacks last year, and he's really knocking on the
Speaker 2: doorstep of that halfway through the season. So I think
Speaker 2: that he's definitely someone you have to account for. Very
Speaker 2: very smart player and really leads this team on that
Speaker 2: side of the ball.
Speaker 1: Well across the ball is the forty nine ers offense,
Speaker 1: and there are some question marks surrounding a few key
Speaker 1: playmakers and their status for this week's game, including running
Speaker 1: back Christian McCaffrey and wide receiver Deebo Samuel but Tatum.
Speaker 1: What are your initial thoughts on San Francisco's offensive unit.
Speaker 2: I think it's one of the best in the league.
Speaker 2: They prove that day in and day out. Brock Purty
Speaker 2: has become so much more confident in this offense in
Speaker 2: year two. I do think that the Cleveland game was
Speaker 2: quite interesting to watch, and I'm pretty sure the Vikings
Speaker 2: are diving deep into that. I think the Browns has more,
Speaker 2: you know, depth of talent at certain positions. But I
Speaker 2: do think that that's a good game plan to kind
Speaker 2: of watch and go off of, because it's really one
Speaker 2: of the only teams that kind of has gotten too
Speaker 2: brock Purty. Right, one of my favorite forty nine ers
Speaker 2: is Brandon Nayuk. I think he's having such a great
Speaker 2: season and I like his ability to be just that
Speaker 2: consistent guy who always catches the ball. But I don't
Speaker 2: know with that without a Christian McCaffrey or a Deebo
Speaker 2: Samuel definitely, you know, it's kind of the same thing
Speaker 2: we're dealing with offensively, right, Like the stars are not
Speaker 2: there and so you have to kind of get guys
Speaker 2: to step up and prepare. And luckily for these teams,
Speaker 2: they have an extra day to do so.
Speaker 1: Yeah, and the Vikings will have some big time playmakers
Speaker 1: in the spotlight from Monday Night football. And although the
Speaker 1: matchup won't be taking place on the National tight Ends Day,
Speaker 1: which is this Sunday, Monday will be sort of an
Speaker 1: observed holiday for these two teams. So tell us more
Speaker 1: about Minnesota's tight end TJ. Hockinson, who's coming off of
Speaker 1: a big game against the Bears, and how he elevates
Speaker 1: the Vikings offense.
Speaker 2: Yeah, yeah, I know. And that's so great that on
Speaker 2: the tight National tight End weekend we get George Kittle
Speaker 2: and TJ Hockinson, two guys who know each other really
Speaker 2: well tight end university. Like they really just kind of,
Speaker 2: I think, exemplify this position they can play. Their run
Speaker 2: blocking might be second to the how well they can
Speaker 2: catch the ball and get out in open space.
Speaker 1: But t J.
Speaker 2: Hockinson's been such a great addition, obviously the Vikings signing
Speaker 2: him this offseason. But I will say that I'm still
Speaker 2: looking for TJ to step up a little bit more.
Speaker 2: He has had a couple of tough games where he's
Speaker 2: been targeted and there have been some dropped passes. In fact,
Speaker 2: he's only caught well. Heading into the Chicago game, he'd
Speaker 2: only got one of six contested catches. So I think
Speaker 2: that he is you know, for him, this has kind
Speaker 2: of been I wouldn't say it down year, but it's
Speaker 2: been a slow start for him and he's not used
Speaker 2: to that because, I mean, we saw what he did
Speaker 2: when he came over to the Vikings last season, and
Speaker 2: I mean he was in the building five days and
Speaker 2: they caught like he was out there making being the
Speaker 2: top receiver against the Commanders. He had been in the
Speaker 2: building for like four days. So I think that there
Speaker 2: is there's going to be a game where he breaks
Speaker 2: off and he'll get that confidence back, is what I think,
Speaker 2: you know, hoping it's this one. Obviously, the sooner the better.
Speaker 1: Yeah. Leading Minnesota's offense is quarterback Kirk Cousins. How do
Speaker 1: you evaluate his performance so far this season and how
Speaker 1: do you think he'll fare in this week's seven matchup
Speaker 1: against the forty nine ers defense.
