WEBVTT - Jets-Vikings Game Preview (10/18) 0:00:00.120 --> 0:00:05.280 The game is over, New York, you play to win 0:00:05.559 --> 0:00:18.079 the gate. He's got a Jet touchdown, can't. You're listening 0:00:18.120 --> 0:00:21.320 to the Official New York Jets Podcast, a Jets three 0:00:21.400 --> 0:00:27.320 sixty production. What's Up Everybody? Ethan Reeberg Eric Allen back 0:00:27.360 --> 0:00:30.760 in studio for the Official Jets Podcast this week breaking 0:00:30.760 --> 0:00:35.360 down Jets Vikings with Mike Wabashaw Wabby. He's a legend, man, 0:00:35.479 --> 0:00:41.240 he is he he is a Minnesota legend or an icon. Listen, 0:00:41.240 --> 0:00:43.920 you cover a team for a long time, people start 0:00:44.240 --> 0:00:49.320 associating you as he should be with the Minnesota and 0:00:49.400 --> 0:00:52.160 you too with the New York. You can't imagine going 0:00:52.159 --> 0:00:54.880 to Vikings dot com without seeing what the e and 0:00:54.920 --> 0:00:56.840 I spoke to Wabby about a lot of different things. 0:00:56.880 --> 0:01:00.520 Obviously spoke about Kirk Cousins, who spoke about Sheldon richardson 0:01:00.600 --> 0:01:04.960 making his met life returned this Sunday. We talked about 0:01:05.200 --> 0:01:09.080 the Minnesota defense that has been underperforming well a a 0:01:09.120 --> 0:01:12.240 little while and now they're back on track. Can we 0:01:12.280 --> 0:01:16.039 start this program off with an apology? My mother said 0:01:16.120 --> 0:01:19.280 I was being too hard on you last week when 0:01:20.080 --> 0:01:24.600 when Ethan Greenberg stated this is the Jets most important 0:01:24.720 --> 0:01:29.200 game of this season, and she said, you went a 0:01:29.240 --> 0:01:32.640 little hard at Greens. That's okay, I said, Mom, he 0:01:32.760 --> 0:01:36.679 went to new house over at Syracuse. He's been doing 0:01:36.720 --> 0:01:40.640 this for a few years now. Yeah. Yeah, But I 0:01:40.680 --> 0:01:45.320 appreciate it. I appreciate. But I publicly apologized because well, 0:01:45.400 --> 0:01:49.520 I guess I was coming too hard at my colleague 0:01:49.600 --> 0:01:52.320 over here the Green What what. I don't think it 0:01:52.360 --> 0:01:54.120 was too hard to Now you're making me seem like 0:01:54.120 --> 0:02:00.960 a soft The public apology is backfire me. But I appreciate. 0:02:01.000 --> 0:02:04.200 I appreciate this. Well. So my follow up to both 0:02:04.280 --> 0:02:06.640 you and my mother, who we will have on the 0:02:06.680 --> 0:02:11.000 podcast at some point, is if last week was the 0:02:11.000 --> 0:02:13.680 biggest game of the year for the Jets, what is 0:02:13.760 --> 0:02:21.360 this week Greens game? Really that's interesting because I think 0:02:22.240 --> 0:02:26.000 last game against the Colts, a banged up Colts team, 0:02:26.320 --> 0:02:30.119 was a game the Jets should have one, and they did. 0:02:30.800 --> 0:02:34.320 Now this is where they're going to another level. They're 0:02:34.480 --> 0:02:38.560 stepping up in weight class. Because beating the Broncos was 0:02:38.600 --> 0:02:42.360 one thing. Beating the Colts was one thing. This is 0:02:42.400 --> 0:02:44.799 a different deal, Greens. This is a team that won 0:02:44.919 --> 0:02:47.840 thirteen games a year ago, and you'll look at the 0:02:47.919 --> 0:02:51.800 Vikings roster they got dudes all over the place. I 0:02:51.840 --> 0:02:54.040 agree with you and that this is a different weight class. 