November 27, 2024 • 20 mins
Minnesota Tim discusses the potential impact of Daniel Jones's decision on the Minnesota Vikings' quarterback situation, the implications of injuries on the team's performance, and passionately defends head coach Kevin O'Connell's abilities as a play caller and leader. The conversation highlights the dynamics of the NFL, particularly focusing on quarterback decisions and coaching strategies.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome into the show today.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I'm excited to have you on this journey with me,
a journey that I'm not even one sure or I'm going.
But a lot of topics to address. On the Minnesota Vikings,
of course, you've got Danny Dimes aka Daniel Jones and
his upcoming decision. It was reported yesterday by Tom Pelasaro
(00:26):
that Daniel Jones's decision will be made by yesterday afternoon.
Now maybe it was, but then it was reported yesterday
afternoon that Daniel Jones was going to alert teams on
Wednesday what his choice was going to be. And of
(00:48):
course there has been a lot of speculation. The Raiders
have been eliminated, but teams like the Vikings, the forty
nine Ers, the Ravens are all potential landing spots for
the former New York Giants quarterback. He's pulling a Littlebron
James on us. Maybe he's gonna have a sit down
(01:10):
interview and take his talents to Minnesota, San Francisco or Baltimore.
But it's going to be a fascinating decision because this
could change the course of how the Minnesota Vikings address
their quarterback situation this offseason. Sam Donald's under a one
(01:32):
year contract, and unless the Vikings win the Super Bowl,
the chances they bring Sam Donald back next season is
very low. If I'm Sam Donald, I look at taking
a one to two year contract with the Vibe.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Well, no, I don't do that.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Sam Donald's market is as high as it's ever been
since he was drafted in the top three, and now
is the time for Sam Donald to make a splash
with the Raiders, Panthers, Giants, some other organization, which if
I was Sam Donald, I would choose an organization that
(02:10):
has an offensive minded head coach that has good weapons.
I would not choose the Raiders that has Antonio Pierce
as their head coach at defensive guy. I would choose
an offensive organization like the Vikings had, like the Vikings
currently do, to try to continue this upward trend of
(02:30):
my best quarterback play of my entire career.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
So it's going to be a fascinating.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Decision by Daniel Jones because if he chooses the Minnesota Vikings, well,
then that might be the perfect backup quarterback for the
Minnesota Vikings following the departure of Sam Donald, because if
you bring in Daniel Jones and you've already got Jajon
McCarthy on your roster. That might be the perfect number
(02:58):
two for JJ McCarthy. The problem from Daniel Jones's standpoint
is that if you come into the Vikings organization, you know,
the idea right now is that he wants to refresh
his career, give himself another shot. How much of a
chance are you going to have to play behind JJ McCarthy.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Now, there is the.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Long shot that Daniel Jones choose the Vikings. JJ McCarthy's
not quite ready yet. Everyone's anticipating that he's going to be,
but we're not entirely sure on that. I mean, in
terms of health, he should be ready, but in terms
of his readiness to be quarterback one. Are we one
one hundred percent confident that one preseason game against the
(03:42):
Las Vegas Raiders is enough right now to declare JJ
McCarthy as QB one to start the twenty twenty five
regular season on the Minnesota Vikings.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
I can't declare that yet. You know.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
It takes OTAs in a training camp to clear that
I'm not calling our rookie quarterback the goat. After one
preseason game against the Slippy Slappy crappy Las Vegas Raiders organization.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
I'm not there yet, maybe you are.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Do I think Jaj McCarthy has the ability to be
a good quarterback? Yes, I do, And I'll admit that
I was wrong on that. I thought he was going
to be a bust. And my theory was that he
wasn't asked to do anything at Michigan and maybe he
still will be a bust, but my heart has changed
on that stance. But does Daniel Jones see the Vikings
(04:37):
organization as the organization that will take him to new heights,
that will give him that refresh, that will allow another
team to take a look at Daniel Jones in the
future and be like, yeah, I want to go there.
