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Speaker 1: I think that's going to be the mess up to

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Speaker 1: watch in this game. I think you have to find

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Speaker 1: a way stop Davante Adams. That's what I want to see.

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Speaker 1: We gotta get these young guys up to speed right now.

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Speaker 1: And there's roster. These rookies aren't rookies anymore. You belong here, Alec,

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Speaker 1: you belong here, and let's build on this and keep

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Speaker 1: going forward. Hey, everybody, welcome back to the Minnesota Vikings Podcast.

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Speaker 1: I'm your host, si Amindson. We are back from the

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Speaker 1: buye heading into week eight. This is episode sixty five.

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Speaker 1: I'm joined as always by Chris Corso and Jay Nelson

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Speaker 1: from Vikings dot Com, but this week I am also

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Speaker 1: joined by Gabe Henderson from Vikings dot Com, who is

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Speaker 1: currently sitting We record over a zoom room and Gabe

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Speaker 1: is sitting in his office right now, and the TV

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Speaker 1: in the background is playing the San Antonio Spurs Miami

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Speaker 1: Heat NBA Finals, the game the headband game right? Is

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Speaker 1: this the game where Rayal and hit the corner? Three? No?

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Speaker 1: This is game three, So that was game that was

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Speaker 1: twenty thirteen. Game six, this is twenty four. This is

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Speaker 1: just irrelevant. I just like watching basketball like a ball

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Speaker 1: dumb thing to watch here. I thought you were watching

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Speaker 1: something that actually mattered, and you're just watching a mid

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Speaker 1: series NBA Finals game from nine years ago or whatever

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Speaker 1: it is. N lebron Law. So that matters. Great, really

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Speaker 1: really dynamite there. Let's let's jump in to everything. Let's

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Speaker 1: move out of basketball into football. The Minnesota Vikings traded

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Speaker 1: Unique and Gockway to the Baltimore Ravens last week, getting

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Speaker 1: a third round pick and a conditional pick in return

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Speaker 1: after giving up a second round pick and a conditional

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Speaker 1: pick to the Jaguars. Originally an interesting short run for

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Speaker 1: in Gockway guys. Six games, five sacks, seven QB hits,

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Speaker 1: a couple of forced fumbles. I think, Chris, we understand

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Speaker 1: why this trade had to happen. You know, he was

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Speaker 1: looking for a long term deal. He was looking to

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Speaker 1: be somewhere else. We know why this trade had to happen.

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Speaker 1: But I still can understand the disappointment coming from the

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Speaker 1: fans to see this guy come and go so quickly,

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Speaker 1: and to lose some draft position in the process. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: of course it's a little upsetting for Vikings fans. You're

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Speaker 1: one in five on the season, You're heading into a

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Speaker 1: ton of big division games and you see this guy

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Speaker 1: start to really grow in the Vikings defense. But things

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Speaker 1: to keep in mind are he's gone next year most likely.

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Speaker 1: I was listening into x's and Oh's with Paul Allen

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Speaker 1: and Mike Zimmer this week, and Mike Zimmer said, we

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Speaker 1: had a pretty good feeling that he was going to

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Speaker 1: be gone next year. Obviously the contract extension, he's gonna

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Speaker 1: require some big money in the off season. And the

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Speaker 1: other thing that head coach Mike Zimmer said is he

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Speaker 1: likes the way some of these young guys are progressing.

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Speaker 1: So you're one in five, you got a bunch of

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Speaker 1: big games coming up. Why not give the dj Wantams

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Speaker 1: of the world, the Affidio Dnibos of the world, that

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Speaker 1: the chance to shine and grow. There's been a ton

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Speaker 1: DJ Wantam has learned, just learning the technique from Andre Patterson,

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Speaker 1: So I'd like to see what he can do going forward.

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Speaker 1: And Jay, you and I talked right after the trade happened,

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Speaker 1: because both of our phones got absolutely blown up by

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Speaker 1: people asking us what was happening. And you made a

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Speaker 1: great point, you know, for everybody out there who is frustrated,

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Speaker 1: like if you if he was going to be gone,

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Speaker 1: why did you go after him in the first place.

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Speaker 1: You know, I think the truth is everybody thought this

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Speaker 1: was going to be a team that was not one

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Speaker 1: in five. Everybody thought, you know, we didn't see Michael

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Speaker 1: Pierce opting out. You for sure didn't see the Anthony

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Speaker 1: Barr injury happening. So I think you have to remember

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Speaker 1: the situation when the trade was made versus the reality

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Speaker 1: of where we're at now. That's the thing, like you know,

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Speaker 1: in the exchange when you and I were talking about

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Speaker 1: that too. The big point that I tried to make

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Speaker 1: was one of the things that the fans love about,

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Speaker 1: at least our front office at this point, is that

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Speaker 1: they're willing to go for it right, And like, I

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Speaker 1: don't think anybody thought that this was going to be

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Speaker 1: a season long thing for Daniel Hunter. We found out

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Speaker 1: today that he had a successful surgery with this neck,

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Speaker 1: but he's out for the season. And I think if

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Speaker 1: you weren't one in five, I don't think you'd be

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Speaker 1: making this move. If you had eked out those two

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Speaker 1: one point wins against Tennessee or Seattle and you're sitting

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Speaker 1: at the three and three, I think there's a chance

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Speaker 1: they would still try and ride with him, but if

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Speaker 1: it looks like we are going to be plugging in

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Speaker 1: a lot more of our younger players at this point,

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Speaker 1: there's been so many injuries and then the opt out

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Speaker 1: as well with Michael Pierce, Like across the board, it

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Speaker 1: just there's reading the tea leaves at this point and

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Speaker 1: saying the chances of being able to make some sort

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Speaker 1: of a playoff run right now are super low. And

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Speaker 1: I think they just read the writing on the wall

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Speaker 1: and said, listen, let's be honest about where we're currently at.

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Speaker 1: And I think that as a fan, you should be

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Speaker 1: excited that they try to go for it. But at

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Speaker 1: the same point they've got their feet planted and cement

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Speaker 1: for a reality of where we're at. So hopefully you

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Speaker 1: know this isn't seen as a black eye. It should

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Speaker 1: be seen as they went for it, read the writing

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Speaker 1: on the wall, and they've pivoted trying to deal with

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Speaker 1: what reality is. Well, in current public speculation has the

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Speaker 1: salary cat possibly going down next year, which makes things

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Speaker 1: even tighter in twenty twenty one. And Gabe, I think

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Speaker 1: we were all excited about Engakway, but when you start

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Speaker 1: looking at making difficult decisions in an offseason. Is he

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Speaker 1: the top of your priority list? This is a guy

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Speaker 1: who is going to get one of the top defensive

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Speaker 1: player in the league style contracts coming this offseason. Is

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Speaker 1: that where you would have wanted your priorities to go

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Speaker 1: versus a lot of other places on this team. So

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Speaker 1: when you realize the situation we're in, getting a return

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Speaker 1: becomes more important. Given that reality, for sure, and we

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Speaker 1: didn't lose much. We only dropped down one. We got

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Speaker 1: a third round pick. In return. We traded a second

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Speaker 1: round pick to Jacksonville. But speaking of Unique, you think

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Speaker 1: about their future, of course, Mike Zimmer said, short term,

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Speaker 1: we're thinking about our short term goals, but at the

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Speaker 1: same time you look at your long term goals. So

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Speaker 1: with Unique, he's in the short term, but he doesn't

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Speaker 1: fit in the long term plan. And if you want

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Speaker 1: to save money, here's a guy that you don't really

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Speaker 1: have to mold into being your perennial defensive end with

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Speaker 1: other guys being injured and other guys not playing this year.

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Speaker 1: So Unique is definitely at the top of the list

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Speaker 1: of a guy that you want to see him flourish.

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Speaker 1: Somewhere else and not eat up that amount of money

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Speaker 1: having him on the roster for the full season, in

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Speaker 1: which we know might not be what Vikings fans are expecting.

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Speaker 1: And you know, I'm gonna play a little bit of

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Speaker 1: the fan here, which is the only thing I'm capable

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Speaker 1: of on this show. I will say it's it's not

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Speaker 1: just a drop from two to three. And anyone who's

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Speaker 1: listening to this show is going to say, hey man,

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Speaker 1: you gave up an early second to drop to a

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Speaker 1: late third because of how good the Baltimore Ravens are,

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Speaker 1: and I think you have to acknowledge that. I think

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Speaker 1: the trade off for me is, and what I've often

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Speaker 1: said on this show, echoing Jay's sentiment, I like that

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Speaker 1: we went for it. I like that we believe this

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Speaker 1: team is supposed to be that good. I think it

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Speaker 1: sucks that it turned out that way. As a fan,

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Speaker 1: I'm frustrated. I'm bummed, but I'm going to take that

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Speaker 1: trade off all the time. I'm going to take the

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Speaker 1: trade off of thinking that this is a contending football

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Speaker 1: team and having it not go that way and having

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Speaker 1: to eat a little draft capital. I like that that's

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Speaker 1: where the front office is mindset is, and I'll use

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Speaker 1: that to walk into a larger talking point. Everybody, and

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Speaker 1: they're entire family is writing pieces about the Vikings tearing

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Speaker 1: things down, you know, Tank for Trevor, sell everything off,

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Speaker 1: ship off, this veteran, ship off, that veteran, ship off,

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Speaker 1: this veteran. As a Viking fan first and foremost, I

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Speaker 1: understand that sentiment, but let me push back on it

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Speaker 1: this way. For anybody who's listening, this is not the

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Speaker 1: sort of organization that needs to sell everything off. You know.