0:02:54.080 --> 0:02:57.160 I think this weekend is a litmus test. Litmus Yeah, 0:02:57.200 --> 0:03:00.120 you like that. But the reason going back to I 0:03:00.160 --> 0:03:02.160 said last week and bringing it back to this week 0:03:02.280 --> 0:03:05.320 is something that Coach Bowl said after the game is 0:03:05.639 --> 0:03:08.840 this was a game that last year, speaking about the 0:03:08.840 --> 0:03:11.800 Colts game, the Jets winning that game was a game 0:03:11.880 --> 0:03:14.720 last year that the Jets probably would have lost. So 0:03:14.760 --> 0:03:16.840 when I said it was the biggest game, I meant 0:03:17.000 --> 0:03:18.800 I meant it in a way where you could really 0:03:18.880 --> 0:03:22.400 see the character and the resiliency of this team, and 0:03:22.440 --> 0:03:25.800 I think that it shine. And now going up in 0:03:25.880 --> 0:03:28.760 weight class, to use your analogy, I think that this 0:03:28.800 --> 0:03:32.440 is a different kind of test. Now. It's fascinating to 0:03:32.480 --> 0:03:35.000 me though, when you look back at two thousand seventeen, 0:03:35.640 --> 0:03:39.400 which we don't live in the past, but sometimes we're 0:03:39.440 --> 0:03:43.080 reminded of it. The Jets after six games last year, 0:03:43.120 --> 0:03:45.280 you know what the record was. It was three and three. 0:03:45.360 --> 0:03:48.720 It was three and three. There it is, there were 0:03:48.800 --> 0:03:52.560 three and three and um over the weekend, Terence Crawford 0:03:53.200 --> 0:03:56.600 went up in weight class and in boxing and he 0:03:56.760 --> 0:04:01.480 took down pose Bena vite is Okay. Why I bring 0:04:01.760 --> 0:04:05.040 the crowd Daddie up here is that what do They'm 0:04:05.120 --> 0:04:07.320 very interesting to see where you're going with my analogy 0:04:07.480 --> 0:04:10.560 is what do the Jets have? Did they have that 0:04:10.640 --> 0:04:14.120 knockout power as they're gonna be facing one of the 0:04:14.160 --> 0:04:18.240 teams a lot of people think are still amongst the leads. 0:04:19.120 --> 0:04:21.080 I think it goes back to screens his Minnesota in 0:04:21.080 --> 0:04:23.440 the playoffs this year. I would say We've seen a 0:04:23.440 --> 0:04:25.680 couple of teams, and I've seen North so far. I 0:04:25.720 --> 0:04:32.200 would say Minnesota got the best talent on the roster 0:04:32.360 --> 0:04:35.039 of all the team's obvious North. Yes, I agree with 0:04:35.680 --> 0:04:38.840 I agree with that. I think that what you're saying 0:04:38.880 --> 0:04:40.720 goes hand in hand with what I'm saying is do 0:04:40.800 --> 0:04:44.599 the Jets have the power the firepower to one go 0:04:44.720 --> 0:04:46.919 toe to toe with a team like the Vikings that 0:04:47.080 --> 0:04:51.480 have dudes all over their roster? And then, to use 0:04:51.520 --> 0:04:53.880 my analogy, it's it's kind of a litmus test to 0:04:53.960 --> 0:04:57.000 see if what the Jets will do and what they 0:04:57.040 --> 0:05:00.800 can can do against his Viking sa. I'm very excited. 0:05:00.880 --> 0:05:03.320 I'm very excited for Sunday. The Jets have more dudes 0:05:03.320 --> 0:05:06.280 than last year, I will say that, so not all 0:05:06.360 --> 0:05:09.240 three and three's are the same. The Jets have more 0:05:09.279 --> 0:05:11.719 players this year than they did in two thousand seventeen. 0:05:12.480 --> 0:05:16.200 The other thing that you look from early trends, Yes, 0:05:16.800 --> 0:05:20.120 they scuffled there and that three game losing streak, but 0:05:20.200 --> 0:05:22.960 you look at these numbers, you gotta go back a 0:05:23.000 --> 0:05:25.839 while to see the last Jets team over the first 0:05:26.160 --> 0:05:29.760 six games who had two forty point efforts in a 0:05:29.880 --> 0:05:32.880 thirty four point performance. As well, you gotta go back 0:05:32.920 --> 0:05:35.760 far the offense. Yes, I'm excited to see what they do. 0:05:35.800 --> 0:05:38.080 I'm very excited to see what this defense does because 0:05:38.320 --> 0:05:41.960 if Trumaine Johnson is down and busters down again, it's 0:05:41.960 --> 0:05:45.440 gonna make for an interesting day. Stefon Diggs and Adam 0:05:45.520 --> 0:05:48.360 Feeland are two I think the probably the best wide 0:05:48.400 --> 0:05:53.520 receiver duo. I think you would be hard to argue 0:05:53.560 --> 0:05:59.000 against that. Even though this Tyreek hell guys out of 0:05:59.000 --> 0:06:06.920 this world. Cheeta is a freak, but Codator Kansas City, 0:06:06.960 --> 0:06:10.640 it's like dial it up, run down the field. We'll 0:06:10.720 --> 0:06:13.640 hit you because you're four too, and everybody else