Similar to Sam Donald and the San Francisco forty nine ers,
Donald to the Niners was going to be a backup,
(04:58):
and when he was under that organization, the talent was clear,
the arm talent was obvious. But we just he just
needed a refresh, He needed some coaching, he needed some
help seeing different things down the field. He needed to
get in a good organization that wasn't the Jets and
(05:20):
that wasn't the Carolina Panthers. So I look at Daniel
Jones's situation, and it is not similar to Sam Donald
going to the Minnesota Vikings. It's more similar to Sam
Donald going to the San Francisco forty nine ers. Because
(05:41):
if Daniel Jones, if if you asked Daniel Jones, what
are you looking for? Well, one, he's gonna say I'm
looking for a good organization. Two is gonna say I'm
looking for a refresh. But three, if there's a chance
to play, I think that is a better option for
Daniel Jones and sitting and being the backup the entire year,
(06:02):
because it's not like he's getting any younger. He's twenty
seven to twenty eight years old already. It's not like
he's a twenty five year old quarterback looking for a
refresh and he's gonna get a starting quarterback role the
following year. At twenty six, he's already getting up there
in age. He's not a young quarterback. He's already been
in the league a lot of years. So it's not
like Daniel Jones wants to sit and wait either for
(06:24):
a QB one spot to open up.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
He wants to go to a.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Spot where maybe he'll have a chance to play right away.
Like maybe the San Francisco forty nine ers. So if
I'm Daniel Jones, that's where I go. That's my spot.
Rock Party has a shoulder injury. Maybe I play right away,
Maybe I play in a couple of weeks. Rock Party
mister irrelevant. He's been good, but he's not irreplaceable yet.
(06:49):
He hasn't commanded that massive quarterback contract that the big
boys like mahomes Ean and Josh Allen require because he
hasn't taken the San Franciscisco forty nine ers to that
level yet.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
They've gone to the super Bowl, they've lost it.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
But is Rock Purty a transcendent talent that can take
talent like the forty nine ers roster right now, with
some injuries and with some issues all the way to
the super Bowl. No, I don't think so. And that's
why we're and that's what we're seeing this year. So
you look at Daniel Jones and you look at his prospects,
(07:27):
the teams that are interested in him, and the decision
he's going to make.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
I would love it to be chose the Vikings. But
if I'm Daniel Jones, I.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Don't do that because you are already locked into most
likely a QB two spot behind JJ McCarthy. Not that
I'm saying he's a lock to be QB one, but
that's the most likely destination for Daniel Jones. It's not
a Sam Donald to the Vikings moment, because when Sam
(07:54):
Donald signed with the Vikings, like it or not, he
was always.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Going to be QB one.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Prthy was not going to start Week one on the
road at New York regardless of how preseason game number
two or preseason game number three win. That was never happening.
And Paul Allen came on this show and said it himself.
Darnold was always QB one. He was always going to
be that bridge guy to JJ McCarthy. And maybe McCarthy
(08:22):
got subbed in midyear, maybe got subed in after the
bye week, but it wasn't happening week one, and that's
not gonna be the case with Daniel Jones for the Vikings.
The Vikings signed him. It's not like Daniel Jones is
a lock to start Week one. Maybe it's a QB battle,
Maybe it's a competition in the offseason within JJ McCarthy
to get a few starts before you hand over the
(08:43):
keys to the rookie. But it's a different situation. So
if I'm Daniel Jones, I choose somewhere else. But I
can see why he would pick the Vikings organization, stable,
good head, coach, good environment, can sit and waity if
he wants to. But there seems like there could be
other prospects available, And I know he's considering all those
(09:07):
things as well, not because I know him personally, but
this is just what professional athletes do, all right. Next,
take Ivan Paced Junior gets put on ir and.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
That's tough for.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
The Minnesota Vikings defense that has stayed relatively healthy this season.
We lost Blake Cash in a few games due to
turf toe, and you really felt his miss on the
field because the Lions and the Rams, two of the
best offensive minded play callers in the league. On those
organizations call plays, and without your linebacker, that's been a
(09:46):
stable force that's been.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Huge and.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Dominating the Houston Texans and the San Francisco forty nine
is earlier in this season was missed, and now you
miss Ivan Paced Junior. Now that we got Blake Cash,
I've paid Junior's down gone. The Vikings signed some linebacker
that was released from the Washington Commander's football team to
try to replace him. But Ivan Paced Junior, he doesn't
(10:11):
play every single down because a good tackler, he's a
good energizer, bunny, and he plays with a lot of heart.