Speaker 2: Yeah, I think Kirk is playing a little bit safe
Speaker 2: sometimes I really want to see him become a little
Speaker 2: bit more aggressive, and he's going to have to really
Speaker 2: figure out as the offense where they want to go
Speaker 2: without JJ. I think Kirk is such a consistent player.
Speaker 2: He passed for three hundred plus yards in most games.
Speaker 2: I think there's been a couple where the last.
Speaker 1: Like there's been two this sea.
Speaker 2: Actually it was the two wins. Surprisingly enough, I think
Speaker 2: that he's not hit that three hundred yard mark. So
Speaker 2: you know, I think Kirk is always a solid guy.
Speaker 2: He's a good, consistent quarterback. He's also in a contract year,
Speaker 2: trying to figure out what to do next, and so
Speaker 2: I think he just wants to lead this team, and
Speaker 2: he's become more of a vocal leader now with Kevin
Speaker 2: O'Connell around. So I think that he is going to
Speaker 2: definitely need to be alert because I think that that
Speaker 2: San Francisco forty nine Ers defensive front is something else,
Speaker 2: right like having to face the Bucks. Already, you pace
Speaker 2: the Eagles front and all those defensive fronts are so good,
Speaker 2: and then here come the forty nine ers. So they
Speaker 2: have seen this before, and I think that it.
Speaker 1: Definitely didn't bode well.
Speaker 2: The first couple of times. So this offensive line has
Speaker 2: a tall task ahead. But I think that with the
Speaker 2: addition of Dalton Reisner coming in for Ezra Cleveland, he
Speaker 2: played great on the snaps that he was in. He's
Speaker 2: someone that the Vikings signed mid season so far, and
Speaker 2: so I'm excited to see him maybe get into the
Speaker 2: mix because, like I said, that defensive front from forty
Speaker 2: nine Ers might be the best that we've seen this season,
Speaker 2: and we've already faced the Bucks and the Eagles.
Speaker 1: It's going to be a really exciting primetime game coming up.
Speaker 1: And now that we've covered both sides of the ball,
Speaker 1: tatum which matchup between either position groups or players are
Speaker 1: you most looking forward to watching on Monday Night football.
Speaker 2: I think it is that defensive front against our offensive line,
Speaker 2: because I am just very hesitant because of just how
Speaker 2: good the forty nine ers are upfront with Nick Bosa
Speaker 2: and even Fred Warner is one of the best linebackers
Speaker 2: in the league. I think that that's going to be
Speaker 2: difficult to run the ball, and the Vikings have have
Speaker 2: had their struggles running the ball. Kevin O'Connell said this week,
Speaker 2: you know, I know that we are struggling running the ball,
Speaker 2: but maybe that just isn't going to be our thing.
Speaker 1: Maybe we need to pass more.
Speaker 2: You know, the run game will be a byproduct, which
Speaker 2: which is kind of what happened last season. But again,
Speaker 2: this is just going to be one of those games
Speaker 2: where I think the defense is going to have to
Speaker 2: keep the offense in this one. The Vikings have only
Speaker 2: one time of possession once this season, and that was
Speaker 2: against the Panthers in that win, which was still a
Speaker 2: very close game, So they need to be able to
Speaker 2: run the ball and control the clock. I think what
Speaker 2: I said earlier about being better on the early downs,
Speaker 2: controlling the clock, and trying to stay consistent in the
Speaker 2: run game is going to be extremely important. However, something's
Speaker 2: got to change, right Like, They've got to kind of
Speaker 2: find themselves in this game because the defense is going
Speaker 2: to face a tough test as well, but they've got
Speaker 2: to keep the offense in this.
Speaker 1: One very exciting matchup to watch this Monday too. Very
Speaker 1: powerful defenses and two dynamic offenses are going head to
Speaker 1: head in Monday Night Football. But that will do it
Speaker 1: for today. Thank you so much Tatum for joining me
Speaker 1: in this update. Don't forget to follow first Intent on
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Speaker 1: and thank you faithful for tuning in