is 0:06:13.760 --> 0:06:17.400 for something you're four to. Mahomes can throw, can throw 0:06:17.440 --> 0:06:20.120 a mile and a half, so just run down the 0:06:20.160 --> 0:06:25.200 sideline and I mean Sunday Nights game was crazy. You 0:06:25.279 --> 0:06:28.279 are right, there are a great wide receiver pair. And 0:06:29.440 --> 0:06:34.080 we will talk to Wabi about Kirk Cousins and we 0:06:34.120 --> 0:06:39.200 will discuss Sam Donald. But Cousins, you know, when you 0:06:39.240 --> 0:06:41.320 look at the splits, when you look at the stats 0:06:41.360 --> 0:06:44.520 game by game, he's off to a fantastic start here. 0:06:44.720 --> 0:06:47.200 You have to give him a lot of credit because 0:06:47.520 --> 0:06:50.719 even though there's talent around him, he's made it look easy. 0:06:51.200 --> 0:06:54.120 The one stat that I will say before we head 0:06:54.160 --> 0:06:57.839 into this Bobby interview is Kirk Cousins after Week one 0:06:58.080 --> 0:07:03.880 has completed over of his passes, one of which was 0:07:04.760 --> 0:07:08.719 in each game. Well, he's ridiculous. Over the past couple 0:07:08.760 --> 0:07:11.120 of years, he's top two three in the NFL and 0:07:11.160 --> 0:07:14.560 completions and completion percent alright. So on the other side, 0:07:14.600 --> 0:07:17.440 while you're throwing out the stats here, I want to 0:07:17.480 --> 0:07:22.560 ask you if Kirk Cousins is an elite quarterback, is 0:07:22.640 --> 0:07:25.240 the one of the top five quarterbacks in the NFL? 0:07:25.280 --> 0:07:27.600 You think about that, I'll think about that and I'll 0:07:27.600 --> 0:07:30.760 tell you the answer after this Wabby interview. So without 0:07:30.760 --> 0:07:40.720 further ado, here is the one and only Wabby. Alrighty a, 0:07:40.880 --> 0:07:43.800 let's go out to Minnesota here and speak to Vikings 0:07:43.840 --> 0:07:47.400 dot COM's way no other than the Wabby himself. Thanks 0:07:47.400 --> 0:07:51.520 for coming on the Official Jets Podcast today. Hey, my pleasure, guys, 0:07:51.520 --> 0:07:53.920 thanks for having me on the Official Jets podcast. This 0:07:53.960 --> 0:07:57.600 is My This is My Jets podcast debuts super excited. 0:07:57.760 --> 0:08:01.440 All right, we're gonna make it a good one. Well, yeah, exactly, so, 0:08:01.760 --> 0:08:05.040 while let's just kick things off here is uh. Before 0:08:05.080 --> 0:08:09.440 the season, a lot of experts had the Vikings as 0:08:09.440 --> 0:08:12.720 a potential Super Bowl contender, and I'd say through about 0:08:12.760 --> 0:08:15.480 six weeks I think a lot of people around the 0:08:15.520 --> 0:08:17.960 league are are kind of say, oh, well, what's up 0:08:17.960 --> 0:08:21.559 with the Vikings defense after last year? From your point 0:08:21.560 --> 0:08:24.880 of view, what's the biggest difference on the defensive side 0:08:24.920 --> 0:08:27.880 of the ball from last year to this year. Well, 0:08:27.920 --> 0:08:29.840 I think in the first four games, guys, it was 0:08:29.920 --> 0:08:33.960 big plays. Um, that was just something the Vikings did 0:08:34.000 --> 0:08:37.720 not surrender last season much at all. And and a 0:08:37.760 --> 0:08:40.520 lot of times in games it was like zero or 0:08:40.600 --> 0:08:43.960 one explosive games allowed. And then in the first month 0:08:44.040 --> 0:08:48.040 of the season, especially in that Rams game in Week four, 0:08:48.400 --> 0:08:50.440 you know, we we just gave up too many explosive 0:08:50.440 --> 0:08:54.520 plays and chunk yardage and UM. And so I think 0:08:54.559 --> 0:08:56.960 that was sort of the biggest you know, outside of 0:08:57.000 --> 0:08:59.240 just the end result of the games, I think that 0:08:59.280 --> 0:09:01.920 was the biggest differ prints was teams were able to 0:09:02.000 --> 0:09:04.199 explode on our defense. Now, the good news is we 0:09:04.320 --> 0:09:06.920 called that down a little bit. We had a Thursday 0:09:07.000 --> 0:09:09.560 night game against the Rams and then we had ten 0:09:09.679 --> 0:09:12.080 days off before we went out to Philadelphia and play 0:09:12.120 --> 0:09:15.640 the Eagles. UM. You know, I think you know, we 0:09:15.720 --> 0:09:18.280 all kind of call that the mini buy in the business. 