And last year you look at his stats and Ivan
Paced Junior, he had one hundred and two combined tackles,
sixty three solo, thirty nine assisted, and last year. In
this year so far, he's had fifty nine combined tackles,
(10:32):
thirty one solo, twenty eight assisted. So he's not going
to be an easy guy to replace. But at the
same time, he's also not the most valuable defender on
the Minnesota Vikings, and injuries are going to happen to
every single organization.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
You know, the Minnesota Vikings had a big.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Injury offensively, Christian Dearrisa is out for the year and
he'll be back next year. But besides that, who else
has really been injured on the Vikings that has just
been out for the year, out for a month, out
for two months. The Minnesota Vikings have remained relatively lucky
in terms of who has gotten injured and who has
(11:12):
stayed healthy. Of course, we're gonna miss Christian Derisa, but
JJ's healthy all year. As had missed a few games,
but he's been healthy for most of the year. Naylor's
been healthy. Hockinson was out to start this season, which
we all knew, which wasn't unfortunate.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
It wasn't unlucky.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
We knew we would get him back mid season. But quarterback,
running back defensively, the Minnesota Vikings have been fortunate to
stay healthy for the most part. And that brings me
to my last topic that I want to address, and
this is probably my most heated, fiery topic that I'm
(11:51):
going to discuss today, and that's Kevin O'Connell. You know,
when I'm watching TV. I got watched the Timberrols game
last night. I like to shoot from the hip. I
like to Timberwl sock Oh, Timbers are good. They're down
eighteen points in the third quarter. They come back tie
the game up five with a minute fifty two.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
When they're down eighteen, I'm like, oh my gosh, the
Timberwl suck. What's going on here?
Speaker 2 (12:16):
What's going on with this organization that gave us so
much hope last year? And then they came back. We're
up five with the one man the timbers are good.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
I like to shoot from the hip.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
When I watched TV, but when I come onto the
podcast platform, I like to think about opinions, or when
I share tweets, I like to think about opinions. I
don't just shoot from the hip publicly. Privately, I'll shoot
from the hip. I'll digest things, I'll break things down.
And there are so many shoot from the hips opinions
(12:48):
regarding Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin o'coum. You know, you
go on Twitter, you go on any social media platform,
and of course there's a handful of people that will
call Kevin o'kannall what he is, and he's a great
head coach, phenomenal play caller, brilliant offensive mind. And then
there's the few out there that will come out there
(13:09):
and say that Kevin O'Connell is a horrible play caller,
he should give up play calling and he should pass
play calling duties to the next guy. Well, if he
handed play calling duties to the next guy, do you
know what you would say, Oh, fire this guy, fire,
this guy sucks. Kevin O'Connell is a brilliant offensive mind
(13:30):
and a brilliant offensive play caller, and you don't have
to look much further than this season. Sam Darnold is
having his best season of his career, a guy that
went from place to place to place and now is
on his fourth destination. The Vikings are nine to two
and the Minnesota Vikings offense is rolling right now. The
(13:52):
Chicago Bears defense is elite. They've only given up twenty
point one points per game. And if Aaron Jones doesn't
fumble at the yard line, the Minnesota Vikings score thirty four.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Points in that game. And you might be looking at.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Me like, well, have thirty four points at a touchdown
or to scored throw, Well, you get rid of that
field going overtime.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
The game doesn't go over time.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
If Aaron Jones doesn't fumble, they've got twenty seven points.
When overtime starts, you add seven. That's how you get
thirty four. The Vikings scored thirty seven points if Aaron
Jones does not fumble at the one yard line to
a team that gaverages giving up twenty point one points
a game on the road at Soldier Field, in a
(14:34):
tough environment against a team that has a must win situation,
against a team that has proven their ability this season
to hold teams under twenty points. Against the Houston Texans,
they give up nineteen. Against the Commanders, they gave up
eighteen on a last second hal mary. Against the Patriots,
(14:55):
they give up nineteen. Against Green Bay, they gave up twenty,
and then the Vikings roll in. They score thirty, but
it should have been thirty four. And it's not that complicated,
you know. People want to say, oh, crappy, play call here,
play call there. The Vikings are nine and two with
Sam Darnold. What more do you have to say? Two
(15:16):
years ago there, thirteen and four. Last year, If kirk
Cousins doesn't get injured with a ruptured achilles, the Vikings
probably make the playoffs because they were rolling, they were hot,
and kirk Cousins was firing on all cylinders. After an
zero to three start, the Vikings were what six and four,
and then they brought in Dobbs, and then they won
a couple of games, and then they had an eighty
(15:37):
percent chance to make the playoffs. Cavin O'Connell, if he
was on the market, just on the market for any
team to have, he would get picked up so quickly
that he wouldn't even be able to snap your fingers
in time. This guy is so good. This guy is
a coveted head coach around the league, and teams want them.