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Speaker 1: I think a couple of the blueprints out there that

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Speaker 1: I've seen that people discuss are what's happened in Miami

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Speaker 1: and a few years ago, what happened in San Francisco, Right,

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Speaker 1: And there is a case to be made that you

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Speaker 1: don't want to wind up in no man's land. I

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Speaker 1: understand that. But the truth is, the NFL is not

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Speaker 1: like the NBA. You can go from the bottom of

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Speaker 1: your division to a championship game real, real quick in

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Speaker 1: this league. And the organizations that you tend to see

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Speaker 1: tear everything all the way to the ground generally have

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Speaker 1: one thing in common, and it is a lack of

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Speaker 1: stability in their ownership and front office. And coaching staff.

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Speaker 1: They seem to cycle through those things. When you look

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Speaker 1: at some of the good teams, some of the good

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Speaker 1: organizations in this league that have perennial success, the Pittsburgh Steelers,

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Speaker 1: the Baltimore Ravens at this point, the Kansas City Chiefs.

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Speaker 1: They tend to rebuild on the fly, and they might

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Speaker 1: have down years. We've seen that with Pittsburgh, we've seen

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Speaker 1: that with Baltimore. But they have strong ownership, strong management,

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Speaker 1: and strong coaching and they don't need to take everything

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Speaker 1: from where they're at down to zero to start building

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Speaker 1: things back up again. And I know a lot of

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Speaker 1: those examples. The Patriots, the Steelers have franchise level quarterbacks,

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Speaker 1: but the Baltimore Ravens don't. They're the perfect example. They

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Speaker 1: have gone from Trent Dilfer to Joe Flacco to Lamar Jackson,

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Speaker 1: and they've had years where they've ran near eight and

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Speaker 1: eight or worse, and years where they've ran near a

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Speaker 1: championship team contending for a Super Bowl. So I understand

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Speaker 1: the desire to burn this thing to the ground. From

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Speaker 1: a fan standpoint, I would emphasize that you have a

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Speaker 1: great group of core youngsters. Jefferson, the cornerbacks. Corso just

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Speaker 1: mentioned DJ Wanam. You have Eric Wilson is playing incredible.

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Speaker 1: You have this core group of young guys, and it's

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Speaker 1: important to have a core group of veterans, the Kendricks,

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Speaker 1: the Bars, the Harrison Smiths, you know, the Daniel Hunters,

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Speaker 1: these guys to support those guys as they grow. And

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Speaker 1: if you go and you have one good offseason, you

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Speaker 1: have one good draft, you make one good move, you

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Speaker 1: have Ezra Cleveland develop one or two things happen here,

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Speaker 1: and you can flip from one place to the other really, really,

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Speaker 1: really quickly. So I didn't mean to get off on

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Speaker 1: a crazy ted talk here, but I've just been sitting

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Speaker 1: and watching that story get written and tweeted over and

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Speaker 1: over and over, and Chris, I get it. But at

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Speaker 1: the same time, I think there's too much good here

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Speaker 1: to approach it that way. And that's a lot. I

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Speaker 1: think what Mike Zimmer was saying in the press conference, like, yeah,

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Speaker 1: this organization always has its eye on the future, but

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Speaker 1: we're not just gonna throw everything to the wind and

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Speaker 1: kick our shoes off and wait for twenty twenty one.

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Speaker 1: It's a tough thing this year. I mean, you mentioned

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Speaker 1: it already. You lose to Neil Hunter the first week

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Speaker 1: of the season. It's it's a tweak and then week goes,

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Speaker 1: then one other week goes, another week goes, and now

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Speaker 1: he's getting season ending next surgery. So I mean, that's

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Speaker 1: the cornerstone of your defense. Anthony barges down a few

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Speaker 1: weeks later. I mean, it's all the faces that have

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Speaker 1: been here. I've been here five years. Every single year

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Speaker 1: I was tone gave this today. We've been competitive every

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Speaker 1: single year. We've been one or two games, but we've

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Speaker 1: never gone three games below five hundred in my career

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Speaker 1: here since twenty fifteen. That changed pretty early this season.

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Speaker 1: And I think the injuries, not to use them as

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Speaker 1: an excuse. Every team goes through them. But you lose

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Speaker 1: Dalvin Cooke last week for a week in the offense crumbles.

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Speaker 1: It's been a tough year. And I heard this stat

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Speaker 1: from from a voice of the Vikings, Paul Allen, on

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Speaker 1: his radio show nineteen noon this morning. He said that

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Speaker 1: in the first four seasons of Zimmer's career with the Vikings,

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Speaker 1: they were only like six hundred rookie snaps at the

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Speaker 1: cornerback position combined. This year, there's been over four hundred

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Speaker 1: through the first six games. That means we're on pace

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Speaker 1: to double that this season. And I think that's the

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Speaker 1: area where we've been burned this year, the injuries at

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Speaker 1: corner and not having that veteran presence, the Terrence Newman's,

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Speaker 1: the Xavier Rhodes, the the Trey Waynes. I think that's

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Speaker 1: a position where we're just gonna have to develop and

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Speaker 1: it's going to be trial by fire. But that and

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Speaker 1: that's what that's what I'm kind of leaning into. That's

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Speaker 1: that's what I'm okay with. I want to see what

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Speaker 1: Ezra Cleveland can do. I want to know where we

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Speaker 1: stand with him. I want to know where we stand

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Speaker 1: with DJ want him. I want to know where we

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Speaker 1: stand with the young corners Jay going into this offseason. Yeah,

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Speaker 1: And I think part of that speaks to the larger

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Speaker 1: point if if we are going to be one in five,

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Speaker 1: if we are looking at very very distant chance of

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Speaker 1: doing any kind of playoffs, let alone you know, winning

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Speaker 1: to that point, I think, to be honest with you,

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Speaker 1: it's like the rest of this ten weeks is very

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Speaker 1: much a trial by fire evaluation mode, and it's hard

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Speaker 1: for a lot of times for if you have established

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Speaker 1: veterans on these all these positions and you just see

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Speaker 1: them behind the scenes or they're on practice squad, you

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Speaker 1: kind of say, yeah, they flash in practice, but what

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Speaker 1: happens when they get in the big game. We're going

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Speaker 1: to have the big game for this season, for the

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Speaker 1: next ten weeks for these guys to be able to

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Speaker 1: work out the kinks. And I just think that if

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Speaker 1: you are a coach or a GM and you have

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Speaker 1: a season that is not what you thought it was

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Speaker 1: going to be, and you are eventually going to be

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Speaker 1: looking towards the future, you want to know what you have.

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Speaker 1: So hopefully for these next ten weeks, these guys get

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Speaker 1: some serious run and they have tape to tell you

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Speaker 1: exactly what these guys are and what you can work

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Speaker 1: with for the future. And if they don't feel like

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Speaker 1: they're going to work out, then hopefully you can find

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Speaker 1: people to supplant them. Then come again in twenty twenty one,

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Speaker 1: and you know, as much as it sucked to move

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Speaker 1: for a second round pick into a third round pick, Gabe,

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Speaker 1: we are still running with eleven draft picks. You have

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Speaker 1: five of them acquired, you know, one a third rounder

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Speaker 1: from the Ravens, two fourth rounders, one from the Bears,

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Speaker 1: one from the Bills in the Digs trade, and then

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Speaker 1: three fifth rounders with an extra one from the Ravens

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Speaker 1: and an extra one from the Steelers. So you currently

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Speaker 1: have eleven picks going into next year's draft, which, especially

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Speaker 1: if you're in you're in a tight salary cap situation,

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Speaker 1: that's a big deal. And if you can turn around

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Speaker 1: another one of these, I mean, look at what we're

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Speaker 1: talking about right now. We have with Ezra Cleveland now

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Speaker 1: starting we have five guys between Cleveland, Jefferson want them

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Speaker 1: and both of our cornerbacks. You know, we have five

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Speaker 1: guys playing pretty serious roles on this football team as rookies,

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Speaker 1: and you'll have a chance to add a lot more

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Speaker 1: talent with that many picks. Having all those picks are

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Speaker 1: like Corso said, it's going to be trial wi fire

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Speaker 1: for those guys next year also. But the good thing

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Speaker 1: is you have these rookies getting the experience. Experience is

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Speaker 1: the best teacher. So these guys getting experienced weekend and

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Speaker 1: week out, they're going to be better for it for

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Speaker 1: next year. And let's say, you know, the Vikings do

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Speaker 1: make more trades at the trade deadline. I think the

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Speaker 1: GM and the people at the top, they have to

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Speaker 1: be very strategic with who they trade or who they're

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Speaker 1: putting on the on the market, because certain players that

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Speaker 1: are we here, we see all these tweets abouts, hey,

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Speaker 1: this guy might get traded a lot of them. That

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Speaker 1: affects team morale. And if you want to keep the

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Speaker 1: team morale in the place while building up these young

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Speaker 1: guys that are already on the roster, you have to

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Speaker 1: keep some of that veteran meet there to help the

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Speaker 1: guys that are trying to come along. Because I would

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Speaker 1: like to see what Rick Spielman does with these eleven

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Speaker 1: picks last year, we have fifteen. We know he's a

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Speaker 1: genius when it comes to drafting some of these guys

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Speaker 1: on the later round. So it'll be very interesting to

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Speaker 1: see how everything shapes up. But at the same time,

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Speaker 1: you have to understand, we got to get these young

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Speaker 1: guys up to speed right now on this roster, and

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Speaker 1: we got to get those guys ready to play against

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Speaker 1: the Green Bay Packers. I talk to a Fidio Dentimo

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Speaker 1: today and he said, these rookies aren't rookies anymore. It's

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Speaker 1: week eight right now. And they have to get ready

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Speaker 1: to They have the mindset now is to get those

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Speaker 1: guys going. They have to, you know, get the bright

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Speaker 1: lights out of their eyes. And hey, you know I'm

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Speaker 1: in the NFL. Now you belong here. I like you

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Speaker 1: belong here, and let's build on this and keep going forward.