0:09:18.800 --> 0:09:20.800 And I think I think there were some adjustments that 0:09:20.840 --> 0:09:24.280 were made, um, you know during that time by Zimmer 0:09:24.320 --> 0:09:27.880 and the and the defensive coaching staff, and we've we've 0:09:27.920 --> 0:09:31.960 seen much much better play from the defense in these 0:09:32.040 --> 0:09:35.920 last two games, both victories against the Eagles and the Cardinals. 0:09:36.000 --> 0:09:37.960 And a big thing that has happened is we've seen 0:09:38.000 --> 0:09:42.520 a reduction in the number of explosive plays allowed. UM. 0:09:42.640 --> 0:09:45.400 I think that's sort of been the biggest UM internal 0:09:45.400 --> 0:09:47.839 talking point has been explosive plays, and that's going to 0:09:47.880 --> 0:09:50.480 be a point of emphasis going forward, especially playing a 0:09:50.559 --> 0:09:53.440 Jets team that's been exploding, um, you know, on offense 0:09:53.520 --> 0:09:56.320 quite a bit. Lately. All right, well, Green's elected to 0:09:56.480 --> 0:10:00.280 bury the lead in this scenario. I was singu atter 0:10:00.360 --> 0:10:05.360 for you yet, So what's the deal. Did the Vikings 0:10:05.400 --> 0:10:09.400 all along think they were going to get Kirk Cousins 0:10:09.400 --> 0:10:13.400 in free agency and his he exceeded expectations. So far, 0:10:13.840 --> 0:10:16.559 we haven't seen much of the Vikings obviously since we're 0:10:16.600 --> 0:10:19.960 covering the Jets, but you look at his statistics, it's like, wow, 0:10:20.000 --> 0:10:25.800 they jump off the page. Touchdown, three interceptions. Yeah, the 0:10:25.800 --> 0:10:28.760 guy is unbelievable. I mean, he's you know, he's the 0:10:28.800 --> 0:10:31.360 best quarterback that that we've had here, you know, in 0:10:31.400 --> 0:10:34.840 a while. And like, if you look at how case 0:10:34.920 --> 0:10:37.600 Keenom played last year, I mean, Case Keendom played outstanding 0:10:38.200 --> 0:10:42.559 and he was able to improvise. He was able to 0:10:42.600 --> 0:10:45.880 deal with um some past protection problems, and he was 0:10:45.960 --> 0:10:47.640 able a case king, was able to get the ball 0:10:47.640 --> 0:10:49.920 into the playmaker's hands. And he did a great job 0:10:50.000 --> 0:10:52.120 here and he helped us go thirteen and three and 0:10:52.120 --> 0:10:54.240 we went to the NFC title game. You know, Kirk 0:10:54.240 --> 0:10:57.880 Cousins is also doing a great job, but he just 0:10:57.920 --> 0:11:00.760 does it in a little bit different way. Um, And 0:11:00.800 --> 0:11:03.200 what we've seen from Cousins is a quarterback who can 0:11:03.240 --> 0:11:05.480 do anything you ask him to do. He can drop 0:11:05.520 --> 0:11:07.760 back seven steps and throw the ball down the field. 0:11:07.760 --> 0:11:10.240 He can use the quick game. There are some zone 0:11:10.240 --> 0:11:12.800 read concepts you can use with him. He can bootleg, 0:11:12.880 --> 0:11:15.400 he can change protections and change the play at the 0:11:15.440 --> 0:11:18.040 line of scrimmage. I mean, he's He's worth every penny 0:11:18.120 --> 0:11:21.040 the Vikings have paid him so far, and he's off 0:11:21.080 --> 0:11:23.480 to the best or second best start in team history, 0:11:23.480 --> 0:11:25.960 depending on how you look at it. Dante Culpepper had 0:11:25.960 --> 0:11:28.880 a really fast start in two thousand and four. Um, 0:11:28.960 --> 0:11:32.520 and Kirk Cousins is having a comparable start to Dante Culpepper, 0:11:32.559 --> 0:11:35.680 and he's doing some things we've never seen Vikings quarterbacks do. 0:11:35.880 --> 0:11:38.679 So um. You know, I think the marriage between John D. 0:11:38.760 --> 0:11:41.880 Philippo and Kirk Cousins has been really good. Um so 0:11:41.920 --> 0:11:45.160 far here um through six weeks, and our offense has 0:11:45.160 --> 0:11:48.400 