(16:02):
So if the Vikings did get rid of them, which
they're not going to, the market would tell us that
Kevin O'Connell is a wanted head coach. The Vikings are
going to resign him to a contract extension this offseason.
There's no doubt about that. And you look at what
he's done in three years on the Vikings. Kirk Cousins
(16:23):
thirteen and four, his best season ever. Next year, Vikings
rolling Cousins gets hurt. Can't really do anything about that.
And this season the ultimate question. Sam Darnold, who's never
put together a winning season in his entire career, steps
into the Vikings organization. The Vikings have an over under
(16:45):
win total at six and a half via DraftKings and
most online sportsbooks, and the Minnesota Vikings are sitting here
right now, one game behind the Detroit Lions at nine
and two. And the first thing that people are saying
following the Vikings winning as the Bears where they scored
thirty they should have scored thirty four is give up
(17:06):
offensive play calling duties.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Are you flipping serious?
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Like, how do you shoot from the hip and come
with an opinion like that? Or how can you consciously
think that Donald just put up his best game of
his career. I'm the Minnesota Vikings maybe outside of the
first four weeks of the season against the Houston Texans,
were scored four touchdowns.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
I guess the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Sam Darnold puts up two touchdowns, puts up three hundred
and thirty yards zero interceptions, has a passer rating of
one hundred and.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Sixteen point one twenty two for thirty four And.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
The first thing that is gonna come out of people's
bous is oh, Kevin o con should play calling. Every
coach Sean McVay, Ben Johnson has play calls that they
want to come back, and Kevin O'Connell is just like that.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Jacksonville Jaguars. There's two play calls there.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Kevin O'Connell would want back the reverse to Jalen Naylor
at the end of the game and the third and
one play action by Sam dung It happens happens to
every single coach in the league. Every coach in the
league has plays that they want back. That they wish
they could call differently. You have to have a play
(18:31):
so quickly and so fast. You have to have the
play call ready before the play's even over. You have
to be thinking one, two, three plays ahead of the
actual play because if you have to think, sit and
think and wait to have your play ready after the play, well,
then it's gonna be a delay of game and you're
not gonna be ready. So it's ridiculous that people cannot
(18:56):
appreciate what Kevin o'conna has done.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
And you don't have to.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Look too far to figure it out. The Vikings are
nine and two. Sam Donald is playing the best ball
of his career. What else needs to be said? What
else needs to be looked at in terms of how
brilliant of an offensive mind Kevin O'Connell is. Sam Donald
(19:20):
signed a one year contract with the Vikings. Why did
he do that? Because there was no greater market for him.
There was no market saying he could get two, three,
four year contracts. And Kevin O'Connell completely changed the market
for Sam Donald because now this Officeason Donald's gonna sign
somewhere else, most likely for like a two to three
(19:43):
year deal. A lot of guaranteed money, and his career
trajectory has changed. So if you utter Kevin O'Connell can't
coach out of your mouth, you're shooting from the hip.
You're not thinking about it, you're not analyzing it. Think
about it, Analyze it. It's not that hard. It's not
(20:05):
that hard. Thank you for going on this journey. Hit
that subscribe button right there, have it right there.
Welcome into the show today.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
I'm excited to have you on this journey with me,
a journey that I'm not even one sure or I'm going.
But a lot of topics to address. On the Minnesota Vikings,
of course, you've got Danny Dimes aka Daniel Jones and
his upcoming decision. It was reported yesterday by Tom Pelasaro
(00:26):
that Daniel Jones's decision will be made by yesterday afternoon.