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Speaker 1: Back for the twenty twenty season is Pass or Play

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Speaker 1: dot com slash Pass or Play, and speaking of being

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Speaker 1: young guys and having to be ready to play, oh boy,

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Speaker 1: it's time to play. The Packers. With all that's happening,

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Speaker 1: coming off a rough loss, coming off a bye week,

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Speaker 1: we are walking into lambo field. All time, Packers lead

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Speaker 1: this series sixty three to fifty four with three ties.

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Speaker 1: The Vikings are unfortunately two seven and two since two thousand.

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Speaker 1: It's insane. We've had two ties since you what a

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Speaker 1: weird statistic. The last Vikings win was a sixteen zero

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Speaker 1: victory on the twenty third of December back in twenty seventeen,

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Speaker 1: insanely cold day, and Brett Hunley played that game. Green

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Speaker 1: Bay is currently five and one, and despite that little

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Speaker 1: slip up against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, they look every

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Speaker 1: bit a Super Bowl contender, Chris, They absolutely do. And

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Speaker 1: I think the main reason for that is Davante Adams

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Speaker 1: and the Aaron Rodgers connection that they have. I mean,

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Speaker 1: he was a huge problem for the Vikings defensive backs

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Speaker 1: earlier on in the season Week one, and I think

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Speaker 1: that's going to be the matchup to watch in this game.

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Speaker 1: I think you have to find a way, whether it's

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Speaker 1: Zimmers scheming, whether it's a zone coverage, double coverage, whatever

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Speaker 1: it is, take away the best option for Aaron Rodgers,

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Speaker 1: because Aaron Jones is more likely. I mean, looking at

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Speaker 1: this injury report, he's he was out last week and

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Speaker 1: he's most likely. I mean, he didn't practice on Wednesday.

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Speaker 1: So stop Davante Adams, that's what I want to see.

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Speaker 1: He's absolutely been a killer against this team. But going

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Speaker 1: back to Week one, Jay I would say, first and foremost,

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Speaker 1: you're gonna have to stop the rush game to the outside.

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Speaker 1: That's where we got ourselves in a lot of trouble.

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Speaker 1: Cornerbacks started getting their heads turned around. You know, the

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Speaker 1: ball was coming out to the edges and it was

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Speaker 1: difficult to stop. And from there we were just in

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Speaker 1: a bad situation. I think the thing that's always hard

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Speaker 1: when you play Green Bay is the formula for beating

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Speaker 1: green Bay is you have to get to Aaron Rodgers

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Speaker 1: right like, you have to get in his face and

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Speaker 1: you have to make him uncomfortable. But if they get

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Speaker 1: the running game going and they're able to get to

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Speaker 1: the edges and do that kind of stuff, now you're

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Speaker 1: having to sit back and anticipate they're going to be running.

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Speaker 1: And if that's the case and you're not able to

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Speaker 1: get your pass rush going, Aaron Rodgers, when he gets

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Speaker 1: the chance, is then going to turn around and pick

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Speaker 1: you apart. So it's it's it very much was trial

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Speaker 1: by fire. You had rookie guys playing out on those corners. Again,

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Speaker 1: You've got, you know, six games under the belt at

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Speaker 1: this point, so hopefully, scheming wise, they're able to recognize

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Speaker 1: their keys a little bit quicker and help with that

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Speaker 1: so that they can try to get more pressure in

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Speaker 1: the backfield. But you're right, you know, if they get

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Speaker 1: the running game going and Aaron has all the time

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Speaker 1: in the world, that's that's what happened week one, and

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Speaker 1: you do not want to see a repeat performance of

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Speaker 1: that this week. The other thing that happened week one

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Speaker 1: was turnovers, and the Packers offense is capitalizing on their opportunities.

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Speaker 1: Just from a normal standpoint, I mean eight in total offense,

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Speaker 1: second in points per game. You know, they look fantastic

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Speaker 1: on that side of the ball, with the exception of

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Speaker 1: Tampa Bay. So, Gabe, you just you cannot give them,

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Speaker 1: especially with the way Aaron Rodgers is playing, you cannot

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Speaker 1: give them any extra opportunities. Time of possession is Keith.

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Speaker 1: The offense has to get the run game going. Dalvin

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Speaker 1: Cook is back this week. We hope he's a thousand percent.

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Speaker 1: But to keep Aaron Riders off the field run the

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Speaker 1: ball effectively, you can't be on the field eighteen minutes

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Speaker 1: and forty four seconds, and a lot of that time

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Speaker 1: in week one was garbage time in the fourth quarter.

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Speaker 1: So in order to keep Aaron Riders off the field,

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Speaker 1: play on his defense, get Dalvin Cooked the ball, and

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Speaker 1: just have fun, Like, have fun. We know we're one

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Speaker 1: in five, but it's a week the week job at

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Speaker 1: this point. Just have fun with it and just enjoy

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Speaker 1: the experience. Well, you know, and I would lean on

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Speaker 1: you know. Time of possession is obviously very important. It's

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Speaker 1: if important in every football game. But I think specifically

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Speaker 1: you can't put the ball in the ground, Chris, and

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Speaker 1: you can't throw the ball into the other team's hands,

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Speaker 1: you know, especially on your side of the field. That's

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Speaker 1: that's happened too many times this season. That happened in

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Speaker 1: that game with the with the Packers red zone efficiency

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Speaker 1: which is bonkers right now. You absolutely cannot give them

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Speaker 1: extra opportunities via a turnover, and you can't do it

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Speaker 1: on your side of the football field. Yeah. I'm looking

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Speaker 1: for a big time improvement from the Vikings offense as

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Speaker 1: a whole, and I think that starts with getting Dalvin

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Speaker 1: Cook back. We want to see an improvement from Kirk

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Speaker 1: Cousins obviously after that game man, that was probably his

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Speaker 1: worst performance as a Viking against the Atlanta Falcons. So

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Speaker 1: I think it all starts with Dalvin Cook. We've seen

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Speaker 1: Kirk have some pretty nice games in Lambeau in the past.

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Speaker 1: I can remember a comeback game. I think it was

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Speaker 1: his first game in lambeau Field where he threw some

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Speaker 1: of the best passes that I've seen him throw to

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Speaker 1: Adam Thielan in that game. So I see a big

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Speaker 1: time comeback for the Vikings offense, just for pride. Like

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Speaker 1: you heard Dalvin Cook say it in his press conference today,

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Speaker 1: He's like, we just want to go out there and

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Speaker 1: have fun. Man, it's just Vikings packers. Like you have

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Speaker 1: so many players on this Vikings offense. I know the

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Speaker 1: defense is kind of banged up, but I see the

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Speaker 1: Vikings offense I really do. I'm positive about what's going

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Speaker 1: to happen for them in this game. Jay, And you know,

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Speaker 1: without Ngakua and Hunter out there, you know, the run

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Speaker 1: game is a conversation. But the pressure on Aaron Rodgers

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Speaker 1: is a big part of that too. Where is your

430
00:23:13,800 --> 00:23:16,280
Speaker 1: pressure going to come from? Because that is the one

431
00:23:16,400 --> 00:23:18,840
Speaker 1: thing we've seen so far this season. If you can

432
00:23:18,880 --> 00:23:23,480
Speaker 1: get pressure on Rogers, he will make mistakes. And more importantly,

433
00:23:23,640 --> 00:23:25,720
Speaker 1: it seems like he's still the sort of guy that

434
00:23:25,760 --> 00:23:28,480
Speaker 1: if you can get pressure on him early and force

435
00:23:28,600 --> 00:23:33,679
Speaker 1: him into an early mistake, you might see him avalanche

436
00:23:33,960 --> 00:23:36,479
Speaker 1: if you will. That's what seemed to happen in the

437
00:23:36,520 --> 00:23:40,439
Speaker 1: Tampa Bay Buccaneers game, was that early pressure and it

438
00:23:40,480 --> 00:23:43,919
Speaker 1: was all downhill from there. So these this defensive line

439
00:23:44,080 --> 00:23:48,040
Speaker 1: and possibly some blitz concepts need to get after him

440
00:23:48,119 --> 00:23:51,119
Speaker 1: early and often. And I think for them, you know

441
00:23:51,320 --> 00:23:54,040
Speaker 1: they know that too, right. I mean that Tampa game,

442
00:23:54,280 --> 00:23:56,199
Speaker 1: he was getting hit early and then he threw that

443
00:23:56,280 --> 00:23:59,480
Speaker 1: pick and then they just like you said, they snowballed.

444
00:23:59,560 --> 00:24:02,159
Speaker 1: So on our end, basically what they wanted to what

445
00:24:02,200 --> 00:24:05,000
Speaker 1: they're gonna want to do, at least against our guys

446
00:24:05,280 --> 00:24:07,280
Speaker 1: is what similar to what they did in week one.