been explosive, especially through the air. Of course, Adam Theland 0:11:48.400 --> 0:11:50.200 has been on fire. No one can stop him. We 0:11:50.240 --> 0:11:53.319 hope that continues. But yeah, Kirk Cousins has been everything 0:11:53.400 --> 0:11:55.959 people expected and more through the first six weeks and 0:11:55.960 --> 0:11:58.960 hopefully he can keep it going. Prior to him signing 0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:04.559 in metas soda. We're Vikings fans worried about the Jets 0:12:04.840 --> 0:12:07.000 or did they feel pretty solid that they were going 0:12:07.080 --> 0:12:10.000 to get their man. Oh that's a good question. Thinking 0:12:10.000 --> 0:12:13.040 back to when that was happening. Um, you know, I 0:12:13.080 --> 0:12:16.760 think there was some, um, some uncertainty, you know, I mean, 0:12:17.280 --> 0:12:20.480 Kirk Cousins was the best quarterback on the market, and 0:12:20.640 --> 0:12:22.319 you know he there were a lot of teams that 0:12:22.360 --> 0:12:24.880 weren't interested in them. And you know, the interesting twist 0:12:24.920 --> 0:12:27.760 to that whole story for the Vikings was, if you'll remember, 0:12:27.800 --> 0:12:30.959 the Vikings had three pretty good quarterbacks to consider. I mean, 0:12:31.040 --> 0:12:33.240 you know, they had Teddy Bridgewater, Sam Bradford and case 0:12:33.360 --> 0:12:36.400 Keena coming off their own roster. So they had to 0:12:36.480 --> 0:12:38.599 they had to navigate those waters and see what the 0:12:38.640 --> 0:12:42.680 possibilities were with those guys, in addition to deciding whether 0:12:42.800 --> 0:12:45.360 or not they wanted Cousins and then deciding how they 0:12:45.360 --> 0:12:48.280 were going to pursue Cousins. So it was really, um 0:12:48.320 --> 0:12:52.719 an interesting offseason. Um just looking at the quarterback position here, 0:12:52.720 --> 0:12:54.800 and I know you guys had Teddy Bridgewater for a 0:12:54.840 --> 0:12:57.200 little while, so you can see, um, you know, why 0:12:57.240 --> 0:13:00.240 the Vikings were were so enamored with Teddy for as 0:13:00.240 --> 0:13:03.280 long as they were. You guys saw it firsthand. So um, 0:13:03.320 --> 0:13:05.839 it was a really interesting offseason. I think it shook 0:13:05.840 --> 0:13:09.040 out really well for the Vikings. Um, with the way 0:13:09.120 --> 0:13:11.040 Sam Donald was playing, I think you can argue it 0:13:11.080 --> 0:13:14.200 shook out really well for the Jets. So um, but 0:13:14.320 --> 0:13:18.160 you no Cousins three year deal and whatever the money was. 0:13:18.559 --> 0:13:20.760 And I think the hope, you know, at least for 0:13:20.800 --> 0:13:23.439 the Vikings, is that that's just the first deal they 0:13:23.440 --> 0:13:25.480 do with Kirk Cousins, because what he's done so far 0:13:25.520 --> 0:13:28.199 has been has been above and beyond what anyone could 0:13:28.240 --> 0:13:30.920 have expected. Listen, I think it's a best case scenario 0:13:31.040 --> 0:13:33.720 for both sides. And the Jets went into free agency 0:13:33.800 --> 0:13:36.840 and then the draft with plans A, B, C, and D. 0:13:37.960 --> 0:13:42.000 Let's just play hypotheticals here looking back. If the Vikings 0:13:42.080 --> 0:13:46.640 don't get Kirk Cousins, what was their plan? B Um? 0:13:46.679 --> 0:13:49.760 I guess without talking to Zim and Rick and uh, 0:13:49.800 --> 0:13:51.720 you know, being in their meeting room, it's it's hard 0:13:51.760 --> 0:13:54.280 to say. I would have to imagine, you know, one 0:13:54.320 --> 0:13:56.720 of the one of the three quarterbacks who was coming 0:13:56.760 --> 0:13:59.600 off the roster maybe was a plan. B Um. I 0:13:59.679 --> 0:14:03.240 have to imagine there was Um, you know, there was 0:14:03.240 --> 0:14:07.040 a decision made to go after Cousins and to just 0:14:07.120 --> 0:14:08.920 do whatever it took to get up. And I think 0:14:08.960 --> 0:14:12.840 probably once they made that decision um there there probably 0:14:12.880 --> 0:14:16.920 was no looking back. What was I don't know, but 0:14:17.000 --> 0:14:21.200 I mean the Vikings had some pretty good options to consider, um, 0:14:21.240 --> 0:14:25.800 you know, including keeping case Keenum Um who who is Um? 0:14:25.840 --> 0:14:27.960 Obviously a guy who can win at a high level. 