Now maybe it was, but then it was reported yesterday
afternoon that Daniel Jones was going to alert teams on
Wednesday what his choice was going to be. And of
(00:48):
course there has been a lot of speculation. The Raiders
have been eliminated, but teams like the Vikings, the forty
nine Ers, the Ravens are all potential landing spots for
the former New York Giants quarterback. He's pulling a Littlebron
James on us. Maybe he's gonna have a sit down
(01:10):
interview and take his talents to Minnesota, San Francisco or Baltimore.
But it's going to be a fascinating decision because this
could change the course of how the Minnesota Vikings address
their quarterback situation this offseason. Sam Donald's under a one
(01:32):
year contract, and unless the Vikings win the Super Bowl,
the chances they bring Sam Donald back next season is
very low. If I'm Sam Donald, I look at taking
a one to two year contract with the Vibe.
Speaker 1 (01:46):
Well, no, I don't do that.
Speaker 2 (01:48):
Sam Donald's market is as high as it's ever been
since he was drafted in the top three, and now
is the time for Sam Donald to make a splash
with the Raiders, Panthers, Giants, some other organization, which if
I was Sam Donald, I would choose an organization that
(02:10):
has an offensive minded head coach that has good weapons.
I would not choose the Raiders that has Antonio Pierce
as their head coach at defensive guy. I would choose
an offensive organization like the Vikings had, like the Vikings
currently do, to try to continue this upward trend of
(02:30):
my best quarterback play of my entire career.
Speaker 1 (02:33):
So it's going to be a fascinating.
Speaker 2 (02:35):
Decision by Daniel Jones because if he chooses the Minnesota Vikings, well,
then that might be the perfect backup quarterback for the
Minnesota Vikings following the departure of Sam Donald, because if
you bring in Daniel Jones and you've already got Jajon
McCarthy on your roster. That might be the perfect number
(02:58):
two for JJ McCarthy. The problem from Daniel Jones's standpoint
is that if you come into the Vikings organization, you know,
the idea right now is that he wants to refresh
his career, give himself another shot. How much of a
chance are you going to have to play behind JJ McCarthy.
Speaker 1 (03:19):
Now, there is the.
Speaker 2 (03:20):
Long shot that Daniel Jones choose the Vikings. JJ McCarthy's
not quite ready yet. Everyone's anticipating that he's going to be,
but we're not entirely sure on that. I mean, in
terms of health, he should be ready, but in terms
of his readiness to be quarterback one. Are we one
one hundred percent confident that one preseason game against the
(03:42):
Las Vegas Raiders is enough right now to declare JJ
McCarthy as QB one to start the twenty twenty five
regular season on the Minnesota Vikings.
Speaker 1 (03:56):
I can't declare that yet. You know.
Speaker 2 (03:58):
It takes OTAs in a training camp to clear that
I'm not calling our rookie quarterback the goat. After one
preseason game against the Slippy Slappy crappy Las Vegas Raiders organization.
Speaker 1 (04:13):
I'm not there yet, maybe you are.
Speaker 2 (04:16):
Do I think Jaj McCarthy has the ability to be
a good quarterback? Yes, I do, And I'll admit that
I was wrong on that. I thought he was going
to be a bust. And my theory was that he
wasn't asked to do anything at Michigan and maybe he
still will be a bust, but my heart has changed
on that stance. But does Daniel Jones see the Vikings
(04:37):
organization as the organization that will take him to new heights,
that will give him that refresh, that will allow another
team to take a look at Daniel Jones in the
future and be like, yeah, I want to go there.
Similar to Sam Donald and the San Francisco forty nine ers,
Donald to the Niners was going to be a backup,
(04:58):
and when he was under that organization, the talent was clear,
the arm talent was obvious. But we just he just
needed a refresh, He needed some coaching, he needed some
help seeing different things down the field. He needed to
get in a good organization that wasn't the Jets and
(05:20):
that wasn't the Carolina Panthers. So I look at Daniel
Jones's situation, and it is not similar to Sam Donald
going to the Minnesota Vikings. It's more similar to Sam
Donald going to the San Francisco forty nine ers. Because
(05:41):
if Daniel Jones, if if you asked Daniel Jones, what
are you looking for? Well, one, he's gonna say I'm
looking for a good organization. Two is gonna say I'm
looking for a refresh. But three, if there's a chance
to play, I think that is a better option for
Daniel Jones and sitting and being the backup the entire year,
(06:02):
because it's not like he's getting any younger. He's twenty
seven to twenty eight years old already. It's not like
he's a twenty five year old quarterback looking for a
refresh and he's gonna get a starting quarterback role the
following year. At twenty six, he's already getting up there
in age. He's not a young quarterback. He's already been
in the league a lot of years. So it's not
like Daniel Jones wants to sit and wait either for
(06:24):
a QB one spot to open up.