447
00:24:07,359 --> 00:24:09,440
Speaker 1: Whether it's the running game, but I think it's gonna

448
00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:11,120
Speaker 1: be get the ball out of his hands real quick

449
00:24:11,560 --> 00:24:13,879
Speaker 1: and try to hit those short intermediate passes, or if

450
00:24:13,920 --> 00:24:16,800
Speaker 1: they're playing against the zone, they're gonna turn around and

451
00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:19,920
Speaker 1: just try to hit spots in order to see if

452
00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:23,600
Speaker 1: the secondary can recognize what their coverages are better than

453
00:24:23,640 --> 00:24:25,880
Speaker 1: they did week one. So yeah, if you can't get

454
00:24:25,880 --> 00:24:27,920
Speaker 1: to Rodgers, he's gonna make you pay all day long.

455
00:24:28,440 --> 00:24:30,960
Speaker 1: And that's no easy task. Because Aaron Rodgers is getting

456
00:24:30,960 --> 00:24:33,680
Speaker 1: the ball out of his hands in less than two seconds.

457
00:24:33,720 --> 00:24:36,040
Speaker 1: In comparison, Kirk Cousins is getting the ball out of

458
00:24:36,080 --> 00:24:38,439
Speaker 1: his hands and two point six and he's doing a

459
00:24:38,440 --> 00:24:41,560
Speaker 1: play action pass. So, like the Vikings, corners have to

460
00:24:41,600 --> 00:24:44,280
Speaker 1: step up this week in order for this defense to

461
00:24:44,320 --> 00:24:46,879
Speaker 1: get pressures, in order for them to get Aaron Rodgers

462
00:24:46,920 --> 00:24:49,320
Speaker 1: to feel uncomfortable. Like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did. They

463
00:24:49,359 --> 00:24:51,080
Speaker 1: have to play some type of press man this week.

464
00:24:51,160 --> 00:24:53,080
Speaker 1: You know, high risk, high reward type of thing. Right,

465
00:24:53,080 --> 00:24:55,280
Speaker 1: you got Devantae Adams, you really don't want to press them,

466
00:24:55,440 --> 00:24:57,600
Speaker 1: But the Tampa Bay Buccaneers did it. You know, they

467
00:24:57,680 --> 00:25:00,320
Speaker 1: have some young guys in their secondary. So think if

468
00:25:00,520 --> 00:25:02,800
Speaker 1: you if you put the ball in Aaron Rodgers hands

469
00:25:02,840 --> 00:25:06,040
Speaker 1: three seconds, I think that's going to give you your

470
00:25:06,240 --> 00:25:09,640
Speaker 1: Fidio Dentibo's enough time to get pressure on Aaron Rodgers. Yeah,

471
00:25:09,680 --> 00:25:11,480
Speaker 1: and I think that kind of supports what we were

472
00:25:11,560 --> 00:25:14,520
Speaker 1: saying originally there with you know, if he's getting the

473
00:25:14,520 --> 00:25:17,760
Speaker 1: ball out that quick, it's by design, you know. And

474
00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:20,679
Speaker 1: if we make him hold onto the ball, if you

475
00:25:20,680 --> 00:25:22,840
Speaker 1: can cover a little bit and you can get to him,

476
00:25:22,880 --> 00:25:25,960
Speaker 1: that might be the reason a guy that's that good

477
00:25:26,160 --> 00:25:28,679
Speaker 1: has a little bit of a rough day. So I

478
00:25:28,760 --> 00:25:32,800
Speaker 1: mean to me that statistic presents an opportunity. If you

479
00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:34,840
Speaker 1: can make him work, if you can make them work

480
00:25:34,840 --> 00:25:36,919
Speaker 1: to get the ball out and sit him back there

481
00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:38,639
Speaker 1: and get some pressure on him, it might be a

482
00:25:38,760 --> 00:25:43,480
Speaker 1: really really good thing of Courso the other thing that

483
00:25:43,520 --> 00:25:48,000
Speaker 1: the Packers have been shockingly good at this year is

484
00:25:48,680 --> 00:25:51,959
Speaker 1: throwing it to tight ends in the red zone. Robert

485
00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:54,679
Speaker 1: Tonyan he had three touchdowns in the Atlanta game, but

486
00:25:54,680 --> 00:25:58,680
Speaker 1: he's got five on the year, and they're two Sternberger

487
00:25:58,720 --> 00:26:01,960
Speaker 1: and Lewis each have a touchdown. They have been but

488
00:26:02,160 --> 00:26:05,720
Speaker 1: not you know, they You're worried about Davante Adams, as

489
00:26:05,720 --> 00:26:08,240
Speaker 1: you should be, but they go up and down the

490
00:26:08,280 --> 00:26:12,560
Speaker 1: field with those guys and then they are really really

491
00:26:12,680 --> 00:26:16,240
Speaker 1: lethal with their tight ends when they get inside the twenty. Yeah,

492
00:26:16,320 --> 00:26:18,840
Speaker 1: Tanyan has come kind of come out of nowhere for them.

493
00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:22,879
Speaker 1: Two hundred and thirty yards on the year and eighteen receptions.

494
00:26:22,880 --> 00:26:24,919
Speaker 1: You mentioned the five touchdowns. I think in the red

495
00:26:25,040 --> 00:26:27,920
Speaker 1: zone is where he really makes his impact. That will

496
00:26:27,960 --> 00:26:31,159
Speaker 1: be something for Vikings linebackers to definitely pay attention to

497
00:26:31,960 --> 00:26:34,359
Speaker 1: when Aaron Rodgers will certainly probably be in the in

498
00:26:34,400 --> 00:26:36,360
Speaker 1: the red zone at some point in this game. But

499
00:26:36,720 --> 00:26:39,280
Speaker 1: I think that's what's taking Aaron Rodgers to the next

500
00:26:39,359 --> 00:26:42,080
Speaker 1: level because last year that was the thing that hurt

501
00:26:42,160 --> 00:26:45,160
Speaker 1: the Packers in the big game against the forty nine ers.

502
00:26:45,160 --> 00:26:49,720
Speaker 1: They didn't have that second, third, fourth wide receiver other

503
00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:52,320
Speaker 1: than having Davanta Adams, and they play a good defense

504
00:26:52,320 --> 00:26:54,239
Speaker 1: and the forty nine ers and they can't put up

505
00:26:54,240 --> 00:26:57,440
Speaker 1: any points. This year, Rodgers has been as good as

506
00:26:57,560 --> 00:27:00,560
Speaker 1: anybody because of that reason. I mean, he has all

507
00:27:00,600 --> 00:27:05,040
Speaker 1: of these other options, Valda's scantling as the other wide receiver,

508
00:27:05,160 --> 00:27:08,120
Speaker 1: but more importantly, like you said, he's able to kind

509
00:27:08,160 --> 00:27:11,080
Speaker 1: of use these bigger body tight ends in the red zone.

510
00:27:11,520 --> 00:27:14,800
Speaker 1: That's a good reason why Aaron Rodgers has really taking

511
00:27:14,800 --> 00:27:17,960
Speaker 1: the next step this year, and that's why they're five

512
00:27:18,000 --> 00:27:21,960
Speaker 1: and one right now. Because this offense is it's multidimensional.

513
00:27:22,359 --> 00:27:25,480
Speaker 1: They have these other type of wide receivers in tight

514
00:27:25,600 --> 00:27:27,960
Speaker 1: ends that are able to really take advantage in the

515
00:27:28,000 --> 00:27:31,679
Speaker 1: red zone, you know, and flipping from their offense to

516
00:27:31,720 --> 00:27:34,000
Speaker 1: our offense, I know. And this is something that bit

517
00:27:34,119 --> 00:27:37,520
Speaker 1: me last week when or last game two weeks ago

518
00:27:37,560 --> 00:27:39,680
Speaker 1: when we were talking about the Falcons, I said, you know,

519
00:27:40,119 --> 00:27:42,119
Speaker 1: this might be a team that you should get up

520
00:27:42,119 --> 00:27:44,280
Speaker 1: and fling the ball up and down the field against

521
00:27:44,320 --> 00:27:48,359
Speaker 1: because they can't stop the pass. And I know I'm

522
00:27:48,440 --> 00:27:52,200
Speaker 1: smart enough to understand things need to start with Dalvin

523
00:27:52,240 --> 00:27:54,960
Speaker 1: Cook in the running game. But this is another defense

524
00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,119
Speaker 1: that is really susceptible in the passing game. Three hundred

525
00:27:58,119 --> 00:28:00,520
Speaker 1: and thirty five point eight yards passed in a game.

526
00:28:00,760 --> 00:28:03,480
Speaker 1: Now they're also giving up one hundred and ten yards

527
00:28:03,480 --> 00:28:06,080
Speaker 1: on the ground. It's a defense that's susceptible all over

528
00:28:06,119 --> 00:28:09,560
Speaker 1: the place. But I feel the same way I felt

529
00:28:09,720 --> 00:28:12,880
Speaker 1: going into the Falcons game that yes, let's establish the run,

530
00:28:13,040 --> 00:28:15,159
Speaker 1: Yes let's get things going, But this feels like a

531
00:28:15,240 --> 00:28:20,320
Speaker 1: game that the Vikings shouldn't necessarily be shooting for twenty

532
00:28:20,359 --> 00:28:23,600
Speaker 1: four points for this with the caliber of this offense,

533
00:28:23,640 --> 00:28:27,880
Speaker 1: with the emergence of Justin Jefferson, with IRV Smith showing up,

534
00:28:28,119 --> 00:28:30,120
Speaker 1: you know, yes, would I love to win this football

535
00:28:30,119 --> 00:28:32,640
Speaker 1: game seventeen to ten and be thrilled if that happens.