0:14:28.120 --> 0:14:30.880 He did it for the Vikings last year. So UM, 0:14:30.920 --> 0:14:32.960 you know, I I I'm glad we didn't have to 0:14:33.000 --> 0:14:35.280 see what Plan B was because I think Kirk Cousins 0:14:35.320 --> 0:14:37.080 was Plan A. And it's always good to see your 0:14:37.080 --> 0:14:41.360 team achieve what its objective is. Lobby through six weeks 0:14:42.120 --> 0:14:45.640 of the NFL season here, I know you've said on 0:14:45.640 --> 0:14:48.640 on the pod that Kirk Cousins has gone above and 0:14:48.680 --> 0:14:52.400 beyond expectations. Well, what's the most impressive thing about Kirk 0:14:52.440 --> 0:14:57.680 cousins performance this year through your eyes? Well, you know, 0:14:57.800 --> 0:15:01.200 I think if you look at what has happened with 0:15:01.240 --> 0:15:06.000 the Vikings offensive line from a lost standpoint, I mean 0:15:06.080 --> 0:15:09.120 all offseason it was how can the Vikings add and 0:15:09.240 --> 0:15:12.600 improve the offensive line? Add two and improve the offensive line? 0:15:12.640 --> 0:15:15.280 And they did some things. They drafted a tackle in 0:15:15.320 --> 0:15:19.440 the second round. UM, they added a um a solid 0:15:19.520 --> 0:15:22.920 piece and free agency in Tom Compton. Last year, they 0:15:23.000 --> 0:15:25.760 drafted a center in the third round, and they signed 0:15:25.760 --> 0:15:28.960 to offensive tackles Riley Reef and Mike Reremers. So there's 0:15:29.000 --> 0:15:32.040 been a lot of addition to this offensive line to 0:15:32.080 --> 0:15:33.640 try and make it better. But if you look at 0:15:33.680 --> 0:15:36.520 what happened in August to this team, UM and late 0:15:36.600 --> 0:15:39.400 July the passing of Tony Sperano, and you lose Nick 0:15:39.480 --> 0:15:42.920 Easton to an injury. Right now they're dealing with Riley 0:15:42.960 --> 0:15:45.680 Reef and an injury to him. Uh. Pat alf Line 0:15:45.680 --> 0:15:48.240 did not make it back until the regular season started. 0:15:48.280 --> 0:15:51.040 So and I think the fact that Kirk Cousins is 0:15:51.080 --> 0:15:54.280 able to move this offense up and down the field 0:15:54.320 --> 0:15:56.280 the way he's been able to do it with an 0:15:56.280 --> 0:15:59.440 offensive line that is still being put together, you know, 0:15:59.480 --> 0:16:02.360 I think is really impressive. And um, you know, he's 0:16:02.360 --> 0:16:04.440 been able to do it on schedule in the pocket, 0:16:04.480 --> 0:16:06.640 he's been able to do it off schedule out of 0:16:06.680 --> 0:16:10.120 the pocket. He's done it against the blitz. He's done it, um, 0:16:10.160 --> 0:16:12.840 you know, with only three rushers in his face and 0:16:12.880 --> 0:16:15.000 teams dropping eight. He's been able to do it every 0:16:15.000 --> 0:16:17.080 which way, so that that's been the most impressive thing 0:16:17.080 --> 0:16:19.040 to me is is to be able to do it 0:16:19.080 --> 0:16:21.560 with an offensive line that is still being put together. 0:16:21.920 --> 0:16:25.720 And he's delivering great pregame speeches. I'm sure are helping 0:16:25.720 --> 0:16:28.600 your numbers there at Vikings dot com. Now, I don't 0:16:28.680 --> 0:16:32.400 know about his touchdown celebration, so let's get off cause 0:16:32.440 --> 0:16:35.440 it's just for a second and talk about the guys 0:16:35.520 --> 0:16:40.360 he's thrown too. Are Adam Talen, who's got six consecutive 0:16:40.400 --> 0:16:44.720 hunry our games, which is just absolutely staggerant. And Stefan Jags, 0:16:45.200 --> 0:16:48.600 the top wide receiver pair in the National Football League. Yeah, 0:16:48.760 --> 0:16:51.560 you know, it's been fun to watch. Um, you know, 0:16:51.760 --> 0:16:55.280 these two receivers all of their careers, really, but