Speaker 1 (06:27):
He wants to go to a.
Speaker 2 (06:28):
Spot where maybe he'll have a chance to play right away.
Like maybe the San Francisco forty nine ers. So if
I'm Daniel Jones, that's where I go. That's my spot.
Rock Party has a shoulder injury. Maybe I play right away,
Maybe I play in a couple of weeks. Rock Party
mister irrelevant. He's been good, but he's not irreplaceable yet.
(06:49):
He hasn't commanded that massive quarterback contract that the big
boys like mahomes Ean and Josh Allen require because he
hasn't taken the San Franciscisco forty nine ers to that
level yet.
Speaker 1 (07:02):
They've gone to the super Bowl, they've lost it.
Speaker 2 (07:05):
But is Rock Purty a transcendent talent that can take
talent like the forty nine ers roster right now, with
some injuries and with some issues all the way to
the super Bowl. No, I don't think so. And that's
why we're and that's what we're seeing this year. So
you look at Daniel Jones and you look at his prospects,
(07:27):
the teams that are interested in him, and the decision
he's going to make.
Speaker 1 (07:30):
I would love it to be chose the Vikings. But
if I'm Daniel Jones, I.
Speaker 2 (07:33):
Don't do that because you are already locked into most
likely a QB two spot behind JJ McCarthy. Not that
I'm saying he's a lock to be QB one, but
that's the most likely destination for Daniel Jones. It's not
a Sam Donald to the Vikings moment, because when Sam
(07:54):
Donald signed with the Vikings, like it or not, he
was always.
Speaker 1 (07:58):
Going to be QB one.
Speaker 2 (08:00):
Prthy was not going to start Week one on the
road at New York regardless of how preseason game number
two or preseason game number three win. That was never happening.
And Paul Allen came on this show and said it himself.
Darnold was always QB one. He was always going to
be that bridge guy to JJ McCarthy. And maybe McCarthy
(08:22):
got subbed in midyear, maybe got subed in after the
bye week, but it wasn't happening week one, and that's
not gonna be the case with Daniel Jones for the Vikings.
The Vikings signed him. It's not like Daniel Jones is
a lock to start Week one. Maybe it's a QB battle,
Maybe it's a competition in the offseason within JJ McCarthy
to get a few starts before you hand over the
(08:43):
keys to the rookie. But it's a different situation. So
if I'm Daniel Jones, I choose somewhere else. But I
can see why he would pick the Vikings organization, stable,
good head, coach, good environment, can sit and waity if
he wants to. But there seems like there could be
other prospects available, And I know he's considering all those
(09:07):
things as well, not because I know him personally, but
this is just what professional athletes do, all right. Next,
take Ivan Paced Junior gets put on ir and.
Speaker 1 (09:21):
That's tough for.
Speaker 2 (09:22):
The Minnesota Vikings defense that has stayed relatively healthy this season.
We lost Blake Cash in a few games due to
turf toe, and you really felt his miss on the
field because the Lions and the Rams, two of the
best offensive minded play callers in the league. On those
organizations call plays, and without your linebacker, that's been a
(09:46):
stable force that's been.
Speaker 1 (09:48):
Huge and.
Speaker 2 (09:50):
Dominating the Houston Texans and the San Francisco forty nine
is earlier in this season was missed, and now you
miss Ivan Paced Junior. Now that we got Blake Cash,
I've paid Junior's down gone. The Vikings signed some linebacker
that was released from the Washington Commander's football team to
try to replace him. But Ivan Paced Junior, he doesn't
(10:11):
play every single down because a good tackler, he's a
good energizer, bunny, and he plays with a lot of heart.