536
00:28:33,040 --> 00:28:36,120
Speaker 1: One Do I think Aaron Rodgers is going to put

537
00:28:36,200 --> 00:28:38,760
Speaker 1: up more points in that? Absolutely? And do I think

538
00:28:38,760 --> 00:28:42,280
Speaker 1: our offense is capable of wheeling and dealing and running

539
00:28:42,360 --> 00:28:45,200
Speaker 1: up and down the field with the Green Bay Packers.

540
00:28:45,360 --> 00:28:48,400
Speaker 1: Despite what happened in the Falcons game, I still maintain

541
00:28:48,520 --> 00:28:54,600
Speaker 1: that confidence, Jay, I still think there is a susceptible

542
00:28:54,720 --> 00:28:57,920
Speaker 1: nature to this Packers defense that even though we do

543
00:28:58,040 --> 00:29:01,280
Speaker 1: want to establish the run game, we can take advantage

544
00:29:01,280 --> 00:29:04,160
Speaker 1: of it in a bit of a dynamic way as

545
00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:07,240
Speaker 1: opposed to just a ground and pound sort of way.

546
00:29:07,400 --> 00:29:08,760
Speaker 1: And that's the thing. I don't think the ground and

547
00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:11,200
Speaker 1: pound side is going to work that well because of

548
00:29:11,240 --> 00:29:14,240
Speaker 1: what they've done on their defensive line. They've they've definitely

549
00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:17,360
Speaker 1: defensively shored up a lot of the deficiencies they've had

550
00:29:17,360 --> 00:29:19,800
Speaker 1: over the last two three years. The thing for me,

551
00:29:19,880 --> 00:29:22,360
Speaker 1: I look at this game and I say, utilize the

552
00:29:22,400 --> 00:29:26,719
Speaker 1: similar formula like you did with Seattle and control the clock,

553
00:29:26,960 --> 00:29:30,120
Speaker 1: run the ball, hit those receivers and make them pay

554
00:29:30,200 --> 00:29:32,440
Speaker 1: on the deep shots when they're sitting there trying to

555
00:29:32,440 --> 00:29:34,920
Speaker 1: look at a guy like a Delvin. So like, for

556
00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:37,000
Speaker 1: me in this game, you have to do that, because

557
00:29:37,800 --> 00:29:39,400
Speaker 1: we were just talking about it. You don't want to

558
00:29:39,400 --> 00:29:41,520
Speaker 1: get into a shootout here with Aaron Rodgers and you're

559
00:29:41,560 --> 00:29:44,200
Speaker 1: not gonna win with ten fifteen points. That's just not

560
00:29:44,280 --> 00:29:47,480
Speaker 1: realistic in my opinion. So in order to do that,

561
00:29:47,840 --> 00:29:49,840
Speaker 1: you have to control the clock, you have to make

562
00:29:49,840 --> 00:29:52,160
Speaker 1: the most of your opportunities, and you got to punch

563
00:29:52,200 --> 00:29:54,400
Speaker 1: in touchdowns. Field goals are not going to get it done.

564
00:29:54,840 --> 00:29:57,720
Speaker 1: Just similar to Seattle, you got to score when, especially

565
00:29:57,760 --> 00:29:59,800
Speaker 1: when you get into the red zone. So keep a

566
00:30:00,120 --> 00:30:02,520
Speaker 1: Rodgers off the field, try to control the clock, and

567
00:30:02,640 --> 00:30:05,560
Speaker 1: don't have those periods of lapses that cause you to

568
00:30:05,640 --> 00:30:08,000
Speaker 1: lose the game. Hopefully, with the Packers here, they can

569
00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:09,880
Speaker 1: clean up some of those issues they had the Seattle

570
00:30:10,240 --> 00:30:15,200
Speaker 1: and really rise to the occasion in this one. Join

571
00:30:15,280 --> 00:30:18,479
Speaker 1: me Paul Allen, along with former Vikings linebacker and current

572
00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:22,160
Speaker 1: radio analysts Ben Lieber after every Vikings game as we

573
00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:25,520
Speaker 1: host Between the Lines, analyze the game, break it down

574
00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:28,400
Speaker 1: from all angles, and discuss what it means for your

575
00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:32,160
Speaker 1: favorite team moving forward. Watch each week via Vikings dot com,

576
00:30:32,200 --> 00:30:35,040
Speaker 1: the Vikings app, YouTube, and all of the team's other

577
00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:39,640
Speaker 1: digital and social platforms. For information, visit Vikings dot com

578
00:30:39,720 --> 00:30:44,400
Speaker 1: slash Between the Lines. I want to before we get

579
00:30:44,400 --> 00:30:46,600
Speaker 1: your final thoughts on the game, I want to talk

580
00:30:46,600 --> 00:30:49,120
Speaker 1: a little bit about the rest of the league. But first,

581
00:30:49,400 --> 00:30:52,520
Speaker 1: it is game Day. Any day play the new Vikings

582
00:30:52,640 --> 00:30:55,600
Speaker 1: scratch game from the Minnesota Lottery with a top prize

583
00:30:55,640 --> 00:31:00,320
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584
00:31:00,360 --> 00:31:08,360
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585
00:31:08,400 --> 00:31:10,920
Speaker 1: I have in front of me the latest power rankings

586
00:31:10,960 --> 00:31:14,320
Speaker 1: because Jay keeps putting them in the document, and I

587
00:31:14,440 --> 00:31:16,560
Speaker 1: have the standings in front of me, so I'm gonna

588
00:31:16,560 --> 00:31:18,800
Speaker 1: I want to go quick answers here. I want to

589
00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:24,320
Speaker 1: rip around, rip around the horn, if you will, and

590
00:31:24,440 --> 00:31:28,680
Speaker 1: get thoughts from each you. Chris Corso, The Arizona Cardinals,

591
00:31:28,840 --> 00:31:33,560
Speaker 1: despite that fantastic win on Sunday Night Football, are still

592
00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:39,840
Speaker 1: number eleven, behind the New Orleans Saints, behind the Los

593
00:31:39,880 --> 00:31:44,320
Speaker 1: Angeles Rams. Is that a fair ranking for them? Or did?

594
00:31:44,840 --> 00:31:47,560
Speaker 1: Did you like what you saw enough on Sunday Night

595
00:31:47,560 --> 00:31:50,040
Speaker 1: Football to feel like they deserve a little more credit here?

596
00:31:50,280 --> 00:31:52,840
Speaker 1: I mean, that's a big win, beating an undefeated team

597
00:31:52,920 --> 00:31:57,000
Speaker 1: that we were one play away from beating as well.

598
00:31:57,040 --> 00:31:59,680
Speaker 1: But I like what I see from the Arizona Cardinals

599
00:31:59,720 --> 00:32:02,120
Speaker 1: off I really do. I think Kyler Murray is a

600
00:32:02,160 --> 00:32:05,880
Speaker 1: future superstar in this league, and obviously they have DeAndre

601
00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:08,200
Speaker 1: Hopkins and a lot of weapons on that team. I'd

602
00:32:08,240 --> 00:32:11,240
Speaker 1: watch out if I'm the Seattle Seahawks and a bunch

603
00:32:11,240 --> 00:32:13,800
Speaker 1: of the teams in the NFC West there, because I

604
00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:17,560
Speaker 1: think they can creep into the top ten for sure. Jay,

605
00:32:17,600 --> 00:32:20,320
Speaker 1: the Detroit Lions are at twenty one. They're three and three.

606
00:32:20,400 --> 00:32:22,920
Speaker 1: They've reeled off a couple of wins. They're the team

607
00:32:22,960 --> 00:32:26,080
Speaker 1: that I have pegged to possibly make a jump over

608
00:32:26,120 --> 00:32:28,960
Speaker 1: the next few weeks. They just signed Everson Griffin, which

609
00:32:29,000 --> 00:32:32,240
Speaker 1: makes that matchup in a couple of weeks really interesting.

610
00:32:32,520 --> 00:32:35,240
Speaker 1: Are the Detroit Lions trending up or trending down? I

611
00:32:35,240 --> 00:32:36,920
Speaker 1: think they're trending up. I think a lot of that

612
00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:39,160
Speaker 1: has to do with they have their veterans that are

613
00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:42,480
Speaker 1: keeping them in games. They took advantage of the mistake

614
00:32:43,400 --> 00:32:46,760
Speaker 1: last week and they were able to capitalize and beat

615
00:32:46,760 --> 00:32:49,680
Speaker 1: that Atlanta team there at the Horn, literally at Zeros.