this season, UM, 0:16:55.520 --> 0:16:58.440 you know, they're they're performing at at the best level 0:16:58.480 --> 0:17:01.920 they've performed at individually and as a tandem. So you 0:17:02.000 --> 0:17:07.600 know it's Um, I don't I don't think it really matters. Um, 0:17:07.840 --> 0:17:10.840 you know, his zone coverage, man coverage, whatever. I you know, 0:17:10.960 --> 0:17:13.919 I think they've found a way to have an answer 0:17:14.000 --> 0:17:15.560 for all of that. And and look, I mean you're 0:17:15.600 --> 0:17:17.960 gonna cut you. You're playing good defenses every single week, 0:17:18.000 --> 0:17:20.760 and there are wins and losses within every game. Um, 0:17:21.000 --> 0:17:23.320 so you know, Kirk Cousins is not throwing a perfect 0:17:23.359 --> 0:17:25.639 game here to Digs and Celand, but more times than not, 0:17:26.160 --> 0:17:29.800 they're finding ways to be coverage and win. And um, 0:17:30.080 --> 0:17:31.840 you know, I'm sure that if you look back at 0:17:31.880 --> 0:17:34.920 our game against the Arizona Cardinals, Stefan Diggs did not 0:17:35.640 --> 0:17:38.640 um have the production that maybe we're used to sing, 0:17:38.760 --> 0:17:41.400 but he also went up against Patrick Peterson. The good 0:17:41.480 --> 0:17:45.200 news is most teams don't have more than one Patrick 0:17:45.280 --> 0:17:48.320 Peterson type of corner. They've got one of those, and 0:17:48.440 --> 0:17:51.119 we've got two receivers, um Diggs and DeLand who can 0:17:51.200 --> 0:17:53.600 who can match up well with anyone. So it's been 0:17:53.640 --> 0:17:56.080 a luxury for the Vikings to have both of those guys. 0:17:56.640 --> 0:18:00.119 And some games they're both going at a m at 0:18:00.160 --> 0:18:02.600 a high level. Some games one of them is getting 0:18:02.600 --> 0:18:04.720 there's while the other one is is taking up a 0:18:04.760 --> 0:18:07.760 bunch of coverage. So um, you know, it's it's been Um, 0:18:07.960 --> 0:18:10.200 it's been fun to watch and feeling is just you know, 0:18:10.280 --> 0:18:13.040 he's Mr reliable and Mr consistent. Now, the one thing 0:18:13.160 --> 0:18:16.000 that both of these guys um do really well that 0:18:16.480 --> 0:18:19.200 does not always get talked about is their route running. 0:18:19.280 --> 0:18:23.480 I mean, they're their their route running is really really good. 0:18:23.600 --> 0:18:26.280 And I think that's going to serve them well, um, 0:18:26.480 --> 0:18:28.760 later in their career. And I think it's gonna you know, 0:18:28.840 --> 0:18:31.200 it serves them well later in the season when guys 0:18:31.240 --> 0:18:34.200 get banged up and maybe they lose a step. Um, 0:18:34.680 --> 0:18:38.280 you know, they're still able to create separation because of 0:18:38.320 --> 0:18:40.720 their route running. And that that's one thing maybe, you know, 0:18:40.840 --> 0:18:43.119 for Jets fans or for you guys to watch, you 0:18:43.160 --> 0:18:45.560 know what what makes these guys so good? How are 0:18:45.560 --> 0:18:47.920 they able to produce? Just pay attention to their route running. 0:18:47.960 --> 0:18:50.919 It's really fun to watch. Looking at this Jets Vikings 0:18:51.040 --> 0:18:53.920 matchup Wibby, is what's a matchup that you think that 0:18:54.040 --> 0:18:57.359 Jets fans should think that's a favorable matchup or if 0:18:57.400 --> 0:19:01.520 you're Vikings fans say, okay, I'm a little concerned about that. Well, um, 0:19:02.960 --> 0:19:07.080 you're talking about on either side of the ball. You know. 0:19:07.160 --> 0:19:09.520 I was I was watching, Um, I was watching you 0:19:09.600 --> 0:19:12.600 guys and and the game against the Colts, and I 0:19:12.760 --> 0:19:16.200 just I saw a lot of attention paid to Leonard Williams, 0:19:16.720 --> 0:19:19.200 you know, and I think you guys have probably really 0:19:19.280 --> 0:19:22.520 enjoyed watching him play. UM. So I think he's a 0:19:22.600 --> 0:19:25.720 concern really for any team. UM when when you're going 0:19:25.800 --> 0:19:29.040 up