And last year you look at his stats and Ivan
Paced Junior, he had one hundred and two combined tackles,
sixty three solo, thirty nine assisted, and last year. In
this year so far, he's had fifty nine combined tackles,
(10:32):
thirty one solo, twenty eight assisted. So he's not going
to be an easy guy to replace. But at the
same time, he's also not the most valuable defender on
the Minnesota Vikings, and injuries are going to happen to
every single organization.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
You know, the Minnesota Vikings had a big.
Speaker 2 (10:48):
Injury offensively, Christian Dearrisa is out for the year and
he'll be back next year. But besides that, who else
has really been injured on the Vikings that has just
been out for the year, out for a month, out
for two months. The Minnesota Vikings have remained relatively lucky
in terms of who has gotten injured and who has
(11:12):
stayed healthy. Of course, we're gonna miss Christian Derisa, but
JJ's healthy all year. As had missed a few games,
but he's been healthy for most of the year. Naylor's
been healthy. Hockinson was out to start this season, which
we all knew, which wasn't unfortunate.
Speaker 1 (11:27):
It wasn't unlucky.
Speaker 2 (11:28):
We knew we would get him back mid season. But quarterback,
running back defensively, the Minnesota Vikings have been fortunate to
stay healthy for the most part. And that brings me
to my last topic that I want to address, and
this is probably my most heated, fiery topic that I'm
(11:51):
going to discuss today, and that's Kevin O'Connell. You know,
when I'm watching TV. I got watched the Timberrols game
last night. I like to shoot from the hip. I
like to Timberwl sock Oh, Timbers are good. They're down
eighteen points in the third quarter. They come back tie
the game up five with a minute fifty two.
Speaker 1 (12:10):
When they're down eighteen, I'm like, oh my gosh, the
Timberwl suck. What's going on here?
Speaker 2 (12:16):
What's going on with this organization that gave us so
much hope last year? And then they came back. We're
up five with the one man the timbers are good.
Speaker 1 (12:25):
I like to shoot from the hip.
Speaker 2 (12:27):
When I watched TV, but when I come onto the
podcast platform, I like to think about opinions, or when
I share tweets, I like to think about opinions. I
don't just shoot from the hip publicly. Privately, I'll shoot
from the hip. I'll digest things, I'll break things down.
And there are so many shoot from the hips opinions
(12:48):
regarding Minnesota Vikings head coach Kevin o'coum. You know, you
go on Twitter, you go on any social media platform,
and of course there's a handful of people that will
call Kevin o'kannall what he is, and he's a great
head coach, phenomenal play caller, brilliant offensive mind. And then
there's the few out there that will come out there
(13:09):
and say that Kevin O'Connell is a horrible play caller,
he should give up play calling and he should pass
play calling duties to the next guy. Well, if he
handed play calling duties to the next guy, do you
know what you would say, Oh, fire this guy, fire,
this guy sucks. Kevin O'Connell is a brilliant offensive mind
(13:30):
and a brilliant offensive play caller, and you don't have
to look much further than this season. Sam Darnold is
having his best season of his career, a guy that
went from place to place to place and now is
on his fourth destination. The Vikings are nine to two
and the Minnesota Vikings offense is rolling right now. The
(13:52):
Chicago Bears defense is elite. They've only given up twenty
point one points per game. And if Aaron Jones doesn't
fumble at the yard line, the Minnesota Vikings score thirty four.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
Points in that game. And you might be looking at.
Speaker 2 (14:05):
Me like, well, have thirty four points at a touchdown
or to scored throw, Well, you get rid of that
field going overtime.
Speaker 1 (14:10):
The game doesn't go over time.
Speaker 2 (14:12):
If Aaron Jones doesn't fumble, they've got twenty seven points.