616
00:32:49,720 --> 00:32:52,840
Speaker 1: I think the Detroit Lions, once everyone's always said if

617
00:32:52,920 --> 00:32:54,720
Speaker 1: the young guys can step up and they can finally

618
00:32:54,720 --> 00:32:57,360
Speaker 1: put it together, having a leader like Matt Stafford is

619
00:32:57,400 --> 00:33:00,120
Speaker 1: going to help. I think having guys like Adrian and

620
00:33:00,280 --> 00:33:03,080
Speaker 1: Everson Griffin around them They're only going to help in

621
00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:08,760
Speaker 1: that locker room. Gabe being and being in NFC East

622
00:33:09,680 --> 00:33:14,560
Speaker 1: aficionado of the past, all four NFC East teams are

623
00:33:14,640 --> 00:33:17,560
Speaker 1: ranked lower than twenty two. The Eagles at twenty two,

624
00:33:18,320 --> 00:33:22,320
Speaker 1: the Washington football team at twenty eight, the Giants at

625
00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:27,040
Speaker 1: twenty nine, and the Cowboys at thirty. Which of these

626
00:33:27,160 --> 00:33:29,560
Speaker 1: teams is going to rise from the ashes? And are

627
00:33:29,600 --> 00:33:33,640
Speaker 1: we talking about a six and ten or five eleven

628
00:33:33,680 --> 00:33:37,200
Speaker 1: and one division champion year? I think we started this

629
00:33:37,400 --> 00:33:40,480
Speaker 1: podcast in this offseason basically sand who the winner of

630
00:33:40,520 --> 00:33:43,400
Speaker 1: the NFC East will win seven games? Mex to win

631
00:33:43,480 --> 00:33:45,080
Speaker 1: that league. To win that conference, you have to win

632
00:33:45,080 --> 00:33:47,760
Speaker 1: at least seven games, and I think the Philadelphia Eagles

633
00:33:47,760 --> 00:33:51,240
Speaker 1: will be the first team to do so because Washington

634
00:33:51,360 --> 00:33:53,840
Speaker 1: just lost their star safety. The Dallas Cowboys are the

635
00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:58,080
Speaker 1: Dallas Cowboys, and then the Giants are the Giants. So

636
00:33:58,120 --> 00:34:01,640
Speaker 1: it's Philadelphia's team. Is Philadelphia's conference to love? It's not

637
00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:04,239
Speaker 1: a good it's not a good place when all you

638
00:34:04,280 --> 00:34:07,479
Speaker 1: can do to summarize what's happening with a team is

639
00:34:07,520 --> 00:34:09,759
Speaker 1: say the name of the team. Dude, they need to

640
00:34:09,840 --> 00:34:11,920
Speaker 1: just like get rid of that division this year and

641
00:34:11,920 --> 00:34:15,120
Speaker 1: then just promote somebody else from another division to say, hey,

642
00:34:15,200 --> 00:34:18,680
Speaker 1: look the NFCA West, you can have three teams, four

643
00:34:18,719 --> 00:34:20,960
Speaker 1: teams from that conference. We slide a couple of teams

644
00:34:21,000 --> 00:34:23,120
Speaker 1: from the West over there. Just even think that's like,

645
00:34:23,200 --> 00:34:26,200
Speaker 1: if we jump over to the standings, that's you know,

646
00:34:26,400 --> 00:34:30,000
Speaker 1: the forty nine ers who have had a really rough start,

647
00:34:30,480 --> 00:34:33,640
Speaker 1: it feels like are still four and three and they're

648
00:34:33,680 --> 00:34:37,240
Speaker 1: at the bottom of that division. That division is so

649
00:34:37,360 --> 00:34:41,960
Speaker 1: fun and so enjoyable every week, and that game was amazing.

650
00:34:42,000 --> 00:34:44,760
Speaker 1: And as a Viking fan, I have a long history

651
00:34:44,760 --> 00:34:48,000
Speaker 1: of not liking the Seattle Seahawks, but man, I've really

652
00:34:48,000 --> 00:34:50,760
Speaker 1: come around on Pete Carroll and I've really come around

653
00:34:50,800 --> 00:34:53,480
Speaker 1: on Russell Wilson. And if we get any if we

654
00:34:53,520 --> 00:34:56,280
Speaker 1: even get half of what we got on Sunday Night football,

655
00:34:56,320 --> 00:34:58,480
Speaker 1: as these teams run into one another the rest of

656
00:34:58,520 --> 00:35:02,120
Speaker 1: the year, Chris, it's it's gonna be fantastic. Yeah. When

657
00:35:02,120 --> 00:35:04,759
Speaker 1: I saw Russell Wilson do the Mister Unlimited video in

658
00:35:04,840 --> 00:35:08,319
Speaker 1: the off season, I absolutely hated it. But now like

659
00:35:09,080 --> 00:35:11,960
Speaker 1: I want Kirk to like do corny stuff like that

660
00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:14,960
Speaker 1: and just like own it because that's what Russell Wilson

661
00:35:15,080 --> 00:35:19,040
Speaker 1: is doing and it's working, because God, he's been unbelievable.

662
00:35:19,080 --> 00:35:23,160
Speaker 1: But that's what I see from Seattle, owning the corniness

663
00:35:23,200 --> 00:35:26,080
Speaker 1: of Russell Wilson and him just being very good at

664
00:35:26,120 --> 00:35:33,440
Speaker 1: playing quarterback unlimited. The Buccaneers here are, you know, one

665
00:35:33,480 --> 00:35:35,960
Speaker 1: of the most fun talking points of the off seasons.

666
00:35:36,000 --> 00:35:39,160
Speaker 1: Who's gonna win the Brady Belichick divorce? And early on,

667
00:35:39,520 --> 00:35:42,240
Speaker 1: as Cam was playing out of his mind, everybody's like, well,

668
00:35:42,719 --> 00:35:46,200
Speaker 1: it's the old man, He's the genius. And now we

669
00:35:46,360 --> 00:35:50,239
Speaker 1: sit Cam is struggling. I personally think it's not the

670
00:35:50,320 --> 00:35:52,360
Speaker 1: easiest thing in the world to come back from a

671
00:35:52,400 --> 00:35:56,160
Speaker 1: COVID break with no practices and go out there and

672
00:35:56,200 --> 00:36:00,480
Speaker 1: win football games. But he's struggling. The Patriots are struggling.

673
00:36:01,120 --> 00:36:05,799
Speaker 1: Tampa Bay looks all sorts of bonkers good and Oh,

674
00:36:05,880 --> 00:36:09,200
Speaker 1: by the way, regardless of what you think about his

675
00:36:09,320 --> 00:36:12,319
Speaker 1: past and regardless of what you think about his situation,

676
00:36:12,800 --> 00:36:16,239
Speaker 1: they added a guy who has a potential to be

677
00:36:16,400 --> 00:36:19,320
Speaker 1: the best wide receiver in all of football. People forget

678
00:36:19,400 --> 00:36:22,759
Speaker 1: because of what Antonio Brown has gone through and the

679
00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:26,920
Speaker 1: storylines that have followed him. We forget sometimes that going

680
00:36:26,960 --> 00:36:30,320
Speaker 1: into that last year in Pittsburgh, He wasn't just considered

681
00:36:30,320 --> 00:36:32,759
Speaker 1: one of the best wide receivers in football. This was

682
00:36:32,800 --> 00:36:37,840
Speaker 1: a guy who was dominating professional football and now a

683
00:36:38,239 --> 00:36:41,560
Speaker 1: very good Buccaneers team just dumped him into the mix.

684
00:36:42,000 --> 00:36:44,239
Speaker 1: And that's the thing I think when you see superstars

685
00:36:44,280 --> 00:36:47,200
Speaker 1: like Tom Brady who have that pedigree of winning, and

686
00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:50,440
Speaker 1: you have a solid team like Tampa already was their

687
00:36:50,480 --> 00:36:53,360
Speaker 1: biggest issue that they had was Jamis, you know, throwing

688
00:36:53,680 --> 00:36:57,799
Speaker 1: double digit interceptions equal touchdowns to interceptions last season and

689
00:36:57,800 --> 00:36:59,720
Speaker 1: they still went eight and eight. They had a solid

690
00:36:59,719 --> 00:37:02,799
Speaker 1: def They added guys like Antoine Winfield Junior in the

691
00:37:02,880 --> 00:37:06,839
Speaker 1: draft and that defense has been lethal. But you've seen

692
00:37:06,920 --> 00:37:10,239
Speaker 1: Brady now being able to hit touchdown after touchdown and

693
00:37:10,280 --> 00:37:13,000
Speaker 1: the weapons. Having a guy like Antonio walking the door,

694
00:37:13,040 --> 00:37:15,319
Speaker 1: it's like, hey, great, you've got your chocolate Sunday, here

695
00:37:15,320 --> 00:37:19,000
Speaker 1: comes the cherry on top. If this guy actually suits up,

696
00:37:19,160 --> 00:37:22,200
Speaker 1: keeps his nose clean, and produces for that team, he

697
00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:25,480
Speaker 1: is a guy that definitely pushes them potentially over the

698
00:37:25,520 --> 00:37:29,279
Speaker 1: top in this division. And it turns into a pick

699
00:37:29,280 --> 00:37:32,319
Speaker 1: your poison if they have that many good players on

700
00:37:32,360 --> 00:37:34,640
Speaker 1: that offense to go with a Tom Brady and oh,

701
00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:36,800
Speaker 1: by the way, Gronk woke up the last two weeks

702
00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:41,160
Speaker 1: like the Tampa Bay Buccaneers right now are absolutely on

703
00:37:41,239 --> 00:37:43,799
Speaker 1: fire halfway through the season. As long as they can

704
00:37:43,840 --> 00:37:46,960
Speaker 1: stay injury free, they're definitely going to be in charge

705
00:37:47,000 --> 00:37:50,520
Speaker 1: coming down to playoffs in week one. An ice cream

706
00:37:50,600 --> 00:37:56,200
Speaker 1: reference from Jay Nelson last one goes to Gabe Henderson. Gabe,

707
00:37:56,719 --> 00:37:59,440
Speaker 1: is there any chance the New York Jets win a

708
00:37:59,560 --> 00:38:03,799
Speaker 1: single football game this entire year? There is not a

709
00:38:03,840 --> 00:38:06,360
Speaker 1: single chance that the Jets win a football game. This

710
00:38:06,560 --> 00:38:10,000
Speaker 1: is Harry. No, I can't see who are there going

711
00:38:10,040 --> 00:38:12,399
Speaker 1: to be in their conference? The Dolphins are good now

712
00:38:12,400 --> 00:38:16,440
Speaker 1: in the AFC East, the Patriots, they don't lose to

713
00:38:16,600 --> 00:38:20,320
Speaker 1: the Jets. No, I can't. I can't see it happening.