against the Jets, is um is watching that guy play. 0:19:29.080 --> 0:19:32.119 I think Darren Lee's um sideline to sideline speed is 0:19:32.200 --> 0:19:35.320 really impressive. UM. So I think, you know, those maybe 0:19:35.359 --> 0:19:39.199 are our two matchups to watch for Jets fans to see, Hey, 0:19:39.240 --> 0:19:42.040 how are the Vikings gonna handle this? Um? You know, 0:19:42.080 --> 0:19:45.240 because these two guys can create some problems. Now, Pat 0:19:45.320 --> 0:19:48.400 elf Line, our center who's back in the lineup, has 0:19:48.520 --> 0:19:51.200 made a really big difference for the Vikings. So I 0:19:51.320 --> 0:19:55.040 think that's gonna help us handle a guy like Leonard Williams. UM. 0:19:55.160 --> 0:19:57.439 But I would really watch number ninety two for your 0:19:57.480 --> 0:20:00.040 defense see how the Vikings handle him. And then, like 0:20:00.119 --> 0:20:02.480 I said, I think Darren Lee is really really good 0:20:02.520 --> 0:20:05.399 and really fast too. I think offensively, you know, UM, 0:20:05.880 --> 0:20:08.959 I thought, you know the numbers for Donald or they 0:20:09.040 --> 0:20:11.960 can be gaudy. Um, they look really good. But what's 0:20:12.040 --> 0:20:17.080 interesting to me is, UM, it's not that it's not sophisticated. 0:20:17.119 --> 0:20:19.840 I think the offensive design has sophistication to it. But 0:20:19.920 --> 0:20:22.359 I think Donald is doing such a good job of 0:20:22.520 --> 0:20:26.080 executing and it's not um, it's not rocket science. They're 0:20:26.160 --> 0:20:28.720 using a little bit of that RPO or play action, 0:20:28.840 --> 0:20:31.960 reading a linebacker and safety and and and finding ways 0:20:32.000 --> 0:20:35.959 to create big windows for Donald and Donald is throwing 0:20:36.080 --> 0:20:39.320 the ball um accurately and on time. So I'm looking 0:20:39.359 --> 0:20:42.879 at some of these um slant and uh and flat 0:20:42.960 --> 0:20:46.000 concepts that Donald and the offensive staff are using to 0:20:46.440 --> 0:20:49.600 to create um, you know, wide open receivers. I really 0:20:49.960 --> 0:20:52.440 um enjoyed watching that against the Colts. So I think 0:20:52.480 --> 0:20:55.480 the Vikings, you know, they feel good about the improvements 0:20:55.600 --> 0:20:58.200 they've made on defense the last couple of weeks, but 0:20:58.320 --> 0:21:02.680 I think that's really here this week against the Jets, 0:21:02.680 --> 0:21:04.200 because I think the Jets can challenge you in a 0:21:04.280 --> 0:21:07.600 lot of different ways. Though, what are you encouraged by 0:21:07.720 --> 0:21:09.960 what you saw from the run game last week? I 0:21:10.040 --> 0:21:13.359 think about a D nine yards against the Cardinals, Ottavius 0:21:13.440 --> 0:21:16.640 Murray went off from one fifty five and where, oh 0:21:16.760 --> 0:21:19.840 where is Dalvin Cook? Is it a possibility that he 0:21:20.040 --> 0:21:24.000 could be on the field come Sunday? Because I think 0:21:24.040 --> 0:21:26.920 for the Vikings to take that next step down the 0:21:27.040 --> 0:21:32.840 line in January, is they gotta have that balance offensively? Yeah? 0:21:33.000 --> 0:21:36.000 I UM, I do feel good about the running game. Now, um, 0:21:36.160 --> 0:21:37.920 you know, it's a hundred and ninety five yards for 0:21:38.000 --> 0:21:40.320 the team, which was which was a good number, and 0:21:40.520 --> 0:21:44.639 Latavius was one which was a caleer high. Now, it 0:21:44.800 --> 0:21:46.639 was the rs on the Cardinals who came into the 0:21:46.680 --> 0:21:50.040 game having surrendered the most rushing touchdowns in the NFL, 0:21:50.560 --> 0:21:52.960 and I think they were the third worst rushing defense 0:21:53.040 --> 0:21:55.320 in the NFL, So you should be able to run 0:21:55.359 --> 0:21:58.520 it against those guys. I think the Jets run defense 0:21:58.720 --> 0:22:01.080 is better, so this will be a stiffer test for 0:22:01.160 --> 0:22:03.879 the Vikings running game. With all that being said, what 0:22:04.040 --> 0:22:07.639