When overtime starts, you add seven. That's how you get
thirty four. The Vikings scored thirty seven points if Aaron
Jones does not fumble at the one yard line to
a team that gaverages giving up twenty point one points
a game on the road at Soldier Field, in a
(14:34):
tough environment against a team that has a must win situation,
against a team that has proven their ability this season
to hold teams under twenty points. Against the Houston Texans,
they give up nineteen. Against the Commanders, they gave up
eighteen on a last second hal mary. Against the Patriots,
(14:55):
they give up nineteen. Against Green Bay, they gave up twenty,
and then the Vikings roll in. They score thirty, but
it should have been thirty four. And it's not that complicated,
you know. People want to say, oh, crappy, play call here,
play call there. The Vikings are nine and two with
Sam Darnold. What more do you have to say? Two
(15:16):
years ago there, thirteen and four. Last year, If kirk
Cousins doesn't get injured with a ruptured achilles, the Vikings
probably make the playoffs because they were rolling, they were hot,
and kirk Cousins was firing on all cylinders. After an
zero to three start, the Vikings were what six and four,
and then they brought in Dobbs, and then they won
a couple of games, and then they had an eighty
(15:37):
percent chance to make the playoffs. Cavin O'Connell, if he
was on the market, just on the market for any
team to have, he would get picked up so quickly
that he wouldn't even be able to snap your fingers
in time. This guy is so good. This guy is
a coveted head coach around the league, and teams want them.
(16:02):
So if the Vikings did get rid of them, which
they're not going to, the market would tell us that
Kevin O'Connell is a wanted head coach. The Vikings are
going to resign him to a contract extension this offseason.
There's no doubt about that. And you look at what
he's done in three years on the Vikings. Kirk Cousins
(16:23):
thirteen and four, his best season ever. Next year, Vikings
rolling Cousins gets hurt. Can't really do anything about that.
And this season the ultimate question. Sam Darnold, who's never
put together a winning season in his entire career, steps
into the Vikings organization. The Vikings have an over under
(16:45):
win total at six and a half via DraftKings and
most online sportsbooks, and the Minnesota Vikings are sitting here
right now, one game behind the Detroit Lions at nine
and two. And the first thing that people are saying
following the Vikings winning as the Bears where they scored
thirty they should have scored thirty four is give up
(17:06):
offensive play calling duties.
Speaker 1 (17:09):
Are you flipping serious?
Speaker 2 (17:10):
Like, how do you shoot from the hip and come
with an opinion like that? Or how can you consciously
think that Donald just put up his best game of
his career. I'm the Minnesota Vikings maybe outside of the
first four weeks of the season against the Houston Texans,
were scored four touchdowns.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
I guess the Chicago Bears.
Speaker 2 (17:34):
Sam Darnold puts up two touchdowns, puts up three hundred
and thirty yards zero interceptions, has a passer rating of
one hundred and.
Speaker 1 (17:47):
Sixteen point one twenty two for thirty four And.
Speaker 2 (17:51):
The first thing that is gonna come out of people's
bous is oh, Kevin o con should play calling. Every
coach Sean McVay, Ben Johnson has play calls that they
want to come back, and Kevin O'Connell is just like that.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
Jacksonville Jaguars. There's two play calls there.
Speaker 2 (18:11):
Kevin O'Connell would want back the reverse to Jalen Naylor
at the end of the game and the third and
one play action by Sam dung It happens happens to
every single coach in the league. Every coach in the
league has plays that they want back. That they wish
they could call differently. You have to have a play
(18:31):
so quickly and so fast. You have to have the
play call ready before the play's even over. You have
to be thinking one, two, three plays ahead of the
actual play because if you have to think, sit and
think and wait to have your play ready after the play, well,
then it's gonna be a delay of game and you're
not gonna be ready. So it's ridiculous that people cannot
(18:56):
appreciate what Kevin o'conna has done.
Speaker 1 (18:59):
And you don't have to.
Speaker 2 (19:00):
Look too far to figure it out. The Vikings are
nine and two. Sam Donald is playing the best ball
of his career. What else needs to be said? What
else needs to be looked at in terms of how
brilliant of an offensive mind Kevin O'Connell is. Sam Donald
(19:20):
signed a one year contract with the Vikings. Why did
he do that? Because there was no greater market for him.
There was no market saying he could get two, three,
four year contracts. And Kevin O'Connell completely changed the market
for Sam Donald because now this Officeason Donald's gonna sign
somewhere else, most likely for like a two to three
(19:43):
year deal. A lot of guaranteed money, and his career
trajectory has changed. So if you utter Kevin O'Connell can't
coach out of your mouth, you're shooting from the hip.
You're not thinking about it, you're not analyzing it. Think
about it, Analyze it. It's not that hard. It's not
(20:05):
that hard. Thank you for going on this journey. Hit
that subscribe button right there, have it right there.
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