714
00:38:20,560 --> 00:38:23,320
Speaker 1: But no, I will say, you know, every the interesting

715
00:38:23,360 --> 00:38:29,000
Speaker 1: thing that's happening down in in Miami. You know, with

716
00:38:29,680 --> 00:38:34,120
Speaker 1: Ryan Fitzpatrick being benched for two uh well maybe replaced

717
00:38:34,160 --> 00:38:38,239
Speaker 1: benched isn't probably the right word, but everybody's and I

718
00:38:38,640 --> 00:38:41,520
Speaker 1: was a big to a fan coming out. I would

719
00:38:41,520 --> 00:38:45,000
Speaker 1: have loved you know. I think you should have been

720
00:38:45,080 --> 00:38:48,239
Speaker 1: excited if your team would have drafted to AH. But

721
00:38:48,800 --> 00:38:53,839
Speaker 1: we're acting like that is a no brainer personnel move.

722
00:38:54,320 --> 00:38:56,719
Speaker 1: We're acting like that he's going to be able to

723
00:38:56,800 --> 00:39:00,880
Speaker 1: keep pace with the same sort of those and abilities

724
00:39:01,239 --> 00:39:04,040
Speaker 1: of a Ryan Fitzpatrick, who think what you want about him,

725
00:39:04,040 --> 00:39:06,520
Speaker 1: call him a journeyman, call him this comment. He goes out,

726
00:39:06,560 --> 00:39:08,839
Speaker 1: he wins football games, and he throws for a ton

727
00:39:08,880 --> 00:39:11,480
Speaker 1: of yards, and he has the ability to beat anyone

728
00:39:11,520 --> 00:39:13,799
Speaker 1: in the NFL at any point in time. He did

729
00:39:13,800 --> 00:39:16,279
Speaker 1: it in Tampa Bay. He did it. He's done it

730
00:39:16,320 --> 00:39:18,640
Speaker 1: here in Miami. It's just what he does. He has

731
00:39:18,680 --> 00:39:22,640
Speaker 1: the ability to do that. So you still have one

732
00:39:22,800 --> 00:39:28,000
Speaker 1: game against that Dolphins team this year, and you know,

733
00:39:28,160 --> 00:39:30,800
Speaker 1: you also have the Chargers who have a rookie quarterback.

734
00:39:30,920 --> 00:39:33,439
Speaker 1: You have the Raiders who have been better. But there's

735
00:39:33,440 --> 00:39:37,759
Speaker 1: still three and three. You know, there's a couple opportunities

736
00:39:37,880 --> 00:39:40,839
Speaker 1: here for this team to get a win. But yeah,

737
00:39:40,880 --> 00:39:45,480
Speaker 1: I'm with you, probably not an awesome chance. I think

738
00:39:45,480 --> 00:39:48,120
Speaker 1: if Sports played his way out in the NFL the

739
00:39:48,160 --> 00:39:51,239
Speaker 1: way it did in the MLB, it'll be a LA Chargers,

740
00:39:51,239 --> 00:39:54,120
Speaker 1: Well MLB n NBA, it'll be La Chargers for Sampa

741
00:39:54,160 --> 00:39:57,560
Speaker 1: Bay Buccaneers. It seems like La Florida teams now, So

742
00:39:57,800 --> 00:39:59,839
Speaker 1: we'll see all right, well, let's move off to that,

743
00:40:00,000 --> 00:40:03,960
Speaker 1: and let's move on to a more somber note. Unfortunately,

744
00:40:04,280 --> 00:40:08,120
Speaker 1: one of the fifty greatest Vikings and a Viking Ring

745
00:40:08,160 --> 00:40:11,080
Speaker 1: of Honor remember, Matt Blair passed away over the weekend

746
00:40:11,120 --> 00:40:13,960
Speaker 1: at the age of seventy. He was a second round

747
00:40:14,040 --> 00:40:17,320
Speaker 1: draft pick out of Iowa State. Six time pro bowler,

748
00:40:17,400 --> 00:40:20,799
Speaker 1: played in two Super Bowls all twelve seasons for the

749
00:40:20,880 --> 00:40:26,240
Speaker 1: Vikings from seventy four to eighty five. Career amassed fourteen

750
00:40:26,360 --> 00:40:30,200
Speaker 1: hundred and fifty two tackles, which is still second all time.

751
00:40:31,120 --> 00:40:35,360
Speaker 1: Incredible player on the field, wonderful man off the field.

752
00:40:35,480 --> 00:40:38,960
Speaker 1: Vikings owner Mark Wilf said in a statement, Matt Blair

753
00:40:39,080 --> 00:40:42,120
Speaker 1: was a great presence at Viking events and a tremendous

754
00:40:42,160 --> 00:40:46,160
Speaker 1: teammate long after playing. He embodied the best of what

755
00:40:46,200 --> 00:40:48,879
Speaker 1: it means to be a Viking. Matt is a Ring

756
00:40:48,960 --> 00:40:52,120
Speaker 1: of Honor player whose legacy will live on forever with

757
00:40:52,200 --> 00:40:57,759
Speaker 1: the franchise and in the community he loved and Jay,

758
00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:03,919
Speaker 1: I know you kind of had a fun memory about Matt. Yeah.

759
00:41:04,000 --> 00:41:05,640
Speaker 1: One of the things that was always great about Matt

760
00:41:05,640 --> 00:41:07,600
Speaker 1: as anytime he saw him, he always had a giant smile.

761
00:41:07,640 --> 00:41:09,799
Speaker 1: In his face. But one of the legacies he had

762
00:41:09,800 --> 00:41:12,600
Speaker 1: with this organization was the fact that he loved photography.

763
00:41:13,120 --> 00:41:15,640
Speaker 1: And if you talk to other players when they would

764
00:41:16,000 --> 00:41:18,359
Speaker 1: talk about Matt and what they remember, they remember him

765
00:41:18,360 --> 00:41:21,160
Speaker 1: always walking around the locker room and the facility snapping

766
00:41:21,200 --> 00:41:23,800
Speaker 1: photos at everything. And I would see him come into

767
00:41:23,800 --> 00:41:27,160
Speaker 1: events at winter Park and different Viking events in general,

768
00:41:27,160 --> 00:41:29,160
Speaker 1: and he would have a DSLR or something around his

769
00:41:29,200 --> 00:41:31,279
Speaker 1: neck and he was constantly taking photos and it was

770
00:41:31,280 --> 00:41:33,400
Speaker 1: just a passion that he had. And one of the

771
00:41:33,440 --> 00:41:35,880
Speaker 1: cool things that we found out was a lot of

772
00:41:35,880 --> 00:41:39,000
Speaker 1: the great photos we have in our photo archives from

773
00:41:39,040 --> 00:41:41,520
Speaker 1: back when Matt played through the seventies and into the

774
00:41:41,560 --> 00:41:45,040
Speaker 1: eighties actually came from Matt that he like donated a

775
00:41:45,080 --> 00:41:48,400
Speaker 1: bunch of his photos to our organization as part of

776
00:41:48,440 --> 00:41:50,880
Speaker 1: that to kind of archive what his experience was like

777
00:41:50,960 --> 00:41:53,400
Speaker 1: as a player, and some of the most awesome, candid

778
00:41:53,440 --> 00:41:56,600
Speaker 1: shots from training camp, in the locker room, etc. All

779
00:41:56,600 --> 00:41:59,000
Speaker 1: that stuff came from Matt. So it was a huge,

780
00:41:59,200 --> 00:42:02,080
Speaker 1: huge blow. And the hard part was, as you know,

781
00:42:02,080 --> 00:42:04,360
Speaker 1: Scott Studwell said, he's been suffering for a while, So

782
00:42:04,400 --> 00:42:06,879
Speaker 1: I guess maybe it's a blessing in disguise, but it's

783
00:42:06,920 --> 00:42:08,799
Speaker 1: still too young, and it's a sad day. And I

784
00:42:08,840 --> 00:42:11,200
Speaker 1: think that's the best way that you can sum this

785
00:42:11,239 --> 00:42:14,719
Speaker 1: whole thing up was he was a vibrant guy who

786
00:42:14,760 --> 00:42:17,359
Speaker 1: everybody in the organization loved and you love being around him.

787
00:42:17,640 --> 00:42:20,480
Speaker 1: And it's really is too sad and too bad for

788
00:42:20,520 --> 00:42:23,600
Speaker 1: his family, and hopefully for them they understand just how

789
00:42:23,680 --> 00:42:26,560
Speaker 1: much he meant to this organization. He was a great player,

790
00:42:26,800 --> 00:42:30,440
Speaker 1: an incredible human being, and he will obviously be missed

791
00:42:30,440 --> 00:42:34,600
Speaker 1: by everyone. Let's wrap things up here, guys. A few

792
00:42:34,640 --> 00:42:38,839
Speaker 1: other things check out on vikings dot com and all

793
00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:42,960
Speaker 1: your Viking social and your Viking apps. This week's episode

794
00:42:42,960 --> 00:42:46,040
Speaker 1: of School Stories, Mark Rosen and Pete Versage catch up

795
00:42:46,040 --> 00:42:49,760
Speaker 1: with Hall of Fame quarterback fran Tarkington, who is always

796
00:42:49,800 --> 00:42:54,200
Speaker 1: an incredible interview and in this case, I couldn't emphasize

797
00:42:54,239 --> 00:42:58,080
Speaker 1: that more because they talked Sid Hartman. He told a

798
00:42:58,120 --> 00:43:02,480
Speaker 1: great story about Sid interviewing him on the airport tarmac

799
00:43:02,560 --> 00:43:05,840
Speaker 1: immediately after they arrived from the NFL draft, and a

800
00:43:05,920 --> 00:43:08,640
Speaker 1: number of other great ones. You don't want to miss it.

801
00:43:08,640 --> 00:43:12,000
Speaker 1: It's Thursday night at six thirty pm on KFA N

802
00:43:12,480 --> 00:43:16,880
Speaker 1: or download the podcast version from your favorite podcasts apps

803
00:43:17,239 --> 00:43:22,319
Speaker 1: and give it a listen there. Tune into Vikings Postgame

804
00:43:22,440 --> 00:43:26,560
Speaker 1: Live every week one hour after each game from inside

805
00:43:27,000 --> 00:43:31,799
Speaker 1: US Bank Stadium. Get a breakdown of the game, including highlights, stats, analysis,

806
00:43:31,800 --> 00:43:35,040
Speaker 1: and more. Tune in on vikings dot Com, the Vikings app,

807
00:43:35,080 --> 00:43:38,120
Speaker 1: and Vikings social media channels. They've been doing a great

808
00:43:38,200 --> 00:43:42,239
Speaker 1: job with that show, versach lieber Rosen. They got the

809
00:43:42,800 --> 00:43:48,080
Speaker 1: pressers in there, you know, the spray charts for the quarterbacks,

810
00:43:48,400 --> 00:43:50,719
Speaker 1: next gen stats. It's really been a great show. So

811
00:43:50,840 --> 00:43:54,880
Speaker 1: please if you're a diehard and you're looking for something

812
00:43:54,920 --> 00:43:57,880
Speaker 1: to follow the games with, that is a no brainer.

813
00:43:58,160 --> 00:44:01,920
Speaker 1: And finally, check out Vikings Van Friday following the Gophers

814
00:44:01,960 --> 00:44:05,960
Speaker 1: football game on KFA N one hundred point three. Our

815
00:44:06,040 --> 00:44:10,040
Speaker 1: boy is Chris Corso and Gabe Henderson. This week have

816
00:44:10,239 --> 00:44:14,760
Speaker 1: special guests Paul Allen helping them talk through everything twenty twenty.

817
00:44:15,120 --> 00:44:17,640
Speaker 1: They'll get you caught up on all the latest details

818
00:44:17,640 --> 00:44:19,760
Speaker 1: and everything you need to know right up to kickoff

819
00:44:20,120 --> 00:44:23,520
Speaker 1: against Green Bay. Check it out live on kfan or

820
00:44:23,560 --> 00:44:27,440
Speaker 1: as mentioned previous, with the other things downloaded on your

821
00:44:27,440 --> 00:44:33,600
Speaker 1: favorite podcast app. Boys. We are starting the post buy

822
00:44:34,040 --> 00:44:37,520
Speaker 1: session of our twenty twenty season. One in five happened,

823
00:44:37,719 --> 00:44:40,839
Speaker 1: but one in five is also over. There are ten

824
00:44:40,920 --> 00:44:43,279
Speaker 1: more games to go. You start at zero and you

825
00:44:43,320 --> 00:44:46,160
Speaker 1: see how many games you can win. And we start

826
00:44:46,280 --> 00:44:50,200
Speaker 1: with a really difficult one. Aaron Rodgers, Green Bay Packers

827
00:44:50,320 --> 00:44:53,680
Speaker 1: Lambo Field. Luckily, no fans. Is their fans? Do they

828
00:44:53,719 --> 00:44:56,440
Speaker 1: have a partial fans? I don't think they're having fans there,

829
00:44:56,480 --> 00:44:58,880
Speaker 1: are they? Jay No, They announced oar at the beginning

830
00:44:58,880 --> 00:45:01,200
Speaker 1: of the season that they were not all season long,

831
00:45:01,280 --> 00:45:03,200
Speaker 1: And to be honest with you, Green Bay is one

832
00:45:03,239 --> 00:45:05,520
Speaker 1: of the biggest COVID outbreaks right now, so I don't

833
00:45:05,560 --> 00:45:07,759
Speaker 1: think they're going to try and have anything happen here

834
00:45:07,760 --> 00:45:10,400
Speaker 1: for the next couple months. All right, Chris, give me

835
00:45:10,480 --> 00:45:12,680
Speaker 1: your give me your one thing you're looking for this weekend.

836
00:45:12,920 --> 00:45:15,839
Speaker 1: One thing I'm looking for. We've mentioned it. Let's get

837
00:45:15,880 --> 00:45:19,600
Speaker 1: the running game going early so Kirk can throw the

838
00:45:19,640 --> 00:45:23,240
Speaker 1: ball down the field and attack this team that clearly

839
00:45:23,280 --> 00:45:26,000
Speaker 1: has a pretty large injury report this week. A lot

840
00:45:26,040 --> 00:45:28,440
Speaker 1: of defensive players on that injury report, So let's get

841
00:45:28,440 --> 00:45:32,520
Speaker 1: the offense going. Dalvin's back, let's do it. Dave Henderson,

842
00:45:32,800 --> 00:45:35,120
Speaker 1: I'm looking for a Fadio Dano Boat to step up

843
00:45:35,160 --> 00:45:37,640
Speaker 1: this week with unique and Gahway trade it. I talked

844
00:45:37,640 --> 00:45:40,239
Speaker 1: to him earlier this week and he basically said he

845
00:45:40,360 --> 00:45:43,080
Speaker 1: feels the pressure and he's willing to prove everybody wrong.

846
00:45:43,120 --> 00:45:44,560
Speaker 1: So it's going to be exciting to see what he

847
00:45:44,560 --> 00:45:48,000
Speaker 1: can do against Aaron Rodgers Jay Nelson. The way that

848
00:45:48,040 --> 00:45:49,759
Speaker 1: you do this is you get in Aaron's face and

849
00:45:49,800 --> 00:45:52,640
Speaker 1: you make him uncomfortable. Do it early, get him rattled,

850
00:45:53,000 --> 00:45:55,719
Speaker 1: get to the quarterback, and I think the way to

851
00:45:55,760 --> 00:45:57,520
Speaker 1: do it, like you guys said earlier, you're gonna have

852
00:45:57,560 --> 00:46:00,480
Speaker 1: to play some man coverage with those corners. Hopefully those

853
00:46:00,560 --> 00:46:03,319
Speaker 1: rookies have stepped up here since they did from week one,

854
00:46:03,719 --> 00:46:07,080
Speaker 1: and I'm looking for the moment when we keep talking

855
00:46:07,080 --> 00:46:09,520
Speaker 1: about these young guys and Justin Jefferson has had his

856
00:46:09,640 --> 00:46:13,040
Speaker 1: breakout moment, I'm looking for the next one. I'm looking

857
00:46:13,040 --> 00:46:15,640
Speaker 1: for the next breakout moment for one of these young guys.

858
00:46:15,800 --> 00:46:18,799
Speaker 1: The young corners have played well, Wanham has played well,

859
00:46:18,920 --> 00:46:21,200
Speaker 1: Ezra Cleveland is starting to get a chance to be

860
00:46:21,280 --> 00:46:24,719
Speaker 1: on the field. But I'm I'm curious to see if

861
00:46:24,760 --> 00:46:27,160
Speaker 1: and when another one of these guys is gonna pop

862
00:46:27,520 --> 00:46:30,440
Speaker 1: in the same way where we're like, oh boy, you

863
00:46:30,440 --> 00:46:33,479
Speaker 1: remember when Brian O'Neill came on the field and after

864
00:46:33,520 --> 00:46:36,440
Speaker 1: a few weeks we were like, whoa, we got a

865
00:46:36,560 --> 00:46:39,480
Speaker 1: stud here. Are we going to see that from Ezra Cleveland?

866
00:46:39,719 --> 00:46:41,960
Speaker 1: Are we going to see that from DJ Wantam? Are

867
00:46:42,000 --> 00:46:43,480
Speaker 1: we gonna see that from what? Are we going to

868
00:46:43,520 --> 00:46:45,720
Speaker 1: turn around and go oh boy all of a sudden

869
00:46:45,800 --> 00:46:48,960
Speaker 1: glad And he's a beast. So I'm just waiting for

870
00:46:49,000 --> 00:46:51,399
Speaker 1: one of those guys to pop in that way. And

871
00:46:51,520 --> 00:46:54,359
Speaker 1: what better team to do it against than the Green

872
00:46:54,440 --> 00:46:57,920
Speaker 1: Bay Packers. Thank you guys so much for listening, and

873
00:46:58,000 --> 00:47:00,239
Speaker 1: we will see you all next eight